Starting as one of the first new hires at our Los Angeles office, today, Managing Consultant Courtney Lucas has made a huge impact on the team’s growing success. With her tech sales experience at software company Oracle, background in marketing, and enthusiasm for learning what’s trending in the industry, Courtney has not only helped contribute to the growth of the LA office, but the Robert Walters brand itself. From exceeding team-based goals, to boosting the company’s diversity efforts as a member of our global ED&I council and supporting colleagues with their candidate searches. In return, she’s made great strides with her team as a top biller and expert consultant matching marketing professionals and high-growth tech startups throughout Los Angeles. Read more of Courtney’s journey as a Robert Walters consultant and learn what it means to be a part of the California team:
Where did you work before joining Robert Walters?
I worked in tech sales at Oracle. I did the traditional path of going into tech sales after graduating college, like many others do. I started as a BDR and did lots of cold calling and working with different clients, then moved into account management for the tech sales division working with the new autonomous database for mid-market. It was great though, it definitely helped prepare me for my recruitment career with communication and time-management skills with clients.
What attracted you to working in recruitment?
Well, I never thought about going into recruitment before Liz reached out to me. The more I learned about Robert Walters and met the team it just seemed to be a great fit. I think my sales background coming from Oracle and client management experience gave me the skills needed to do well in recruitment. I also liked the fact that I would be creating long term relationships with candidates and clients in the market instead of the transactional relationships of Oracle.
Why did you want to work for Robert Walters?
Truly, the people here were the selling point for me. Everyone was extremely nice throughout the interview process and extremely supportive, and I liked the fact that they were a global company and credible in the recruitment space. However, I learned that I prefer to work in a smaller team environment, so being an early hire at the LA office was an exciting opportunity for me to make more of an impact…rather than being 1 out of 2,000 employees. That was actually a really big selling point for me.
What do you like best about your role?
I love the relationship building aspect to my role. Being able to really build my network in LA with amazing people in the startup space has been really rewarding. I also love that I’m able to specialize in marketing. I studied marketing in college, it’s something I’ve always enjoyed, so being able to be an expert on our marketing-focused team has been great – it’s helped me stay on top of new trends within the industry and I’m confident that I know what I’m talking about with clients and candidates. I think that’s a big differentiator between Robert Walters and other recruitment companies…we become experts at what we do.
What has been your biggest achievement to date?
Being a top biller for LA in 2021 was of course a big achievement. However, being the first person to really launch the marketing team here in Los Angeles was a great achievement. I was the first person to help prove that this is a sector that we need to serve in the LA market, and in return I had lots of roles I was able to work on and place. And I guess it showed because I performed really well last year.
How would you describe the culture at Robert Walters?
Fun, collaborative, and supportive. Everyone at Robert Walters is extremely supportive of one another and always willing to help. We all want to do well in our roles, and we always celebrate the wins together. We are a great family and I think the fact that we have such open and great communication with one another contributed a lot to our team success. The LA office culture is the best part about this job! Also, I think it’s important to point out how inclusive we are here. I’m a member of our global ED&I council, and it’s been very helpful to learn about all the ways we could be making others feel heard and included. It’s also great that we have people from all the offices on the council, so there’s representation from multiple perspectives.
What advice would you give to someone new to recruitment?
I would say research where the company focuses in the market in recruitment. There are many different types of recruitment firms and making sure you chose the right market is important. If you enjoy building relationships, are a bit competitive in nature, and sales driven – then recruitment could be a great fit!
Get in touch with our Talent Acquisition team to find out more about exciting opportunities in the US.
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