A Day in the Life of an Entrée Early Years Recruiter

Posted on 31/01/2019 by Penny Debrowski

A lot of people ask me what exactly it is I do every day. It must be so easy, right? Meeting candidates and having a good old chat. Spending 4 hours over wine-heavy lunches with clients. Multiple coffee dates. Walking blissfully into the sunset. I WISH! Let me outline a typical day in the life of a Recruiter.

4:30am – I usually don’t wake up this early but today my four year old son has decided that now is the perfect time to crawl into bed. I don’t protest as I need that extra half hour of sleep without an argument.

5:00am – The alarm goes off and I wake up dazed and a little confused. Once I get my bearings and realise I’m snuggled up in bed, I make the decision to snooze for an extra few minutes.  

5:30am – My next alarm goes off and I’m feeling alert. First things first I check my phone to see if any shift bookings have come through overnight. Already there are four shifts to fill! I send out text messages to candidates while waking up my boys, dressing them and feeding them breakfast.

6:00am – The office of Penny is now “officially” open and I get my first phone call of the morning. I don’t even need to ask who is calling as I recognise all the numbers straight away!    

6:30am – First stop of the day is my youngest son’s childcare and the phone rings again just as the kids start to bicker. I turn around in my chair and as I answer the phone my eyes say what I can’t: “Shhhh, Mummy is working!”

6:45am – Second stop of the morning is my second son’s school. With so much bussing about I am looking forward to the day they are both at the same school – 7 months and counting!

7:15am – I finally roll on into work and I am already craving a coffee. At this point the phone is going crazy and I’m filling shifts.

8:00am – The phone has stopped ringing for one moment so I take this opportunity to get my daily fix of caffeine. The people at the cafe know me by name and my order off by heart. They are everyday heroes in my eyes.

8:30am – I say good morning to the rest of the team who are arriving and we all sit down for our daily team meeting. I am getting up and down from my seat at the meeting table to answer my phone as it rings with shifts for the day.

9:00am – Time to search for new talent! I review all the job applications that have come in overnight, searching for more superstar educators for my temporary team.

9:30am – My first interview of the day has arrived and I’m excited to see what they could bring to the Entrée Early Years team.

11:00am – Out of the interview and straight onto the phones. This candidate was amazing and I want to conduct their reference check straight away so I can send them out on shift tomorrow.  

12:00pm – LUNCHTIME! My favourite part of the day and today I’m meeting one of my clients at my favourite café. I can’t help but order the same thing I always do – a chicken schnitzel!  

1:00pm – Lunch is finished and I am so full! A little toddle back to the office will do me good.

1:30pm – It’s time to start reviewing my emails and I settle in with my second coffee of the day.

2:00pm – Another interview, this time for a permanent Director position – fingers crossed it goes well.

3:00pm – Time for a client visit. I love going out to see the Directors and their teams at each of my centres. Today I’ll also see a few of my agency educators who are out at the centre relieving.

4:00pm – Home time! That means a big drive back home into the Adelaide Hills to pick up my boys and hear about their days.

5:00pm – We finally arrive home. I get the boys a snack and start checking my emails once again – there are shifts for tomorrow that need to be filled.

6:00pm – Time to check up on my candidates. Some interviewed with my clients for permanent jobs today so I’m interested to see how their interviews went!

6:15pm –My husband has cooked dinner tonight and I am starving!   

7:00pm – Bedtime for the boys and quiet time for me – I’ll just sit down for a few minutes and watch some television.

8:00pm – DING! Another shift is called in for tomorrow; it’s shaping up to be busy day tomorrow! I text message candidates to fill the booking.

8:30pm – The office of Penny is now closed and I switch off the phone, wash my face and climb into bed with my eyes already shut before hitting the pillow.

So there you have it. Having said that, if anybody DOES want to go for a blissful walk into the sunset, give me call. I’ll bring the wine.