Meet the Team - Allan Stevenson
Monday, October 23, 2017
jobs
manchester
recruitment
interviews
Catching up with First Achieve's Allan Stevenson
First Achieve takes a personal, unique approach to recruitment. We want our candidates to know who is representing them in their quest for the perfect new role. What better way to get to know our career specialists than a little Q&A.
Today we chat with Allan Stevenson, a seasoned recruiter and one of the first members of the FA team. Like most recruiters, Allan started his career in sales whilst simultaneously earning a degree in sports marketing. He even made his way to Australia for a while. Our wayward son eventually came back to his native UK, where he is taking the recruitment world by storm. With a background steeped in technology, Allan often has highly sought-after opportunities within frontend (Javascript) and backend development, business analysis, project management, digital marketing roles and the broader digital sector.
Do you remember the very first role you filled?
Yes, I do! It was an IT Support Analyst role, which from speaking to the candidate to first interview and offer was completed in about 6 hours. It set me up to believe that was always going to be the case in recruitment. It’s not, in case you’ve wondered.
What role holds the record for the longest time to recruit for?
There was a graduate C++ Developer role that took longer than average. Frontend and backend developer roles are typically snapped up in a very short amount of time. In this case, it took three months.
Share the funniest interview story you have:
I’ve had someone talk through their gun collection in an interview, which my client didn’t find overly funny. I ended up laughing in awkward bemusement.
Or perhaps the experienced recruiter that we interviewed for a role here at FA, where we asked: What’s one thing you would like to improve about yourself as a recruiter?
Interviewee: Closing.
We wrapped things up quite swiftly after that.
Now on to the lightning round…we asked Allan to answer these rapid-fire questions:
The website I visit the most:
LinkedIn…closely followed by YouTube or Reddit.
My favourite non-football sport:
Athletics or Gymnastics.
When I’m on holiday abroad I drink:
Vodka, Fresh Lime and Soda.
Most awkward business moment was:
Probably working in retail in Australia when I had to refuse a refund to a customer and he just stood at the till for what felt like the next hour as he hurled abuse at me before security could come and take him out. The Aussies have quite the vocab on them!
I never leave the house without my:
Phone – can’t say I always remember my keys and wallet.
Allan has dozens of roles looking for the right candidate. Get in touch today on 0161 791 0678 to find out more!