Laura White

From Trainee Recruiter to Head of Operations 

The story of Laura White and her tips for finding happiness at work.

Rumour has it that when Laura first started her career in recruitment, CVs were sent by fax and LinkedIn was just a thing of science fiction! Over the past 20 years (or so!), Laura has amassed a wealth of experience in the industry working across different sectors and specialisms, and in businesses of varying scales and structures. As a recruiter and subsequent progression to Recruitment Manager, she has certainly added many notches on her belt to be proud of, but it was her transition into back-office operations where the depth of her experience truly came to life.

As Head of Operations for Reqiva, Laura’s role encompasses everything from marketing to HR, finance to events, and everything in between. She acts as strategic advisor to our Co-Founders and spends her days managing projects, implementing new processes and ensuring the business runs like a well-oiled machine. We think of her as our linchpin - the glue that holds us together. The butter in our sandwich. 

So, with her vast experience in the industry what does she enjoy most about working for Reqiva and what advice would she give to anyone starting out in the industry today?

Q. What do you enjoy most about being part of the Reqiva team?

“One of the key things I love about Reqiva is the culture. As a small business, we all work extremely closely and there’s a real sense of team collaboration. In fact, one of our values is ‘together we win’ which is all about supporting each other as a team and championing the successes and aspirations of others. Recruitment can be tough, so you definitely need that support network around you to lift you up when times are hard and to celebrate with you when things are going well. But equally we encourage accountability and ownership – there is no micro-management here which can so often be the case in recruitment. Instead, people are respected and given the space they need to crack on and get the job done!”

Q. What advice would you give to anyone starting out in the industry today?

“I think the biggest piece of advice I could give is make sure you choose the company you work for carefully. The UK market is saturated with agencies from small start-ups to huge multi-national organisations, all offering something slightly unique. Picking the wrong business can significantly impact your overall job satisfaction and long-term career prospects so think about company culture, opportunities for career advancement, stability and reputation, mission and values and work-life balance. These things will shape your daily experience and help you to find happiness at work.”

Well with a career as successful as hers, we’d say that’s great advice! Thank you for being such a superstar Laura, we think you’re awesome!