A chef who swapped his whites for a collar and tie has made a flying start to his new career in the recruitment industry.
Adam Russell spent 15 years in the high pressure environment of restaurant and pub kitchens before long shifts and a growing family made him decide on a career change.
In his first 10 weeks since joining leading recruitment firm Search Consultancy, Adam has managed to place an impressive number of candidates with clients in the hospitality industry.
Adam’s unusual career change is part of Search’s innovative policy of recruiting staff from within industries to act as specialist recruiters.
The policy has resulted in an upturn in placements as the company’s team of five recruitment consultants in Manchester, two in Leeds and six in Crawley take full advantage of their vast knowledge of the hospitality sector.
Search, which specialises in placing people across hotels, bars and restaurants on both a temporary and permanent basis, has also recruited former chef Amy Dennis to build on this success.
Gillian Ravenscroft, who previously worked in the contract catering industry and Ellen Magee, whose background is in bars and restaurants also add vast industry experience to Search’s hospitality team.
Adam, 32, of Sale, Manchester said: “This has been an ideal move for me. I can apply the experience of working in kitchens to identifying the best candidates for the best jobs across the hospitality sector.
“I’m also comfortable visiting clients in kitchens and I like the fact that this job allows me to maintain a link with something I’m still passionate about.
“I think the way Search recruits people with industry knowledge has helped me to hit the ground running in my new role.
“Coming into an office after such a long time in the kitchen took a bit of getting used to, but I’m getting more accustomed to the environment and I’m really enjoying it.”
Adam, who is to become a father for the second time within the next few weeks, hit a rich seam of success since joining Search, having successfully placed a large number of staff working across a variety of chef roles.
Debbie Caswell, Search Consultancy’s Managing Director for England, said: “Adam is a prime example of how we have been able to harness the expertise of people from within industry to place the right people in the right jobs.
“We have experts across a wide range of sectors, and are particularly proud of the ongoing success of the hospitality team. There is no better time for candidates or businesses to get in touch with Search to take full advantage of our expertise.”