We caught up with Guy to find out more about what a day in the life at Thurn Partners is really like and to get his top tips for people wanting to follow in his footsteps.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?
I completed a Spanish and Latin degree at Durham University and spent a year studying abroad in Spain and South America. My time away somewhat helped me figure out what career path I wanted to follow or at least narrowed it down. I’d developed strong communication skills, both written and oral, and wanted to leverage these in my job as well as do something where I could channel a degree of creativity. The role at Thurn Partners perfectly met those criteria.
Tell us about your career at Thurn Partners
Joining Thurn in 2020 as a fresh graduate, I didn’t quite foresee just how my role would grow! Even within my first year, I had a significant level of candidate and client autonomy. After two years, I was leading a team of two and was very well coached around this transition into management. I now lead a team of 4 as one of just 3 sales managers in the business and manage a number of client accounts. I am able to balance my time between mentorship/management and still being a full-time consultant, and it’s a balance I thoroughly enjoy!
What does your role at Thurn Partners involve?
As a Team Lead, there are several components to my role.
Firstly, I of course am responsible for coaching, guiding and developing my team members. We have regular check-ins, and they know I’m always available if they have a question, or something tricky with a client or candidate they need support on.
As a contributor, I spend time identifying outstanding people who have the necessary experience and expertise to add value to our clients. The main tools for this include industry databases like Bloomberg and online platforms such as LinkedIn and Google, though we use other innovative methods to identify talent.
Outreach is a vital step of the search process. I take time to research and write detailed, personalized and unique messages to pique the interest of targeted individuals. To stand out, I write bespoke messages (via email, LinkedIn or other media) to engage individual’s interest for a client of ours, with the ultimate goal of arranging a meeting or phone conversation.
Once engaged, I spend time speaking with these individuals, usually by meeting in person, on video or over the phone. Here, I build a rapport, learn more about the individual and their motivators and assess potential eligibility for a client’s requirement, with the objective of facilitating an introduction.
Client and account management is of course pivotal – as all the above is redundant without good clients! I spend time meeting my clients and liaising over email regarding candidates and market information. Punctuality, quality and reliability are principles I apply to all those relationships.
Besides these tasks, you’ll find me brainstorming in internal team meetings around content or priorities or doing business development.
What is a ‘normal day’ like in your role?
8:30 – 9:00
My mornings begin with time spent organizing my inbox, catching up with my team and coordinating plans for the day. Since much of the work I do currently is US-based (this is not the case for everyone), emails and responses often come in overnight.
9:00 – 10:30
I think more clearly in the morning, and as such prefer to create any new content at this stage in the day. This could be a new advert, email template or perhaps a company pitch. Some team members with more of a UK focus may make calls at this point.
10:30 – 12:00
I often use this time for research – finding new pools of talent and identifying profiles of high-calibre people who would be great prospects. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, team meetings take place and it’s also a good time to arrange in-person meetings.
12:00 – 13:30
I use most of my lunch break to go to the gym. Exercise is very important to me and helps keep my concentration in the afternoon. Many of us in the office do this and find it helps us maintain balance. Others choose to have lunch together and relax.
13:30 – 15:00
This is about the time that the US gets going and so is when I start my outreach. I’ll send emails to people of interest and take time to make sure the messages are well written and tailored to the individual. US client emails will often come in at this time too.
15:00 – 18:00
This is my preferred time to make video and phone calls. I have 2-4 client calls per week and the remainder are either introductory calls with people I’m trying to engage or check-ins with my network. After a successful call, I write bios of the individual to share with a client, including full details of their experience and motivations to hopefully secure them an introductory meeting.
18:00 – onwards
I use this time to catch up on anything I haven’t found time to do throughout the day or have calls with clients on US time. Particularly towards the end of the week, I often go for a drink or two with the team, which is great for morale.
What piece of advice would you give to someone who is thinking of applying to Thurn Partners?
In your application and interviews, I would foreground any experience that has proven your written and spoken communication skills. It’s important to show that you can positively influence people.
The team likes to see that you have done things to develop your communication skills outside of your studies, whether that be by captaining a sports team or working at your local pub. Examples of being a go-getter and working hard are also key – but I suppose that can be said for most professions!
If Guy has left you feeling inspired, why not see where a career at Thurn Partners could take you? Find out more by clicking here.