The Graduate Recruitment Specialist

Founded in 2009, Give A Grad A Go Ltd are the UK’s leading graduate jobs and recruitment experts. In October, the company was officially recognised in SME’s 2018 Business Elite programme as the ‘UK’s Leading Graduate Recruitment Specialist’. We spoke to Cary Curtis, Founder and Managing Director, to find out how they have forged their impressive reputation in the notoriously competitive recruitment sector.

The UK job market continues to be a daunting place for recent graduates, who often fail to meet the steep experience requirements to make that first vital step in the career of their choice. Equally, the market itself has become almost jaded towards graduates, ignoring the many benefits that hiring a graduate can offer, namely, a fearless ambition fresh on the back of graduation, and the passion to achieve success. By all regards, graduates can make an exceptional addition to any business, whether that be start-up, SME or international conglomerate: the key, as it always is in recruitment, is matching the right person to the right role.

Give A Grad A Go was created to fulfil a growing need for a specialised graduate recruitment agency that put the candidate at the centre of their processes, whilst acting as a business accelerator on behalf of their clients. Cary starts the interview by detailing their success further: “Since inception, we’ve helped nearly 3,000 graduates find jobs they love, whilst also enabling over 500 start-ups and SMEs to grow, by introducing them to top graduate talent quickly and accurately, which allows them to scale up more efficiently and costeffectively.”

“Our attention is on graduate-level talent, working with those who have up to 3 years’ experience. We are not a sector-specific agency; our recruitment team work with start-ups, SMEs, and global brands across a range of different roles and sectors, including FinTech, Banking and Finance, Marketing and Advertising, and Technology and Digital. We’ve now supported some of these businesses for five years or more, seeing them grow from a small team of three to five, to 200+ employees”.

Perhaps more importantly, Give A Grad A Go was established to challenge and redefine a sector that has, in recent years, distanced themselves from graduates. “Our aim is always to find the right fit for candidates and clients alike. In every interaction with candidates we are transparent and honest about opportunities; never skewing aspects of a role in order to get them into interview, and always providing guidance and support through every stage of the process. Client-side, our consultants take the time to understand the needs, structure and team culture of the business. If a client is unsure what type of candidate they need to help their business grow, we can (and often do) offer them guidance, market insight and advice to help them define the right candidate for their opportunity.”

By adopting this methodology, Give A Grad A Go celebrates industry-leading averages, and a record of success that
distinguishes them far above their peers and competitors. More simply: their results speak for themselves, as Cary explains: “Our KPIs tower over industry averages – from our success ratio for fulfilling a brief (73%), to our average time to fill a role, which is currently 19 working days. This level of service, time and attention is why clients continue to work with us time and time again and why 81% of our work currently comes from repeat business.”

It would be remiss to not mention the importance of Give A Grad A Go’s team in spearheading the firm to new heights, as they action the company’s values in their day to day work: “Our company vision has always begun right here in our office, and we work to ensure that our objectives are reflected in the work of each team member – from our interactions with clients and candidates, to the marketing material we distribute to our network.”

Naturally, the conversation soon turns towards Brexit, and how the recruitment landscape will change in its wake. “2016’s EU Referendum has already impacted the UK recruitment sector in a big way, leaving it in a state of limbo and uncertainty. Realistically, noone can be sure of the challenges that recruiters will face when the UK does eventually leave the EU.

However, the expectation is that international students will face increased legislation and Visa criteria if they want to stay and find a job after university. This means that over the next 3 years, businesses will face increased competition for hiring top-quality talent, in what is already a very competitive market.

One way of looking at this, though, is that businesses will need to find and develop fresh talent, rather than rely on the international market – and this could be extremely good news for UK graduates. For businesses, this means that having a fast and reliable source of talent will become even more important, if not essential.

In his closing comments, Cary offers an insight into how they plan to evolve in a post-Brexit world: “In order for Give A Grad A Go to continue expanding at the rate it has done over the last 3 years, we will need to be able to help companies think long-term about their hiring strategy and demonstrate to them the value that graduates can add to their business now, and in many more years to come.”

Contact: Cary Curtis, Founder and Managing Director

Company: Give A Grad A Go Address: South Studio D, Gainsborough Studios, 1 Poole St, London, N1 5EE, United Kingdom

Telephone: 020 7100 8800

Website: www.giveagradago.com