As the MD of Macstaff, Anthony McCormack bases the running of his business of the principles of expertise, integrity and commitment. So here is a bit about the man himself. How Anthony got to where he is and why he decided to launch his own company, Macstaff, in 2016.

Here is Anthony McCormack’s ‘Origin’ story.

So where did it all start for me…?

Well after graduating from Nottingham University in Business, with no real idea what I wanted to do as a career, I returned to my inconspicuous hometown of Hinckley in Leicestershire, which is best known for hosiery! 

As a stop-gap, I went to register with a local recruitment agency, called Round Peg Recruitment run by entrepreneur and local legend Adrian Hobbs and his wife Deborah. 

I honestly can’t remember how it happened, (this is the 90s after all), but after speaking to a few managers, I was offered the chance to work for them in the office ‘on the phones’.  I remember filling out time-sheets on Fridays, so it must have been what I now know as temp-to-perm!  

Industrial Market

So that’s how it all started. I have just found Mark Hobbs, son of the power couple, on LinkedIn so I can tag someone from the dynasty to thank them very much for my first break in recruitment! 

Mark was already working in the business, was like 16 years old, and I distinctly remember him running rings around me. This was a sobering realisation and I knew it was time for me to knuckle down and make this work. Things were fast and furious filling temp orders in the local driving and industrial market, I learned some street-smarts and was with them for my three formative years.

It was only after the odd person had left that I realised there were other parts to the recruitment industry, doing perm recruitment and even executive search. So I registered with a Rec to Rec to see what she could get me. 

It was a boom time in 1999 and several interviews were lined up within a week or two. I was offered a recruitment consultant role with Synergy, and I started commuting to the big city, working at their new Birmingham office doing facilities management recruitment as a start-up desk. It was the heady days of ‘work hard… play hard’, fancy corporate days out and we had some real success.  

Redundant

However, after ‘9-11’ when the Twin Towers came down in New York, things took a dip, the decision to close the office was made and I was made redundant. 

My first child was due that December, it was a stressful time and I didn’t take it too well. However, I had recruitment skills now, and responsibilities, so I marketed myself out to companies I knew were good in the construction and property world. Soon after, I landed an entry-level position at Hays.

I worked for Hays in Leicester and Birmingham and was promoted to management, before grabbing a great opportunity to join their growing Canadian operation where I headed teams in construction and property and latterly IT. 

My wife and I relocated with two kids to Mississauga/Toronto for nine great years, and we became Canadian citizens (dual Brits), just before returning to the UK, this time with three kids in tow.

Macstaff set-up

After working for a year or so for Hays in Bristol on a construction perm desk, I took the plunge and fulfilled a career-long dream of setting up on my own.

As I write this in 2022, Macstaff is five years old. There have been ups and downs as I documented in my diary of a recruitment entrepreneur blogs but, overall, this journey has been a massive win from a personal perspective. 

I’m proud of the reputation and track record that we have built up in professional skilled and technical recruitment for construction, property engineering, and manufacturing to date. 

I also joined ‘TEAM‘ and have enjoyed working with like-minded recruitment business owners and have been recently made TEAM Solo Recruiters Sector Director.

After just 25 years, I have worked out that my purpose in recruitment is “moving people to a brighter future worldwide” and this keeps me motivated!  

What’s your origin story?

#recruitment #job #sales #recruitinggym #origin

READ MORE: Find out more about how Macstaff was launched

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