Returning Team GB athletes, thinking about retiring from their respective sports, would do well to consider a career in recruitment, according to former Olympian and recruiter Robert Parker.

Parker, who was recently appointed head of property and FM recruitment at London-based corporate and public sector staffing specialist Insight Executive Group, represented the Men’s water polo team for Team GB in London 2012.

He started his recruitment career at public services recruiter Morgan Hunt after attending a Dame Kelly Holmes sponsored careers fair but told Recruiter he was initially wary of the recruitment profession, as he did not see himself as salesman.

“I never really saw myself as a salesman in a way. When I first went in I wasn’t too sure what to expect, however. It is sales, but it isn’t in a way – it’s much more about being able to just talk to people.”

Parker added his experience of playing in a team has also held him in good stead in the world of recruitment.

“As an athlete I did play team sports but interacting in a team, and being able to talk to different types of people, which you get from that exposure of being a professional athlete, really made it easy for me.”

And athletes, who may have put academic qualifications on hold or on the backburner in search of sporting success, will also benefit from a career that rewards hard work and dedication, Parker says.

“The harder you work, the more you get out is true of everything in life but especially in sport and also recruitment.

While Parker does have a degree, he added you don’t really need a qualification to come into recruitment. "I know a lot of athletes; some will have got degrees. For me, I was doing sport on the side as well. I did get a degree but you don’t need necessarily any qualifications. The other thing is if you come and work hard you can progress really, really quickly.”

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