Our new Principal Consultant, Abigail Street, brings a host of talents to the Orion table. With over 15 years of experience and four foreign languages under her belt, she has perfected the art of communicating in a way that unites clients and candidates throughout the recruitment process. Her considered and personable approach is one of the many reasons we asked her to join our London team from the helm of her own recruitment agency. We’re delighted she said yes.
Well-versed for a career in recruitment
Abigail graduated from King's College London with a degree in French and Spanish, then worked in sales and teaching, never quite finding the right fit. Continuing the search for her dream career, she approached a recruitment agency to help her find a role as a bilingual PA. The agency persuaded her to work for them instead, and with that, she found her place in the workforce.
“I just loved it,” says Abigail. "I couldn't believe how interesting it was. Reading CVs, finding out about different people and about different companies, then matching them up. I took to it like a duck to water.”
Over the following years, Abigail did stints in different styles of recruitment agencies, from big corporates like Hays and Harvey Nash to smaller, boutique-style companies focusing on finance or energy, with each role centring around her language skills. She eventually took the leap to set up her firm, Eurotalent, in 2020. For three years, Abigail loved the buzz of running her own business, but latterly she began to miss being part of a larger, supportive team. Her now manager, Mark Donnison, unwittingly called her at the opportune moment to ask if she would consider joining Orion Group.
Continuous learning - and the value of teamwork
A few weeks into the job, Abigail relishes being surrounded by others who share her passion for recruitment – and for doing it well. Abigail is very much a team player, explaining how important it is to support each other for the common good.
“I think being in a team is really important in recruitment because that's how you learn,” she explains.“It’s how you get results. It's like a sport, really. You throw the ball to each other, waiting to see who scores.”
For someone so experienced in her field, Abigail is markedly open to and conscious of the importance of continuous learning. In this regard, her first impressions of Orion are very positive. “I'm loving it,” she says. “It’s really good to be working with a lot of similarly experienced people from whom I can learn a lot, particularly about technical engineering. I’m all about seeing how other people work, having people to bounce ideas off, and getting feedback about where I can improve.” As well as enjoying greater accountability and support, Abigail is thriving under the Orion brand, which gives her access to bigger clients than she could attract on her own.
Perfecting the balance
In addition to learning from her new colleagues, Abigail is sharing her unique skills with the rest of the office, such as her training in neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and sales psychology. She stresses the diversity of skills that one needs to be successful in recruitment.
“I do know what it takes to create a successful placement,” says Abigail. “On paper, the concept is extremely simple. But when it comes to the execution, you have to take intricately detailed steps, and you have to make sure that they're all done well in advance.”
She explains that what may seem like the main aspects of recruitment – understanding roles and job descriptions, managing internal and external stakeholders and getting into the details of what a candidate wants – is only part of the picture. What’s often more important is the recruiter’s ability to bring both the candidate and the employer along the recruitment journey at the same pace, asking the right questions at the right time and knowing when to push – and when to pull back.
A go-getter who has chased results since the outset of her career, Abigail thinks she may have been over-confident in the early years. Now that she deals primarily with senior figures within large corporations, she knows the importance of balancing assertiveness with humility.
“What I enjoy is putting the pieces in place along the way so that when it comes to the offer, everything is done: you already know that the candidate wants the job, and you already know that the employer wants the candidate, and...voilà,” Abigial says.
Speaking the language of recruitment
One aspect of Abigail’s experience that undoubtedly gives her the edge when it comes to communication is her exceptional language skills. She is proficient in French, Spanish and German, and has conversational Italian, having learnt the latter two from travel, reading and self-study. While she may not use these languages daily, she has witnessed time and time again the benefit of having that skill.
“Obviously the languages come in handy because we speak with candidates and clients all over the world. But I think it's more about the ability to manipulate language and to communicate as a whole,” explains Abigail. “When you learn a foreign language, you work on the four key skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking - and being able to do that in French or German makes you better at it in English.”
From one success to another: Abigail’s journey continues
Looking ahead, Abigail is unsurprisingly keen to keep learning and growing. She has already made the most of her financial and energy sector expertise during her initial weeks with us, recently searching for an analyst for an oil trading company and finding the right person for an accounts payable position in an energy organisation.
“The goal in recruitment is always to achieve your potential, to be as good as you can be,” says Abigail. “Whether that presents itself as managing a team or taking on more client responsibility. There are so many different ways of progressing in recruitment.”
