Career Advice

Why We Understand Career Transitions

Paul Brown

11.12.2018

One of the reasons that FDM excels in placing consultants into successful roles is that we go through the same process ourselves from time to time. FDM understands the elements of transitioning into new roles, being part of a team, and kick-starting one’s career. FDMer Stanislava Jackulikova talks about her experience transitioning into her new role from graduate recruiter to our Glasgow Sales team!

After graduating from the University of Glasgow, I started my professional career with experiences as a teacher, an au-pair, and in both customer service and sales roles. Although I was not sure where to go from there, FDM appeared on the horizon. After speaking to an FDM recruitment consultant about how the graduate programme might be worth exploring, I caught up with a close friend who had successfully relocated to Leeds to become a Software Tester through FDM Group a few months earlier. I found potential for myself not only within FDM’s graduate programme, but on their internal teams as well. In the end, I chose FDM largely because of its welcoming culture and global presence, and haven’t looked back since.

I was drawn to recruitment as it felt like a great starting point, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my work in this department. I started as a Graduate Recruiter and was promoted to a Senior Graduate Recruiter after consistently exceeding my targets. I approached the Glasgow sales manager a few months into my role to express my interest in joining the Account Management team, and successfully secured the role in November 2018. I found my colleagues to be supportive and encouraging throughout. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by so many motivated people.

My interest in joining the sales team stemmed from the potential to create lasting business partnerships. The face-to-face exposure helps to truly grasp our clients’ goals and requirements, and match the proper consultants to the best fitting client. I was also interested in the opportunity to get to know FDM consultants while they are still in the academy, and be able to witness their career progression over the years. It’s so rewarding knowing you’ve played a small part in helping someone begin or continue their career in IT.

Another colleague has joined the sales team recently and I found this to be rather fortunate, as we’re at the same stage. It’s great to bring out a little competition in each other. A work goal of mine is to master account management by forging new partnerships with clients here in Scotland as the technical sector is really booming, and help consultants start their careers.

I found the progression between my roles very smooth. At FDM, it’s easy to see the actions of various teams and the role they have in the success of the company. My transitioning process was very clear and straightforward, and the expectations were well communicated.

I have learned many lessons during my time with FDM. Whether it’s asking for help from your colleagues, receiving some training in the academy to better understanding what our consultants go through or perhaps attempting to be more involved in a particular area of the business, if you don’t ask you don’t get. Being driven and ambitious is a great start, but it’s sometimes necessary to take action and let your goals be known. Learn to really excel in whatever you do primarily, but don’t forget to see the bigger picture. Additionally, volunteering for new tasks allows you to be involved in exciting projects that you might not normally be exposed to. Another lesson FDM taught me is that people will remember how you make them feel. Remember to be professional and treat people well. Being aware of such little things has resulted in some high-calibre people launching their careers with us. A number of people within FDM do this exceptionally well, and it makes a big difference in the way they come across to clients, consultants and fellow colleagues alike.

If you are interested in kick starting your career with FDM, apply here.

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