Here are the 5 main questions we have been asked since telling friends/business associates/ex-colleagues about our new venture…. just in case anyone is intrigued/interested:
Why has it taken you so long to set up/I thought you said you’d never set up on your own?
I’d maintained for years I would never set up on my own. I convinced myself it would be too much of a risk not having a basic salary, and spend my life chasing invoices, doing admin, and not getting to do much of that recruitment malarkey. But after a rollercoaster few months and seeing a few eye-opening and empowering women in tech/business talks, I realised this was a crazy stance.
All that passion I’d held for so long was waning. I realised I was at my absolute happiest on the tools, especially when dabbling in post-academic recruitment… my specialist area throughout my early career.
I get such a buzz out of helping people find their first job in industry. Helping them nail the kind of role or company for them, supporting them with their first CVs, to helping them with their first rounds of official interviews. So, after giving lectures to female candidates and business associates about how women shouldn’t be so risk averse, I decided to literally stick my money where my mouth is.
Now I’ve got started, it turns out I’m absolutely brimming with ideas about how to make this whole thing a success and wondering why I didn’t do it sooner (although in fairness I probably wasn’t entirely ready before now).
So you’ve gone into business with Rob?
Yes!
Rob and I have worked together for around 9 years. I don’t think Rob was ready for this kind of move before now either (even though he tried persuading me to set up with him in 2011 when we were both at CP). He has turned into one of the most committed, hard-working recruiters that I know, and I’ve never seen his work ethic higher than it is now.
He’s far from your ‘typical’ recruitment consultant, but I think that’s what makes him unique. His clients really trust him. We did a management course last year (highly recommend Andrew Sillitoe) and we had to fill in a personality survey. When the results came back for the two of us, we made the perfect circle of different personality traits. That matches up with the real world, and we definitely balance each other out in business.
After 12 years of recruitment, I’m confident in his knowledge and experience, and ability to seamlessly fill a role or give advice and support to a candidate.
Why the name RedTech?
My husband’s family is Chinese and red is regarded as lucky… and we’re superstitious. We were going to call ourselves RedTech Innov8 taking the Chinese luck thing one step further, but we were told by a few people it might be too long. Alas, our sales pitch to Huawei has lost some of its possible appeal 😉
What’s your USP?
Having the opportunity to deal directly with Rob and I. We have years of recruitment experience, there are few agency recruiters based in Cambridge who have been doing tech recruitment for as long as us.
We understand the intricacies of Cambridge recruitment, and how being highly ethical is the only way to operate in this close-knit market.
And finally, our unrivalled local knowledge in supporting post-academic candidates in finding their first role.
Will you continue your work with diversity in the workforce?
Absolutely!
I have learnt so much about diversity in the workforce through Next Tech Girls and thanks to a few awesome women (shout out to Kat Codlin, Jo Stansfield, Adelina Chalmers, Siddhi Trivedi, Nicola Mullarkey, Jess Ocampos, Marie-Clare Fenech, Margherita Cesca Nelder-Haynes and Inge Woudstra).
I will take that knowledge into every single vacancy I ever work, and always strive to advise companies on the steps they can take to make their workforce more diverse, and the benefits behind it. And for every female candidate I encounter who is doubting herself, I will tell her one of the stories or facts (probably second-hand from one of the brilliant women mentioned) about why she needs to ignore her doubts and put herself out there (this line is me gobbling up my own words!).