From taking coffee orders for the JDP team to becoming a successful Lead Consultant, we share Kierstin’s journey from hospitality to recruitment and everything in between!

How did you become a recruiter?

Funny story! I worked at the café downstairs from JDP called Santa Monica. The team from JDP came in quite often for meetings, and they were always so polite and funny I would genuinely enjoy serving them when they would come in! It got to the point when I could see them walking up from a distance, and I would just put their orders in to get them started without even having to ask what they were after. Then, one day, I realised I no longer wanted to work in a café, and I wanted to start in a role where I could advance my career, so I decided to turn my notice in, fix up my resume, and start applying!

One beautiful sunny Brissie Thursday morning, the JDP team came, and I told them it was a pleasure meeting and serving them over the last few months, but I would probably never see them again as it was my last day. They asked what my next plan was, and I told them I didn't have anything lined up and that I was going with the flow. Then they asked me if I wanted to come up for an informal interview, and my response … "what do you guys even do?" HAHA.

Now close to four years later, I am still with JDP! I started off as a Candidate Manager in the software development space. I was helping the team recruit across .Net, Web Developers, Python, QA, and more! I had no recruitment or tech experience, but everyone was incredibly helpful, and I wouldn't be where I am today without the help of [our Managing Partner] Sam Needs.

What job would you be doing if you weren't recruiting?

I genuinely love people and interacting with them, so I probably would have stayed in hospitality, or I always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid growing up, haha.

What do you like most about being a recruiter?

What I like most about being a recruiter is building relationships and helping people when they need it most. But I think I like being a recruiter even more because of the team at JDP and the culture here; it's hard not to have fun. I can confidently say I wouldn't have made it through the difficulties of being an agency recruiter and going through COVID-19 without JDP.

Can you see yourself doing this role for the next 10 years?

Ten years is a long time. I don't even know what I'll be doing this weekend, but yes, 100%; I believe the longer you're in your seat, the more successful you will be in it. I love JDP, and I love recruitment. WATCH THIS SPACE; LET'S GO!

What made you want to switch to a recruitment position?

I don't think many know this, but straight out of university, I was flown up from Southern California to San Francisco for a few internal tech recruitment roles, which I ended up being unsuccessful for. It was hard at the time, but looking back on it now, I know I was definitely not mature enough or ready to build a career at that age, so when the chance presented itself out of the blue here in Australia, I took it with both hands!

The rejection I went through makes it easy for me to express sympathy for candidates when they are unsuccessful. Sometimes I genuinely believe it was not meant to be because there is something better for them just around the corner that we may not yet know about!

Do the upsides of your role outweigh the downsides?

The upsides of this role, specifically in Brisbane, is that I believe we are so lucky with how small of a market Brisbane is. As recruiters, we are meeting with some of the brightest individuals in Australia, like CTOs, entrepreneurs, and engineers who are literally shaping the world's future through tech! Another upside is if you're a driven, transparent individual, there is a lot of room to grow and be successful. I've seen many people come in and do this!

Recruitment can be extremely stressful. There are a lot of factors that sometimes, no matter how much you prep, consult, and manage expectations, things will not go right. But you can choose to bounce back quick, focus on the next opportunity, and turn it into a positive learning experience! So yes, staying positive outweighs the negatives.

What do you love to do when you're outside of the office?

I love to be outside! I love travelling, CrossFit, and camping and want to get back into scuba diving here. A beach day skateboarding with my partner and our cattle puppy dog is the best day.

What do you like most about being in the office?

I love people, so I flourish in environments that are loud with lots of people. If you have ever been to the JDP office, you would know there is never a dull moment with music playing and puppies running around. It makes me so happy!

Speaking of dogs in the office, have you read our The pros and cons of dogs in the workplace — according to the JDP team? Hop over to our blog page to have a read.