Samantha’s Recruitment Experience
Prior to her successful career in psychotherapy and psychology at Pinwheel Psychology, Samantha Symes worked in recruitment.
Her previous job experience provides Samantha Symes with a unique skill set to assist her clients with relevant and effective career advice.
“I provide commercial career coaching advice that is current and useful. I have worked in the industry extensively and still do currently; I believe I know what works. I know what employers are truly looking for; what recruitment consultants really need and what human resources like to see.”
Before studying Psychology & Psychotherapy, Samantha Symes completed a Business degree with a major in Marketing.
Samantha enjoyed a successful 16-year career in recruitment and hiring that included a variety of roles and projects, working in both large consulting firms and smaller, niche firms. She worked in a variety of roles and projects that included:
- State Sales Manager
- client relationship management
- working on-site for St George Bank
- volume recruitment of lecturers for a university
- a franchising project for a major bank
- Talent Engagement Manager
- managing her own business
- delivering dynamic career guidance presentations at TAFE, Macquarie University and AGSM
Career Highlights
During her career in recruiting Samantha achieved many great things, and enjoyed the support and respect of her peers. Some of the key highlights of her career as a recruiter include:
- She enjoyed the honour of being the first on-site team recruitment team situated in the prestigious Lehman Brothers London office.
- She worked 3 year’s abroad in London, she returned Sydney as a State Sales Manager
- Samantha has worked in both large consulting firms smaller, niche firms
- She achieved ongoing success in her recruitment career across differing sectors and up to executive level (including being head-hunted)
- Samantha experienced firsthand the fluctuations of the employment market, working during the crazy Y2K period and the employment low of 2002 – 2005
- Samantha Syme’s past experience in recruitment also included managing her own business that provided workshops on career guidance and strategies to work successfully with recruitment agencies. Samantha has delivered dynamic career guidance presentations at TAFE, Macquarie University and AGSM.
Samantha’s client relationship management skills are direct, engaging and result driven.
As a testament to her strengths and capabilities as a recruiter, Samantha was often followed by both candidates and clients the various consulting firms where she has mainly been asked to join colleagues in their businesses as testimony to her capabilities. Due to personal reasons at the time she was unable to fulfill invited opportunities to join them in their start- up ventures.
Having always worked closely with business managers, human resources, and other major recruitment agencies to engage the right candidates effectively; resulting in her last recruitment based role as a Talent Engagement Manager before moving full- time into her own practice, and she is still is engaged to act in ad-hoc recruitment projects.
Career Change
Samantha knows first hand the struggles involved in changing careers.
She continued to work in recruitment while choosing a career change to become a psychologist she studied part-time.
Later, Samantha was able to combine her vocational expertise in vocational rehabilitation roles whilst gaining her psychology registration; assisting the long-term unemployed, often from a lower socio-economic sector, to start new careers or consider retraining.
A vocational rehabilitation role still continues part-time, however, she now only works with those experiencing a psychological diagnosis of severe depression, major anxiety or PTSD and supports her clients to a “return to work and wellbeing”.
Samantha’s genuine commercial experience and market understanding alongside her psychology/psychotherapy knowledge ensures the advice given is commercial, proven and ensures change. She assists clients who want to change careers or who may just seek a guided career transition support, and has first-hand experience of the difficulties involved in a career transition during your 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
Supportive Career Coaching
Samantha’s genuine commercial experience and market understanding alongside her psychology/psychotherapy knowledge ensures the advice given is commercial, proven and ensures change.
She assists clients who want to change careers or who may just seek a guided career transition support, and has first-hand experience of the difficulties involved in a career transition during your 20’s, 30’s and 40’s.
“This is often a frustrating, stressful time and can feel like a tired dead-end for many clients and yet this is a time for positive thinking. Together we can develop a focussed strategy that moves you forward, keeps you on track and gets results – you don’t have to do it all on your own”.
Samantha is passionate about career coaching and enjoys:
- guiding and supporting clients who want to start their careers after studying
- working with clients who are ready for a career change or need to start something new,
- assisting clients who have recently arrived in Australia to find employment
- supporting clients who are no longer fulfilled by their job, particularly those with high-paying jobs, and are looking for more personal satisfaction
- helping clients deal with the difficulties of making a career transition
For career mentoring services from an experienced career coach who is genuinely interested in improving your job prospects, book a career coaching session with Samantha Symes today.