Update from Julia @DRAW

Congratulations Julia on completing her CIPD Level 5, Julia is now an Associate of the CIPD! Julia tells us a bit about how this came about and how it can help you.

        Since leaving the corporate world behind and starting my own business, nearly 15 years ago, it seems like every day has been a school day. I have really enjoyed immersing myself in the art world and learning what makes organisations in our industry work. During my prior career I was always very involved in HR and had many years’ experience in dealing with employee relations, performance management and  management of change. From the start I was able to bring some of this experience to our smaller clients here at DRAW who didn’t have internal HR support and I would often help with drafting contracts and advising on employment issues. This is something I have always enjoyed being able to offer over and above our recruitment service as it can really add value and reassurance, in particular to SME organisations.  

          During the first lockdown in 2020 I felt that I finally had a moment to breathe and look back on a journey that started with just me, an out of date database and a telephone. I could see that although we have come a long way, I had been so busy that I had not prioritised my own learning and development in the way I was able to when I was employed by someone else. I realised that in order to remain relevant and to be able to respond in an agile way to the challenges our clients face I needed to invest in myself, continue to grow my knowledge and experience and hold myself to a high professional standard. So while enjoying the lockdown sunshine I thought I would update and formalise my HR knowledge by enrolling on the CIPD Level 5 qualification.

          I loved doing the course and am now qualified as an Associate of the CIPD. Most of the modules were a great refresher and update on what I already knew, but I also learned lots of new things. I worked on some research on diversity and inclusion in the art industry and the likely effectiveness of different methods / tools to improve this. I updated and brushed up my employment law knowledge and I spent some time properly analysing the effectiveness of different recruitment methods.

         Going forward I am happy to continue to offer HR advice and support to existing recruitment clients free of charge in an initial phone call. I can also be engaged on a competitive hourly rate to help with anything that requires further input.

If you are looking for HR advice or require assistance with hiring please do get in touch with Julia at julia@drawrecruitment.com.