An interview with our founder & director Claire Hoolahan
Claire Hoolahan is co-founder and director of HELP Recruitment, an independent recruitment agency aiming to support and recruit hospitality, events & leisure people. Before setting up HELP recruitment Claire worked in the hospitality & events industry for over 14 years. We sat down with Claire over a virtual coffee to find out a little more about her and HELP Recruitment.
What did you do before moving into the recruitment industry?
Before moving into recruitment I spent 12 years working for a variety of event and hospitality companies including, hotels, venues, caterers and a florist. I started my career organising and running events before focusing on sales and marketing. I mostly worked for small independent businesses which really enabled me to understand how to run a business from the ground up.
Why recruitment?
I had been approached by a number of recruitment agencies over the years to see if it is something I would be interested in, however the timing had never been right. In 2018 I was approached by a small agency and the timing was perfect, I was coming to the end of a consultancy project and looking for a change in my life, little did I know this change would bring myself and my now business partner Jo Oakley back together.
Recruitment has always been of great interest to me, I have naturally found over the years I have helped colleagues and industry peers find new roles and perfect their CVs, so the idea of expanding on this into a career was exactly what I was looking for.
What made you decide to set up HELP Recruitment?
My co-founder Jo and I have known each other since 2007, having crossed paths in the industry for many years. We always joke that some would call it stalking… if that was the case I was the stalker! At the start of 2020 we decided to take the plunge and set up HELP recruitment, an agency which focuses as much on supporting the industry as recruiting. This was something that was at the forefront of our minds when setting the values for our business. We have both experienced recruiters in our career, from a client and candidate perspective and felt that something was missing. Too many times had we felt like a recruiter had tried to force us into an interview that we didn’t want to take just so they could hit their numbers. We wanted to create a company that represents everything we stand for and believe in, and ultimately supports the hospitality, events & leisure industries and the people who work in them.
Who are HELP Recruitment and what makes them different to other agencies?
HELP Recruitment is a small independent recruitment agency. We are able to offer a range bespoke solutions to clients to fit their individual requirements rather than a one stop commission solution. This flexible approach, allows companies who may not have previously been able to access the benefits and services, that only a recruitment agency can offer.
That said HELP Recruitment aims to be more than just a recruitment agency, working with the top hospitality, event and leisure brands throughout the UK to source and place candidates. As an agency we want to support and help develop the industry in whatever way we can. This is an area we are constantly looking to enhance. At the moment we are partnering with professional to create a series of blogs, offering one to one guidance and creating virtual workshops and coffee afternoons.
We also feel one of the many thing that stands HELP Recruitment apart from the crowd, is that we have both worked in the industry and can therefore create experienced partnerships with our clients, bring in both our experience as a recruiter and as managers within the field.
Why is supporting the industry so important to you and HELP Recruitment?
Finding a way to support the industry is something I have wanted to do for a long time. When discussing the creation of a recruitment company with Jo it seemed like the perfect time to combine two great passions.
The hospitality, events & leisure industry is a fast paced world and with that comes, long hours, stress, strain on your mental health and quite often people just burn out. Having spent my career working for smaller companies, which these wonderful industries are full of, I often found there were few places to turn. HR departments didn’t exist and only recently have amazing companies such as EventWell, Healthy Hospo and So Lets Talk come to exist.
I personally found myself in this situation in 2017. I reached out to a well known hospitality charity that offered support to people within the industry but was told that as the company I worked for did not pay to be part of their community they were not able to support me.
So who do you turn to when looking for advice on your legal rights or asking for help and advice, finding someone who understands the pressures of your job and is just willing to listen. These are all things that we hope to be able to offer to our candidates and clients as HELP Recruitment grows and partners with like-minding businesses and individuals. For now, we will do what we can to support people working in the hospitality, events & leisure industries. If you have any ideas on ways we can support the industry or are able to work with us on this important subject please do get in contact.
While business is not at 100% how have you been using your down time?
Earlier this year I became a mentor with Elevate. Elevate is a free mentorship programme for people in the events industry, It’s a six month programme connecting mentors and mentees to make this industry even better. The applications for 2021 open in December and I would highly recommend becoming part of this community.
I have also been using this time to focus on my health and fitness. As someone who struggled with the motivation of forcing myself into the gym, I have been loving creating an at home gym…even if it is in my tiny living room. I workout once a week online with the amazing Hannah Lewin alongside expanding my love for cycling, both road cycling and on zwift in the virtual world.
Re-discovering the beauty of the UK has been one thing I have loved about this year. Anyone who knows me knows I love to travel and have a great group of travel buddies. With my trips to Italy and Peru being cancelled this year and group trips off the table, a couple of friends and I have been exploring the south coast of England on our bikes and believe it or not camping. Had you asked me a year ago if I fancied a camping trip I probably wouldn’t have jumped at the idea, but we are already planning our 2021 adventures.
As we approach the end of 2020 what reflections and lessons have you taken from the year?
Know it is ok to feel bad about your own personal situation. You might be on furlough while some of your friends are now unemployed, remember it’s still ok to have your feelings about the situation, you need to take the time to process them, while being there to support others.
Staying healthy both mentally and physically. Since March I have made sure I have built fitness into my weekly plan, from cycling, hitting 10k steps, running to at home workouts. It really helps me start the day right, or take some time out when I find the current situations getting to me.
It is okay to be selective about who you spend your time with at the moment. We are so limited by the number of people we are allowed to socialise with in the real world so remember, make sure the people you surround yourself with offer the support and positive energy you need.