.png)
Now an Account Director at Air Marketing Group, Shaun Weston gives the lowdown on what it’s like to work with us. On both sides of the fence.
About Air Marketing
Air Marketing Group was set up in Exeter by Owen Richards in March 2016. The company’s grown significantly over the last 20 months and now employ a team of 60. Client growth is going from strength to strength and the number of team members continues to grow.
Introducing Account Director, Shaun
In December 2016, Shaun and his family decided to move from Portsmouth to Brixham. This was largely for a better quality of life and Shaun contacted Sarah West Recruitment to help with his job search. Shaun went on to join Air Marketing as a Business Development Executive and hasn’t looked back. Having secured a couple of promotions, Shaun’s now an Account Director and is now responsible for recruiting his own team of Business Development Execs.
“We fairly quickly got the house and family sorted so the final piece of the jigsaw was me getting the right job. I was lucky enough not to have to be in a huge hurry when we got here but after a few weeks I was getting under my wife’s feet!
Choosing a recruitment agency
“I’d used job boards before and just found the whole process difficult. It’s often tricky to get a good understanding of what a role is just by reading a job spec and they don’t always include the organisation it’d be for.
“So for my search in Devon I decided to contact a recruitment agency. I didn’t know the area very well and didn’t have a good grasp of the local job market. It was important to get some help finding the kind of roles that would suit my skills and experience – I was after a bit of hand holding if you like.
“After a bit of research Sarah West stood out – they had the type of roles I was interested in and I liked the fact they’d take the time to get to know me. A meeting with Sarah followed and we had a really good chat about the kind of thing I was looking for, as well as some potential roles.
Company insight
“If I’m honest, when we talked about the role at Air, my first thoughts were that it was more junior with less salary than I was looking for. However Sarah convinced me that I would be a perfect fit and knowing Air as she does, knew there’d be the opportunity for me to progress.
“I took that on board and had an interview with MD Owen and immediately understood what Sarah had spotted. We hit it off straight away and had a lot in common. The business was growing and I was happy that I’d be able to progress. And that’s proved to be the case.
“Earlier this year I secured our biggest contract and had to build a team in a matter of weeks. Getting a big team together was a tall order and Sarah was instrumental in us achieving that. We had frank conversations about some of the potential pitfalls. Sarah gave us advice such as changing the proposed working hours and offering permanent contracts to attract the right people. Having that level of honesty is refreshing and comes from having worked closely together for so long.
Success
“It goes without saying that they managed to find us some great people that I went on to employ. I know that if I’m interviewing a candidate sent by Sarah West that they’re going to have what I’m looking for. And be a good fit for us culturally too. Everyone we’ve employed has stayed with us for the long term that gives us the consistency I’m looking for too. So I can safely say that initial Google search has well and truly paid off for me!
“Is there anything I’d change? Honestly, there isn’t and I’d recommend relocating to everyone. The biggest bonus is loving work and having a successful career but also having a much better work-life balance that’s exactly what I was looking for as I’ve got a young family. It might sound cheesy but I’ve remembered who I am and what’s important to me – I’m happier and that makes me a better husband and Dad – just someone nicer to be around. And you definitely age less here which is always a bonus.”
Our thoughts
Sarah West’s Director Sarah says “I met Owen four years ago. He was in the throes of setting up the business and we’ve been working together ever since.
“Owen’s very straight forward to work with and I like the fact that he gives candidates a chance. There’s the opportunity for people to develop, if that’s what they’d like to do. The Air team will listen to and take on board our feedback or suggestions. And of course it works the other way too. It means that we have a very honest relationship that just makes it very easy to work together.
“We’ve placed lots of candidates with Air and the feedback we get is that it’s an awesome place to work. Just what we love to hear! Given their rapid growth already, I’m really excited about us continuing to work together and contributing to their future growth.”