Altitude Recruitment's Louise Hall-Strutt sets strong boundaries on her time

[00:00:07] Kylie Speer: 
Hello and welcome to NZ Lawyer TV. I'm Kylie Speer and joining me today is Louise Hall-Strutt, Managing Director at Altitude Recruitment. Altitude Recruitment has been named as one of the winners of NZ Lawyer Service Provider Awards for 2025. Welcome to you Louise, congratulations and thank you so much for joining us today. 

[00:00:33] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Thank you Kylie, I'm absolutely thrilled to be here, thank you. 

[00:00:37] Kylie Speer: 
Well firstly Louise, you've just been named as one of the top service providers by NZ and Australasian Lawyer for the third year running. What does this recognition reflect about your work? 

[00:00:51] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, I'm so thrilled to win and three years in a row is amazing. I think it really reflects the depth of the work that I do, the relationships that I've built, the reputation that I have in the market and just the kind of the deeper level of kind of bespoke boutique service that I offer to clients and candidates. 

[00:00:56] Kylie Speer: 
In a market crowded with recruiters, what sets your approach apart both for firms and for candidates? 

[00:01:11] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, I think it is a highly competitive market and particularly post-COVID, even more so. I think where other agencies have probably gone wide and more transactional, I've done the opposite and I've gone deeper and more relationship driven. And that has, yeah, that's worked really well. I've built good trust with people. I'm not afraid to have a voice and sort of speak and use my voice. And so both candidates and clients can trust that I'll give them an honest assessment. And I'm also not focused on just transactional job filling. I'm focused way more on long term fit and kind of alignment. So yeah, that seems to have worked really well for me. 

[00:02:01] Kylie Speer: 
Louise, you're known as a high performer and a devoted mum. How do you hold both without compromising either? 

[00:02:10] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, I think none of us will ever get it perfect. I think working mums are a special breed and we do learn very quickly to adapt and be highly productive with the time that we do have. Um, I think, um, you know, I've set up my business deliberately to be able to sort of succeed in both areas. I try and be as present as I can when I'm working, when I'm with my daughter and sort of have strong boundaries around that. Um, I also ensure that I carve out time for myself because I think as mums and, you know, as a business owner, we can often be last. Um, so I do make sure that I sort of have intentional time for myself where I can go for a walk, go for a workout and kind of replenish my energy so that I can give as much as possible in both areas. 

[00:02:57] Kylie Speer: 
This year brought a lot of economic and industry shifts. What was one of your biggest challenges and how did you overcome it? 

[00:03:06] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, so the biggest challenge in the legal sector has not been the same as some other sectors. So the jobs have still been there. What we've actually struggled with is the outpouring of talent going overseas. The OE or overseas experience as they call it here has always been a kind of part and parcel of legal life. They generally go overseas, do a couple of years, get really good experience and then come back. What we've found is post-COVID the numbers of people going overseas have increased. Australia has also become a lot more popular with it being a lot closer. Sometimes it may be that their partner who's in a different industry can't get work here, so they've had to move overseas. So, yeah, the biggest challenge for us has actually been the lack of talent and sort of how to work with that. I have been trying to sort of look at strategic options around that. So, again, kind of focusing more on that relationship building with the talent here and kind of when they're ready to move and also developing relationships overseas with agencies to be able to assist with those moves. 

[00:04:15] Kylie Speer: 
Louise, where do you see legal recruitment heading in the next three to five years? And how are you preparing your clients for it now? 

[00:04:23] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, I think it has become so transactional recently. And I think that's going to kind of swing the other way and kind of it is going to be this more relationship driven, but also less reactive. I think clients need to be sort of forward planning and forward thinking, you know, looking at good talent before they need them. And yeah, I think just a lot more proactive in terms of that piece and also focusing on retention. And that's where, you know, my focus on long-term fit will help clients with, you know, being able to retain talent longer term rather than just kind of bums on seats and then just sort of filling roles for the sake of it, focusing on that kind of longer term piece. 

[00:05:03] Kylie Speer: 
What's a misconception about legal recruitment that you'd love to change? 

[00:05:09] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, I think the biggest misconception is that we're just job fillers. We just fill the jobs. You know, I don't believe that recruitment should be purely transactional. I think it's about building careers and, you know, building law firms and kind of really actually shaping the future of the legal industry. And I think recruiters that get it right are kind of really operating on that level and much more strategic than we're kind of sometimes given credit for. 

[00:05:38] Kylie Speer: 
So for anyone listening who's feeling overlooked or frustrated in their current role, what would you say to them right now? 

[00:05:46] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, the advice I would give is don't settle. I think what can often happen is they feel stuck, but they let it go too long and then it can trickle into other areas of their life. And, you know, I'm a real advocate that environment is everything. And we spend so much of our lives at work that, you know, we really need to enjoy that time that we're there. So I would just tell them that the right role is out there and that, you know, they're allowed to want more. And, yeah, just to not sort of settle and think that this is it and this is the only option. I think particularly in this market, you know, if you're not 100% happy in your role, I think, you know, you should be looking to change it. Because, yeah, I really believe that people should enjoy and love what they do. 

[00:06:32] Kylie Speer: 
Yeah, such great advice. And finally, Louise, how can law firms or candidates work with you? And what should they expect from the experience? 

[00:06:42] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Yeah, so they can reach out directly to me. The benefit of working with me and obviously being a boutique small agency is that they're working directly with me, not being passed to multiple other people. What they can expect is an honest assessment of the market or the talent that I'm presenting. I've got 10 years experience behind me. I've built a network of 21,000 on LinkedIn, so I can access talent that is not always available on the open market. And they can always expect confidentiality, true trust that I will only put them forwards for roles that actually align with where they want to go. And yeah, just a kind of high touch strategic service that is bespoke to them. 

[00:07:27] Kylie Speer: 
Fabulous. Well, thank you so much for your time today and congratulations once again, Louise. It was a pleasure speaking with you. 

[00:07:35] Louise Hall-Strutt: 
Thank you so much. Absolute pleasure here as well. 

[00:07:39] Kylie Speer: 
And thank you, of course, to our viewers for watching the latest episode of NZ Lawyer TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon.