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\n\tMonique Duarte<\/a><\/span> is a product manager with prestigious academic publisher Taylor and Francis<\/a> – a role she secured with help from identifi. Our consultant Mark Gale helped Monique overcome her distrust of agencies, guided her through the transition from self-employment to employee, and is still helping her settle and grow in her new role, eight months down the line.<\/p>\n \n\tWe caught up with her to find out more about the experience.<\/p>\n \n\tMonique has always been entrepreneurial. In 2005 she founded digital agency Morango Media, and in early 2012, her and her team moved into product development to build an eCommerce platform <\/span>FicShelf<\/a> – a site focused on the self-publishing startup market. In fact, until this year, she\u2019d always been self employed.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cFicShelf ran relatively well,\u201d says Monique, \u201cbut we needed a lot more investment to accelerate the business, which was hard to come by. So we decided to slow down. I realised quickly that I would have to set out looking for a job, which is not something I\u2019d ever done before – I\u2019d always run my own businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIt was a difficult moment: \u201cI knew a change was needed,\u201d Monique explains. \u201cI felt I\u2019d tried to do things in a way that didn\u2019t work, so I needed to rethink my approach.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tUsed to being her own boss, Monique found herself on the other side of the table: an experience she was unfamiliar with, but eager to embrace. She signed up with a few recruitment consultants and received a number of suggested roles; some relevant, many not.<\/p>\n \n\tMonique was seeking product management roles – roles with a long, detailed hiring process involving three or four hour interviews, workshops, and multiple screenings for cultural fit. It can be a draining process. \u201cAs a product manager you tend to be very passionate and involved,\u201d says Monique, \u201cso it\u2019s really difficult to be in the final stage of an interview process, and still keep looking for a new position in case it falls through. You need to be doing big tasks, to focus.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tTwo experiences in particular took the wind out of her sails. In six months, she found two roles she fell in love with, went through a lengthy interview process and was offered the role. On both occasions the businesses changed their mind last minute, and on both occasions the recruiters simply stopped communicated with her – radio silence.<\/p>\n \n\t \n\t\u201cThey dropped like a bomb at the last minute,\u201d she explains. \u201cFor no reason – nobody contacted me back. It was quite horrible.\u201d One rejection came a week after an acceptance meeting: \u201cI kept calling the agent and said \u2018at least let me know what\u2019s going on\u2019. He called me a week later; I could hear there was some sort of party going on, and he said \u2018Oh, sorry, they just decided to go with somebody else instead. Bye.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was jaded,\u201d admits Monique. \u201cI had no trust for agents at that point. I started equalling them to estate agents and car sellers – they\u2019re nice when in front of you, but if they don\u2019t need you, you\u2019re just another car that\u2019s been parked.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tShortly after, Monique took another call – from Mark at identifi.<\/p>\n \n\tMark called with the perfect role for someone like Monique, and it was clear that he had done his research on her and her suitability for the position. The job demanded what Monique had to offer: entrepreneurial streak, focus on user (or reader) experience, and capacity to manage an international team. All he had to do was convince her that pursuing it was worth her time.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIf there\u2019s one word I can use to describe Mark and the process, it\u2019s \u2018efficiency\u2019,\u201d Monique tells says. \u201cI was surprised at how matter of fact he was. There was no time wasted from start to finish. I like people who are busy – they\u2019re not just faffing about on the phone. He was straight down the line from the start.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tTo work with Monique, Mark had to manage her expectations of the role, making the job description absolutely clear. \u201cFrom the beginning,\u201d Monique explains, \u201che prepared me, and said \u2018This is the role; this is what they need; I know you\u2019re good at this or that, but that\u2019s not relevant to them\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n \n\tThe first call was a walkthrough – explaining exactly what the client was looking for and exactly what Monique needed to emphasise to show that she was the right client. Subsequent calls managed the logistics of preparation – even the little things like printing maps for the interview, calling beforehand to make sure Monique had exactly what she needed. \u201cThe amount of support I got from Mark, from start to finish – and still get now – is something I haven\u2019t seen with any other agency I\u2019ve dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNow that Monique\u2019s in place, Mark still checks on her and how she\u2019s doing, and continues to help her settle into the role, by managing her expectations and commitments. <\/p>\n \n\tWeekly calls have become monthly calls, and the focus has shifted from raising Monique\u2019s daily rate to her remit and promotion prospects – but there\u2019s still an ongoing agency-candidate relationship, of which Monique says \u201cHe doesn\u2019t interfere with my day-today work – I have a line manager at Taylor & Francis. Mark is the one who negotiates the rate and makes sure that my contract is under control. He is a proper agent, like a Hollywood star would have.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn particular, Mark – and all our consultants – look out for their candidates\u2019 self-care and help them pace themselves. Natural enthusiasm in the early days of a position can lead to problems down the line. We know this, and we help our candidates pace themselves, as Mark has done for Monique. <\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen you start, you have this excitement, you want to show that you\u2019re committed. I was contracted to three days a week, 9-5, but was basically doing five, 7am-7pm, for no extra. Mark said \u2018No, you need to stop with this, you don\u2019t want to burn yourself out.\u2019 He also made sure to keep tabs on my remit to make sure I was not doing more work than I was contractually obliged to.\u201d Since then, Monique <\/span>has moved on to a five-day week – but at a pace she can handle, working a four days a week from home, testament to her rather than us, but helped and supported by our agents.<\/p>\n \n\tAlthough most of her contact has been with our agent, Monique is keen to point out that identifi has been nothing but supportive. \u201cWhenever there was anything that didn\u2019t go right with identifi – something outside of Mark\u2019s remit that needed attention – I also had people rushing to get things sorted for me. My impression of the company, that professionalism that I experienced with Mark, is part of the company culture. They know there is a person at the other end of the contract, and I appreciate that very much.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tHuge thanks to Monique for taking the time to speak to us. <\/p>\n \n\tOne of the things we\u2019re most proud of here at identifi is our candidate led approach to recruitment. If you\u2019re interested in finding out how we can move your career forward, call for a consultation on 01908 886 048. Or for regular updates on our latest jobs, <\/span>register here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \n\t <\/p>\n \n\tImage via Pixabay<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n Monique Duarte is a product manager with prestigious academic publisher Taylor and Francis – a role she secured with help from identifi. Our consultant Mark Gale helped Monique overcome her distrust of agencies, guided her through the transition from self-employment to employee, and is still helping her settle and grow in her new role, eight… Read More »Case study: Monique Duarte<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/14436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.identifiglobal.com\/af-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\tMonique\u2019s story<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn-01.cms-eu-v2i.applyflow.com\/identifi-global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/NoContact.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n\tMark\u2019s approach<\/h2>\n
\n\t“There was no time wasted from start to finish.”<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\tAfter recruitment<\/h2>\n
\n\t“We help our candidates pace themselves.”<\/strong><\/h4>\n
\n\t <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"