After one year at Hamilton Forth, Consultant Tom Watson reflects on his experiences working in recruitment across the Scottish technology marketplace.
It has been an incredibly fast year; it feels like only yesterday that I was graduating from Edinburgh Napier University and collecting my degree yet I have experienced so much in this short space of time. After writing my dissertation thesis around the industry, I knew that taking the leap into recruitment was going to be a challenge, given the volatility of the market post Covid and the continued demand for top talent. However, over the past year I have learnt and developed a wrath of skills and worked in partnership with a variety of global and innovative organisations, as well as having the opportunity to meet and speak with some incredible candidates.
New Learnings
Working within the technology sector has been a completely new experience for me, so I made sure I spent the time learning and developing an understanding of the variety of different roles and skills individuals possess across the IT ecosystem. One of the most enjoyable parts of the job was actually learning from the candidates themselves, and although I hadn’t heard of some of the niche tech roles to begin with, by asking questions and understanding what their day-to-day duties were, this allowed me to understand their markets as well as the needs of our clients. For example, before defining my desk in Project Management and Business Analysis, I learnt about the different languages that software developers use when coding. Firstly, was the developer a front-end, back-end or fullstack developer? And secondly, what type of language did they use? These could include (but are not limited to) Python, Java, JavaScript, C, C+, C++, C#, SQL, PHP, HTML and R.
I have worked with some amazing clients this year, from large multinational corporations to public sector bodies; supporting their innovations, developments and expansions across Scotland and globally. I have also had the opportunity to attend several events, continuing my learning and development within the industry and listening to some fantastic speakers. Some highlights include, the DIGIT Expo, Tech Trends 2023, Cluster Ecosystem, and sponsoring BA Life 2023 which brought technology professionals together, highlighting numerous initiatives being launched within Scotland’s tech sector and a variety of innovative projects and ongoing programmes.
Internally, we also hosted some events of our own to celebrate our Group becoming the first recruitment firm in Scotland to become an Employee Ownership Trust, meaning that the business is run for and on behalf of all current and future employees! Furthermore, I had the opportunity to take part in some of our group fundraisers including the annual Rutherford Cross Charity Football Tournament for Sense Scotland, as well as organising the Longest Day Golf Challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support; both fundraisers were an incredible success and thoroughly enjoyable days for all involved.
It has been a great first year with Hamilton Forth and I have learnt a lot about myself, both personally and professionally, pushing my limits on what I thought I could achieve and continuing to put my best foot forward for our clients and candidates.
If you are looking for support with your tech career or help securing top tech talent for your organisation, please get in touch with our team: [email protected].
We are also looking to expand our team internally, so if you’re looking for a new opportunity within recruitment, please reach out to [email protected].
Reflections on 1 Year at Hamilton Forth in the Scottish Tech Market
After one year at Hamilton Forth, Consultant Tom Watson reflects on his experiences working in recruitment across the Scottish technology marketplace.
It has been an incredibly fast year; it feels like only yesterday that I was graduating from Edinburgh Napier University and collecting my degree yet I have experienced so much in this short space of time. After writing my dissertation thesis around the industry, I knew that taking the leap into recruitment was going to be a challenge, given the volatility of the market post Covid and the continued demand for top talent. However, over the past year I have learnt and developed a wrath of skills and worked in partnership with a variety of global and innovative organisations, as well as having the opportunity to meet and speak with some incredible candidates.
New Learnings
Working within the technology sector has been a completely new experience for me, so I made sure I spent the time learning and developing an understanding of the variety of different roles and skills individuals possess across the IT ecosystem. One of the most enjoyable parts of the job was actually learning from the candidates themselves, and although I hadn’t heard of some of the niche tech roles to begin with, by asking questions and understanding what their day-to-day duties were, this allowed me to understand their markets as well as the needs of our clients. For example, before defining my desk in Project Management and Business Analysis, I learnt about the different languages that software developers use when coding. Firstly, was the developer a front-end, back-end or fullstack developer? And secondly, what type of language did they use? These could include (but are not limited to) Python, Java, JavaScript, C, C+, C++, C#, SQL, PHP, HTML and R.
I have worked with some amazing clients this year, from large multinational corporations to public sector bodies; supporting their innovations, developments and expansions across Scotland and globally. I have also had the opportunity to attend several events, continuing my learning and development within the industry and listening to some fantastic speakers. Some highlights include, the DIGIT Expo, Tech Trends 2023, Cluster Ecosystem, and sponsoring BA Life 2023 which brought technology professionals together, highlighting numerous initiatives being launched within Scotland’s tech sector and a variety of innovative projects and ongoing programmes.
Internally, we also hosted some events of our own to celebrate our Group becoming the first recruitment firm in Scotland to become an Employee Ownership Trust, meaning that the business is run for and on behalf of all current and future employees! Furthermore, I had the opportunity to take part in some of our group fundraisers including the annual Rutherford Cross Charity Football Tournament for Sense Scotland, as well as organising the Longest Day Golf Challenge for Macmillan Cancer Support; both fundraisers were an incredible success and thoroughly enjoyable days for all involved.
It has been a great first year with Hamilton Forth and I have learnt a lot about myself, both personally and professionally, pushing my limits on what I thought I could achieve and continuing to put my best foot forward for our clients and candidates.
If you are looking for support with your tech career or help securing top tech talent for your organisation, please get in touch with our team: [email protected].
We are also looking to expand our team internally, so if you’re looking for a new opportunity within recruitment, please reach out to [email protected].
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