By Ganymede
Celebrating Tom Cleverley's Five-Year Journey at Ganymede
This year marks a special milestone for Tom Cleverley as he celebrates five years with Ganymede and 10 years in recruitment.
Over the past five years, Tom has built strong relationships with clients and candidates across the rail and civil engineering sectors, progressed into a Client Relationship Manager role and become a valued member of the Ganymede team. To celebrate the occasion, we sat down with Tom to reflect on his journey so far, the achievements he is most proud of and the advice he would give to those considering a career in recruitment.
A Decade in Recruitment
For those who may not know Tom, his route into recruitment wasn't a traditional one.
"This year marks 10 years for me in recruitment as well as five years at Ganymede so quite a significant year for me professionally. I've worked full time since I was 16 years old, mostly in sales, marketing and coaching roles prior to my life in recruitment but can say hand on heart, I found my passion in recruitment.
I've always been the type of person to get along with everyone and see the best in people. I try and be honest and direct both in my personal and professional life and I love nothing more than building lasting relationships, all of which I find now in my work.
Joining the business five years ago from a standing start, I was taken aback by just how quickly my desk built up. Reconnecting with old clients and gaining new ones, the first 18 months on my road to promotion seemed to fly by with so many achievements along the way."
Growing in Confidence
When asked about the biggest change he has seen in himself professionally since joining Ganymede, Tom points to the growth in his confidence.
"In all honesty, it's hard to put a finger on one particular big change. Joining with five years' experience already under the belt, there wasn't anything substantial that needed changing but more a lot of tweaks to polish up my quality across the board both internally and externally.
If I was to pick one standout area, I'd say it's my confidence. I joined feeling a bit downtrodden after a couple of tough years working in other markets and around Covid and Chris O'Connor spent a lot of time with me early on, working on my imposter syndrome and helping to regrow my confidence in my own ability."
A Proud Career Milestone
One achievement stands out above all others when Tom reflects on his career so far.
"I'd say my promotion to Client Relationship Manager so early on would be my proudest moment. When I joined, the CRM team was a relatively freshly established team but filled with the best. Mark, Katie and Chris stood out to me with how they went about delivering high-quality services to a portfolio of key accounts and I quickly decided this was the route for me.
To be promoted into this role after less than two years in the business felt like the ultimate achievement and a real reflection of how much I'd developed professionally since joining Ganymede."
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The People Behind the Projects
Having worked closely with professionals across rail and civil engineering for many years, Tom says it is the people that continue to inspire him most.
"My favourite thing about the rail and civil engineering industries by far is the people. I find it incredible to see the variety of characters and experience spread across the sectors.
One day I'll be speaking with a Master's degree qualified engineer, the next a Senior Programme Manager that worked their way up off the tools. There's no set route into any of the roles we deal with week by week and the diverse mix of personalities and experience is something that makes me aspire for my own children to move into Engineering and the technical sectors."
What Makes Recruitment Rewarding?
While recruitment is often viewed simply as matching people to jobs, Tom believes there is much more happening behind the scenes.
"I think a lot of people don't realise what happens behind the scenes. For every job we raise or fill, months or years of effort have gone into developing relationships and trust with our clients to get the role.
Candidates usually don't just appear or apply for the position. We've spent the same time building networks of candidates and understanding their next move or aspirations.
Recruitment is all about relationships and understanding people. Helping clients find the right talent and supporting candidates with their next career move is one of the things I enjoy most about the job."
Why Ganymede?
When asked what has made Ganymede the right place to continue developing professionally, Tom's answer was simple.
"The team around me. We genuinely have the best team I've worked with in my career, all likeminded, honest and friendly people who just want to do a great job and thrive."
Advice for Future Recruiters
After 10 years in recruitment, Tom's advice to those starting out centres around patience, consistency and building relationships.
"The first couple of years in recruitment are where you build the foundations for your future success and I've seen some incredible recruiters grow during that time.
Be patient, give it time, every call gets you closer to that relationship that lasts. My longest-running clients have worked with me for my entire career but they didn't come easily.
Just work hard, trust the process and be patient and within three years, you'll see the reward of your hard work and honesty."
As Tom celebrates five years with Ganymede, his journey is a great example of how strong relationships, hard work and the support of a great team can help build a successful and rewarding career.
Congratulations, Tom, on five fantastic years with Ganymede. We look forward to seeing what the future holds.