Andy File Associates (AFA) is marking its impressive growth plans with investment in multiple key hires and a range of new systems.
Our experienced team includes Rebecca Thomas, Anne Braithwaite and Debra Foster, who have been with AFA between seven and 10 years, as well as Tim Garrod – through TWC Recruitment – and Jess File, administrator.
This dedicated team bring expertise recruiting across a wide variety of sectors such as accounts, commercial, engineering and technical, financial services, industrial, IT, facilities management, manufacturing, FMCG, legal, management, marketing and sales.
The flexibility of being an independent recruitment business allows us to adapt quickly to a wide range of companies.
Our expanding client list includes local start-ups to multinational organisations. Whether you are looking to recruit additional staff for your business or looking for your next career opportunity, Andy File Associates offers a friendly, professional, ethical and confidential recruitment service.
We have made several appointments to strengthen our workforce over the last five months. Andrew Jenkins and Matt Forrest, with 21- and 15-years’ recruitment experience respectively, are joined by Tash Formby, a recent graduate from the University of York. These recruits take the team to over 130 years combined recruitment experience.
But we’ve not stopped there. Martin Gowland joined our team as recruitment manager at the end of November. Martin joins from Capita, where he worked for the last 16 years. He brings a wealth of experience in delivery of volume hires and board level recruitment and we see him as an integral part of plans to grow the business.
We are not only investing in our team but also in new customer relationship management software, ID-checking software and candidate registration via Docusign.
Hear what AFA clients had to say about the business below.
James Martin, design lead at Chapter II:
“I was approached by Debra Foster from Andy File Associates about a graphic designer role, after the job I was supposed to go to fell through at the beginning of the pandemic.
“As most people know, the job market at that time was very slim – for future reference, don’t change jobs pre-global pandemic – with roles in design being few and far between. This meant I wasn’t very optimistic. But Debra and Andy were both so lovely and supportive throughout the process and genuinely interested in the work I was producing.
“Debra was great at helping me prepare for the interview and her support was key in me securing the job offer. I have now been at Chapter II, previously HRM, for two years and since starting in October 2020 I have risen to the position of design lead, a role I had wanted to be in for a while.
“I would thoroughly recommend Andy File and Debra in particular, for her expertise in the design and marketing sector, and as a recruiter that is interested in doing its best for both the employee and employer.”
Chris Sorsby, managing director, Vitritech Limited:
“I have been working with Rebecca, Andy and the team at Andy File Associates for a number of years, recruiting for a number a different positions. Rebecca has been excellent to work with and is genuinely passionate about finding the right people that fit our business. When setting up the business, Rebecca was able to quickly find a number of suitable candidates that met our specific requirements. She is very professional and communicates very effectively throughout the recruitment process. I would have no hesitation in recommending Rebecca and Andy File Associates to help meet your recruitment needs.”
unLTD’s Brogan Maguire on her career journey with Andy File Associates:
“After graduating from University of Sheffield in 2019 and working in local news for almost three years, I knew I was ready for a change and somewhere new to direct my talents. I’d been working within SEO and digital trends for the last year since completing my senior journalism exams and knew I had a passion for digital strategy, as well as social media and content creation.
“The problem was that I didn’t know where to start looking or how to take the next step – that was when I reached out to Andy File Associates. Andy had been recommended to me by a friend who had landed their dream job through the agency and said their experience had been overwhelmingly positive.
“After taking the plunge and giving them a call, I was put through to a woman named Debra, who looks after vacancies in the marketing sector. Debra was kind and friendly, asking me lots of questions about my goals, experience and what I was looking for. I sent over my CV and was told Debra had a client she thought would be a great fit for me.
“Days later, I had an interview lined up with South Yorkshire’s longest established and most well-respected PR agency. Just moments after that interview, I was told the company would like to offer me a job as their content manager, drawing on my experience as a journalist and my SEO knowledge. I was also told I would be working on producing copy and content for unLTD magazine, meaning I would get to keep up with my writing, something I have always been passionate about. I have now been in my role with Chapter II, formerly HRM, for nine months and feel I have gained so much expertise, knowledge and confidence during that time. My job title has evolved slightly since starting with the company and I am now the editor of unLTD, as well as being heavily involved with our digital PR offerings.
“Being part of the recent rebrand has been a huge career highlight for me and it feels amazing to be at the heart of something so new and exciting. It’s also been great to learn so much about the fantastic businesses in our region, work with so many clients and get to attend – and host – so many wonderful networking events, something I never got to do in my previous jobs but something I absolutely love.
“Making the leap from local news into PR and content management was absolutely the right choice for me but I couldn’t have done that without Andy’s agency.
“They helped me to really home in on what I wanted, find the right contacts in the industry and land a job role that utilised all my skills and talents. For that, I will always be grateful to Andy, Debra and the whole team at Andy File Associates.
Case study: Joshua Banton
When 27-year-old then-mechanical engineering student Joshua Banton first reached out to Andy File Associates back in 2019, he was looking for some casual short-term work to fit around his studies. Fast forward three years and he is now in full time employment with a company he loves, progressing through the ranks and looking ahead to an impressive future. He told unLTD about his experience with Andy and how it has shaped his career path.
How did you first find out about Andy File Associates?
Towards the end of 2019 I was looking for some short-term work to plug a gap in my studies and I noticed an advert for some casual labour that had been posted by Andy’s company. After applying, Andy reached out to find out what it was I was specifically looking for and always got in touch with me whenever there was an appropriate vacancy. Throughout the rest of my studies, we kept in contact and he helped to find me work that fit around my timetable.
How has using Andy File Associates helped your career?
During that same period in 2019, Andy explained there was a temporary position available at a local company called Vitritech, an SME manufacturer of speciality glasses for biomedical, photonics and mineral stabilisation applications.
With my engineering background and skillset, he thought I would be a strong candidate, but he felt I would have a better chance with a more tailored CV, so he invited me in for a chat. While I was there, he worked with me on reformatting my CV, deciding what was relevant and what wasn’t, and giving me advice on getting work in the sector.
As I’ve been in and out of work since the age of 14, I’ve met lots of recruitment agents, but I’ve never worked with one as friendly, helpful and passionate as Andy.
After that, I got the job at Vitritech and had a really enjoyable month. I got on so well with the team and felt like the work they did aligned with what I was studying and what my skills were. When I left, they told me they’d be in touch when I finished university if there were any full-time positions available, but as I was still 18 months away from graduating, I didn’t expect much from it.
However, after staying in touch with Andy throughout that time, I received a phone call around a month before my final exam to say there was a position opening up at Vitritech and they’d like me to go for it.
The position was for a trainee process engineer and following a successful interview I got a call from Rebecca in Andy’s office to tell me I had got the job – at the top of the salary range, no less!
That was in May 2021 and I have now been with the company for 18 months.
In that time, I have become a fully qualified process engineer and the experience I have received has been invaluable.
Vitritech are amazing at helping us to continually improve, putting us on training courses and giving us skills we can use in all aspects of our work.
I am so lucky I’ve been given so much autonomy so early in my career and have been able to oversee projects from start to finish, including a full relocation of our factory from Sheffield to Rotherham.
I’m so excited to see where my future with the company goes and I am hugely grateful to Andy for all the help he’s given me over the years – I wouldn’t have found my perfect job without him!
I have recommended him to multiple people since that first meeting in 2019, who are all now in jobs they love and can’t sing his praises loud enough.
If you are interested in joining this ambitious South Yorkshire based recruitment company, looking for work or permanent or temporary staff, email: info@ andyfileassociates.com or call 01142 821281 or 01709 717841. You can also find us on LinkedIn.
