Laura’s First Year at DISH

Recruitment Consultant Laura has been with us for a whole year! We caught up with her to find out how her time at DISH has been:

Congratulations on your year at DISH! How have you found the last year?

Thank you! It feels like I’ve been here forever! 

It’s been good to get back into hospitality after a break. I used to work with Director, Eddy, at his restaurant Dish Dining Room but then I moved away from hospitality and worked in general recruitment. It’s been nice to combine my recruitment skills with my hospitality experience.

The hospitality sector is difficult to fit around your life as you start a family so now that I’m expecting a baby, I’m glad that I’m in a position where I’m working hours that fit around my growing family but I’m still using my knowledge and expertise and working in the sector I enjoy working in.

What are some highlights?

We got some really good feedback from a client and that was really gratifying because I built up a good rapport with them. When Eddy met with them to discuss the upcoming year, the client spoke very highly of me, which was really nice to hear.

Obviously it’s always nice going out every week to see the chefs and the clients and putting a face to the name.

Other than that, it’s a pretty straightforward role that I do and I just love it.

What was your biggest challenge?

Probably getting to grips with everything and just how fast paced it is. I came from recruitment but it was teacher recruitment, which is slightly different because I always knew I could fill the role since I had candidates in reserve, whereas it’s very easy for chefs to look elsewhere. In hospitality recruitment I need to always be that step ahead.

What’s the most interesting job you had before working at DISH?

I used to be a debt collector, that was quite fun and enlightening; it’s amazing how much you can track from just your national insurance number! 

How did you come to work at DISH? What drew you to recruitment?

I started in the hospitality industry at fifteen, got a job with Eddy at eighteen and worked with him into my early twenties. Then I moved into an office job in the search for a job with more sociable hours so I could spend more time with my partner and we could get on the property ladder. That’s when I worked in debt collection and then I moved into insurance. During the pandemic I realsied that insurance wasn’t for me because again it was difficult to find that work-life balance. I moved into recruitment because there were set hours and now I can combine my hospitality experience with my recruitment experience in a job that suits my lifestyle and I have a baby on the way!

Is it how you expected it to be, working at DISH? 

Yes, because I knew recruitment and I knew Eddy well. We each know how the other works; we trust eachother; I’m good friends with his wife and his kids so I’m not just an employee. I’ve known him a long time, so yes, it is how I expected it would be.

What makes working at DISH special?

That relationship I have with Eddy and Katie is what makes it special. I think if I was at any other company it would just be a job but this is so much more than a job. 

How do you balance your career and home life?

Organisation is so important; if you’re not organised at work then it will fall into your personal life.

Hospitality is a 24 hour business; all of our chefs typically start work from 5pm onwards, which is when the office looks to close and we go home for the day and sometimes your phone rings with an emergency. I knew that coming into the role though and the chefs understand that we work office hours so they won’t call late unless it is an emergency. Eddy has always told me that if my phone rings after 7pm to not answer it because it can wait until the next day. We take it in turns to be on call each weekend and it’s quite flexible around our personal plans. 

So it’s not that I have to put my foot down to maintain boundaries, I just need to be proactive to ensure a good work-life balance.

What advice would you give someone facing challenges in recruitment?

Lists are key. Everything you do; list it because you will forget it! You’ll get a call and you’ll get distracted so write everything down. I literally go through paper pads every month, I write so much down. I’d also say talk to your colleagues and don’t sugar coat things to you candidates; be honest but professional. There’s nothing worse than promising the world and then not delivering.

What skills have you gained in the last year?

I’m probably better at structuring my day than I was originally and I will set boundaries if I get a call over the weekend and make sure it’s important. I think I’ve developed these skills because the timescales are so different in hospitality compared to my previous recruitment work. For example, teachers work 9am-3pm whereas chefs work 12pm until the early hours of the morning and you have to speak to clients before 11am because of service times. I’ve had to implement structures around these timescales.

What are you excited to develop/learn in the future?

If the business and the temp desk grows to the point where it can’t be managed by just myself, it would be interesting to take someone under my wing and share my experience. I’ve enjoyed conducting my handover before my maternity leave starts so I think I’d enjoy that.