In order to provide you all with a full introduction to Blue Octopus I posed a few questions to Co-Founder/Director Liam Coleman. This first of several interviews will hopefully give you an insight into how and why Blue Octopus grew into one of the leading lights in online recruitment:
What initially lead you to pursue a career in recruitment?
After working in newspaper advertising for over four years, during which time I experienced how recruitment advertising worked in the press; I had the vision to take my career into recruitment as an industry. It wasn’t an easy route to market so to speak, as I preferred to aim for something different – away from agencies and newspapers. Recruitment is a sector that is non-obsolete, it does however move quickly, and technology plays a big part in the whole process whether you are the supplier, client or candidate. Personally I am very service driven and recruitment is all about service and people, which is everything I am interested in.
What inspired you to start Blue Octopus?
Having worked within the online recruitment market for a period of just over four years, Chris (Co-Founder and Director) and I believed we had found our niche. To have achieved so much and built up a great client base that was being sustained gave us that confidence you need to take your career in to your own hands, make your own decisions and move in the direction you want to go. Blue Octopus is the product of all that belief and dedication to fulfilling a dream to build something from the foundations into a nationally recognised brand. The future of Blue Octopus is very exciting and we have big plans that will materialise in good time.
How would you say that Blue Octopus differs from a standard recruitment agency?
The obvious differences are that with Blue Octopus there are no placement fees and there are no candidate databases compiled to cross market candidate’s details between various clients. With Blue Octopus you experience a transparent and dedicated managed service where we apply our skill and knowledge to each and every position we work on. Opposed to the placement fee we simply supply campaigns at a flat fee no matter what the level of salary is for the role. Last but not least we provide our clients with greater insight and control – building a long term relationship based on results and trust.
Do you see any big changes in the recruitment industry on the horizon?
I believe the industry is ready for a return to the busier times of the past. The good companies out there (like ourselves!) have the infrastructure to deal with greater volume when called upon. For me, 2011 could be the start of the recruitment market reviving itself once again as companies look to bring in new talent and replace leavers who have left a gap in the business – which can now be attended to without the constraints many have faced during the recession we have just come through.
Look out for more interviews with Liam and the other Blue Octopus Directors in the coming weeks…
