Why Work Internationally?

Going to Amsterdam as three Associate Consultants, we knew this would be an invaluable opportunity and an interesting challenge. We wanted to share our experience and highlight the importance of working internationally, particularly with the new graduates joining in the upcoming months.

Culture

Working in Amsterdam enabled us to gain invaluable insights into local culture. We got to experience a national football game in a local bar, try Dutch cuisine and even learnt a couple of phrases in Dutch. With the nature of recruitment and Concilium’s international presence, cultural awareness plays a vital role in building and maintaining strong client and candidate relationships around the world. We used this opportunity to meet Dutch candidates we have recently placed on a large project in the Netherlands. Getting to know them better has not only helped us to understand their ways of thinking, but has significantly strengthened our relationships, which we will continue to nurture from afar for the long-term benefit of our business.

Autonomy

We felt this was an excellent opportunity to work more autonomously and prove our ability to structure our own days using the knowledge, initiative and experience we have gathered over the past 9 months. Without the direct guidance from our Manager, the importance of a clearly organised day plan became prominent in order to achieve our end goals. We appreciated the trust that was given by our CEO, Maduka, which further gave us the confidence to trust ourselves to deliver to the roles we were working on and close deals during our trip. As a team of 3 associates, we managed to do 5 deals within the week with minimal supervision and management.

Personal Development

Being exposed to a different and new branch of Concilium and working in close proximity to the Partners trusted to grow the Amsterdam office, we were able to gain understanding of the inner workings and what it takes to build success. We were witnesses to the meticulous routine consisting of frequent business update meetings, continuous outreach and securing the highest calibre talent. As associates it is sometimes easy to get stuck in the mindset of our role by only focusing on mastering what we're supposed to be doing. However, being thrown into an autonomous, entrepreneurial environment and working alongside Concilium Netherlands Country Manager Kevin and Head of European Permanent Search David (who were in our shoes just a couple of years ago), gave us a different insight into the aspirations and level we could be working to and aiming for. This feeling was strongly backed when a factor of our trip involved reporting our daily business activity and achievements to our CEO which is common practise for the partners. This taught us that, similar to the phrase "dress for the job you want", you also need to 'work to the standards of the position you're aiming for'. After a successful four days, we now feel confident to carry these skills and insight over to our London and New York offices.

Thank you Amsterdam, Maduka, Kevin and David for the enriched experience and valuable lessons you taught us.

Next up, the Big Apple!