My #BrewerMorrisJourney – Daryl Ong
Breaking out of the ordinary
I was born and raised in Singapore, where it was the cultural norm to go along a more “professional” and safer career path. So for my first role out of university, I ended up as an Auditor at a Big Four company.
I soon realised that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life working as an Accountant and decided to make a career pivot into recruiting, as I have always been fascinated with people and what makes them tick.
“I was looking for a place to live long-term and for me this was Amsterdam.”
I have always enjoyed learning about different cultures and in 2022, I felt a pull stronger than ever to live abroad particularly after Covid. I decided to pack my bags and spend a year as a digital nomad, travelling the world to figure out where I could see myself living. Out of all the places I visited, I felt a particularly strong connection with Bali. It’s such a beautiful place with amazing nature, food and warm people.
However, I was looking for a place to live long-term and for me this was Amsterdam: a city where I could build a solid career, have access to the diverse melting pot that is Europe, and potentially raise happy, healthy children.
It’s all about connecting with people
By the time I settled into Amsterdam during 2023, I had already been working remotely for more than a year. I had enjoyed traveling and working from many different places but had also been lonely at times. I had missed going into a lively office every day and having a team that I could bounce ideas off and socialise with.
I realised how much people motivate me to achieve things I set out to do. So I started looking for recruitment positions with an office in Amsterdam and came across a job advert by Rachael Crocker who was looking to hire for Brewer Morris.
Thriving in a workplace with learning opportunities and flat hierarchies
It immediately stood out to me that Brewer Morris and The SR Group as a whole see things long-term. There’s a lot of emphasis on learning and development, training staff to be technically strong recruiters that are adept at maximising the use of our systems.
“The culture at The SR Group is very collaborative. It makes it easy to communicate with colleagues who may be more “senior” than yourself.”
Since recruitment is a relationship-driven business, at The SR Group we are encouraged to spend time with our clients and candidates to truly get to know them, figure out what they need and get the process right rather than just focusing on end results.
The culture at The SR Group is very collaborative. It makes it easy to communicate with colleagues who may be more “senior” than you. They are always happy to share their expertise and advice, and there’s often cross-collaboration between the global offices.
We’re also in a sweet spot – despite being a fast-growing international business, we’re still small and boutique enough that senior management can get to know every new joiner.
Building something together
As Brewer Morris is still fairly new to the market in the Netherlands, our team has the exciting opportunity to build something and shape our identity. Of course this also comes with challenges, but we have a strong recruitment team to support our clients and candidates.
“To be a successful recruiter in the long run, you have to be emotionally resilient and able to push through when times are more challenging.”
We understand each other’s struggles and support each other’s wins. This builds a sense of camaraderie that pulls us together.
Advice for those starting out in recruitment
Recruitment is a rollercoaster journey. To be a successful recruiter in the long run, you have to be emotionally resilient and able to push through when times are challenging.
Give yourself a moment to feel your negative feelings when something disappointing happens. It’s okay to pause and reflect so that you can learn from the situation, then let it go and move on to bigger and better things.
Please complete our form below if you’d like to discuss your career or market. You can also learn more about working at Brewer Morris on our careers page.
