Specialist recruitment.

Delivering top talent in marketing, communications, sales, design and tech.

Let's Talk

I recruit skilled people in these areas

Marcoms

Marketing is a complex, fast evolving discipline with many areas of expertise. I can find you specialist marketing and communications, doers who are great on the tools, from digital marketing specialists to SEO experts, social content creators, and comms stars.

Designers

Build your creative team. Whether you’re looking for talented graphic designers, illustrators, typographers, specialists in web design or UX design, or technical design experts for your industry niche, I’ve a network packed with design talent.

Sales experts

It can be hard to find technical salespeople for your industry. I’ve a network of experienced salespeople in technology, agribusiness, and construction, and can differentiate real sales skills, experience, and outcomes from hype.

Tech sector

My tech sector network includes technical experts like UX designers and product developers, along with customer success staff and tech marketers. I support tech businesses with recruitment, helping you build an agile, high-performing team. 

  • "I highly recommend Sally as a recruiter! She is great to deal with, an excellent communicator, and extremely diligent when sourcing and presenting suitable candidates. Sally has placed three excellent people in our New Business team at Isaac Construction, who have all become high-performing FTEs. She has a 100% success rate, and long may it continue!"

    Tom Kettell, New Business Manager, Isaac Construction

Recruitment isn’t easy

You may not have time to recruit. Maybe you haven’t been able to find the right talent, or you’ve recruited the wrong people, and it hasn't worked out.

Unfortunately, the cost of getting recruitment wrong can be eye watering. It’s expensive to structure someone out, and then there's the cost of all those lost opportunities. It’s worth investing in recruitment to get it right.

Often HR teams are spread too thin

If you’ve a large company with many specialist disciplines, it’s unrealistic to expect your HR team to understand the technical aspects of every role.

Recruitment also requires a different approach to HR, who are focused on developing people and culture. I have my finger on what's happening out in the job market, and know where to look for those tricky, specialist skills.

  • “I recently had the pleasure of working with Sally as our recruiter, and I must say that she exceeded our expectations in every way. After struggling to find the right candidates using the usual job posting routes, Sally found us an outstanding candidate who has become an integral member of our team, and we could not be happier with her recruitment services.”

    Ashling Mullins, Centre Manager, The Crossing

Six ways I help you fill tricky, specialist roles

  • A job advert isn’t the best way to find talent. I live and breathe design, marketing, sales, and tech. I’ve a network of experts in those areas and I’m constantly meeting candidates.

  • Many strong candidates don't even get a look in because you can only tell so much from a CV. I get on the phone, and vet everyone thoroughly to make sure great talent doesn’t get away.

  • Top talent never sticks around, so I don’t wait until I’ve a shortlist of applicants. As soon as I meet good people, I’ll send you their CV to review and give you an overview of their skills.

  • Even great candidates can become shy in an interview situation. I get to know candidates and brief you on what to expect, so you can ask the right questions, and help them shine.

  • Interviews are your chance to make a good impression. Both parties assess each other, and your company brand is at stake. I can advise on interview strategies and I’m here to debrief.

  • In many specialist roles, talent is scarce, and competition is high. I can advise you on market salaries and benefit packages, and help manage candidates’ salary expectations.

  • "Sally has been a trusted recruitment advisor for Inovo for over 5 years. She is meticulous in her detail and always takes the time to understand our business and the requirements for the roles we are hiring. We are a people business, making it essential that talented candidates bring not only the usual skillsets, but add to the culture of our business. Passion and inclusivity are key, and Sally has worked hard to understand this. We know when Sally sends us a candidate, she understands how they will benefit our business. We look forward to many more years working together."

    Ryan Croy, Director / General Manager, Inovo

The recruitment process

  • I’ll come and meet you, see where you work, and talk through the role you want to recruit, so I understand what’s important to you. It can be helpful to me to say hello to your team and get a feel for your culture. Then I walk you through my process, and the way I structure my fees.

    If you need help identifying skill gaps in your organisation, I can help you brainstorm your talent needs, and give you strategic advice to help you get clear on the skills and experience you need in this new role.

    After this first meeting, I’ll email you a proposal and a contract for you to sign before we start going out to market.

  • As well as writing and posting job adverts, I reach out to my network, talk to potential candidates, and follow up leads until I find people right for your role. I also vet and assess all candidates who apply.

    As I meet strong candidates, I let you know. Good people get snapped up fast, so I always ask candidates if they're interviewing elsewhere because we don’t want you to miss your shot.

  • I recommend you meet candidates at least twice.

    The first interview tends to be more formal. You might invite a panel of team members to get more than one point of view. Remember, interviews are a two-way conversation. Don’t drill candidates. They’re interviewing you too.

    The second interview is often more relaxed. It’s an opportunity to fill any gaps, and for you both to get a feel for who you are as people It can be good to meet the candidate offsite, then invite them back to meet your team.

    If a candidate doesn’t live locally, I recommend doing the first interview online and the second interview in person, so you get to meet face to face.

  • I’ll tell you candidates’ salary expectations, and help you put together a strong offer that makes a good first impression. If your salary budget is low, we’ll look at how you can make up for any shortfall with additional benefits.

    Then I’ll manage any salary negotiations on your behalf.

    I’ll do reference checks and any other background checks required for the role. If references meet expectations, we send a written offer and contract.

    The worst part of recruitment is rejecting people, so I call your unsuccessful candidates. We want to leave unsuccessful applicants feeling good. I give constructive feedback, and remind candidates that when it doesn’t work out, it’s no reflection on them. It’s just that your role wasn’t the right fit.

  • “Sally has worked with us for a number of years, recruiting our staff. I’ve always found Sally to be highly personable, tenacious, professional, and hard-working. Sally always takes time to understand her candidates, as well as the role and team candidates will be going into. As an employer this gives you a lot of confidence in knowing her candidates will be the 'right fit'.”

    Geri Kerr, Brand Manager, Ngai Tahu Property

  • "A big part of our criteria when we are looking for staff is a “right fit” approach . Sally has been very proactive and accurate in her approach in sourcing suitable candidates for our team leading to excellent results. We would have no hesitation in recommending her services to any respective employer."

    Scott McCulloch, GM Development South Island, Ngai Tahu Property

  • “Sally is by far one of the best recruiters I’ve come across. She completely understands candidates and employers’ needs. As an employer you 100% know that candidates she presents are a great fit for your team and company, which in turn ensures long term exceptional placements.”

    Sally Aldred, Project Marketing Manager, Ngai Tahu Property

Recruitment fees

I work on a retained basis, which means you pay 25% of my fee upfront, and the remainder when your new employee signs their contract.

Talk to me about fees. If you’re recruiting more than one role, I’m happy to discuss economies of scale with you.

Let's Talk

 Recruitment FAQs

Here’s a few answers to questions people ask me about recruitment. If what you want to know isn’t here, email me on sally@scoutrecruitment.co.nz and I’ll help.

  • No. I work on a retained search basis. That means you brief me, pay 25% of the fee upfront, and the balance when your candidate signs their contract.

    The roles I recruit are specialist roles that are hard to fill. They take a lot of legwork on my part. To fill a typical role, I’ll make between 30-50 calls / emails and DMs. Paying a retainer proves you’re serious about filling the role, so I know I can go all out, and give your role my absolute best shot.

  • Talk to me about this. I can let you know what salaries have been for similar roles recently. If I haven’t placed a similar role in the last few years, I'll go out to market, get a feel for expectations as I talk to candidates, and advise you on the market. If your salary budget is low, we’ll look at how you can make up a shortfall with benefits.

  • I tailor what I deliver to your needs. One business I recruit for is happy for me to send them one candidate because they know I understand their business and trust me to deliver what they need. Other clients always appreciate seeing a few people for comparison. It’s all about what’s right for you.

  • As I meet strong candidates, I send them straight to you. Good people are hard to find, so top talent gets offers fast. If I wait until I’ve found enough good people for a shortlist, chances are you’ll miss out on great people.

    But I won’t inundate you with CVs. My job is to make your life easier, so only quality candidates make the grade.

  • Yes, for sure. I’m delighted to come and help with part of your recruitment process, whether that’s providing consultancy services to help you develop a recruitment strategy or helping you to screen candidates. It can be really valuable to have an experienced recruitment expert in the room, who knows the calibre of talent on the market, and can give you a fresh perspective.

Talk to me about your recruitment needs →