Onrec: How did you get started in recruitment and how did the idea of CharityJob surface?’
RW: In 1999 we were at a dinner with some friends someone who worked for a charity specific recruitment agency said “we’ve just launched our website and you can advertise jobs on there for only £399”. We thought bloomin heck – that’s a lot! We came home and thought wouldn’t it be great to have a website for jobs that didn’t cost as much as 400 quid or thousands of pounds which is what broadsheets were charging. We got started on researching the market and realised that there was no such websites dedicated to just jobs in the charity sector. Having worked in the sector we only wanted to work with non profits. We chose a good name, found out it was available and bought the domain. The rest is history. Best ideas often come on the back of random conversations.
Onrec: The recruitment market is very inflated. What makes you different from your competitors?
RW: Our sector isn’t saturated even now. We were the first job board in the charity, not for profit sector and that made a huge difference. Google was on their early years of growth too. Our marketing strategy which was it’s free to advertise provided you link to us, was something that Google loved – we had no idea what Google liked or didn’t like. Pure fluke if you ask me. As Google grew, we grew with them. The main players were late in their online presence, giving us the opportunity to get decent traction.
Onrec: What exciting new trends are you noticing?
RW: We’re already seeing growth in the use of AI in some areas of the recruitment process. We conducted a survey recently and found that although there are some concerns with responsible use of AI hiring, charity recruiters think it could be helpful for activities like writing job descriptions and creating interview questions. 46% of our candidates reported having used AI to help with a job application, most commonly with writing cover letters.
And I wouldn’t call it exciting, but we’re generally now seeing a much more recruiter-led market with recruiters more hesitant to hire after a year of redundancies.
Onrec: What do you think will be the next big thing in online recruitment?
RW: Again, we expect to see the industry become much more AI-led, particularly to stay competitive and reduce operational costs as job boards and recruitment platforms become more similar. This could mean using AI-matching algorithms and increasing automation. We may even see a wider mix of revenue models for job boards and an increased focus on screening methods before applicants reach the employer. Now that’s exciting.
Onrec: Biggest challenges we face in 2025?
RW: The biggest is recruiters’ hesitancy to hire post-election. We think this will take some time to pick up again, but when it does there will be a backlog of recruitment from this paused activity, and we may see the pendulum swing back towards a candidate-led market. Both have their challenges!
The new Labour government’s plans to significantly enhance worker protections through the Employment Rights Bill could also cause challenges from a business point of view. Also the increase in minimum wage could lead to higher operational costs for small businesses and charities.
Onrec: How many people do you employ globally?
RW: We have a number of contractors that we use and all are based in Europe.
Onrec: Where do you see the recruitment industry in 5 years?
RW: I think the role of AI will have evolved and there will be more text, voice and video automation, as well as regulated recruitment to flag if AI has been used. I would expect to see more first stage interviews being conducted by AI or a virtual assistant. I also think there will be more focus on job boards capturing first party data to help measure and grow candidate quality.
Finally, I really hope there will be an increased focus on hiring for skills and experience over education and years of experience – that's certainly what we’ve been campaigning for.
Onrec: Do you have any other plans to expand? And if so, where?
RW: Absolutely we do and I can’t divulge them but we do have some exciting plans to expand our products and possibly even outside of our sector - so watch this space.
Onrec: What is one piece of advice you would give your younger self?
RW: Don’t be too hard on yourself and add more unnecessary pressure
Be more brave and take risks
Believe in your ability to take the right decisions.
Sorry I know it’s more than one – the last one is - have no regrets.
Onrec: What do you enjoy outside of work?
RW: I’m afraid I’m a little sad as I have no hobbies or interests so throwing myself into work is all I do and have done. I love and enjoy what I do. I can be an introvert and extrovert so I’m happy in my own company but love being with people too. I’m soon to become a grandmother – too young I hear you say… but who knows I may have a new non work related interest soon!
Onrec: What is your career low and how did you overcome it? And what is your career high?
RW: Career low – around 15 years ago when we went into a recession following a large expenditure of buying our own office, we saw a downturn of income as all businesses did at the time and rather than making anyone redundant we asked our staff not to have a pay increase for one year. It was a daunting conversation. Everyone in the team supported this decision without hesitation. It was particularly a hard conversation for us as we could see how hard colleagues were working and it was a real wrench to ask them not to take a financial benefit but everyone rallied and gave 100% support to our decision. Even now it can bring tears to my eyes. Obviously Covid was a low point too – but that was a low for everyone.
Career high – too many to mention but every time we release a new product and see it being used by our clients and loving what we’ve churned out. When we know we’re ahead of others. Also when we get wonderful reviews which is pretty much daily – I get a real sense of pride. A real tonic for my soul.
Mini Q&A
Onrec: If you were stuck on a deserted island, what 3 things would you take with you?
A speedboat haha…Just Netflix. Realistically it will have to be a machete so I can build shelter and kill for food source.
Onrec: If you could compare yourself with any animal, which would it be and why?
I wouldn’t be daddy long legs for sure – stupid things – I’ve had one stuck on my window for days. What is the purpose of them anyway!! I’d be a whale – plenty of food source at my disposal and nobody would dare attack or eat me.
Onrec: What was the last gift you gave someone?
Personalised passport cover for a friend’s wedding anniversary. I’m sorry if it’s boring and not intellectual!
