Samantha Humphreys-Davies from Media Contacts describes her day so far

My day started earlier than expected – 6am to be exact – with the cat announcing she was hungry by attempting to chew through the bedroom door. Feed her, scan my emails for any candidates or clients having crises and it’s into the car for the 45 minute drive to the office in leafy Islington that takes me past the London 2012 Olympic site. But it’s once I’m at work that the true fun begins… With over 170 open jobs at the moment for everything from medical writing to account handling to business development to director roles there’s never a dull moment.

As soon as I pull into the car park my mobile starts buzzing – it’s a candidate who has an interview and she can’t remember who she’s meeting in the afternoon. No problem; I know my clients personally so names are rarely an issue to remember. Whilst on the phone, we run over some interview preparation and I give her a quick pep talk about her writing test that she’s worried about.

Once I’m at my desk it’s time to properly go through my emails. There’s lots of news bulletins to read, some people who have replied to job adverts that I need to call or politely reject and a senior level person who was given my name by a mutual acquaintance and is looking for a job. Whilst I’m on the phone to her a client emails in saying they need a senior person and bingo – we send her CV over and she’s interviewing later this week. Sometimes things just fall into place for everyone.

Quick break for a sandwich and it’s back to the job. It’s time to get in contact with some people about a really exciting senior medical writer job that I’ve got and to get in touch with some clients about interview feedback for candidates (and hopefully some job offers!). If a client asks for a freelancer (who they usually want to start the next day) it’s a case of drop everything and call the names in my little black book to see who’s around.

The day usually ends with catching up on the admin (job adverts, database maintenance, emails and writing reports from client visits) and preparing a list of who I need to speak to in the evening. Then, it’s back home to the eternally famished cat (I really don’t starve her!) and the bedroom door that now requires repairs.