I admit I do ask myself this on Mondays at 6.00am when my alarm goes off, and then it all comes flooding back to me.

Look, I will be honest, when I heard about recruitment being an actual industry, I was both confused and mildly irritated. I am, above all things, a stickler for the clearest most straightforward route. My favourite anecdote from the business world was Steve Jobs’ preference for lazy workers, because they will always find the easiest way to do anything. The idea of speaking to an intermediary just stank to me of messing up a perfectly fine structure.

Until, of course, I became a recruiter.

Now I wish I had known how unbelievably useful they are. Employers are busy being employers, having been a manager in the past, and having worked under plenty, I know they have more than a billion things on their minds, and do not have time to remind you that you missed a section on your application form, or chase a pile of references.

From the other side of the desk, having applied for more than my fair share of jobs, I have leaned pretty hard on anyone I could beg to proofread my cv, application forms and personal statements. They didn’t know what they were looking for, and frankly neither did I. My CV used to be 7 pages long, and I have many times been guilty of the mortal sin of writing “See my CV” on application forms!

The simplest way to describe what I do is to liken the job to that of being an agent. I have candidates and I have clients. Candidates are essentially applicants - they apply to my adverts, or come through recommendations. I get to know them, understand their work history and experience and match them up with the client that they best fit, and that fits them. I can also negotiate on their behalf, and be honest about peoples’ expectations. You get so much more support, feedback and opportunity when you use a recruiter than you would applying directly.

I am proud of my recruitment record. I like to think that I’m ethical, honest and personable, and I have a high success rate. Not only do I have the time to remind you that you missed a section on your form, I have 15 years of experience in the areas of the sector I cover, at multiple levels, from School Cleaner to Support Worker, to Nursery Manager and SENDCo and onwards to SEMH Tutor. I can advise, support and cheerlead. If you don’t fit in one place, I may have a direct line to another setting that fits you better. And if I don’t, I might know someone who knows something, somewhere else in my network. I can inspire and explain, I can champion your interests, as well as those of my clients, and along the way, help you to put your career and future in view.

And let’s take a moment to talk about clients. I work with a broad range of settings, most specialising in special education, some in specialist learning disability support; all of whom I have been with for almost the past 3 years. I understand their needs and expectations, and save them on labour hours and expenses. By focusing specifically on finding the right candidates for them, I give them the time to do their incredibly important work, and enable their services to be well staffed with the quality and consistency they would have chosen for themselves.

When I take you on as a client or candidate, you get someone who can deal with all the in-between bits. All forms will be fully completed, CV’s will be cleanly and simply stated, and your values and uniqueness represented honestly and with an emphasis on finding the right person for the right place. The process for both parties is simplified, and the time-intensive tasks, the lack of information, the frustration is vanished into my inbox instead of yours.

And I love it.