It makes sense that our Founding Directors Tim Slyfield and Stuart Maxwell have known each other a long time having worked in the industry for over 30 years collectively, so while it might not be uncommon for recruiters to know each other it is rare for them to be united by such a clear vision of how they want the future of recruitment to look and feel for those experiencing it.

Cast your mind back to 2010; Prince William came for a visit and opened the new Supreme Court building in Wellington, the first of the devastating Canterbury earthquakes hit in September, GST is raised to 15%, and the Pike River Mine tragedy occurs in October.

It was also the year that Tim and Stuart start floating the idea of establishing a search-based recruitment consultancy committed to partnering with clients to build long-standing, organisational-wide relationships so a more in-depth understanding of culture and employee value proposition is achieved.

Several months and conversations later, Alexander James was launched in January 2011.

Over the course of the next decade, Alexander James quietly and deliberately made their reputation for delivering outstanding recruitment solutions within the accounting & finance and technology sectors, while staying true to their vision of treating those who work with us as though they matter, because they do. 

As the consultancy grew, it became part of our ethos to employ people who embodied our values and then “grow our own” so we’re walking the talk at all levels.

Side note: “grow our own” means investing in training and developing people from Associate Consultants through to Consultants, to Senior Consultants and ultimately Team Leads. For a number of years, we’d typically only hire to replace someone who had been promoted internally but as we continue to grow, our needs have changed therefore so too has our hiring requirements.

So, what are these values that we hold so dear?