AS OPERATIONS director at the North West recruitment firm Antal International, Phil Carden headhunts candidates for some of the world’s biggest companies, from Shell to Kimberly-Clark.

Phil lives in Chester with his fiancée, Lucy. This is an account of his working day:

6am: I wake early and I’m straight out of bed for my morning run, as it’s the best way to start the day. It’s a quick half-hour jog, shower then the Bluetooth goes on and the day starts. I have an hour’s drive to work, which gives me the chance to catch up on messages and put calls in to clients who are available.

7.45 am: I arrive at the office and spend the first hour checking emails and catching up with our recruitment consultants, seeing what they have got on for the day.

9.30am: My morning is always dedicated to clients, rather than candidates.ŠAccording to research, decision makers are most responsive in the morning, particularly between 10am and midday, and I really do think this is true.

I spend my time on the phone, speaking to clients, finding out if they have any new positions to fill, discussing what kind of candidates they are looking for and what candidates I have that could be very valuable to their business.

11.30 am: I head off for a meeting with Shell.ŠWe are having an early lunch to discuss candidates they are looking for, both in this area and on an international basis.

While I work from the Warrington office, Antal has offices all over the world, which means we can deal with a client’s candidate needs both on a local and international level.

1.30pm:The meeting with Shell proved to be very valuable, with the company having a number of senior level, specialist engineering roles to fill. I brief the consultants in the office and we plan a strategy to identify and source the right skill set.

Sometimes clients want very specialist candidates, and it’s a matter of going out there and headhunting these people, from trawling the internet to contacting industry experts.

It all sounds very cloak and dagger but headhunting is a tried and tested way of finding the very best candidates in the industry, rather than just the best of who is looking.

2.30pm: I put some calls in to potential candidates we’ve identified through the head- hunting exercise and set some interviews up for later in the day. Many of these may be dead ends because the candidates may be unsuitable for the assignment or unwilling to move, but it’s always worth a quick call. There aren’t many people who wouldn’t consider a new role if the incentives are right.

3.30 pm:I discuss with our consultants the training plan for the coming week. Each member of staff spends at least four hours a week on training which we fit around their working day.

5 pm: Late afternoon is my candidate time. After conducting several interviews, I give a quick phone brief to another candidate who is having an interview for a role in petrochemicals based in China.

7.30 pm: Arrive home and my fiancée, Lucy, has dinner ready. After a bite to eat, we put some research into a snowboarding holiday we’re planning.Š

8.30 pm: I start work again for another hour.ŠEvenings are one of the best times to get in touch with candidates who have been difficult to reach during the working day.