David Shirley: Financial Services Recruitment Specialist
Brought up on a council estate in the 50’s and 60’s, I attended the local state school and met my “wife to be” at age 9 – have a look here > “A Day-Trip to Margate”
I managed to pass the 11 plus and so moved on to the Grammar School – I had always been keen on sport and my abilities were now brought to the fore.
I played both Basketball and Football to a fair level – in Basketball I represented Surrey, in Football I played for Surrey, various FA representative sides and England U.18’s – my England International cap is displayed in my office, along with some other personal sporting memorabilia from more recent times.
Early Financial Services Career
I was no great shakes academically but I did manage to achieve 5 O levels before leaving school and joining an insurance company – I was destined to stay at this company, albeit in quite a few different roles, until 1996.
I kicked off my career as a clerk and was slowly working my way through various departments and climbing the internal management structure – then, one afternoon in October 1980, it was suggested to me that I might train as a Financial Adviser and join the company’s sales force.
The Switch to Financial Services Sales and Sales Management
This was the start of a successful career in insurance sales and later in sales management – during which time I built teams of advisers, was moved up country to open new branches in North East England where our teams won the UK National Award for top performance in two consecutive years, then was “kicked upstairs” and moved back to the Head Office to take responsibility, along with a colleague, for the overall development of the UK sales force.
Along the way, my company had acquired a number of other insurance institutions and in 1995 a merger of two international companies was undertaken. The new environment was too different for me and, around 18 months later, I was no longer enjoying my role – a redundancy package was agreed and I left the company to start my own recruitment business.
Setting Up David Shirley Associates Financial Services Recruitment Agency
After all, I had at this juncture been recruiting both advisers and managers into the company for 14 years – so, if I continued to recruit specifically in the Financial Services arena, I could now recruit for a number of companies instead of just one.
My whole working experience was tailor-made for me to move into the Financial Services recruitment and Financial Services headhunting arena. I knew the market, I knew how to make things work for both the new recruit and the company, plus I was well connected. To date, David Shirley Associates has been operating for a further 14 years (making a total of almost three decades) in the Financial Services recruitment marketplace and concentrating mostly on assisting Financial Advisers in their careers.
