Yellow Bricks Story: Inspiring the Talent of the Future

It is National Careers Week, often only celebrated within education establishments.

What if we all did something amazing for the young people? What if we helped just one person each?

Could a change happen?

It is hard to think about helping young people who are not your own. To justify doing something else with all the things building up on your to-do list; we’re the busiest we have ever been and against the wall with all sorts of topics out of our control. The thing is, we can’t always leave it to someone else; big or small, we can all make a difference. Imagine being thrust out of education today, starting out your career now. Would you get to where you are now? It’s a serious topic.

We thought hard about what we could do –

Here is our story on inspiring the future of talent:

We are a women-owned executive search firm. Here at Yellow Bricks, we hire incredible people for incredible companies as recruiters, search specialists, and head hunters.

With a 20-year search of experience, we have hired all sorts of wonderful people. From those on their way up, to the most senior level at companies all over the world. As a trusted advisor to so many leaders, my network is vast.

We discuss succession planning regularly, and how the talent pool is running empty in parts. It’s a topic that is spoken about a lot but with very little remedy offered. In our job, we are trying to get beneath the surface; we will only glance at a CV; we spend most of our time learning a person’s career story, how they live their lives, aspirations, and motivations.

It is in those conversations that the magic is revealed. This allows us to make the most exceptional matches. For me, talking and hearing and making eye contact is where you get the measure of a person.

We do the job this way because we want to find people that haven’t realised their own potential yet. As well as people who know what they want; we love having an impact on improving a person’s career and earning potential.

We are passionate about inspiring the next generation of talent

If you know me, you know I am passionate about preparing and inspiring the next generation who are about to enter the career world. Firstly, I went to visit a local secondary school which was struggling. I spoke to the teachers and staff about work experience and career advice; although the staff were doing their best, it was so limited because the budget was extremely tight. Aside from some parents intervening and helping their own kids along, the only companies willing to take the rest at the time were retailers who needed help in the stock room or childcare nurseries; those who didn’t get a place stayed home feeling let down and disengaged.

Our pledge

That year as a team, we pledged to source a work experience place for year ten students who could not source their own. There were 148 15-year-olds, and it was just me on the project. I spoke at the assembly and asked the youngsters to complete my questionnaire telling me about them. What they thought they were good at, what they enjoyed and wanted to try as a career. They all took part, there was excitement, we talked openly about career options that they previously had never heard of, they listened intently, and we chatted about the possibilities.

After that, we went away and called in favours with every client we had ever worked with. During this time, we also asked friends to help and offer work experience at their companies. We contacted companies that didn’t know us and explained how important it was to help these young people see that their future was limitless. It was hard work at times, and we definitely felt like giving up at points. We couldn’t believe the resistance from so many organisations.

Placements were made in a variety of industries

We continued our pledge and sourced 1-2 weeks of work experience for every single teenager. Altogether, placements were made in fields of Technology, Pharmaceuticals, FMCG, Financial Services, Entertainment, Government, Law, Supply Chain & Logistics and much more.

During the project, we lost two young girls just before work experience started after their families sent them abroad against their will into arranged marriages. Never to be heard from again; the school was heartbroken but powerless. It was a sobering moment, and we always think of those girls with heavy hearts and wonder what they are doing now instead of what they planned for themselves.

Despite the whole thing being an adventure and hard to juggle alongside our day job, we really felt we achieved something positive and confirmed my belief that experience is key for a young person. Because, being able to visualise your future and experience what hard work and determination get you, is a gift best felt early.

The hard work paid off

The results were staggering; many children were offered part-time jobs or future apprenticeships from the work experience they completed. Teachers said they couldn’t believe the positive change in the students as a result. Teens discovered more possibilities than expected, realizing their aspirations could be grander and more rewarding than imagined. They felt more equipped for the future and in control of their path. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

What can you do to inspire the next generation and help young people to reach their potential?