An Interview with Geoff Taylor

Geoff Taylor is Linear Recruitment's longest-serving employee, having been with the company for twenty years. In that time his role has continued to develop, and he now holds the fort as Operations Director for the North, along with Director for Linear's Employee Owned Trust.

Here we learn more about him and his career development.

Tell us about your career with Linear so far, how it started, how it’s developed and what it is you do now?

I graduated (eventually) from Sheffield University with a degree in Business and Economics in 2002; there wasn’t any real thought process behind the degree other than I knew it would stand me in fairly decent stead for any kind of employment afterwards. I eventually joined Linear in January 2003 and after a short period I commenced working on the Permanent Housing desk across the Yorkshire region. I always enjoyed working within the Construction sector as it was clear to see the contribution our work was making to the various clients we dealt with. After 7 years working in Sheffield I, along with my now wife, made the move to her homeland, Newcastle Upon Tyne where, alongside a colleague, we set up Linear’s North East region out of a small cupboard of an office looking on to the Tyne Bridge (or part of it).

Since 2010 we have been providing complete services from Trades and Labour, Freelance White Collar and Permanent Recruitment across the North East of England and into Scotland with a wide range of clients, and I am proud that we are still working with clients that we brought up from Yorkshire with us all those years ago.

I am now responsible for both our Newcastle office and our Construction Team in Sheffield, making sure we achieve the high standards our clients and candidates expect of us, while continuing to look for new business opportunities across the North East and Yorkshire.

This year I was delighted to be asked to become Director of the Employee Owned Trust (EOT) for Linear, which I've been doing for the last few months.

What exactly is an EOT and what will it mean for Linear and for you?

An EOT is a trust that enables a company to become owned by its employees and can be set up by a company's existing owners. Linear Recruitment has grown over the years due to the hard work of the employees within and it’s a sign of trust and gratitude that the owners of the business decided to transfer the ownership into an EOT. This will help us attract and retain high quality staff and help us achieve our long term growth goals.

How has the industry changed in the time that you’ve been with Linear?

The basics of the Recruitment Industry are the same and will continue to be so going forward; it’s about forging strong relationships with clients and identifying the right talent for their requirements. How recruitment operates around this has changed wildly; when I first started out we still used fax machines and in some cases the post to send out resumes to our clients!

One thing I have noted is the increase in the number of Recruitment firms currently operating; this shows that there is a big demand for Recruitment services and it helps keep all of us on our toes, making sure our service provision is up to scratch.

How clients interact with Recruitment Agencies has changed fundamentally with many companies operating with internal Recruitment teams, but in my humble opinion there will also be a place for Recruitment firms within.

What’s been your biggest challenge in your career?

Challenges are common within Recruitment – anyone who tells you otherwise is lying! There is a constant battle with identifying candidates for hard-to-fill roles, trying to coax clients through the recruitment process and of course dealing with the occasional counter-offer scenario.

The biggest challenge I have personally faced was the economic downturn in 2008. Looking back, I remember having a board full of vacancies one week, wiping it down and replacing those vacancies with names of people looking for work. We lost a great deal of talent during that period, and it also affected the amount of young people entering the Construction Industry; I think we are still feeling the affects of this over 10 years later.

It took a lot of grit, determination and a lot of resolve from our Directors to get us through that very tough period.

What’s been the best thing to happen in your career?

Being given the opportunity to open a new office in a completely new region to both Linear and myself – it hasn’t been a completely comfortable ride, but it has been rewarding to see us develop longstanding relationships with Clients and Candidates, and also to see the team here growing, allowing our employees to forge out long term careers.

What do you enjoy most about your role?

I still genuinely get a buzz from identifying, targeting and working with a new client for the betterment of the Linear brand. I still love speaking to clients regarding their plans for their businesses going forward and establishing how we can support them on that journey.

What are you looking forward to achieving?

We are always looking to expand our horizons; we appointed our first Architectural Consultant at the start of 2022 and following a very strong first year I am particularly looking forward to helping this team develop and grow over the course of the next 12 months. In line with this, I am looking forward to plotting the next steps in the careers of our teams in Newcastle and Sheffield.

And work aside, what do you like to do in your spare time?

I am Bradford born and so I am an avid (from afar) follower of Bradford City and still try to get to local away games and the odd home game when I can. When I am not working, I spend my time taking my two beautiful daughters to various sports clubs, whilst trying to convince them (and failing) that they should be spending their pocket money on Bradford City shirts and not Black & White ones. Aside from family life I like to spend my time running; I have completed numerous half marathons in my time and have one full one under my belt – I am planning for a second marathon in the not-too-distant future….