IWD 2019: Meet our leaders

At Tiger, we’re very lucky to have two fantastic women within the senior management team – Managing Director, Rebecca Siciliano, and Director and Head of City Office, Kat Martyn. To commemorate International Women’s Day, we sat down with both Rebecca and Kat to find out how they’ve worked their way up the career ladder and what lessons they’ve learnt along the way.

Rebecca – Managing Director, Head of Temporary Division (West End)

1. Can you give me an overview of your career journey? How have you ended up as MD of Tiger?

I got into recruitment back in Sydney through a recommendation from a friend. She had just started in recruitment and told me that she thought it would be the ideal role for me. To me, recruitment was a job where I got paid to talk to people and the harder I worked, the more successful I was. I moved to the UK knowing that I wanted to stay in recruitment and what type of company I wanted to work for. Joining a small business meant that I grew as the company grew and had the opportunity to implement so many positive changes and initiatives. It’s been a lot of hard but rewarding work.

2. Have you faced any challenges as a woman in the workplace?

I don’t feel that I have. I have worked with successful women who have acted as role models for me but I don’t feel that I have encountered men who have disregarded me because I am a woman. I now work in female-dominated workplace so am surrounded by fantastic females every day!

3. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far?

Pick your battles. Knowing where to invest your energy and what to let go can make a huge difference!

4. What part of your career are you most proud of?

The nice thing about my role is that there are constant milestones and achievements. I fondly remember starting out in my career and being proud of my very first placement. Then how daunting it was moving to a new country and starting over. I am so proud that I was able to pick up my career in the UK and create what we have at Tiger. Your proudest moments then start to become the proudest moments of those in your team.

5. What advice would you give to women starting in the recruitment industry?

– Work hard and absorb everything you can from the people around you. You can take your career as far as you choose to.
– When you are in a situation that you are unsure of, always ask for help. You will learn new things daily.
– Never underestimate the importance of relationships both internally with your colleagues and with clients and candidates. Always act with honesty, integrity and respect for others.
– You can’t control what people do, don’t sweat the small things.

6. Who are your #girlcrushes?

Can I say Lady Gaga? She’s always represented a strong female figure who has proven herself to be an incredibly successful businesswoman. She has conquered multiple challenges throughout her career. I love that she is a public voice against bullying and all the work that she does for mental health and equality.

She’s also now the first woman in history to win a Grammy, BAFTA, Oscar and Golden Globe in the same year – how could you not admire that?

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Kat Martyn, Director and Head of City Office

1. Can you give me an overview of your career journey? How have you ended up as a director at Tiger?

I started my ‘sales’ career at 17, selling everything from flights to endoscopy cleaning products (true story!). After taking a year out to travel around Asia, Oz and NZ, I registered with a local agency who said ‘have you ever thought about recruitment?’ I jumped at the chance and I haven’t looked back since.

I worked locally for a couple of years, then decided to tackle the City around 10 years ago. A pivotal point in my career was joining my first ‘secretarial agency’, I really got my head around banking, growing a temp desk and then later down the line becoming a director and growing a team. I joined Tiger in 2015 to set up the City office, by far the most challenging and rewarding part of my career to date.

2. Have you faced any challenges as a woman in the workplace?

My biggest challenge is definitely balancing having a family and work. Having a baby is the most magical experience but I found coming to work on a couple of hours sleep, or leaving my daughter when I knew she wanted me, really hard. I know this is part and parcel of being a working Mum but it certainly can make things challenging.

3. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learnt in your career so far?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that you cannot keep everyone happy all the time and sadly, things are out of your control at times! People are all motivated by different things, whether it’s your employees, candidates or clients, and people are unpredictable. I always listen to and trust my instincts and go about my work with genuine enthusiasm. I hope for the best, but when things do go wrong, I don’t dwell on it, I dust myself off and try again.

4. What part of your career are you most proud of?

I’m lucky to have many proud moments. My proudest has to be winning the business of a huge, global investment bank, one of the world’s top businesses. I prepared for and delivered the pitch on my own and felt so very proud of myself when I won the account.

5. What advice would you give to women starting in the recruitment industry?

The advice I would give anyone starting in recruitment is to be prepared for intense highs and lows. I can’t think of another role that requires so much of you emotionally. To succeed in recruitment, you have to genuinely love people, be disciplined, have skin as thick as a rhino and be 100% committed to your work. The feeling of placing a candidate in their dream job is honestly like no other feeling in the world. So, whilst the role can require a lot from you, the excitement and the highs you experience, are quite something.

6. Who are your #girlcrushes?

I have loads! Whether you love or hate them, I have so much admiration for the Kardashians. They’ve made themselves so famous as a family and built an empire off all of their individual businesses – I think they are pretty impressive!

I absolutely love Karen Brady, she’s a sharp cookie, incredibly sophisticated and I love her direct communication style.

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We believe in encouraging women at every turn. Should you be looking for the next step in your career, check out our latest roles today!

Author Tiger Contributor Tiger Recruitment Team