CS Success: The journey from Trainee to Rookie of the YearPosted 11 months ago by Client Server

Client Server’s Rookie of the Year is awarded to someone who has been with the business for under 18 months and performed highly in a number of areas.

We recently had the privilege of sitting down with this year's winner, Chester Clothier, to gain insights into his journey from Trainee to Rookie of the Year.

 

Client Server: What were you doing before Client Server?

Chester Clothier: I was working in a school in Crawley, mentoring kids. So quite a different career! To be honest, recruitment wasn't something I had seriously considered until I spoke to a friend who was in the industry, and it sounded interesting. I'd come home from my job one afternoon, and I thought, "I don't know if I want to do this anymore." So, I put my CV out there on Indeed and not long after lined up interviews with several companies, including Client Server.

Why us?

Client Server was by far the one which stuck out the most in terms of cultural fit. They seemed the most relatable and genuine. The people I met; I could see myself working there with them.

Why tech?

I didn't know much about recruitment, but I thought, "If I'm going to get into this, what industry interests me the most?" For me, it's technology. It's something I use every day and coming out of Covid I knew it was an industry which is constantly advancing and becoming more critical.

Being new to recruitment, how did you find the onboarding process?

I found it overwhelming at first because it was such a different world. Now I look back and it was massively important. There were lots of opportunities to ask questions which I really took advantage of, and I think that's what really helped me. I remember specifically asking to sit next to Will Brock (our top biller) when we were shadowing calls because I wanted to learn from the best. I picked his brain, watched him, and asked him about the industry and what he does.

So bring us to now, how are things going? Has it lived up to your expectations?

It's really good! I feel very established now. For some reason, I had a lot of imposter syndrome even when I was doing well. But getting through a full financial year, finishing really strong and being able to win Rookie of the Year, I feel very grateful. It's motivated me to go on and be like, "Now, what's next?"

What is next then? 

I'm aiming to be the top biller in my team and to be top 10 in the Sales League this year, which will be tough because everyone works so hard. In terms of progression, the next step is to become a Senior Consultant. Longer term, the goal is to become a Team Lead.

You are also part of the CSR Ops and SIT team, which won Team of the Year, how important is it to have a great team around you?

I think that helps a lot! The team is a balance of competitive and supportive and I am very proud to be part of it. There are so many strong teams that could have won, so that was huge. I felt that was important that Client Server Regional kept it as well because we won it last year, with a different team.

But the culture is one of the biggest things which has kept me in the job at times when it's tough because it's such a family culture. In Esher, you are speaking to every single person every day, and everyone is really supportive. It feels like we're part of something special because we're trying to break out and do newer things. London is so well established, whereas CSR, we're trying to make a real name for ourselves, so we feel that we have one common cause.

What is CSR Ops and SIT?

We do so much. Basically, we do anything which isn't hands-on software development but is still technical. That's data, DevOps, testing, engineering managers, and all of that for people outside of London.

What are your favourite roles to work?

I would say architects because they tend to be people that are very accomplished in their careers. They've been successful in one thing or the other, and they move into architecture. This means typically they have a unique perspective but can still provide a lot of technical insight which is really interesting.

 

Do you think you could be our next Rookie of the Year? Follow in Chester’s footsteps and get in touch with our internal recruitment team to start or progress your career in recruitment.