Strivin & Thrivin Ep 45. Mitch King – Head of Talent Acquisition

SHARE

This week on Strivin & Thrivin, we speak with Mitch King, Head of Talent Acquisition at Linktree.
After leaving school, Mitch had no idea what he wanted to do, and went from dishwashing to admin. From there, he found recruitment and ended up recruiting in the marketing and advertising space. After 12 years though, it was time to move on.
“12 years was too long. I started there as a Junior Admin Consultant and left as essentially, the Managing Director for the last three months, which I didn’t enjoy. I made the decision to do what I really wanted to do – I really liked the tech space. I really liked more of the hands-on recruitment side.”
Now, Mitch is at Linktree and has been for just over two years. But after a solid 14 years in the recruitment space we had to know what it was like working his way up from the bottom of the ladder.
“I would say I was a really typical junior consultant. It was just scraps thrown at me, I was trying to learn the ropes…I think one thing I learned from it was not to chase the greener pastures.”
After working his way up, being put in charge of the freelance desk to managing a couple of people, Mitch put his hand up to run his own office around the 8-9 year mark. But by year 12, there was no enjoyment left in the job.
“It affected my mental health quite badly towards the end and I made a decision that this has to change. This is the thing that’s ruining my mental health, so I’m going to change this thing and then figure it out. It took a while to make the decision – we’ve got two kids, a mortgage, that sort of stuff, leaving a job without a job. But it’s probably the best decision that I’ve made career wise.”
Obviously, going from agency to an internal TA role is a bit of a step, so why did it interest Mitch?
“There’s so much more diversity of thought, you get to speak to someone and go, “Hey, what do you think about this from a non-TA and non-recruitment perspective?,” that in a recruitment agency you’re all just sitting around talking about the perspective of recruiters. So there were a few of those things that I was chasing – a combination of tech being inside the company and not being transactional.”
Now, if you can relate to imposter syndrome when it comes to your career, so can Mitch.
“Every day, my internal voice continually tells me how shit I am. And it’s only at an older age that I’ve sort of learned to balance that with the facts…I spoke to some graduates at the start of the year or end of last year. And the piece of advice I gave them was, 99% of people are trying to figure it out on the fly.”

Latest articles, podcasts & resources

The Power of Self-Reflection – How to get ready for 2024

Well, wasn’t that another wild ride! As 2023 comes to a close and we turn our attention to.

Developing Effective Performance Reviews for a Hybrid Workforce – Key Event Takeaways

Strivin and HiBob have joined forces once again to bring you a series of insightful events to help.

Strivin & Thrivin EP1. Samantha George & Lee Shorter – How To Build An Award-Winning Recruitment Team

In the latest episode of the Strivin & Thrivin podcast we got to do things a little differently..

Networking: What you’re missing out on by not getting out there.

We’ve all been there, in a crowded room of other professionals, probably feeling self-conscious, nervous or just bored..

Coaching 101 – What is coaching and why do we need it?

What do you think of when you hear the word coaching?  It might conjure visions of those persistent.

Strivin & Thrivin EP63. Brooke Tierney – Dad Knows Best

In the latest episode of the Strivin & Thrivin podcast we catch up with Brooke Tierney, Founder and.

Strivin & Thrivin EP64. Alex Lennon – Head of Talent

Strivin and Thrivin is the career development podcast inspiring you to make some bold changes. Each week, we.

The Art of Feedback – How to make the conversation a two-way street

What’s the best thing you can give your team?  They would probably say more money and more holidays,.

Strivin & Thrivin EP61. Chloe Spillane – Talent Acquisition Leader & Career Coach

This week on the Strivin and Thrivin podcast, we chat with Chloe Spillane, Founder of Chloe Spillane Consulting,.

Strivin & Thrivin EP62. Genevieve Gorin – People & Culture

For the latest episode of the Strivin & Thrivin podcast we had a chat with Genevieve Gorin, People.

Eat, Sleep, Check on Your Mental Health

While there certainly weren’t many positives to come out of Covid, one thing we did see was an.

Strivin & Thrivin EP60. Jessica Gibson-Jones – Head of Talent Acquisition & Sourcing

In the latest episode of the Strivin & Thrivin podcast, we sat down for a chat with Jessica.

Strivin & Thrivin EP.59. Samuel Williamson – Master of MySpace & Marketing

Strivin and Thrivin is the career development podcast inspiring you to make some bold changes. Each week, we.

Strivin & Thrivin EP58. Samantha George – Advertising to Recruitment

In our latest episode of the Strivin & Thrivin podcast we talked with Samantha George, Principal Recruitment Consultant.

Strivin & Thrivin EP57. Sam Garven – A non conventional path to people & culture

In our latest episode of the Strivin & Thrivin podcast we got the chance to sit down and.