Lily Shippen, a recruitment firm specialising in secretarial and business support employment, has launched free masterclasses for people leaving education and entering work.
The business was founded in 2016 by 26-year-old Ms Shippen, who started her career at global recruitment firm Robert Walters, London, after spotting a gap in the market for a recruitment agency focus on PAs, executive assistants, receptionists and office managers.
Ms Shippen, from Stockport, said she “wanted to give something back” by holding bi-monthly classes at Lily Shippen HQ in WeWork, St Peters Square which will cover CV writing, interviewing techniques, what to expect from roles and how to apply for jobs.
She told BusinessLive: “Sometimes you meet someone and they’ve got a great CV but they don’t have the confidence to really sell themselves.
“I was very lucky that my mum has her own business, so I’ve learnt a lot from her, but for some people they don’t have the confidence to do that and I think that's where I really want to help people.
“Some of our clients do ask really specific questions, and if you’re not prepared for a competency-based question, then it could really knock your confidence.”
The first class will take place on September 26, focusing on the “junior-end” of job roles, Ms Shippen said.
“Then, as we tailor each one, we’ll do one with mid-level candidates and we’ll do one that’s more senior.
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“We want to keep them quite intimate, but if we can get enough people we will put on more and more of them,because we’ve got the space to do it and it’s quite easy for us to do.”
The consultancy places support workers in businesses across all sectors, having recently placed PAs to support top private equity firms in the north west as well as charities and media organisations.
She said: “People think it’s an easy placement because it’s not a senior executive appointment but you do need to be meeting directors they will be supporting and they need to meet the support workers.
“I spotted that no-one was really doing that and just thought I could actually be really niche and really stick to just doing PAs or executive assistants or office managers.”
Ms Shippen said the business concept has “worked really well in Manchester” because of the city’s size.
“Everyone knows each other, so we get a lot of business through word of mouth and a lot of referrals,” she said
The business is comprised of two people - Ms Shippen and best friend and co-worker Emma Hulbert - with plans to employ additional staff towards the end of 2019.
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“I’ve tried to keep it as lean as possible so Emma and I do everything, we both bill and we both do all the administration but then we will look to expand.”
“I’m looking to hire a candidate manager and a consultant towards the end of this year and into the new year.”