Why I chose working in recruitment over a Big 4 firm

Lucky Nguyen worked at Goldman Sachs and two Big 4 accounting firms before joining Robert Walters New York as a junior executive recruiter in 2014. Now a manager in our compliance division, Lucky shares his career journey and why he believes switching to recruitment was the right choice. 

Why did you want to work for Robert Walters?

When I was a sophomore in college, I approached Robert Walters with an interest in gaining an internship with them. However, I was offered an opportunity in the financial services industry before I got the chance to further explore recruitment as a career option. 

Nevertheless, I always knew I wanted to do something entrepreneurial or sales focused, so in 2014, I reached out to Robert Walters again and was offered an interview for a role in the legal and compliance division at Robert Walters. I was really excited when I was offered the role –I felt that I’d developed a good connection with the people I met during the interview process. In addition, the company’s strong global reputation and entrepreneurial approach seemed well suited to my career goals.   

How did you transition into a recruitment role? 

I had the opportunity to start engaging with clients and candidates in the early stages of my career at Robert Walters and that hands-on experience really helped to build my confidence. It didn’t take long for me to learn how to support candidates and add value to my clients' businesses. 

When I moved into a role recruiting financial services professionals, I found that my exposure to the financial services industry in my previous roles meant I had a head start in terms of understanding our client and candidates needs. It was really helpful to be able to draw on that 'insider' knowledge. 

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I love being an expert in my field and working with my team to help them to develop and succeed. I like the fact that we have an open-plan office. We have a lot of high performing recruiters from across the globe working in the New York office so it’s a really motivational work environment and there’s a lot of opportunity to learn from those around you, especially for more junior members of staff.

I also really enjoy the autonomy of my role and the fact that I’ve had the opportunity to grow the business in new areas. For example, I’ve really pushed to expand our presence in the Fintech sector as I love working with start-ups and have always been interested in that area. It’s really rewarding to see the positive results of my effort and know that they’re having a wider impact on the business.

What advice would you give to someone considering a move into recruitment?

Moving into recruitment is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I wish I did it sooner. Switching careers is a bold step, but one of the best things about working in recruitment is that it’s a constant learning process, so as long as you’re motivated to do your research and challenge yourself, you can really excel.

 

Interested in a career in recruitment? Please send an up-to-date resume to Liz Boston at liz.boston@robertwalters.co or call +1 415 815 3797.