It was my first day working as a recruitment intern and I was unsure of what lay ahead of me. Research had led me to believe that that I was embarking on a journey whereby I would be making five hundred phone calls a day and spending hours analyzing job adverts and cv’s.

Therefore, as I arrived to the door of Amicus, I took a deep gasp and braced myself to be met at the door by someone handing me a telephone and a contacts list insisting that I should contact everyone on the list and until I did, I wasn’t to bother them as they were busy with other more important matters like interviewing.

Instead, when the door open I was met by Robert and Ross who instantly greeted me by shaking my hand making me feel at ease right away. We then went for coffee and Robert and Ross gave me an in depth run-down on what the company was about, how they value their employees as assets, and how they like to create a commitment rather than a compliant relationship with their staff.

When coffee had ended it was down to business, Ross was immediately on the phone negotiating with clients while Robert directed me through the employees handbook. Then I was assigned my first task of updating the company’s database which took me right up until lunchtime.

In the afternoon, I was given a run-down on how the agency seek to use technology to maximize its exposure in the marketplace. I was given a very well informed induction into this by Ewa who heads up the IT recruitment team. Ewa illustrated every single way to identify possible candidates for any given job and gave me an understanding of how search and social media operate from a business perspective.

The next morning I was assigned the task of searching for possible candidates in the technology sector. In the afternoon Robert gave me an in depth lesson in how to sell the role to perspective clients and also a crash course in Head Hunting!

In conclusion, rather than been thrown in at the deep end, the guys ensured that I fully understood everything that I was assigned to do. This standard filters right through everything that Amicus undertakes. My short -time at the company has given me a good understanding of the processes involved in recruitment and instead of deterring me away from it as a career, it has made me want to pursue it even more.

Recruitment, perception v reality for an Intern was written by Eoin Kelly who is studying Business & Law in IT Carlow and future NRF recruiter of the year!