Last month, NSW Manager Anthony Ristuccia celebrated 25 years at Bayside Personnel. A company stalwart, he has shown great commitment, dedication and insight throughout his time with the company. From his first job as a consultant, Anthony’s diligence and expertise has been appreciated by candidates and clients alike. Testament to his work is the many long-lasting business relationships he’s built between Bayside Personnel and its clients. Stephen Doyle, National Engineering Manager for KONE Corporation, has known Anthony for many years.

“I have worked with Anthony for over 10 years. Throughout that time he has identified quality candidates for us. Importantly, Anthony has taken the time to get to know us and our business, and has always been attentive to our business needs. Having Antony as a recruitment partner has been of great benefit to our company.”

A lot has changed in recruitment since he joined the company in the mid-90s. As Anthony reached his significant milestone, we sat down with him to ask him about his experiences at Bayside Personnel, plus what advice he’d give to consultants starting out.

How did you come to join Bayside?

  

Before I joined Bayside Personnel, I had worked in engineering for 13 years. I wanted to be more involved with people instead of sitting at my desk and looking at a computer screen all day. I had already applied for a position at Bayside a few years before, so as you can imagine, I was determined to work for the company!

How did you become NSW Manager?

I started as a consultant, specialising in chemical and industrial clients. I travelled throughout the state to meet clients, which helped me to learn a lot in a short period of time. I was promoted to senior consultant in 1999, which was an especially busy time for the company. The Sydney Olympics were only a year away, so we were recruiting for a large number of roles, particularly in construction.

Following a few lean years in the early noughties when the NSW market was flat post-Olympics, we started to grow again. We won new clients and hired new consultants. With a larger team, I went from being a consultant to a team leader. As the business has changed, I’ve worked in several managerial roles, including Technical Manager and Accounts Manager, before becoming NSW Manager for Bayside Personnel.

What’s the key to good client relations?

I’ve always believed that you should treat your client’s business as if it’s your own. You should try and put yourself in their shoes. If I was the business owner would I hire this candidate to work in my business? If I was a team leader would this be the right individual for my team? Clients want a recruiter that will go that extra mile. They want to know that you understand their business; they want to know that you care about business; and importantly, they want to know that you’ll be there if things go wrong because there’s a good chance they will.

Finally, what’s your advice for new consultants?

When you’re a recruitment consultant, understanding candidate career aspirations and motivations is really important. However, assessing candidates is also a key part of the job – you have to be prepared to do a bit of detective work too. You need to be on the lookout for clues that back up what they’ve already told you. Ultimately, it’s up to you alone to ensure that everything lines up.