My Time at Hunt & Co. by Ben Weber
Hi, I’m Ben Weber, an intern at Hunt & Co. I’m currently in my third year of studying my Bachelor of Politics, Philosophy and Economics (Honours) at UQ. In my spare time, I enjoy playing the guitar, getting sandy on a beach volleyball court, and reading dusty old philosophy books. If you enjoyed the article, connect with me on LinkedIn and check out my article on resume personalisation here.
I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I came in for my first day at Hunt & Co. — I had a loose idea of what recruiters did, but I also knew that this wasn’t a generic recruitment agency. Within the first few hours, I was given some memorable advice (which, due to my hopelessness at taking notes, I now paraphrase):
“We aren’t just helping people find flashy new jobs. When we make a new connection, we become their first point of contact when anything goes wrong – we are their counsel, their consultant, and their biggest fan.”
Out of the many things that I learnt in my two weeks, this stuck out to me as particularly insightful. Too often do quantitative processes crowd out the qualitative, more ‘human’ aspects of business. It’s nice to know that some workplaces actively take a people-first approach.
As the sun sets on my time at Hunt & Co., here are four things I have learnt that I wish to share.
1. Any connection is a good connection
The career trajectory of the modern worker is decidedly unpredictable – people end up in places they had never heard of doing jobs they didn’t know existed. As a recruitment agency focused on digital talent, it would be easy to turn down calls and delete emails from people outside of the tech niche. However, Hunt & Co. works a little differently.
By talking with people regardless of what department they hail from, a connection is formed that may come in handy in the future. Perhaps that connection will never come to fruition – but, plant 100 seeds, and trees will grow in time. Focus on the process and the results will follow.
2. Do more, of less, better
I found this quote scribbled atop the main whiteboard in the office and it immediately caught my eye. ‘What does it mean to do more, of less, better?’, I wondered. To me, it stresses the importance of prioritisation – it’s so easy to get caught up in busywork that you forget exactly what you have been hired to do. Every job involves some degree of tediousness, but knowing your point of difference in the organisation is key to making sure that you’re meaningfully fulfilling your responsibilities.
Furthermore, having a ‘do less’ mindset forces you to confront inefficiencies in your work. By removing roadblocks from some tasks, it can free you to commit the time truly necessary to complete other, more substantive tasks. Compartmentalising different aspects of your job can allow you to devote your full attention to what you are presently working on.
3. Focus on the little things
Doing the little things right has become something of a truism in the corporate world. Usually, when people think of 1-percenters, they picture this:
As empowering as this graph is, I’d like to draw attention to a different application of The 1-Percent Rule that I saw in my time at Hunt & Co. The 1-percenters I am thinking of don’t necessarily compound neatly as they do in the graph – team members complimenting each other or asking what I did the night before, or Holly going for a walk with me around the block – but are tremendously important to the smooth functioning of a business.
Showing your employees that you genuinely care about them beyond their role creates an culture of resilience that means when things are good, they’re great, and when things aren’t so great, people still feel supported. Office stability allows the business to transcend the instability of pipeline fluctuations.
4. Good business does good by people
Finally, I learnt that good business does good by people. This, to me, encapsulates how I feel about the entire experience. Hunt & Co. weren’t just settling for the easy option – they were working towards meaningful placements that they could stand behind and proudly promote to the world. As was said on day three, ‘if you wake up every morning and you don’t love your job, then what are you doing?’ It’s this sort of long-term approach to business that separates the wheat from the chaff. Making sure that your personal values are aligned to the organisation’s values makes working full-time a much more meaningful endeavour. A job is, for most people, their greatest chance to leave their mark on their world – why squander that?
If you would like personalised advice specific to your business or career, please reach out to the team at Hunt & Co.! Whether you’re planning a career move, preparing for your next salary review or ready to hire, the team is ready and waiting in the wings to help you get from where you are to where you want to be in your career or business. Send an email to hi@huntandco.io and a recruiter will be in touch shortly.