HR Professionals
If you've worked with recruiters before, you already know what to expect. We do it differently.
CalmHire is run by someone who spent ten years in HR. I know what bad agencies do — because I've been on the receiving end of it. This page is about how I work with candidates, and what you can actually expect from me.
We know what most agencies do.
They submit your CV without asking. They go quiet after the first call. They put you forward for roles that don't match what you said you wanted. They stop replying when you're not the candidate placed. They treat your career as a transaction.
I'm Sabrina Jessop, CalmHire's founder. I spent ten years in HR. I sat in interviews where the recruiter clearly hadn't briefed the candidate. I watched colleagues get ghosted by agencies that had been “in touch every other day” until the placement went elsewhere. I heard the phrase “we'll pass on your details” used as a polite goodbye.
CalmHire exists partly because that's not how this needs to work.
What you can expect from us.
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We'll have a real conversation before submitting your CV anywhere.
Thirty minutes minimum, on a call. We want to understand what you're looking for, what you're moving away from, and what “right” looks like next. No “shall we put you forward for this?” emails before that conversation has happened.
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You'll know the company name before we submit you.
Always. No “confidential client” submissions where you find out where you've applied after the interview is booked. You decide whether you want to be put forward for a specific business.
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We'll tell you the truth about the role.
If we know there's a difficult manager, a messy people situation, or an unrealistic expectation, you'll hear about it. We'd rather you turn down a bad-fit role than take it and resign in three months.
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We'll get back to you, even when it's no.
Every candidate we engage with gets a real reply. If you've been unsuccessful, you'll hear why. If we don't have anything right now, you'll hear that too. No silent ghosting.
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We won't push you toward roles that don't fit.
We get paid when a candidate is placed, but we won't make a placement that's wrong for the candidate just to close a fee. Bad placements come back as 60-day replacements anyway, and they damage our reputation with both sides. We'd rather wait for the right role.
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We treat candidates and clients with the same standard.
The same level of communication, honesty, and respect. The data shows this is rare in recruitment. It shouldn't be.
The roles we recruit for.
CalmHire specialises in HR roles for UK SMEs — typically businesses between £1M and £10M revenue, between 15 and 80 employees. The roles we work on most often are:
Roles we focus on
- HR Managers (first-hire, standalone, or stepping up)
- HR Business Partners
- People Operations leads
- Heads of People in growing SMEs
- HR Generalists with strategic remit
- HR Advisors
- HR Administrators
- Learning & Development specialists
Salary range
- £35,000 to £100,000 typical band
- Permanent, full-time or part-time
- Hybrid and remote considered
- UK-based roles only
If you're senior HR exec / FTSE-level, we're probably not the right fit and we'd say so on the call. We focus on first and first-strategic HR hires for growing UK businesses — the level we know best.
Want to be on our radar?
We don't run a database that we spam. We keep a small, working list of HR professionals we know well and contact when something genuinely fits. If you'd like to be on it, send us your CV and a few lines about what you're looking for — and we'll be in touch for a proper conversation.
Currently working on:
No live roles to advertise this week. The best HR roles often don't get advertised — they get placed through direct conversation with candidates we know well. If you're open to your next move, send us your CV and we'll be in touch when something fits.