Emily Sharkey on Success and Progression
In just three years, Emily Sharkey has progressed from being a Principal Consultant at Allura Partners into the role of Executive Consultant. The highest performing recruiter, she says her success comes down to an honest love of working with people and the thrill of overcoming challenges.
When Emily joined Allura Partners, she’d had nine years’ experience in recruitment in London and Sydney, but she’d never been charged with building out teams to manage corporate transformation projects. Today, team build outs come naturally to her and it’s a challenge that inspires her every day.
What she’s learned along the way is that much like completing a jigsaw puzzle, when building a team, you need to understand the big picture ambition before you start selecting the pieces that will fit together on a technical and cultural level.
“One project will be completely different to another, so it’s about getting into the organisation, understanding what's going on at a micro-level and why they're looking to improve on it,” she said.
Armed with this knowledge, she will recruit transformation leaders then go on to recruit the entire program that may work together for two or more years to deliver a successful implementation.
“When you’re building teams in health, finance or any other sector, it’s about finding the skills and expertise, but it’s also about ensuring you have the right cultural fit. These teams need to be able to work closely together and liaise with the broader business as well”.
Cultural Fit is Make or Break
To match-make teams, she said, requires relationship building and “a lot of emotional intelligence”. It’s not just hearing what you want to hear, it’s about listening to and understanding the client – whether that’s the employing organisation or the individual talent.
“Cultural fit is make or break. There have definitely been good candidates that I’ve advised against being offered, or taking on, a role because I know that the business just won’t be the right fit for them.”
However, there are more specialist roles where a candidate may have a slightly different skillset than the employer is seeking, yet they end up being a remarkable fit and delivering on the project due to their broader skillset and way of thinking.
“I might say to a hiring manager, ‘I’ve found a person who seems absolutely perfect, even though they don’t have the exact experience you’re looking for’. And because of the relationship I have with them, they trust me and they’re happy for me to provide that guidance. Most often they’ll agree to meet with the candidate and, they’ll end up working out great.”
Market Trends
Emily said a shift in the market is influencing behavioural change for both employers and employees. “There is a perception that the market is employer driven at the moment and that there are a lot of candidates available. However, the reality is that high caliber candidates are still in high demand”
Her advice to employers is not to become complacent about the recruitment process.
“There may be a lot of candidates out there, but the good ones are being put forward for multiple jobs and they’re being picked up quickly. So, we advise clients that even though you feel like you've got the pick of the bunch, you still need to run your process smoothly and efficiently. Keep candidates engaged by maintaining communication and moving quickly before they lose interest. It’s also important to be aware that despite this current environment, candidates are being very critical and selective when it comes to accepting roles.”
Within this increasingly competitive market she said candidates also need to be proactive. “If you don’t have the experience you need for the career change you’re aiming for, try and get it or find courses that will give you the necessary skills.”
Career Ambitions
Having moved to Australia seven years ago for one year, it’s clear that Emily has well and truly settled in. She said the recruiting industry is also a very different experience.
“I enjoy recruiting here a lot more than in London; it’s much more relationship driven. When I was previously recruiting in finance, a lot of the roles were for six months maximum. In the project space, we get so much more closely involved with clients and their project strategy, and we really help to drive the success.”
“At a recent project launch party, the client thanked us, in front of everyone, for essentially helping us to deliver their project. For me, feedback like this is incredibly rewarding.”
Going forward, Emily said she is looking forward to growing Allura Partners’ client base and helping more businesses execute transformation projects.
“I really enjoy working in this space. I genuinely care for my clients; I enjoy catching up with them and working with people who value what I do. For me, professional success is about always leaving the best impression. A lot of our candidates come back to us when they're looking for a new role, and businesses come back every time they’re recruiting. That's something I love about Allura: we have a good name in the market. I'm working with people who are the best in the industry; like me, they genuinely want to do a good job and provide quality candidates.”
If you are interested in progressing your career within Transformation & Change or you want to build the team you need, you can reach Emily on emily.sharkey@allurapartners.com.au.
