Adam Smith
Intern at Spencer Ogden
When I first arrived at Spencer Ogden I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I knew what a
recruitment consultant did in their role, place suitable people into job vacancies, but wasn’t aware
of the processes behind it. I was very fortunate to begin my internship on the same day as the start
of one of Spencer Ogden’s graduate academies, where new recruits are trained how to be
recruitment consultants and utilise the systems at Spencer Ogden. For the first two weeks I was a
member of this academy, though didn’t have to take part in any of the assessments!
Prior to starting my internship I had read through some articles about the company and also
watched the careers video aimed at recruiting new grads for the business. After finding out this
information I was intrigued to find out if the company and offices matched up to what I had seen
and read. Upon entering the offices I found out that it did, the reception desk was a large wooden
table with a London tube style sign with Spencer Ogden embossed upon it and a metal bulldog sat
next to the desk. Looking to the left a sea of green Astroturf stretched out with circular wooden
desks rising out of it. Not your average place of work. After meeting with my supervisor I joined the
grads in the academy and headed to the top floor of the building where we were to commence
training.
The academy proved very insightful, demonstrating techniques used to sell products or
services to clients on the phone. Learning about fact finding, needs analysis along with FAB (feature,
advantage, benefit) was definitely useful. Fact finding, needs analysis involves getting to the main
need of a client or candidate by asking open questions to find their true need. For example many
candidates may say that they need more money, but the reason behind this could be that they want
to have security to be able to raise a family. Without the extra questioning this motive would not be
found and the candidate could be placed into a role that would provide an increase in pay, but may
not have the job security that they desire. Upon learning this I realised that normally I am guilty of
saying that I want a certain thing, when really there is a deeper reason behind it. This is true of
everyone and a great thing to know for all areas of business or even study when dealing with others.
Another sales technique that I was taught was FAB, which is a way to highlight the value of a service
to a client company. It involves describing a feature of a service, its advantage, then explaining how
it would benefit the client specifically. Using this structure enables the client to see how the service
is of use to them and is a very powerful way to get someone’s attention when first contacting them.
Whilst the academy members were being trained on the phones I was tasked with finding
possible consultants for Spencer Ogden to hire for the renewable energy team. This involved using
Boolean search terms on LinkedIn to find people with the desired skills and experience. These
individuals could then be added Spencer Ogden’s database. The database allowed candidates
details to be accessed quickly to see if they have been contacted by the recruitment department
about positions previously, or simply to keep them on record as having skills needed for a role that
could be of use in the future. Whilst not the most exciting of tasks it did show me the importance of
having an up to date LinkedIn profile and what traits recruiters search for when trying to find
candidates.
After the two weeks in the training academy I was lucky enough to be at Spencer Ogden for
the presentation of the Queen’s award for enterprise in international trade. The event itself was
held after work on the Friday of my second week on the top floor of the offices, with everyone
dressed in “spring break” clothing to celebrate. The room has a huge circular wooden table in its
centre made from a reclaimed school gym floor. The award was presented on top of this table by a
representative of the queen to DSP with everyone from SO London attending. As part of the
celebration there was a barbecue and drinks for everyone. It was nice to have an event like this,
especially after the grad academy, to see how everyone had found it and get to know other people
at Spencer Ogden who I would be working with over the coming weeks. After the barbecue
everyone then headed to Soho, where a room had been booked for the occasion!
The most valuable part of the internship for me was actually getting onto the phones and
speaking to candidates. This was the activity that I thought I would be really bad at and was very
nervous before making my first call. However my manager let me listen in to a number his
conversations and reminded me that we were providing a service to the candidates. Hearing these
conversations definitely calmed my nerves, as it seemed that most people were more than happy to
talk at great length about their work, not surprising really as the information they gave could gain
them a better job. The first group of people that I had the pleasure of speaking to were candidates
for positions in Zambia. Finding out if people had the correct skills was very difficult, with the poor
quality of phone lines and style of speaking of many of the candidates. However, I did find
candidates suitable for the role and the practice on the phone gave me great confidence.
One of the most nerve racking tasks that I was set was writing up the top billers list for the
oil and gas and power contract divisions. The blackboard I was given was the back of a door about 2
meters high, attempting to fill it in with the info needed and ensure that it looked the part wasn’t
easy. Especially with the entire floor watching me and giving conflicting tips on how best to do it!
After I had completing the board I was very proud of my handiwork, even if the last few lines were
ever so slightly lopsided, and the general office consensus was that it was a good first attempt.
As part of the renewables desk I was given a list of CVs from a database and had to ascertain
if their respective owners had the necessary experience in project management that a client was
looking for. After finding candidates that had the experienced needed I then spoke with them on the
phone to confirm this and see if they were interested in taking the available position. These calls
allowed me to practice what I had learnt in the academy and if a candidate I found is selected by the
client I was told by my manager that I would receive part of the commission!
A large project that I was given was to produce part of the training material provided to
grads joining Spencer Ogden in the energy tech division. The booklet that I produced aimed to give
an overview of the areas of energy tech Spencer Ogden worked in along with details about the
positions that candidates would generally be placed into and systems that they would use. Before
starting the task I was given the choice of creating this info booklet for either renewable energy or
energy tech. As I felt I already had a good idea from my degree how wind turbines and photovoltaic
panels work I decided to do the presentation on energy tech, in order to learn a bit more about the
term. In doing this task I was able to get some much research practice before heading back to
university and learn about employment positions that I never even knew existed.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Spencer Ogden I would definitely recommend it to
members of the Ogden Trust considering an internship. On the final day of my internship I was
treated to a meal at Roka, a Japanese restaurant right next to Spencer Ogden, by my manager and
sales director. It was an excellent way to end my internship, which I was sad to finally leave. After
completing the internship I feel more confident about being able to start a new job or undertake
research in a different location after I graduate. Also speaking with clients on the phone was a great
skill to acquire, along with the sales techniques that can be used in all business conversations.