Ashleigh Alexander - My Career

Where do I begin? Well, when I was 19 I said to my step-mum I was fed up of living in Pembrokeshire, having worked in hospitality and retail for a long while. I’d been to sixth-form and two separate courses in college, and although I am academically smart I just didn’t feel the drive to do education after my GCSEs. She told me to go for it. So I did! I’d applied for a few jobs and had an interview at Conduit, was offered the position and put a deposit down on a house share. That was my first ever ‘office’ job. I couldn’t stand home services, how on earth can I help someone if I couldn’t fix a boiler myself?! Energy billing was great though, I really enjoyed that. I left Conduit after six months as the pay wasn’t great neither the atmosphere. They went into administration in 2019.

I then started at Legal & General on life insurance sales. It took a while to get it, but when I did I absolutely loved the buzz from making commission and I think that’s where I could’ve realistically decided recruitment could be next step. I moved over to work in annuities after four and a half years in sales, but this was mainly as the working hours were much better and I thought I wanted to be a veterinary nurse and felt a nine to five would be easier to book off rather than around the various shifts sales had.

I took two weeks annual leave and volunteered at a vets in Caerphilly. This actually put me off completely, the nurses were so miserable, and it wasn’t the best experience. I went back to the day job, hoping I’d figure out what I wanted my career to be.

I applied for a secondment in recruitment but unfortunately wasn’t successful, however they really liked me and asked me if I wanted to help with the admin and contact centre assessment centres for the annuities department. I absolutely loved these, and when the secondment came around again I got it without having to reinterview. There’s nothing more joyful then being able to offer someone a job, especially if they’d not worked in an office before. This was relatable to me and that gave me the buzz that sales did too. Unfortunately when covid hit, I’d not long started and there weren’t enough roles to justify extending me so I went back to annuities.

I stayed in annuities for another fifteen months, looking for a job in recruitment on-off at the time. I applied for the Talent Acquisition Advisor role at Target Group and got it without needing to interview as they saw how passionate I was about getting back into that role. This was more of a 360 recruitment role as I’d be completing the full cycle of the recruitment journey from start to finish.

I had a call from an agency I’d spoken to about another role a while back. He had a role available in another company, which I said I wasn’t interested in but this actually gave me the drive to see what else was out there.

I saw that the Office for National Statistics were looking for a Talent Acquisition Partner. I had a read of the job description and contacted my now manager Darren to see if it would be suitable for me to apply based on my experience. He said yes, referred me to the personal statement guide and let me know he was on hand if I needed anything. Safe to say I got an interview and was successful! I focus on candidates and work in the analytical sector, and now I feel at home. I thought I was kidding myself when I went for the interview. I was unwell on the day of it and completely underestimated myself. I suppose I felt a bit of imposture syndrome at the time, but why would I be offered an interview if they didn’t feel I was up to it in the first place?

I went through years of thinking I was the black sheep in my family as I didn’t go to University. Spending years on the phones knocked my confidence for a long time, I didn’t know if I’d ever get off them. But here I am today, working my dream job and in the Public Sector, which I’d never though possible. I am so grateful for what I have and would definitely recommend getting into a recruitment/talent acquisition role as?a career. It’s the most rewarding job I’ve ever had and I love it.