Our London legal recruitment desk has grown to include six consultants who work solely on recruitment for law firms across the city. A few months back we welcomed two more new faces to the team: Danny Harris and Tom Crea. We recently took time to ask them some questions and get to know our two, very Northern ‘London boys’. 

Totally different backgrounds
For Tom, Interlink Recruitment is his first full-time job which he started after completing his law degree at Newcastle University. Rochdale born and bred, Tom moved back to the North West and was keen to get straight into work and earning good money. With plenty of legal knowledge under his belt, legal recruitment was the right fit. 
Danny meanwhile spent time as a Teaching Assistant before joining Interlink. After getting his degree in Anatomical Science, he got a position at a local secondary school in his hometown of Bolton. Teaching didn’t turn out to be all that he expected, plus he was also drawn to the earning potential that recruitment could bring.

Specialising in London legal
There’s a great synergy between the consultants in our London legal team and Danny and Tom echo that. Although each specialise in particular London based legal roles and practice areas, they help each other with any business that might overlap, or where a client has several staffing needs.

Danny tackles Disputes, Litigation and Arbitration positions, everything from NQ up to Partner level. He also specialises in TMT, IP and Data Protection roles. Disputes alone is a very busy area to recruit for, especially when you consider everyone does a seat in Commercial Litigation in the City. But Danny is not fazed by a busy desk, in fact he gets a real buzz from being busy and handles his workload with meticulous detail.

Tom looks after the recruitment of all Paralegal positions across the City – with the exception of Litigation/Disputes that is. Of course, Disputes are Danny’s domain and he’s very quick to dispute that himself! As well as Paralegal roles specifically, Tom also recruits for lawyers of all levels across Private Client, Family and Immigration law in London. At the moment, as we’re Brexit poised here in the UK, firms are seeing high demand for Immigration lawyers in the city. But at the same time, Tom explains there’s a bit of a lull with Private Client, which can be put down to an ‘uncertain’ market.

Keen, motivated and love recruitment
One thing that’s very clear when speaking with both Tom and Danny about recruitment, is how much they love their jobs and what they do!
They both agree the financial incentives in recruitment are a big driver but as ‘cheesy’ as it might sound, happy candidates are worth much, much more. Tom explains that getting a text message from a candidate who is thrilled to have landed a new role is far more satisfying than a commission check.
Danny seconds that and finds the recruitment process somewhat addictive, thanks to the ‘happiness factor’ that comes from it. When you’ve spent time trying to find the right candidate for a firm, after several interviews when you finally get a placement, he explains it’s a great feeling.

Working at Interlink
There’s mutual agreement that Interlink offers a great, supportive place to develop a career in recruitment. Since joining the business in the Summer, Danny has made many good friends and appreciates the openness and honesty of the Directors. He enjoys the benefits and incentives on offer and the excellent commission opportunity. Protein bars on a Friday are one of his particular favourites!

For Tom who has been with the business since September, he appreciates being left to be self-sufficient with his work. This has helped build his confidence, allowing him the chance to gain the necessary competencies in his own time.  Meanwhile he knows there’s plenty of support from his team and the Directors should he need it. Tom shares the fact the role can be challenging, the sheer number of emails from candidates alone is intense to balance. But even as we talk, Danny is quick to recommend using the calendar more to help with this, something which Tom will go away and look to do. Teamwork in action!

Tackling recruitment challenges
And there are other challenges when it comes to working in recruitment. Tom makes a good point that in their roles, they are ultimately selling people, and people can be unreliable. They both agree there’s always that worry in the back of your mind that your candidate might not turn up for the interview. It’s every recruiters’ worst nightmare! Fortunately, it doesn’t happen all that often.

For Danny, he finds the job very much a 24/7 one – there are rarely quiet periods and communication can go on through the night and at weekends. As someone who enjoys being busy, there are good aspects to that. But what he finds more challenging is getting the right firm for his candidates. The roles aren’t the issue so much; it’s getting the right fit with the right firm for people. Tom adds that the most important thing lawyers want are options on the table, and that’s what our recruiters aim to deliver every time.

Ambitions and things about them you’d never know…
For Tom, he’s keen to earn as much as he can in recruitment to get on the property ladder, as well as learn to drive and get himself a car. But what you probably don’t know about him is he can’t swim. And while he always knew it, this was put to the test when he was a teenager and jumped in a waterfall! Yes, a friend told him that he would be OK and float, so in he jumped. He recalls spending about two minutes under the water and his life flashing before his eyes. Fortunately, one of his friends was a lifeguard, who came to his rescue. He can certainly add swimming lessons to his list of things to save for!

Danny meanwhile hopes to one day move abroad, somewhere where the sun shines all year round and where he can deliver recruitment services from his sun-soaked apartment balcony. And he has a very Bolton-inspired claim to fame! His family live next door to Peter Kay’s stepmother and one year, Danny’s Nanna made a Peter Kay portrait out of cross-stitch. They went on to give the cross-stitch masterpiece to Peter Kay’s stepmother, to pass on to him. She must have done exactly that as the next time the cross-stitch was seen, Peter Kay was giving it to Jonathan Ross on national television!