Brian Rollo - Taylor Root, Sydney

Brian Rollo - Manager
Sydney – In-House Banking and Financial Services

Academic background
LL.B (with Honours), University of Glasgow

Previous work experience
Recruitment Consultant/Manager (Michael Page, London/Sydney)
Telco Project Coordinator (UK);

Why did you move into recruitment?
Having studied law at university, I decided that practicing as a solicitor wasn’t for me.  Having fallen into a project role out of university, I decided to start a proper career in an industry which would make use of my personal skills and the degree I studied.  Michael Page offered me that opportunity in London initially and after a couple of years I was able to transfer to their Sydney office.

Why did you join Taylor Root?
Taylor Root offered the next level of specialisation that I was looking for after 4 years with Michael Page.  While that business is a well-regarded recruitment organisation generally, the legal industry is a specialised sector, heavily dependent on reputation and relationships and Taylor Root is the market leader on both and plays to my own strengths.  I was also determined to join a business which was team-focused and concentrated on long-term relationships with clients and candidates rather than making short-term profits.

What is a typical day?
A typical day is largely all about networking and relationship-building with clients and candidates.  Taylor Root has a lean, mature approach to recruitment, which allows you time and space to build your networks effectively without getting bogged down in administration.  Therefore most of my day is spent either on the phone talking to new or existing candidates and clients, or meeting them face-to-face.  Additionally we do the transactional work day-to-day, such as sending CVs to clients, setting up interviews, dealing with feedback etc. 

What do you enjoy about the role?
I have always been passionate about recruitment as you can make a difference to both yourself and other people by doing your job well.  Obviously it is a business first and foremost and we work hard in order to be successful - but at Taylor Root the mature approach means we can provide a value-add service and good objective advice to our clients, which sets us apart from most of our competitors.  The focus on long-term relationships and integrity is one which is recognised and appreciated by our clients, while making our job much more enjoyable.

Any downsides?
Of course – there are plenty of occasions as a recruiter when factors outside of your control result in an unsuccessful process and this is something all recruiters have to deal with as a regular part of their role.  People are an unpredictable factor which we simply have to accept and try and manage as best we can. Taylor Root is a business full of experienced recruiters and so there is plenty of support for junior people unused to those scenarios.

What do you think makes a good recruiter?
A good recruiter can arise from various combinations of skills as people can be successful for different reasons.  In my view though, you need to have energy, good relationship-building skills and be highly motivated.  If you have these things in abundance, chances are you will be a success in recruitment.