Recruitment Insights from Sarah Murphy

Starting in November 2019, Sarah Murphy is a Recruitment Resourcer with AA Euro Group focused mainly on roles linked to Administration, BIM, Health & Safety, and Quantity Surveying.

Sarah has a keen focus on recruitment within the construction space and is experienced in sourcing niche candidates for specific roles. Read on as Sarah tells us about her career in recruitment along with the latest recruitment insights.

Recruitment Insights: Sarah Murphy

Sarah graduated with a degree in Business and Management from Cork Institute of Technology now known as Munster Technological University (MTU). Throughout this period, Sarah had been involved in a number of retail roles creating a strong base of knowledge around the sector.

Following on from this Sarah has also previously worked as an audit administrator with a major multinational professional service network before beginning her career in recruitment with the AA Euro Group.

Speaking of her biggest passion in the recruitment sector, Sarah says “The best part of recruitment would have to be finding candidates who are actively looking to change roles or get back into the workforce after some time off and placing them in positions which suit them and their needs”.

Sarah also highlighted her biggest achievement in the industry to date, which she counts as “sourcing the perfect candidate for a new client after they were unable to source the right individual themselves. After a couple of days, I found the ideal person for the job and now both the company and the candidate are happy with the position”.

Motto: “Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today”.

Market Trends

“Technology is continuously changing the way the working world functions. It is an ever-growing industry and in the past couple of years has proven its purpose. Meetings can now be held virtually which has enhanced connectivity within organisations”.

“Meetings, interviews and now working roles can be carried out remotely adding great benefits to both the employer and employees. Zoom and Microsoft Teams have really taken off during Covid which helped connect employees socially and professionally”.

“I think that remote working will have to be incorporated in some industries going forward. The past two years have shown how successful remote working can be and that being in the office 5 days a week isn’t always necessary”.

Candidate Insights

We asked Sarah for some insights into what makes a candidate stand out in their job application. Some of her top tips are:

Presentation – Ensuring your CV is laid out clearly and precisely can help distinguish you from the pack at the start of a job hunt.
Confidence – Being able to speak confidently about your skills and what you can bring to the table for an organisation can be very beneficial for the job seeker.
Experience – Relevant experience is always a major advantage when going through the job application process.

Sarah also outlined some of the most common mistakes that job seekers should be aware of when they are applying for a job, such as:

Carelessness – Candidates need to be more selective of where they send their CVs. Sending your CV to multiple agencies and job vacancies gives the impression of desperation which hurts your chances of a successful job hunt.

Job Seeker Advice for 2021

We also asked Sarah what advice she would give to jobseekers based on the current market in 2021:

“Before applying for any role, invest time in doing up your CV. Make sure all relevant experience is documented and that it is clear, well written, and up to date”.

“Covid has given people a lot of time to decide on what career path they want to go down, make sure you are 100% interested and invested in the opportunity before applying”.

“Have clear insights on what your expectations are and be completely honest with agencies/employers from the get-go”.