Three Whole Years in NYC
Originally Published on LinkedIn - August 2018
1,095 days ago, I was sat on my own in a tiny office in Brooklyn, with a desk, chair, laptop and phone. Fast forward three years, and we are based in the heart of the Financial District in Manhattan, we have 20 desks, 20 phones, 20 PCs and 40 screens…We have a 2nd office in Austin, Texas with 6 employees, have surpassed every target put in front of us, another office opening next year in the USA, and we will be at 40 (FORTY!) heads in NYC by December 2019.
Before moving to NYC with GCS, I had other offers in NYC as well as other states with big, established companies, and I had a difficult time deciding which one was the best option.
Should I go with a safe and already built market or go fly by the seat of my pants and start with an empty database and very few contacts?
I weighed up the offers and spoke with friends and family…….one of the conversations that resonated strongly was when my Dad told me “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” and my manager Lisa, showed me a fantastic quote from Sir Richard Branson, “If someone offers you an amazing opportunity and you’re not sure you can do it, say yes – then learn how to do it later.” Coming out to NYC on my own, with my University friend and now colleague, Alistair, following shortly afterwards, was the biggest risk of them all and I look back on that decision as one of the best I have ever made (so far!). I’ve tried to have those two sayings with me every step of the way.
It’s honestly been a beautiful 3 years.
I can ramble on about how fun it is living and working in Manhattan, the fantastic nightlife, never-ending things to do, copious amounts of “WOW” food and ease of travelling to some spectacular places. Not to mention how much more lucrative the USA market is compared to the UK, the focus on customer service here in the States as well as not having the stereotypical bad reputation as recruiters have, which we would come across in the UK!
However, it hasn’t been all roses and ice cream. The hurdles are not unique to us and talking with other recruitment leaders as well as our clients, are common challenges.
Hiring Difficulties Internally:
Graduates don’t know about the opportunity of agency recruitment compared to UK grads, the majority view is that we’re like HR and recruitment not being sales. Hiring experienced US recruiters from the established US companies is difficult because it’s not the same 360 or even 180 models as it is in the UK, historically they’re on big salary packages doing a 9-5pm job with lower commission and less control over the entire process. The downside to this is candidates and clients often have 3-5 people talking and sometimes key pieces of information will get lost in the chain of passing information.
Seasonal Influences:
We’ve found religious holidays, national holidays (Thanksgiving, July 4th, Labor Day etc.) and Summer have a much more significant effect on business, certainly in NYC than anywhere in the UK, and it really slows processes down and companies missing out on great talent. This also means that during the months where there aren’t vacations that there is a real focus on recruitment, which is excellent!
Lunch Clubs:
Friday lunchtime in Central London, you’ll see large groups of people in business attire sipping on a pint of beer or glass of wine in pubs and restaurants, all throughout the City. This makes an excellent environment for Lunch club incentives where the top performers enjoy great food and typically a lot of alcohol in a bustling atmosphere.
Now you’d think NYC would be even busier due to the small proximity of Manhattan. Well you’d be wrong. We’re yet to find a suitably similar environment in NYC, you can go to the most famous steakhouse full of bankers at 1pm on a Friday, and it’s a very tame affair… the Happy hour and weekend brunch scene is an entirely different story though!
From the above, you’d probably think I belong on the TV show Grumpy Old Men, but the above are great problems to have!
I love it here. NYC is THE best tech recruitment market in the world, and we have been fortunate enough to have partnered with some of the biggest brands in the world, placing candidates that have worked on technologies, websites, platforms and apps that millions of people use every day.
We currently have the best team we’ve ever had, continually breaking records and opening up new paths for growth. If you have ever even thought about living and working in NYC for one second, I implore you to call me or have a conversation with Carolina Khan or any of our Expats we have here, about the experience and opportunity. We have people from England, Ireland and Australia and all will confirm the size of the opportunity here and how fun it is.
The remaining 5 months of 2018 and 2019 will surpass what we’ve achieved in the previous 3 years at GCS Inc. With the investment, knowledge and experience of nGage supporting us and the great team we have in New York and Austin, I’m bloody excited where we’re going to be and who we’re going to add to the team before our 4th birthday.
If you are a good recruiter in the UK or Australia (or anywhere else, if you have a UK or Australian passport) have nothing that you can’t leave where you currently are, then I assure you that you won’t regret experiencing what is happening right here, right now. You can always go back to doing what you’re doing whilst reading this.
Like my Dad told me, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”…….come and experience something special.