The face behind InX Property and Real Estate
You’ve met the manufacturing and technology teams at InX, so this month we wanted to shine a spotlight on Property and Real Estate.
The team keep a close eye on what’s happening in the market and have dedicated themselves to becoming specialists in trending and emerging subsectors such as build-to-rent (BTR), industrial and logistics, workplace consulting and sustainability. And using that in-depth expertise and strong network relationships allows the team to keep clients ahead of market trends.
Passionate about networking and thought-leadership, Matt Parkin, Partner, is a key stakeholder in the InX Leadership Summit series, recognising the value of the events and really helping in driving the success, which is why Brand Manager, Becca Boulton, sat down with Matt to learn more about his role and understand why he does what he does at InX.
Becca: Thank you for joining me today, Matt. We’ve got to know each other well since I joined in May working on two InX Summit’s together; but I am excited to learn more about your role and really showcase your expertise! So can you tell me more about your background before joining InX?
Matt: After completing my MSc in International Management, I fell into retail on an Area Manager graduate scheme for a well-known German retailer. Quickly realising that wasn’t for me, I turned to the world of recruitment. I started my recruitment career at Hays, before moving to Randstad. Initially, I hired mid-level managers across the North and Scotland, but after 18 months I set up the national FM practice within their Executive Search team.
Becca: So a lot of experience in recruitment and executive search then! The Property and Real Estate industry is huge and covers a great deal. Could you tell us more about the sector and what roles and companies you cover?
Matt: Our sector spans the lifecycle of the built environment. From raising investment and securing a plot of land, through the design and construction phase, and on to the maintenance and improvement of the asset. My remit is to match senior leaders – across operations, commercial and strategic leadership - with key clients who deliver an outsourced service to the built environment. That started with FM, but has since expanded into Capex projects (delivery and consultancy), sustainability in the built environment (my real passion) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO).
Becca: You’ve been a part of InX since 2020 so I would love to hear what you think makes InX stand out and how you would describe it to someone in 30 seconds or less.
Matt: InX are disrupting the way established search firms operate by being closer to our clients and candidates, providing a high-quality service in an often-shorter timeframe. I saw in the interview you did with the Technology team that Dan [Manton] said “We’re flexible with our approach, whilst also retaining a robust search process” and I couldn’t agree more with that statement.
If I had to describe InX in 30 seconds, I would say - InX is part of The IN Group, with a focus on strategic, senior hires that command a more thorough approach than a contingent recruitment campaign. True retained search allows us to partner with our clients and create a level of trust that gives us access to the hardest-to-reach candidates.
Becca: I couldn’t agree more, and I really believe all the team at InX are very much ‘disrupting’ the established search firms’ way of working. This leads me into the next question which focuses on misconceptions about executive recruitment and how you and the InX team are going about to reverse these.
Matt: I would say the main one I’ve encountered is that people believe we charge inflated fees for sending profiles of a handful of people we already know. This is just absolutely not the case here at InX.
Retained search allows us to be transparent with clients and show them case studies of our detail-driven approach to search which in turn, helps to educate and reverse those misconceptions. It allows us to share market insight that can help a business get ahead, whether that’s providing a talent map of their competition, sharing real-time salary and package expectations in the market, or – my favourite one – being a true brand ambassador for them when approaching the market, which is probably the most targeted marketing campaign they’ll ever have!
Becca: You’ve been in recruitment/executive search for many years. What is the best piece of advice you have for business leaders looking to hire or looking for a new role?
Matt: If you're hiring, consider candidates who may bring transferrable skills from adjacent sectors.
If you're moving, think of how the next role equips you for the role after that.
Becca: I love that, it’s so crucial to always think about the next step ahead. We’re nearly at the end of the interview, so I wanted to see if you have any aspirations for the sector and perhaps highlight an open role you have right now.
Matt: Thank you. It has been great to talk to you more about my role here at InX! When thinking about aspirations for the sector, as a father to a pre-teen daughter, I really want the sector to inspire young girls that there's a future career for them in Property and Construction.
Regarding an open role – we’re currently searching for a Managing Director to lead a disruptor facilities management business targeting >60% growth within four years. If this sounds of interest, please do get in touch.
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Whether you’re looking to strengthen your leadership or you’re a senior professional looking to make a real difference for an organisation, get in touch with our Property & Real Estate team to find out how we can help you.