EC Appointments Ltd – Offering Personalised Recruitment Solutions for Employers & Candidates

Are you a business owner struggling to feel vacancies in your company? Are you overwhelmed by the number of CVs for a role in your business as the unemployment rates hit an all time high? Are you a candidate looking at a career change or for your next role? May be it is time to speak to EC Appointments. EC Appointments Ltd is a Watford based independent recruitment consultancy that has just opened for business. Herts Review caught up with the founder Elizabeth “Liz” Chapman to talk about her new consultancy and aspirations.
 
“My mission is to help business owners find the right candidates for the roles they need filling and to help candidates as much as I can to get them the right job or position. We must never take for granted the needs of employers or candidates. For an employer, a bad candidate could cost them a lot of money or even ruin their business. For candidates that job gives them an opportunity to earn a living, feed their family and improve their mental health. It is really a very delicate position to be in but I am up for the challenge”.
 
Liz has over 30 years’ experience in HR and recruitment. She started her career in HR roles in a  multinational company where she was involved all aspects of recruitment, training and personal development rising to senior roles in the Head office. Seven years later she moved to an independent recruitment consultancy where she worked with several SMEs and global corporations placing fixed, temporary and interim candidates in roles.
 
“It has been quite a journey for me. I had HR Managerial roles which broadened my skills and experience in all aspects of managing people and I have been involved in a recruitment consultancy placing both junior and senior candidates. I have seen both sides. I think I just got to the point where I want to challenge myself a bit more, do things differently and be responsible for every decision I make”.
 
“I know recruitment gets a bad rap. I will hold my hands up and say some of our colleagues have not helped the image of the profession. They have focused on the wrong things. Some think it is a way of making quick money. They do not build relationships or think of the future. I have listened to employers and candidates talk about what other agencies have put them through. It is not good. I want to bring a refreshing change for candidates and employers. I want to build long term relationships with my clients and candidates. I am not here just for the now”.
 
EC Appointments supplies high calibre candidates for Permanent and Fixed Term Contract vacancies from Junior to Senior Management across all industries. The agency focuses on head office roles – Finance, Customer Service, IT, Sales & Marketing, Administration and Operations for local and global businesses. “I want to create a culture so that our clients see us as approachable. What we do is sensitive and my strategy is to offer a personalised service to each client. Before we take on any client we would have researched their company and industry extensively so that we are qualified to talk to candidates”
 
“Interviews are seen as difficult and tense periods for most candidates which is understandable as there is a lot riding on that one meeting. While we are not running an interview coaching service, I think I can use my experience to create a more relaxed approach to the process. A major feedback we get from candidates on recruitment agencies is that they never get back to you. I do not promise that I can make everyone happy but I will be straight with you and communicate whether it is good or bad news”
 
In the middle of a pretty bad pandemic why take the plunge to start your own agency with all the uncertainty? Why leave the security of a job to start your own agency? “I think this period working from home has given me the opportunity to evaluate. To think of what I want to do and how I see the future. My question is why not now? We are in a very challenging time. Lots of people are out of work. It is an opportunity to help people back into work. We know that being unemployed affects self-esteem, pride etc. I believe I can use my skills and experience to help a lot people”.
 
“I am a genuinely nice person. Someone that really cares. Anyone can speak to people I have worked with or had relationships with over the years. I am in no way a pushy sales person. Recruitment is a people business. I would never make a promise I can’t keep. It is time to bring back empathy and care into what we do. My goal is to be out there helping businesses with their staffing solutions so they can run their business and helping candidates back to work”
 
“I tell everyone that although EC is my initials it also means Employer and Candidate which are the key to anything we do. I think everything I have done in the past has been for a time like this. It is an opportunity for me to work independently and demonstrate that I can do this. I am excited and looking forward to the challenge”
 
If you are an employer in London or the Home Counties or a candidate looking for your next position contact liz@ecappointments.co.uk.