We’re joined by our Legal Director from our Specialist Recruitment business, Harry Shepherd to discuss his career journey and recent promotion at Morgan Philips Group. 

Could you describe the start of your career journey at Morgan Philips? 

I initially joined Morgan Philips (previously known as Hudson) as a manager in 2016 before the acquisition and have just celebrated my 6th work anniversary. Since then, I have been promoted twice, I became an associate director in 2019 and then promoted once again to director in 2022.

What sort of criteria was required for your promotions?  

If we focus on my most recent promotion, it was a combination of factors, growth, team performance, and personal performance. We have had a good few years, so we were in a good position to grow the team by adding 2 new hires. In terms of team performance, I had to make sure that the team (excluding the new hires, although they are performing phenomenally) was performing well and hitting our financial goals, which is a key element in our industry. Finally, there was an element of personal performance I had to make sure I was hitting my personal targets as well as performing my managerial duties to a high standard. 

Does Morgan Philips proactively encourage staff to progress in their career? 

Yes, I think Morgan Philips is brilliant at encouraging staff progression. I report to Tom Gowing (Managing Director) and Tom has always been really clear with me on what I have to do to progress to the next step in my career, which I appreciate because I am a driven individual and knowing how to progress my career keeps me focused on the goal at hand. So yes, thumbs up for Morgan Phillips.

Why continue your career at Morgan Philips?

A couple of reasons, firstly from a personal perspective I prefer to grow professionally by succeeding at my job rather than moving from place to place. It is all too easy to job-hop in recruitment, but I wanted to be supported, work hard, and develop within a single business. This for me has been really fulfilling. I have also been able to help others progress in their careers too. 

Everyone defines success differently, but success to me is doing your chosen career well and delivering on what you promised. With that being said, I understand not every company has the same views on career progression as Morgan Philips, so for that I am grateful.

Secondly, Morgan Phillips is a fantastic place to work. The atmosphere and team are great. I genuinely enjoy going into the London office and seeing my colleagues not only from my team but from Executive Search and Talent Consulting too. We also have a competitive reward structure, so when you hit your goals you are compensated well for it. 

I don’t see any reason to go anywhere else. 

Is there still room for career progression? 

Yes, as I said it's always clearly laid out at Morgan Philips. My next promotion would be to Regional Director and I look forward to this next step in my career.  

Looking to join the team? You can apply for one of our internal roles here.