Tell us about your journey as a recruiter
This month, we’re proud to recognise a recruiter who’s consistently delivered top results through TalentVine – month after month.
Congratulations to Chris Irwin, TalentVine’s Recruiter of the Month for September 2025!
Agency: Jenkin Beattie
Location: Brisbane
Specialised Industries: Sales & Information Technology
Employer Rating: 9.1/10
Recent Successes:
Various Sales and Business Development-focused roles
and many more…
I started out in London after I got back from travelling overseas. I needed money ASAP and I knew a normal role wasn’t going to cut it. I had a friend who was in construction recruitment who seemed to really enjoy it and was making good money at the time so I decided to try my hand at recruitment within the technology sector as I had more of an interest in that after doing a placement year at IBM as part of my business degree. Recruitment meant instant access to senior decision makers which I loved – there’s not many entry level roles out there that give you face time with those people whilst also enabling you to have a huge impact on their lives by finding them a new job or helping them to build a team. After 4 years in London an opportunity came up to move to Sydney and I decided to jump at it – the best decision I ever made!! I’ve now been with Jenkin Beattie for 14 years and have since moved to Brisbane to open an office for us and bring my little Aussie kids up as Queenslanders!
What changes do you see happening in the recruitment industry in the next 12 months?
I think there’s a lot of noise and fearmongering in our industry at the moment around AI and the impact that’s having. There’s more software and “must have” tools available now than ever before and our industry is definitely becoming more sophisticated and technologically advanced than in years gone by. I think there’s a place for automating (or outsourcing) anything that can make us more efficient but there is a danger of consultants wanting more and more technology with some now hiding behind the technology and automated outreach and losing the opportunity of building trust and long lasting relationships that the phone and face to face meetings provide. People will need to weigh up the perceived gains from AI and automation against the possible impact it will have on both their personal and company brands as well as the candidate and client experience. It’s a balance that everyone is trying to get right at the moment and not just in our industry.
What's one piece of advice you'd give to employers?
Go exclusive or retained with someone you trust that has longevity in the market and be as open and transparent as you possibly can. You will receive a far greater service and develop a much closer strategic relationship than if you drive down fees and use several recruiters.
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