Case Study - Careers

From Graduate in Berkhamsted to Senior Account Consultant in North Carolina

By Alex Stanford/Published Date:29 July 2026

Alex’s Story

"I started with no experience whatsoever in recruitment. Now I know the life sciences sector inside out."

Who is Alex?

Alex joined QCS Staffing in his final term at university, with no experience of recruitment and no real idea of what an office job would even involve. Nine years on, he's a senior figure in QCS's life sciences business, based in North Carolina, supporting major client relationships and building the brand in one of the company's key US growth markets. His path took him through delivery, into sales, across to account management and eventually out to the US, taking on a new opportunity at almost every stage.

Where he started

Alex's route into QCS came down to a chance conversation. His dad coached the son of QCS Staffing's CEO – David Broome - and he happened to mention to David that Alex had an interview lined up with a competitor. David's response was immediate: get him in front of us too.

Alex was already deep into the interview process elsewhere, three rounds in, when he spoke to Joanna Belmar at QCS. One conversation was enough to tip the scales.

"I just got a good vibe, a much better vibe than I got from the other place," he says. "I felt like it was a really fun one to join straight out of uni. I wanted to go somewhere I could grow a career, but I also wanted to enjoy myself."

In the interview he met some of the team, meeting people who'd joined a few years before him sealed it. He could see a version of his own future in the room.

The Journey

QCS had around 50 people when Alex joined, and he remembers the early weeks as a wave of information, though what stood out most wasn't the scale of what he had to learn. It was the atmosphere.

"What surprised me most was what a nice, positive, family environment it was," he says. "It didn't feel stressful, which I thought it was going to."

That didn't mean the early months were easy. Alex is honest that recruitment didn't click for him straight away. He went two or three months without placing a single deal, getting on the phone to highly experienced engineers felt uncomfortable and there were real doubts about whether the role was right for him.

Then three deals landed in the same week.

"It was like, okay, I'm doing something right," he says. "They've finally come."

The moment he knew

"It was like, okay, I'm doing something right."

That first cluster of placements was the turning point, but it wasn't the only one. Around 18 months later, Chief Sales Officer - Ben Alger, suggested Alex was ready to move from delivery into sales.

"It was really great to hear that from him as someone I looked up to who had been there and done what I wanted to achieve in my role," Alex says. "It was extra validation that I was actually good at it."

When it got hard

Alex's move into sales coincided almost exactly with the onset of COVID, about as difficult a time as any to start winning new business.

"There was always so much support around me," he says. "There was always a long-term goal and I felt there was progress towards it, even when it wasn't straightforward."

A second, very different kind of challenge came later: the decision to relocate to the US. It meant leaving behind friends, family and a settled life in the UK for an opportunity Alex knew would take time to weigh up properly.

"I was getting towards my late twenties and thought it was the perfect time to do it," he says. "If I didn't, I'd probably regret it." Knowing that close friends, including fellow QCS colleague Sam Muscroft, were already out there made the decision easier. "It's definitely one of the best things I've done. I'm glad I did it."

Who helped along the way

Alex doesn't hesitate when asked who supported him. His first manager, was instrumental in the early months when he wasn't sure recruitment was for him.

"I didn't really know if recruitment was for me the first few months," he admits. "I told myself I'd give it at least six months before deciding."

Ben Alger and David Broome were significant influences as Alex's career developed, and he singles out Megan Luxford as one of the most important relationships of his time at QCS. The two of them moved into sales around the same time, giving them a shared point of reference through both the difficult periods and the wins.

"She's obviously very, very successful as well, so I learned a lot from her," he says. "Just someone I could
talk to about the good times and the more difficult ones too."

His advice

"It will feel really uncomfortable for the first few months. But the people and the culture, and the opportunities to progress, make it worth it”

Alex's advice to anyone considering a career in recruitment is grounded in his own experience of struggling before succeeding. The discomfort early on is normal, and the only way through it is by getting on the phone, getting things wrong and gradually getting better.

"It's learning by basically failing over and over again and then getting it right eventually," he says.

Nine years in, recruitment remains the only permanent job he's had. He's worked across delivery, sales, and account management, spent several years travelling regularly to Denmark and now lives and works in the US. He even built deep knowledge of a sector he actively disliked at school.

"I hated science at school. Absolutely hated it," he laughs. "But now I know the life sciences sector pretty well. There's just so much opportunity here and so many directions you can take it."

Sound like something you'd try? We're always looking for people like Alex. Speak to us today!