My Story

I was born (believe it or not), went to school, went to college, went to Uni and overall got good grades, had a great time and only got into trouble now and then. I was clueless as to what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew I wanted a career and I wanted to be the best I could be in whatever I chose to do. A trait that is shared by most recruiters I would think. Having a good career was extremely important to me because I wanted to do something that made an impact and I wanted to achieve a level of financial security as quickly as I could. I had a job from being 13 and became as financially independent as I could as quickly as I could. I have always been a very determined and independent person and the recruitment industry encouraged these types of behaviours. It was an excellent match I suppose.

I achieved a solid grounding in recruitment from the 2 businesses I worked for prior to setting up Handley James with my business partner Peter. We set the business up because we felt we could do it better…plain and simple really. We didn’t want to work in a stereotypical recruitment environment and wanted to create something different. Something that was agile, flexible with the best interests of candidates and clients at the heart of our service, something that was unashamedly honest. I reckon we have achieved that.

Handley James is a big part of my life and a part that I am extremely proud of.

Out of work I walk a lot, run a bit and practice yoga often. I like to spend time with my family and you can often find me entertaining friends or family with a meal that could feed the five thousand when, in fact, there are only 6 of us sat round the table. I am happiest when I am with the people I love, surrounded by great food and drinking good wine…hence the need for the running and walking. I love to laugh and my laugh is VERY loud. I place a lot of emphasis on being happy, feeling content and never settling!!

My Handley James

I am the main point of contact for referrals for the business and that is how we have grown. We have an effective referral process which has led to year on year double digit growth.

My main role in the business is to act as the client interface. I meet with all of our clients and I consult with them on the best solution for them. I manage the processes from start to finish and I still take responsibility for fulfilment for certain assignments, with the help if my fantastic resourcing team.

I work with Peter on the overall business strategy and we meet every month to ensure we are on track and to align the strategy should it need it.

I am also responsible for ensuring that the music in the office stays on point because if it was left to Peter it would either be a Spice Girls or Craig David fest frankly.

Our Handley James

If I were to use 3 words to describe our culture it would be:

Energetic, Fun and Supportive

I like to think we have a laugh at work but when it comes down to it and one of us needs that extra bit of support we are there for each other in a millisecond. We are a close-knit team and we share the same values.

My Story

From a young age, I had one goal and that was to be the combined Olympic and World Champion in my chosen sport, Judo. I come from a long line of sports men and women, my parents had both competed on the world stage and won titles such as the Commonwealth Championships, the European Championships and the World Championships in Boxing (Father) and Judo (Mother). So, I had something to live up to.

I became the No1 in the country and British Champion in my early teens and have fought for GB all over the world. Countries such as Russia, China, USA, Belgium, Brazil, Spain and France to name a few. I had committed my whole life to the sport and can’t express how much I enjoyed my time, experiences and how much it taught me. At the age of 21, it was time to hang up my belt and commit to the next chapter. When leaving secondary school, I was lucky enough to obtain an apprenticeship in HVAC and went on to become an engineer within my field. One thing you need to know about me, I don’t like to be cold or hot and working with Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning… its always very hot or very cold and you are the one who needs to fix that.

So, I aspired to find a career that would fulfil my ambitions and somewhere that I could also be a positive force in people’s lives. This is what I do now, I help people find the best role and help companies find the best people. A win win for me on a day to day basis.

Originally starting my recruiting career in the Manufacturing sector, I specialised within Operations, Engineering, Design and Quality. I would say my experience is now very diverse, as here at Handley James we work with varying sizes of companies from such varied sectors and industries, that every day is different.

My Handley James

As a co-founder of Handley James, a company which was set up to provide an unrivalled service and support the growth of the UK market. I am involved in the strategic direction and day to day running of the business, working closely with colleagues and business partner ‘best pal’ Natalie. I am still a very active recruiter, working with the fantastic Handley James clients and candidates on a day to day basis. This is my happy place.

Our Handley James

As a company, we at Handley James want to create an environment where people enjoy their work life and are a part of something where they feel valued and will ultimately succeed.

We are a close team at HJC and if we aren’t too hungry, have milk in for a brew, all have a good binge series that we can recommend to each other or talking about what we are having for dinner the moment we get in, we are happy.

You generally spend more time in work than you do with your own family, so the environment and culture needs to be a great one.

Something not everyone knows about me:

Since being very young, I was always late and behind schedule. So for as long as I can remember, I have set my watch 7 minutes fast and I still do it to this day… so I’m never late. Hopefully!!

Use 3 words to describe the culture of Handley James

Honest, Passionate, Down to earth

My Story
For as long as I can remember I have always been hungry to learn new things and truly believe knowledge is key. I have studied a wide array of subjects from Mathematics and Economics at University to Astrophysics and Astrobiology learning from home. When I started out in recruitment I quickly found the chemical space fascinating, whilst I am not a chemist or a chemically educated individual by any means, I have delved into chemical and learnt as much as possible.

I think to describe myself the word ‘geek’ wouldn’t quite cut it, however, I am a huge Astrophysics fan, love anything Marvel related and am a Grade 3 pianist and drum player. I also have an unhealthy love and obsession for my 1 year old Cocker Spaniel (Crumpet), she eats better than I do and is treated more. (You will undoubtedly see her on my LinkedIn)

Without sounding like a typical ‘cheesy’ recruiter, I genuinely love what I do. Recruiting within the Chemical space and speaking to the talented individuals I do every day keeps me constantly intrigued, learning and excited even after 11 years in recruitment.

My Handley James
I joined Handley James very recently and created Handley James – Chemical alongside Peter and Natalie. I have focused on Chemical for quite some time and started recruiting mid-level roles within engineering and operations with a true value-add approach, since then I have recruited all manner of disciplines within a number of chemical businesses all over the world, from Group Manufacturing Director in the Middle East to discipline engineers here in the UK.

I have worked for some brilliant businesses but wanted to expand what I could do and put my own values and processes into a company I could grow and be truly proud of. After meeting Natalie (Peter I already knew) I knew these were the people I wanted to create something with, leaning on their experience starting their own business and using my chemical experience I am confident Handley James Chemical will be something we can be proud of.

Our Handley James
I was welcomed to the HJC family very quickly, after my first few days I felt like I had been here for years. The environment is exactly what I want to create in my own business, people who are excited and keen to be the best whilst enjoying each and every day. Plus Crumpet absolutely loves it here so far.

3 Words
Engaging, Transparent, Inclusive

My Story

So I’m Danielle… HI!!!

I think im your typical “I don’t know what to do with my life” kind of girl. Failed miserably at GCSE’s due to my love of chatting rather than learning, repeated a year, dropped out of my A-Levels to get an apprenticeship in Business Administration. I then realized I was missing out on university life so applied for a foundation course and eventually got a degree in Journalism (2:1 I may add – see the love of chatting was working for me).

I got a Graduate position working alongside Natalie and Peter in recruitment which was amazing! Going to sites looking at how cars, aeroplanes, plastic bottles were made was so fun I felt like I was in a real-life episode of Come Outside (hello 90’s kids). Plus the added bonus of chatting to new people daily.

I continued to use my two skills of chatting and organisation to work successfully in an Account Manager and Sales position and achieved some big goals.

In the middle of all of this I have bought a house, met my fiancé, had an amazing daughter (who reminds me more and more of myself daily) had a few little adventures to tick off the bucket list and of course I am about to get married.

My Handley James

I joined the team in January 2022 after struggling with finding a good work/life balance.

I have remained friends with Natalie and Peter for the 7 years since last working with them and knew that having a young family themselves they would understand the ties and pulls of life.

My role as a Recruitment Support Consultant makes me the first call you will have from Handley James. I speak to all of our candidates and we go through a qualification process to see if the role is a suitable fit for everyone involved.

I work closely with Natalie, Peter and Stuart to learn about their roles, clients and candidates to try and find the best matches for all parties.

I also get to pick up Jessica from nursery most days which is utterly life changing. For me really not her, she would much prefer her Grandma pick her up with a milkshake in hand daily.

Our Handley James

We are open, honest and transparent about our whole process and truly have a different feel to other recruitment consultancies. Each of us have our own unique skill set and we have Managers who are happy to put these to good use. There is no competition here we all have one goal in mind and we’re going to have some fun achieving it.

3 words to describe Handley James

Fun, Family, Ambitious

My Story

Ok so where do I begin…! Well I left school at 16 with very little qualifications and to my parents annoyance didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do at all ! Luckily although I didn’t like to do much at school I did like to do a lot in terms of work just the kind that made me money though ! I started mucking out peoples stables from the age of 11 [child labour I know ] then from 13 I had a paper round and did anything else I could from then on, I tried Nails and Beauty [ terrible at that ] , Hairdressing [ not much better at that ], factory work and then found myself working in a call centre which was when I realised Sales, Customer Service and working with people was something I really enjoyed .

I then met one of my bosses Natalie which led me in to my first role working for a recruitment business and 15 years later she still hasn’t managed to get rid of me.

During that time I have had two amazing children ! During my second pregnancy Natalie and Peter were busy setting up Handley James and I knew from the very first minute they told me about the plans to set up the business that I would be there very first employee. I was absolutely over the moon excited and proud to join them following my maternity leave and I have never looked back.

Outside of work I spend pretty much all of my time keeping my children entertained, happy and healthy ! I love walking and being outside keeping fit .

My Handley James

My role involves a lot of initial calls with candidates and qualifying them for roles that we are sourcing for. I also do a lot of head hunting for our clients that have roles needing this approach.

I work closely with all members our team on different projects and that is one of the big things that I enjoy about working for Handley James. We really are a close team and everyone supports each other to make sure that we are not only achieving as a business but to ensure our clients and candidates are getting the best possible service they can from us and that’s something that has always been extremely important to me as a person and an employee.

I also have a great deal of support and flexibility from my directors in terms of my working hours and have a great work life balance and don’t miss out on those special moments with a young family.

Our Handley James

Balance, Personal, Friendly

We all work really hard but we enjoy our work and we support each other but we also always make time for a laugh and a lovely team lunch out to keep our amazing team spirit as it is !

My Story

I am a very outgoing person who enjoys time with friends and family, and I love dealing with people. I have always had a passion for hairdressing from a very young age and always something I wanted to do and something I was good at. When I left school, I was lucky enough to have a very close friend’s parent that owned a salon and she gave me the opportunity to start my apprenticeship, in which I gained my NVQ Level 3 in hairdressing. As time went on, I took on more responsibility dealing with the suppliers and ordering all materials, products and ancillaries for the salon. Eventually I managed a team of 11 and headed up all training for the team.

I decided to start a family with my husband, and we had our little boy, who is the thing I love the most… unfortunately my husband isn’t very happy he’s now not the centre of attention.

I am very passionate about progressing and strive to develop in my chosen career and although I had loved my time in hairdressing, I felt I wanted to try something new and exciting for me. I decided to transition my career into accounting and finance for the last 4 years. Handley James have chosen to support me in this, with further training and development.

My Handley James

My role is to help with the financial side of Handley James, dealing with the day to day finance activities and working with clients.

Our Handley James

Handley James is a fantastic business; we have an amazing team of people and HJC is great to work for. I can see that the opportunities are there for me to keep progressing and developing, which is more and more apparent as the company is growing.

3 Words

Energetic, Happy, Truthful

My Story

Hey I’m Crumpet! I’m only 1 year old but I’ve had the best year EVER! I love going for long walks, chasing balls, learning and performing tricks (for treats of course!) and getting lots of attention and fuss. I quite like my belly being rubbed too.

My Handley James

I joined Handley James with my Dad, Stuart – I’m the official ‘Office Dog’ which is pretty cool. I spend my time here eating bones (I get treats if I’m good), drinking water, napping and getting lots of fuss from the team. Sometimes they even let me play with my ball in the office.

Our Handley James

I was welcomed into the Handley James team really quickly and made a beeline for a cosy corner in the office where I can chew my bone and nap. So far, I’ve really enjoyed it and I’m hoping to keep everyone happy in the office with my waggy tail.

3 Words

Woof!