INTERVIEW
ON THE RIGHT PAGE FOR RECRUITMENT Steve Howes and Matt Jones
With its headquarters in Weybridge and offices across the globe, the FTSE 250-listed recruitment company Michael Page, part of PageGroup, is one of the region’s big success stories. It hasn’t forgotten its local market, as Ian Trevett discovered when he visited the regional Head Office in Guildford to meet Steve Howes, Operating Director for Michael Page Finance in the South East of England and Matt Jones, Associate Director for Guildford and Brighton.
O
ne of the perks of working for an established recruitment company is that you get to see the best vacancies before
anyone else. Recruitment has a reputation for
they aren’t the only ones; the company is listed
people are managed by leaders who have done
in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to
the job successfully themselves and secondly,
Work For. So what is the secret?
we have created a clear career path spanning
Steve Howes (SH): Our model is one of
10, 15, 20 years, not two years. It’s a real
being a tough sales environment, attracting
organic growth - 87% of our management and
testament to the company and our culture that
ambitious professionals hungry for success,
directorate team joined as consultants, as
the majority of our management team have
so when those plum job prospects appear in
Matt and I did, and have worked up through
worked for the company for over six years.
the inbox, who could blame them for taking
the ranks. I started in the Southampton office,
advantage?
where I built a practice business, and then I
meritocratic business where you can carve out
became a manager, associate director and am
your own career.
So it is quite an achievement for Michael
Matt Jones (MJ): Michael Page represents a
Page Finance to boast, quite rightly, about their
now an operating director, with a regional remit
proud record of staff retention. Matt Jones has
covering four offices in Guildford, Brighton,
of the Southern Regional offices (Guildford,
just celebrated his tenth year at the company
Southampton and Maidstone. There are two
Southampton, Brighton and Maidstone) with at
and Steve Howes is only months behind. And
main benefits of organic growth. Firstly, our
least ten years’ experience.
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I am proud that we have managers in all