My Brilliant Recruitment Career: James Cronin

James Cronin is group commercial director at The Jarell Group

What was your earliest dream job?

I was lucky enough to play football at a pretty high level. However, the thought of being a ‘pro’ always sat behind my desire to an entrepreneur. So I guess running my own businesses one day was an inevitability.

What was your first job in recruitment and how did you come into it?

I started my first recruitment agency aged 18. Like many, a passion for sales saw an opportunity in the marketplace and I went for it.

Who is your role model – in life or in recruitment?

In life, that’s easy... my father for his hard-working mentality and always putting his family above everything else. He was, and still is, someone who wants to make a difference.

Creating flexibility and hybrid working across the group of businesses has allowed us to adapt and innovate”

Within recruitment/business, that would be my grandfather. He was a successful businessman working within the fuel industry and was someone who was the forefront of innovation and change in the transition from coal power to what we see today. A truly remarkable man.

What do you love most about your current role?

The variances in day-to-day activity. I am lucky to manage a great group of people and in turn get to experience a broad spectrum of ideas and collaborations.

What would you consider to be the most brilliant moment of your career?

My first business sale, for sure. As I mentioned I started a small recruitment business at 18 and the very first invoice I sent out is still framed on my office wall today. It was the starting point of everything that was to follow.

Laugh or cry, what did your most memorable candidate make you want to do and why?

Laughing every day without a doubt. I have been lucky enough to employ some absolute superstars but there are a few that stand out. One being Shannon who is our marketing manager. She arrived at her first interview just out of sch

ool at 16 with her mum for support. She was extremely nervous and very shy, but I saw something in her that made me want to take a chance, which has paid off many-times over. Shannon has been with us for five years now and goes from strength to strength.

What would you regard as your signature tune?

Oh, that’s tough, but I’m a modern country music fan at heart – so anything by Luke Combs (right), no doubt.

What did you learn about yourself during the pandemic?

That we are not consumed by the traditional concept of working long hours at a desk. Creating flexibility and hybrid working across the group of businesses has allowed us to adapt and innovate. A push we ultimately needed but came by the force of Covid-19.

JAMES CRONIN Group commercial director, The Jarell Group

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