Women at Marks Sattin: Meet our Commercial Relationship Manager, Chloe Porter

Welcome to Marks Sattin Chloe! How are you settling in?

I am settling in really well! I can’t believe I have now been here seven months. It has been strange starting from home and trying to build relationships internally and getting to grips with how everyone works, but everyone has been extremely welcoming. With things still up in the air with Covid, it can feel a bit unsettling at times not knowing what is around the corner but it's been really good to see the market fighting back and the business getting busier.

Chloe, tell us a little about your career path so far

Many moons ago, I began my career in insurance. But as you do, I somehow fell into recruitment. Initially, I was onsite for the Met Police, which I loved.  I had the opportunity to work across all their areas, including secret services, dog handling units, head offices and aviation. I got taken out in the helicopters sometimes, a great perk to the job!

I then moved to contract recruitment for HSBC, which was very different but also a great company to work for. Banking can be a bit of a minefield at times, especially larger banks like HSBC. It was a very fast-paced environment, and I worked across all of the key sites, which involved a lot of travel.

After a few years in banking, I felt I needed a change, and moved into relationship management. I’ve been in this type of role for about seven years now. I currently work in the commercial team at Marks Sattin, building and nurturing relationships with their MSP (managed service provider) and RPO (recruitment process outsource) clients, along with direct clients. My role involves mapping out service gaps with clients we already work with, to open up more growth avenues for both ourselves and our clients.

In your opinion, what makes Marks Sattin different from other agencies as an employer?

I think that for such a large company with multiple locations, and especially at the moment, with everyone working remotely. It’s refreshing how open everyone is, and it still feels integrated and collaborative.  Sometimes you can feel really removed from a business if you’re not physically there, but I haven’t felt this at all.

We have such a good support network and I have really struggled with the lack of them in some previous workplaces. It's very easy to get caught up in your own day to day workload, and directors are extremely busy, but here everyone really does look after each other and goes out of their way to show support and help where they can.

We also work closely with some of the companies in our wider group, in particular for me GI Group and Grafton. It’s great to feel like part of a wider team outside of Marks Sattin, and get support from them as well.

What advice would you give people considering a role within recruitment?

Mostly, have fun with it! Recruitment is a great industry full of people from different backgrounds. Working around a variety of energetic people can be a great buzz on a busy day in the office.

You need patience when starting out in recruitment, as growing your reputation and contacts doesn’t happen overnight. You may see other people making their commission and get frustrated that you aren’t there yet, don’t be hard on yourself and ask people for help. As you build up your clients and talent pool it gets easier, everyone is in the same boat, sales can be a rollercoaster, but there is so much to get out of it if you work hard and are open-minded with it.

If you start on a team, and it’s not quite for you, and you think you might like to change sector, or from temp to perm, for example, don’t be afraid to ask to change, not every sector is for everyone, but you could find an area that suits you.

There are so many different avenues that you could go down within recruitment, and it can open doors into other career paths, if you don’t want to stay in recruitment long-term.

Finally, tell us something not many people know about you:

I am a foster parent, and I have a rescue dog!

If you enjoyed reading Chloe’s career story so far and would like to learn more, check out our internal vacancies or get in touch for a confidential chat about your career options with Marks Sattin.