Connect Recruitment was founded by our Managing Director, Chris Brain, who has carved a niche in the recruitment industry for the last decade. Chris’s journey comprises of diverse roles within recruitment – from spearheading the Compliance Department at a top UK recruitment firm, his then pivot into operations dealing with high end customers and involvement in two recruitment agency start-ups– brings his diverse expertise and a unique vision to the industry.
What made you start your own recruitment agency?
I have always been interested in the fabrics which makes a recruitment business tick- even the small nitty gritty details. Although, I am thankful for the opportunities given to me over the years, I found I had an ideology of how a recruitment agency could scale whilst still maintaining a fantastic service to our clients, where this methodology differed across each business I worked for. Although they were not doing anything wrong and are successful businesses, I found I was changing who I was as a professional in order to fit into their vision. I therefore decided to take my career in my own hands and create the vision, I had
and started up Connect Recruitment.
What motivates you?
My passion is helping businesses and people to grow, so why not combine both passions by helping people to find the next step in their career by placing people in a role which compliments their strengths, which in-turn provides the perfect platform for businesses to scale with having the right people in place.
My family play a huge role in my motivation, my wife has supported me throughout of my career and was a big part of starting the Connect Recruitment journey. My son, Charlie, is 18 months now is the reason why I work countless hours to make Connect Recruitment a first-choice recruitment agency.
Can you give two examples of each, the best and worse advice you have been given?
Best
One of my teachers in secondary school once said in a off the cuff moment ‘Get comfortable, being uncomfortable, because once you’re comfortable, being uncomfortable you’ll move forward’. I have shared this quote so many times because it has stuck with for all these years.
An old senior manager once said to me ‘Know your worth’ it shouldn’t have landed so heavily because I was in a good position with my career at the time, at least I thought I was, but this really stuck with me
Worst
So many people have said to me over the years ‘you should take the higher salary; it doesn’t matter about the opportunity or what you’ll learn’ I have nothing against those who money driven, in this climate of increase cost of living I can completely understand why. But the education you receive will give you the opportunity to build on your career.
‘You’re too motivated, you need to work on managing your expectations’ to put this into context, this wasn’t pushing for a promotion or a pay rise. It was talking passionately about goals. You really need to evaluate your goals and put clear progressive tasks to allow you to achieve those goals. However, you’re never too motivated- keep moving forward towards your goals.
What is your takeaway message?
Connect Recruitment isn’t about me, it’s about everyone that makes Connect Recruitment a business. Without these people the business would just be a dream- so thank you. At Connect Recruitment, we do really mean business, we want to drive your business forward through introducing the right people to your offices, factories or driving your vehicles. Book a call with us today to see how we can help put together a tailored recruitment strategy for your business.
