Jonathan Linden is a Founding Director at Source – a specialist recruiter for the Creative Communications industry. He considers himself lucky enough to have worked in recruiting space since 1997. A lot has changed in that time, both in terms of media formats, delivery and consumption – one thing remains constant – great companies need great talent to deliver brilliant results for their clients. He spends his time putting these people in touch with each other.
G: Tell us about your business?
I started Source with Annika de Friend in 2004 with a mission to become the recruitment agency of choice for creative communications people. Since then, we’ve carved out a reputation as a respected recruitment partner, making thousands of successful connections, continually growing our network and engaging with the market whilst always maintaining our East London vibe.
What’s unique to us is the way we work with people. Whereas many recruiters choose to ignore candidates and value only the client relationship – we value both. It’s a core objective at Source to treat clients and candidates in the same way, as people.
Additionally, unlike the majority of our competitors, we are members of the industry bodies APSCo and the REC. We’re accountable to their codes of conduct and therefore whenever clients choose us, they can trust they will get the highest standard of service.
As well as building our one to one relationships, at Source we seek to support the industry and community as much as we can. It’s impossible to understand an industry from the outside, so we integrate and are now very much a part of it. We do this through sponsorship of industry communities like Glug, Creative Social, She Say and Hyper Island which is really helping to build the digital community around ‘Silicon Roundabout’.
G: What are the main challenges maintaining your business and how are you overcoming them?
We’ve been very successful, even through the recession and I think we have to thank the staff here for that. Everyone involved with this company does it because they love the industry that we serve. A Source Consultant stands out because they are truly passionate about what they do.
In a turbulent economy, showing our value is one of the hardest challenges any recruitment company faces.
The problem is that clients often see the CV’s they receive as the only measurable element of a recruiters work. With the advances in social networking and cloud computing – anyone can set up a recruitment business from their back bedroom and as such charge very low fees. This is fine, until something goes wrong.
What a client won’t see is what goes on in the background. A properly run recruitment business offers protection, because you know they will have all their documents in order, will comply with legislation and will have the resources to do thorough candidate checking. That means you can always be sure you aren’t going to be hit later down the line
G: What would you say has been your most memorable experience while developing your business?
The most memorable moment for me was our move to our current offices in 2005 – there were 4 of us rattling around in 1750 square feet. We are now bursting at the seams, and are about to do it all again, moving into a new office so we can rattle around in 4500 square feet!
Other memorable moments include seeing ourselves for the first time in New Media Age and being shortlisted recently for the MARA’s (Marketing and Advertising Recruitment Awards) as the Best Large Agency – fingers crossed we win it!
G: What were the funniest moments that happened while running your own business?
We once had a very quiet temp working for us in a support function. One evening, we all popped to the pub for a couple of drinks after work. Unbeknownst to us, she was in the loo when we locked up the office and we totally forgot about her!
A pint and 20 minutes later, we got a call for the alarm centre telling us that we had an intruder. We dashed back from the pub to find the temp in a bit of a flap, hands over her ears whilst the alarm screeched away in the background. It shouldn’t have been, but it was very funny.
G: Tell us about DO’s and DON’Ts when running the company?
DO invest in your staff. At Source we put £1500 per head, per year into staff training. It’s hard to get good people, so when you have them, offer them the opportunities and support they need to grow within the company.
DON’T ever underestimate the competition – they are always looking to find an angle to beat you to the clients. Maintain regular lines of communication to make sure you are always the first to be briefed on new roles.
G: Why do you choose Shoreditch to run your business?
We are actually based just outside of Shoreditch; however as that is where so many innovative businesses operate from, a lot of our time is spent there!
We love Shoreditch; it embodies what the creative communications industries are about. We really want to help build the digital and creative community, which is why we sponsor the events we do. We don’t just recruit for the fantastic companies in this industry either; we feel very much a part of it..
G: What does Shoreditch have to do to become the real Silicon Roundabout (an alternative to Silicon Valley)?
Shoreditch is already an alternative to Silicon Valley but it has its own distinct personality and we really want to keep that. We want ‘Silicon Roundabout’ to continue to lead digital innovation from the front.
If the area continues to develop in the digital space whilst staying true to its roots, it will always be an attractive area for the most creative businesses and talent.
G: Who/what are your favourite CEOs/Businesses in Shoreditch?
Our favourite businesses in the Shoreditch area are those companies that embody its creative personality. Places like Poke, Mother, and Unit 9. Not to mention our unique PR agency – Red Dog Communications.
G: What does the future have in store for Shoreditch?
The future’s bright for Shoreditch. We see it becoming an even more dazzling, cutting edge and inspiring progression of cultural integration whilst continuing development of the creative communications ecosystem.
You can find Source on:
Twitter: @wearesource
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/source_3
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WeAreSource
Blog: www.wearesource.co.uk/blog
Website: www.wearesource.co.uk/
