When I joined to run The Works Search just over twenty years ago, I never imagined I’d still be here, still enjoying the puzzle of recruitment. What began as a leap of faith has turned into a career shaped by market crashes, big restructures, an agency acquisition, partnership shifts, and plenty of surprises. But through it all, one thing has kept me going: the people.
Recruitment is about so much more than filling jobs. It’s about listening, understanding what makes people tick, and being part of their journeys. Two decades in, the relationships I’ve built are what I treasure most.
The best part of this work? Watching careers unfold.
Take Rowan Brown – today Global Head of Marketing and Communications at Campbell Lutyens. We first placed him back in 2012 at Brunswick. Fast forward to this year, and we’ve just filled a role for him again.
Or Christian Marroni, now Group Communications and Corporate Affairs Director at Grosvenor. We placed him at Freshfields in 2007 and have hired for his teams ever since, across multiple companies.
And Isabel Podda, first placed as COO in 2012. She’s now a partner at Infinite Global – and still comes back year after year when she’s building her team.
Candidates become clients. Clients become partners. Careers evolve. The joy is in seeing it all come full circle.
Of course, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.
2008 was brutal. The collapse of Bear Stearns and then Lehman Brothers froze the City overnight. Hiring vanished. We survived on consumer PR placements, short-term contracts, until the corporate and financial world thawed. That period taught me the importance of diversifying – it’s not just clever strategy, it’s survival.
And there were personal turning points too. After ten years with my business partner Lynne, I bought her out. Running everything solo was far harder than I’d expected. By 2017, I was managing a large team but barely recruiting myself – the part I actually love. Something had to give.
Restructuring was painful but freeing. It reminded me that the business should serve me, not consume me.
When the COVID-19 pandemic slowed hiring across most of 2020, I wasn’t caught off guard. Our in-house contacts still kept us busy with maternity cover and occasional replacements, and I had the security of lessons learned years earlier: cash in the bank is king. Knowing there was a year’s worth of reserves gave me the headspace to handle yet another storm.
Today, I have what I once thought was impossible: balance.
A brilliant team who barely need managing and have all worked in communications. PAs who share the role (and cover for each other). Specialists who support us on SEO, marketing, and finance. Everyone works remotely – something we were already set up for long before the pandemic.
Now, I focus on the work I love: building relationships, coaching candidates, and helping clients shape their teams. The business is leaner, stronger, and most importantly, fits around my life.
The same year we bought the business, I also started volunteering at Smart Works – a charity that supports women back into work. I still volunteer once a month, helping with interview prep, confidence-building, and career coaching.
It’s humbling. These women’s stories can be heart-breaking and inspiring in equal measure. They remind me of the power of work to transform lives – and keep me grounded when commercial recruitment feels like the whole world.
The world of recruitment has changed dramatically: technology, expectations, even the way we work. But some things remain the same.
The real work is about understanding people, building trust, and helping them find opportunities that fit. That’s as true today as it was twenty years ago.
Along the way, I’ve trained consultants who’ve gone on to launch their own agencies, built an annual Salary Survey that’s become an industry staple, and learned a lot about resilience.
Twenty years in, should I feel proud or just old? Probably both. But I’m still here, still loving the conversations, and still grateful for the people who’ve trusted me with their careers and their teams.
Sarah Leembruggen
Managing Director, The Works Search
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The Works Search: a search consultancy specialising in PR and corporate communications. We have unrivalled matching abilities and are known for finding the top 5% performers in the industry - the ones who deliver and make your reputation great. For more advice or market insights, do get in touch with us on 0207 903 9291 or email: sarah@the-works.co.uk.
