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At Bramwith we are incredibly proud of our unrivalled pool of candidates who trust us to represent them and help them succeed in their long-term goals. Our award-winning services are based on collaboration, innovation and professionalism. We’re not interested in quick fixes and never use aggressive tactics. Our candidates and clients know we always have their best interests at heart.

To demonstrate why we are the UK’s leading procurement and supply chain recruiters, find out below how we helped Kate find her dream role.

The candidate

Kate had enjoyed a successful career as a management consultant within strategy and was looking to take the next step to a senior level position. Kate had always thrived in roles where her skills and experience would benefit both her and the company, long-term. In short, Kate wanted to work somewhere where her loyalty was appreciated, as well as her specialist skills. For Kate, it was as important to find somewhere with a good cultural fit as well as the right place for her to utilise and develop her technical skills.

Kate had been interested in opportunities within the procurement sector for a while and had spent a considerable amount of time exploring traditional recruitment processes – job boards, social media and generalist recruitment consultants – but found she wasn’t being presented with the right roles to consider, or getting the support and advice that she needed to guide her change of career.

Fortunately, Kate’s search led her to Bramwith Consulting.

How Bramwith Consulting helped

We’re always delighted to be approached by candidates of Kate’s calibre and enthusiasm for our sector. From the very first meeting, Kate knew she had found the right recruiter to help her find the perfect role. She knew we were industry specialists and that our dedicated consultants knew the sector inside and out. She was particularly impressed and reassured by the fact that we fill 100% of retainers with 85% in a 4-12-week period.

Here’s how we helped Kate.

1. Bramwith met with Kate to discuss her specific ambitions and requirements, both short and long-term. We matched her with one of our friendly consultants who would support Kate not only throughout her job search but for the whole lifecycle of her career – as long as she needed us.
2. Using our innovative information gathering processes we gained a comprehensive and accurate understanding of Kate’s technical skills, her logistic requirements, her ambitions and hopes and the kind of company culture she thrived in. Using this data alongside an open and honest discussion about the industry and what success might look like to her within it, we carefully selected a few of our clients that would be a good match for Kate, and vice versa.

As Bramwith work exclusively with our clients and enjoy highly-successful long-term relationships, we are able to offer a great deal of information and insights to our candidates. We put Kate firmly in the picture about how each company operated, the breadth of tasks and projects she would be given, the kind of atmosphere and perks she would enjoy and what sort of opportunities for career progression might be available. We were also able to advise on what the recruitment processes were like for each company.
3. Once Kate had identified an opportunity that fit her requirements, we spent some more time talking her through the next steps in the interview process including what questions she might be asked and made some suggestions on the things she might ask of them. We explained who she would be meeting with and what their responsibilities were in the company. We made sure Kate had plenty of time to ask us everything she needed and that she knew we were just a phone call or email away to clarify anything after her meetings. There’s nothing worse than feeling unsure or ill-informed when you’re making such an exciting career move.
4. Kate met with the client – a highly successful Fortune 500 business – and both parties were absolutely delighted with the match. An offer was soon made and accepted, and Bramwith handled all the contracts and paperwork so Kate was able to relax and concentrate on preparing to start her fabulous new role.

Kate spoke highly of the support she received at Bramwith: “I dare say that I made the right decision to join my new firm, primarily because of Bramwith and the help and support they provided throughout the entire process.”

Bramwith continues to stay in touch with Kate, making sure that the role and company remain aligned with her goals and career trajectory. The client has been incredibly happy with Kate’s performance and how she has fitted into their company culture. Kate’s career is going from strength-to-strength and we couldn’t be more proud or pleased for her.

To find out more about how we could help you find your dream procurement role, contact us today.

The interview process can be a challenging time for both the candidate and the interviewer. Both parties have a lot at stake and are seeking the perfect fit, now and in the long-term. Often the onus is on the interviewee making errors but recruiters can mess up too. 

The procurement and supply chain sector is highly competitive and companies may struggle to find the right candidate to grow their business. We take a look at how to mitigate mistakes when hiring in the procurement and supply chain sector. 

Think about the changing needs of your business

A common mistake when formulating a job spec is to simply do what’s been done before. This is a particular problem when you’re replacing someone who has been in a role for a long time. Approach the spec with an open mind. How has the role requirement changed in the last few years? What are the needs of the business currently and what skills and attributes would benefit you most now, and into the future? It might be worth locating the job spec of the person who previously had the role. Highlight any activities or skills that are still important and get rid of those that are redundant. Think about how the market has changed and what your client profile is like now. What are the risks that you are exposed to and are there any foreseeable threats?

Recruiting candidates with the right technical skills should be a priority. With advancements in technology such as cryptocurrencies and AI, you must make sure you have the right people around you to remain competitive. If you’re thinking of adopting new technologies (and if you aren’t, you might want to consider why) then you’ll not only need the talent that can manage the tech directly; AI experts, etc, but you will also need sales and marketing staff that understand this area and data scientists and analytics experts to support the whole projects. You will also need specific IT experts to set up and manage the infrastructure. 

If this all sounds a bit challenging, talk to us. We’re specialists in recruiting specifically for the procurement, operations, and supply chain sector – and we’ve got an unrivaled pool of talent across the US. 

Ask the right questions – in the right way

Always try to ask a good mix of questions that allow the candidate to explain themselves well. These should include questions that offer the opportunity to demonstrate their technical skills, their ‘soft’ skills such as negotiation and communication, and open-ended questions that allow the candidate to tell a bit more of a story about themselves, so you can get to know the real person. All questions should be positioned so the candidate can provide examples of how they have demonstrated these skills and attributes in their professional lives. 

When you have the perfect candidate in front of you it’s tempting to try to guide the conversation so it supports your opinion of them. This isn’t fair on them and it may mean you don’t wind up finding the right candidate. Never ask leading questions or coerce the candidate to answer in a way that reinforces your view, or what you hope theirs will be. Ask open questions, give them plenty of time to answer and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if either of you has drifted off point. There’s plenty going on in the selection process and it’s natural to get sidetracked or veer off-topic. 

Don’t play at being a shrink

While gauging a candidate’s emotional intelligence is vital to recruiting the right cultural fit, you should never be overconfident of your ability to ‘understand’ or ‘know’ people in an interview context. Asking overly familiar or searching questions to find out what makes them tick is rude and inappropriate and likely to make them head for the hills. We’re fond of claiming that we have the ability to get someone as soon as we meet them, but we really don’t. Even if you have a particular first impression of someone, put it to the back of your mind. Be attentive and open-minded and give the candidate the chance to impress you.  

Be prepared to answer questions

As an interviewer, you expect to be asked intelligent questions and get intelligent answers. The same is true for a candidate. Naturally, you can’t anticipate all the queries you’ll get but you should definitely have responses prepared for questions about the challenges of the role, general information around business development, how the team structure works, company culture etc. 

Some companies are happy to discuss opportunities for advancement from the get-go, but it’s perfectly understandable if you don’t feel it’s appropriate. In these instances, be honest with the candidate. Explain that it isn’t company policy to talk about potential salary increases at this stage but assure them that you’re committed to looking after employees and that the successful candidate’s salary will always be competitive. 

Check your bias

Everyone is susceptible to unconscious bias. It’s a natural part of human nature. Rather than denying it, we are better off confronting it, challenging it and making sure it doesn’t affect our decision making. When you’re writing job descriptions or adverts make sure you use inclusive language that a diverse pool of applicants will be receptive to. Only use gender-neutral terms in the spec and consider anonymizing applications. After the interview, write down your first impressions and challenge them against your bias. And be honest. If there’s a chance you might be viewing men as better at handling tough situations and women better at nurturing others then you absolutely, 100% need to own up to it and rectify the problem. 

To make the process more measurable and auditable, stick to a concrete interview structure and include tasks or exercises if possible. Always keep a record of all candidate’s interview documents, whether they are successful or otherwise. Providing you commit to treating each person as an individual and challenge any preconceptions you shouldn’t go far wrong. 

Don’t make them an offer they might have to refuse

If you find the right candidate don’t risk losing them by making an offer that may insult or deter them. Businesses have budgets to adhere to, and that’s fair enough. But always try to find a balance between protecting your bottom line and getting the right talent to push your business forward. 

We’re delighted to announce the launch of a new Bramwith website and branding that better reflects our high calibre of work and consultants.

Bramwith Director Amit Desai said: “Bramwith Consulting is about developing relationships that last the lifespan of your career, rather than a quick win. This is evidenced in our longstanding client and candidate relationships and testimonials and now our branding reflects this too.”

Since we launched in London over 12 years ago, Bramwith Consulting has seen huge success in growth and reputation as the leading specialist Procurement recruitment agency in the UK.

After expanding our business to Europe and the US and seeing quick success in these territories, we felt it was time that our communications aligned with our positioning as trusted, leading, global, procurement recruiters.

Amit Desai said: “Bramwith Consulting has a well-established reputation in the procurement industry for putting people first and finding the best fit for our candidates and clients. In recruitment, an industry notoriously perceived as putting paychecks above people, we know that our consultants and expertise are the most important asset. However we were aware that those that had not previously worked with us and that were visiting our site for the first time were unlikely to get that impression.

“We have invested in a new website, marketing strategy and messaging to ensure that we have a consistent message to clients, candidates and prospective consultants. We have also improved the job search and application process within the site to make it as simple and easy as possible for candidates.”

Saffa Ayub, Bramwith Managing Director, said: “It is about time that our appearance matched our success and expertise. It isn’t just our branding and web site that recently got a makeover, we recently relocated our London office to 1 Poultry, a fantastic new work space with amazing facilities (including complimentary, freshly roasted coffee) located in the heart of the City of London, as well as opening a new location in the States in the bustling borough of  Brooklyn, New York.

“This is an exciting new era for Bramwith Consulting with a number of recent internal promotions and key hires across all territories. Client and candidate relationships are as strong as ever and we are excited for the new look and next chapter.  Bramwith is and always has been a proud, confident and award winning consultancy. Now we feel we have created a synergy between the way we work and the way we present ourselves.”

The fresh look and marketing strategy comes after a stellar 2018 for Bramwith, when we were recognised for our commitment to staff (Highly Commended – Best recruitment company to work for – IRP Awards) and our work towards combating racial and gender bias within the industry (Investing in Talent Recruiter Awards – Best Recruitment Strategy for Disadvantaged and Underrepresented Groups and BITC– Top 65 UK Best Employer for Race).

Get in touch with us to find out what our people-centred strategy can do for your career – email enquiries@bramwithconsulting.com or visit our Contact Us page.