Katie Yeoman

I’m a consumer recruiter partner at ZD, with a particular focus on toy,
gift, baby and entertainment recruitment to senior executive level.
Although most of my placements are in the UK, I’ve got plenty of
experience in global recruitment too.

My ‘niche’ means I work a little differently to the traditional recruiter. The
people I place in toy, gift and entertainment roles often aren’t actively looking
for new opportunities. So I probably do more headhunting than most
recruiters, not just for the most senior exec roles, but also at relatively junior
levels – because often my clients have tried the traditional ad-based route for
their £35k roles and find its difficult to get the quality of talent they need
without headhunting.

I try not to overanalyse how I do what I do. I know my market. I deliver a good
service. I try to hold real, actual conversations with people (because you can
get so much more from a call than from online chat). I’m honest and I work
really hard for my clients.

That’s how you build really strong relationships, and that’s how you keep your
clients and candidates coming back to you.

I joined Zachary Daniels in 2014. Although I moved out of the area, I stayed in
recruitment and I always kept in touch with [ZD co-founder] Zac. In 2020 I was
given the opportunity to be a ZD partner, operating effectively as a supplier to
ZD. I’m technically self-employed so I could go solo, but honestly, I just love
them. I get so much support (and admin and tech support!). I love the people
and what they stand for. They’re genuinely good people.

Outside of work, I’ve got two kids and I’m really into fitness. So me and my
partner constantly do this tag team thing of looking after the kids while the
other heads to the gym, and the rest of the time is all about the kids.