Why Longbridge Search and Selection
Set up in 1998, Longbridge Search and Selection has enjoyed double digit growth every year since inception. Our sales in 2005 were £7.4 million, in 2006 were £10.5 million and has estimated sales of £12.5 million in 2007.
Achieving these sales targets has given us even more pride and respect in our company. To achieve the above, Longbridge Search and Selection had to first attract and retain the right staff, from top to bottom. Receptionist to Managing Director all share positive and pro-active personalities, and have a basic liking of people. The Consultants (the engines of the company) also possess a very broad range of attributes.
Why Recruitment
The outlook could never be better with all surveys rating recruitment as one of the industries of the future. There is success and money to be made, fun to be had, but it's not the soft option and it's not for everybody.
The first thing to be clear on is that a position in recruitment isn't easy. It is a sales, target driven environment where success and failure is constantly being measured.
You need the empathy and sensitivity to understand the needs (perceived and actual) of every person you speak to or meet, and you need the reserves (both physical and emotional) to withstand the demands this makes every day!
Recruitment is unforgiving. You are the middle-man between Candidates and Clients, and your success is writ large amongst your peers - success or failure is clearly recorded for all your colleagues to see, but the truth is, the most unforgiving person of all is almost always yourself!
So, why recruitment? The truth is, for those that it suits; it's just the best! Recruitment people are generally competitive, empathetic, dynamic, fun, considerate, energetic and interesting people. It's a place where sensitive, yet strong people can thrive. It's an industry that offers clear definition - success or failure. Constant challenge, autonomy, career progression, responsibility, success and money can come to you quicker in recruitment than in almost any other field. So, recruitment is not for the faint-hearted, but for those who it suits, you can have it all. And finally, because it is such a unique and passionate field, recruitment people will often make firm friends in the industry. You will rarely meet a dull recruitment person. We care and we share a passion - those are powerful emotions!
Valuing differences
Diversity is something we feel strongly about. A diverse workforce represents an inclusive workforce, one that is best placed to understand and provide the services that our many and varied clients want and need. Longbridge Search and Selection is a very diverse organisation, comprising of people with a wide range of skills, operating in a wide variety of disciplines.
Each division has its own objectives and approach. What works for our technical team may not be relevant to the people in our legal team and vice versa. The success of our company means we can accommodate and meet the needs of all kinds of different people, with all the training, support and encouragement that that entails.
Culture
Longbridge Search and Selection operates in a very serious professional services industry – one that helps make and shape people’s careers, and in turn has a huge influence on their lives. Understanding that with influence comes responsibility, we are committed to pursuing business success while standing for uncompromising integrity and high ethical conduct.
We are constantly searching for ways to improve and raise standards. People who come to Longbridge Search and Selection are pleasantly surprised at how often they are asked for their opinion. There's a sound business reasoning behind all the inclusivity and drive for success at Longbridge Search and Selection. We believe that there is a positive relationship between training, motivating, and empowering employees, and improvements in productivity, employee satisfaction and financial performance.
Enhancing the workplace allows Longbridge Search and Selection to generate the following benefits:
- Receive more qualified job applications for open positions.
- Experience a lower level of turnover.
- Enjoy higher levels of client satisfaction and client loyalty.
- Foster greater innovation, creativity and risk taking.
- Benefit from higher productivity and profitability.
Reputation
Longbridge Search and Selection has a reputation for employee pay and benefits that's the envy of the recruitment industry. When the firm was first established, we set out to help people develop their careers more easily. That applies as much for internal employees as it does for external candidates. We empower Senior Recruitment Consultants by allowing them to set their own targets / KPIs and to manage their ‘business’ within reasonably assisted guidelines.
We are forward thinking when it comes to recruitment training giving much needed assistance to trainees and lending itself to a future career path for consultants who ultimately may want to become trainers themselves. We lead by example when it comes to non-billing managers too.
While we have positions for recruitment managers who themselvess recruit on behalf of clients, we also offer people the opportunity to become non-billing recruitment managers or Business Unit Managers. We recognise the need for this role in the recruitment industry before anyone else and were ground breaking in our introduction of it to the industry. It's this dedication to putting our colleagues as a priority that has made us into a very appealing firm.
Remuneration and Benefits
If you were to ask us what Longbridge Search and Selection means, we'd tell you that it's all about going beyond people's expectations. We believe in sharing our success with the people responsible for it. Take a look at our benefits package and you'll see what we mean. And remember, everyone at Longbridge Search and Selection enjoys industry-leading benefits, not just a select few. So you can look forward to:
Extremely Competitive Base Salary
We are constantly measuring our salary bands against those of our competitors to ensure that, regardless of department or role we provide a competitive base salary.
Salary Increases
New starters receive a salary review after 6 months service. Salary reviews are operated on an individual performance related basis.
Commission
Up to and including 40% of billings. (Recruitment Team only).
Annual Bonus
Annual bonus rewards are operated on an individual performance related basis.
Referral Reward
The following amounts will be awarded to any employee who introduce:
- a candidate with recruitment experience of less than 2 years, the referral bonus is £750
- a candidate with experience over 2 years, the referral bonus is £2,000
- a researcher, the referral bonus is £750
- a trainee with no experience or admin/support staff, the referral bonus is £250
Bonus Gift Schemes
The company has various discretionary recognition and reward programmes each designed for a particular business sector. E.g. Travel Competitions.
Pension
We run an Employee Contributory Stake Holder Pension Scheme with HSBC.
Health Cover
You are entitled to full medical cover under our contributory BUPA Health Cover Scheme.
Life Insurance
You are entitled to Life Insurance cover that provides 4 x basic salary to dependants should you die whilst employed by the Company.
Mobile Phone
Sales Consultants receive a free mobile phone with all personal bills paid to the value of £50 per month. The £50 is charged at business rates, providing employees with even greater value per call.
Childcare Vouchers
Employees with parental responsibilities are eligible for childcare vouchers worth up to £243 per month, free of tax and national insurance. The scheme operates as a salary sacrifice, saving you up to between £898 and £1196 per year, depending on your tax bracket.
Sports Club Subsidy
All employees are entitled Gold Corporate Membership with LA Fitness.
Eye Tests
Employees are entitled to free eye tests. The cost of the test will be borne by the Company. In the event that test shows that you are in need of glasses for viewing VDUs the Company will further contribute £50 towards the cost of glasses.
Dry Cleaning
Employees are entitled to a 20% dry cleaning discount.
Clothing
All employees will be entitled to a 15% discount with Brooks Brothers for office attire.
Software for Home Use
Employees are eligible to participate in the Home Use Program (HUP) enabling you to receive a licensed copy of most Microsoft Office desktop applications to install and use on your home computer.
Social Events / Fully Sponsored Social Club
- 4 Events per annum fully paid for by the company including a pre event meal.
- 8 Drinks evenings per annum.
Holiday Entitlements
- Holiday entitlements vary depending on the position.
- Holiday entitlements for every employee shall be extended by 1 day for every year worked up to a maximum of 25 days.
Professional Memberships
The company will pay one professional membership annually provided the membership is relevant to the individual's role and responsibilities.
Eligibility for some of the above benefits are subject to successful completion of your probationary period or six months of service whichever is greater.
Over the years we've put a lot of thought into building an environment where people will actually enjoy going to work. What we've created is a place where people can be themselves. Somewhere they can be professional and informal at the same time. We like it here, and think you will too.
The Skills Needed
The interesting thing about recruitment is that you need an incredibly broad and demanding skill set, but no specific qualifications.
To be a successful Recruitment Consultant you do not need a degree, any formal qualifications, any specific experience, or any letters after your name. However, you need intelligence, broad people experience, the ability to think laterally, sensitivity, strength, empathy, resilience, a hunger for success - in fact almost the entire gambit of human emotion. Whilst it's true that almost every Longbridge Search and Selection Consultant would have at least a degree plus other industry experience it is not actually a prerequisite for the job.
To clarify the above, to be an outstanding Recruitment Consultant you need to be:
| Determined | Aggressive | Ambitious |
| Motivated | Empathetic | Subtle |
| Focused | Able to handle stress. | Hungry |
| Presentation skills | Eloquent | Brave |
| Articulate | Have Integrity | Well Presented |
| Charming | Responsible | Loyal |
| Intelligent | Competitive | Sensitive |
| Experience | Memorable | Creative |
| Likeable | Drafting Skills |
Many potential Consultants looking at the above may question whether they have some of the attributes in themselves. Naturally some of us will be stronger in some areas than others, but altogether we must be strong enough in every single one of them. A successful Consultant has the broadest possible range of personal skills in order to be able to communicate with their customers. In fact, this is our core advantage - we have better communication skills than our customers. This enables us to be able to handle almost all people and business situation. And when you can't, the Managers and Directors are there to help.