Farewell from Adam – I’m leaving Maxim

To all my valued connections in construction it is with sadness that I announce my departure from Maxim Recruitment as of October 2018.

The timing may seem strange, as over the last couple of years I have grown into a position (with Maxim’s fantastic support) which has seen me manage very successfully the recruitment of construction disputes staff across the UK for Maxim, whilst often also branching out into the wider global disputes market. However, sometimes a change is required and I have made the decision to move on to explore a totally different career opportunity outside of construction recruitment.

I cannot thank Maxim enough for providing me with this platform to enable my success over the last four years. The marketing support has been second to none, and has made my job a lot easier than it would have been without it. Although having been the main point of contact in construction disputes recruitment hot seat, it’s certainly been a team effort from Maxim.

The construction disputes recruitment desk is as we speak being handed over to my trusted and talented colleague Stuart Hackett, who will be taking full responsibility for one of our most vibrant recruitment desks from October. I strongly recommend that you all Link-in with him if you haven’t already.

Maxim Recruitment will continue to be the market leader for construction claims, dispute and expert witness knowledge and recruitment in the UK and internationally, and I have no doubt that its international expansion into locations such as Canada in 2018 and 2019 will continue apace in Stuart’s capable hands.

In my final blog article, I’m going to give 3 highlights of my experiences in regards recruiting, some Final Advice, and provide a brief introduction to Stuart Hackett; the highly experienced consultant that will be continuing Maxim’s strong track record within construction disputes.

Three Main Highlights

• Relationships built

Over my 4 ½ years here I have developed a number of fantastic relationships, some with people that I haven’t even met due to the national and international nature of our work. I’d like to thank everyone who has made my recruitment experience enjoyable; whether it be individuals within my loyal disputes client portfolio, or job seekers that I had the pleasure of working with over the years.

The relationships built internally have also been fantastic. In particular, Stuart Hackett, Steve Thomas and Richard Poulter have been a pleasure to work with and are all international construction recruitment experts in their own right. They enable Maxim to operate across 3 continents, and working with them has given me the experience to be able to do the same and pick up some valuable transferable skills at the same time.

• Becoming an Disputes Recruitment Expert with a USP (unique selling point)

Maxim have always recruited within construction claims internationally and been very successful in doing do. It was my good fortune that this particular job role fell into my lap to develop a more in-depth understanding of construction disputes as a whole and the various types of professional within this complex sector. Maxim have a leading expertise in recruitment knowledge for both expert witness and claims recruitment, and are best placed to provide advice on the differences of each and to supply staff who know what they’re in for when they arrive in a new job. It’s satisfying to know that the Maxim Recruitment name is very much out in the construction industry as a leading expert in construction disputes recruitment, and that I had a part to play in growing it. I can’t thank my / our clients enough for being such a pleasure to work with.

• Having fun

Recruitment is certainly a job that enables you to have fun at work. It’s extremely hard working, but the required proactive attitude emanates plenty of character and personality in the office environment. I often find that the harder you work in recruitment, the better time you’ll have. People are naturally social beings – and what better job is there than recruitment to fulfil the desire to be sociable and to try and help people?

Some Final Advice

I’m sorry to say (or maybe you’re thankful to hear!) that I won’t be able to provide my clients and jobseekers with any further insights into the world of construction disputes and career advice… Either way, you’re getting one last bit; and I’m glad to say that Stuart Hackett will be more than filling my boots in relation to recruitment advice within the disputes sector on an ongoing basis.

I’ve written out 6 final pointers below, chosen carefully from all of my experiences that will hopefully help in some way or another.

• Do your research (or ask us!)

When looking into a career in construction disputes, do your research; or even better, ask us! We recruit for some of the major players in the UK and International expert witness and claims sectors, and know our stuff when it comes to giving advice and what a career in both the expert witness and claims sector will entail. From this, you can decide which area will suit you best.

• Don’t jump around too much

Moving jobs from time to time a bit isn’t a bad thing, if you can show that you moved to gain a variety of experience or career progression at the beginning of your career. This being said, do it too much and your CV may become a metaphorical hot piece of coal (employers will be wary of it!). Companies that employ on a permanent basis want to look for traits of loyalty, as they will be investing time and effort in you as a person, and want to be repaid with longevity. Of course, sometimes people move about for reasons which are out of their control; and if this is you, as long as you can explain in detail the reasons for your moves and they add up, you should be fine.

• Don’t burn bridges – even with recruitment consultants

The construction disputes world is quite a small one at times, even though the sort of firms we work with are often global companies. Expert Witness & dispute firms in London often work on international projects, and may work closely with other Experts on different continents. There are also only a limited number of firms in London and so burning bridges with anyone could be a bad move. Be professional and act in a way that leaves a good impression; even with recruiters as they could end up being your best ally going forward.

• Perfect your CV

I cannot count the number of CV’s that we receive that have grammatical and content and formatting mistakes. A CV should be absolutely perfect in this regard with no excuses. It’s your one chance to impress a company (recruiter or employer or both!) and so perfection is key with consistent formatting throughout. Especially in construction disputes where expert and claim report writing is paramount, a CV is the first example of your skill in this area; the impression will be that if you can’t write a perfect CV, you can’t write a perfect expert or claim report.

• Push yourself

If you are career driven, push yourself. Companies these days prefer people who are clearly driven and want to challenge themselves rather than someone who is a steady hand who might have done the same thing 1000 times before (although there are exceptions of course where this is required). You can push yourself at any stage in your career whether you are just starting out or if you have a wealth of experience already. It’s the “attitude” that counts, and goes a long way in an interview.

• Do what makes you happy

If you’re unhappy, or feel like you can make an improvement in your career, why are you doing what you’re doing? Maybe it’s in order to fulfil a longer term goal which is fair enough. But if you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, you’d be surprised what’s out there. Speak to Maxim to see if they can help as one of our specialities is assisting QS’s, Planners and Engineers to find work in specialist construction disputes. If you don’t have experience in disputes but you are motivated to get into it, speak to Maxim. This is where we have a lot of our success in recruitment - everyone has to start somewhere.

Introduction to Stuart Hackett

Now for the exciting part!

Many of our repeat customers in the UK and internationally already know Stuart. He has been with Maxim 11 years, and has been my line manager ever since I started with Maxim. If a manager like that can mould an astounding, champion recruiter like myself (I’m not kidding, of course) then just imagine the sheer quality that this man radiates.  I just don’t understand why he supports Nottingham Forest though.

He’s an extremely talented pair of hands and upon my handover, he’ll likely show Maxim and everyone else how construction disputes recruitment should have been being done! He has a wealth of International and UK recruitment experience, and is well conversed in the operation of the Expert Witness and Claims sectors in the UK & overseas, inclusive of all Quantum, Delay, and Legal specialisms.

He is based in our UK office, and I’ll be introducing him in person to as many people as I can over the next few weeks, and if anyone wishes to discuss a career in construction disputes I cannot recommend him highly enough. He’s guided me into the role I currently sit in, so it’s only natural that he is the one to carry it forward. The link to his LinkedIn profile is at the foot of this article.

Conclusion

So that’s it! My final article for Maxim (although never say never), and I’ll be seeing out my last few weeks with a mixture of sadness and excitement as I move onto something new (and no it's not Chris Evans’ job on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show!) If any of you wish to stay in touch then please do; I’ll be staying on LinkedIn, and if anyone wishes to find me in person I’ll be down in London working in a new industry, and always up for a beer.

Best wishes,

Adam.

STUART HACKETT LINKEDIN:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuarthackett/

CURRENT DISPUTE OPPORTUNITIES AT MAXIM:
https://www.maximrecruitment.com/construction-sectors/construction-disputes