Employee case study:
Adam Burgess

What role haven’t I had? I’ve done the full progression, from Recruitment Consultant to now my role of Senior Manager. I started as a Recruitment Consultant to concentrate on public sector procurement – so that would be the NHS, housing associations and councils. From there I started getting involved in recruiting for project management roles just through conversations with clients and understanding their needs, so it progressed into more of a dual project and procurement role. 

My career naturally progressed, as many do at Sellick Partnership, to Senior Consultant and then Principal Consultant. Then I realised that I was getting asked more and more about IT project management and digital jobs. 

I identified there were a lot of IT recruitment needs through having exploratory conversations and analysing the market, especially in the North East - that’s when I realised this was an area I really wanted to concentrate on.  

With a strong focus on IT recruitment, I initially chose to move along the Business Manager route which typically sees people lead and focus on business development activity rather than people management. However, with IT jobs being a growing focus, we brought someone in to support me and I ended up managing them. I’m pleased to say that they are still part of my team and progressing well. 

Soon enough my role transitioned to Manager, focusing on growing and managing the team to deliver key targets. This coincided with the official launch of the ICT & Digital Technology specialism in 2021. I then progressed to Senior Manager, leading the specialism as well as the whole Newcastle office, which also covers public sector and private sector Finance & Accountancy in the North East.  

I’ve been really fortunate during my career at Sellick Partnership and had tonnes of support to move in the direction I wanted to. I’ve been a consistent successful biller over the years and the business has supported me in following up on opportunities that I’ve been interested in and passionate about.  

The first milestone for me was doing a dual role – procurement and project management. I think this was the key turning point, where I knew my role could adapt and develop. I didn’t want to change my specialism at the time, but add to it and this was all achievable.  

I remember placing a couple of highly paid day rate Project Managers at a council in the North East, and that’s when we knew there was definitely a market there, that’s when things snowballed. I was working on more and more high-level contractual roles, as well as senior recruitment with good success and it just got me excited about future opportunities. 

Then there was the launch of the ICT & Digital specialism, which was a pivotal moment. I went to the Board of Directors with a business plan and explained that I felt there was confusion about what I did and what I could provide, to the rest of the business. I suggested creating the ICT & Digital Technology specialism, so that it’s clear to everyone internally and externally that this is a service we offer.  

After providing tangible evidence, the Board fully backed me, and we started putting collateral together, attending events and lunch and learns for internal staff to understand the specialism which has led to success via cross-selling with different teams. It was just an opportunity that I recognised and took, there are so many examples of them at Sellick Partnership.  

I always say when I’m interviewing people, I’m Sellick Partnership through and through. I was working somewhere for a year previously, and the rest of my recruitment experience has been at SP. I live, breathe and champion Sellick Partnership. I think the culture is great, you’re given the opportunity to progress in your career with no real roadblocks, as long as you’re willing to put in the effort and deliver tangible results.  

There’s lots of autonomy with my management role, which has allowed me to focus on areas that are important to the team. I massively appreciate the recognition that each specialism and market is different – we’re not all given the same targets. There’s an understanding that some specialisms aren’t as established as others, taking into consideration things such as the size of your team.  

I love the collaboration and cross-selling between teams as well. I do a lot of this with the Housing & Property Services team, our public sector Finance team, and with our Legal recruitment teams too. I also work with the private sector counterparts where possible who have been really helpful in growing our reach in that area.  

There’s a genuine feeling that we’re all working towards the same goals, not just for us personally, but for the teams and business as well. Everyone’s so driven, and you get that from every Manager, Senior Manager, Associate Director, and Group Director.  

Finally, I’ve been a member of the company’s Diversity Champions for some time now – we went through five weekly sessions of intense training in 2022. This was to improve our offering, not only as an employer but also as a recruitment partner, making sure that the tools and support we give to clients is the best it can be.  

For me personally, being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I’m really proud to be a part of this committee; I champion diversity, and I am able to discuss this with clients and candidates. It’s really important for me to be part of that and contribute to that. 

I put emphasis on our values - passionate, engaging, respected - in my day-to-day life, and I believe this is why I’m so aligned and committed to the business. I’m such a big believer in treating others with respect and compassion, I expect my team to do the same with each other, but also with clients and candidates.  

I also very much respect that people might know more than me, and have a different approach. I’m very passionate about what I do: I’m proud of the team, I’m proud to work for SP, and I’m proud of where the ICT & Digital Technology specialism is today.  

Sellick Partnership offers a fantastic training and development programme. As soon as I joined the business back in 2016, I was on module training. This covers the basics, from learning how to negotiate a sale to talking a candidate through their resignation process and notice period. You are given the tools, training and technical recruitment skills to be a top consultant.  

Training is all carried out internally and led by Group Director Ray Wareing. Ray has been a huge part of the business, pretty much since it was created so his knowledge is absolutely second to none. He knows Sellick Partnership inside and out, and I think this is so important and can be overlooked. You’ve got people that are part of the business, they know the business, and they’re doing the training, they can resonate with everyone sat around the room, they understand your specialism.  

More importantly, the education is continuous, it’s not a case of having a bit of training and off you go. You get so many opportunities to develop, even management training and figuring out how to nurture a team.  

There’s no doubt that I’ve always felt like I have a mentor, and this is never just one person. I know I can ring anyone from the Senior Management Team (SMT) to let them know I’m having an issue and they will try and help as best they can. I think that’s absolutely what sets us apart; there’s a support network around everyone.