A West Midlands woman was a double winner at the awards which recognises the talents of the best recruitment candidates in the region.
Charlotte Buckell, from Sutton Coldfield, was named Temp of the Year 2016 at recruitment firm Katie Bard’s 12th annual awards.
The 22-year-old graduated last July and shortly after began temping through recruitment consultancy Katie Bard, based in Waterloo Street in Birmingham.
Although Charlotte was only on the firm’s books for three months before being made permanent at her employer, Birmingham City University (BCU), her dedication to the role wowed the judges to earn both the Graduate of the Year and overall Temp of the Year titles.
Katie Bard’s Temp of the Year Awards highlights the hard work of its candidates who work across a range of organisations in the region and were celebrated at Bar Opus at One Snow Hill in Birmingham.
The firm is part of the international Angela Mortimer group, which has offices in Birmingham, across England, along with Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, New York and Hong Kong, and has been holding the awards for 12 years.
Lucy Williams, temporary consultant at Katie Bard, said that although Charlotte had limited experience as a recent graduate, her driven attitude made her an ideal candidate for employers.
“As soon as Charlotte stepped through our offices, we knew she would make a great employee for any company – we just had to give her the opportunity,” she said.
“One of the things that most impressed us was that she had a real reason for why she wanted to go into HR, and demonstrated a clear desire to get her foot in the door.
“As with every year the talent among nominees was high, but Charlotte’s enthusiasm and dedication had the edge.
“The Temp of the Year Awards are a fantastic opportunity for all our candidates. Sometimes we find their hard work can be forgotten as placements are often short term, so these awards allow Katie Bard to recognise their efforts and ability to adapt into any challenge they face.”
Charlotte, who graduated from the University of Liverpool, was nominated by Birmingham City University for how successfully she settled into the team and adapted to the role.
The psychology graduate is now employed at the university as a HR administrator on fixed term contract – a role which is continuously growing more varied.
“I’m really enjoying working at BCU, the team are great and have helped me gain valuable experience but also give me the independence to manage parts of the job by myself,” she said.
“I was so shocked to have won and didn’t even hear my name when they announced it as I just hadn’t expected it – although now my team’s congratulations to me at work over the last week makes a little more sense!
“Katie Bard were a real support and vital in helping me secure the first step on the ladder of my career in human resources – I was impressed with how keen they were to place me in front of employers and relished any opportunity they gave me.”
The other winners on the night were Danielle Boyce (receptionist of the year), Joanna Rocks (administrator of the year), Kalvinder Kaur (secretary of the year), Laura Wainwright (outstanding contribution) and Rachelle Tuft (PA of the year).