Our Team

As an Executive Researcher, I will be responsible for defining requirements for our clients, understanding their positions and finding the most qualified candidates, often those working as executives for other companies, focusing on the HR field of expertise.

I started my career in Hospitality, finding myself at the centre of excellence in customer service, working for some of the most reputable and well-known hotels in the UK and in the USA. Having spent some years in the sector, I transferred my skills into Recruitment having identified that people really are my passion. I wanted to support candidates in finding that perfect role for their skills and development, whilst making sure that their journey into finding that right role was seamless, consultative, and most importantly personal and informed.

Over the last 16 years within the Recruitment industry, I have had the pleasure of working in various recruitment settings from agencies, setting up my own recruitment business, working In House and working with an outsourced provider RPO model, working across both public and private sectors.

I have a passion for learning and developing my own professional portfolio and in 2017 gained my Level 5 in Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD).

Having recently joined the team at re:find I was blown away with their personal approach and genuine passion for building long lasting relationships with customers and candidates and knew from the offset that re:find’s values were a perfect match to my own, our motto is “we aim to be the most helpful search firm in the market” and I genuinely believe this. I am very excited and privileged to be part of the team and excited for the future. I believe that if you do what you love, then it will never seem like work.

Away from the spotlight of work, I am a busy mum of 3 children; family time to me is precious. We live on a small holding in the countryside of Warwickshire so the Kids, animals and a husband keep me very busy and well entertained to say the least.

I started out in this wonderful world of recruitment over 9 years ago, focusing on the IT Tech Market. In that time I worked my way from Trainee to Account Director working with a large pool of clients in the private and public sectors looking after all of their IT job vacancies. I spent 2 years working within the internal recruitment Industry for a large IT Consultancy and at an Embedded Agency.

After being around the block in recruitment for 9 years I decided to join the team at re:find as an Account Manager supporting and managing all their IT positions.

re:find are the nicest group of people I’ve met with a genuine passion to build long-lasting relationships with customers and candidates. I love re:find’s motto “we aim to be the most helpful search firm on the market”. I’m so excited to be a part of a forward-thinking agency that shares the same values as me.

Outside of work, you’ll find me walking/playing/training my dog called Dotty across various parks. If there’s a celestial event/meteor shower you’ll see me outside looking at the stars with my telescope. If there’s nothing outside for me to observe, you’ll find me inside with the dog (who also likes tv) watching documentaries or reading books about the Universe.

I have previously worked within the hospitality industry leading a front of house department and providing a tailored experienced to customers. This, combined with my degree in psychology, has nurtured and intensified my need to get to know people and how they work, leading me to pursue a new career at re:find.

I am a relentless worker, who cannot stop until something is complete. I find that this helps me to become more familiar with the unfamiliar, but it can also interrupt my days off!

Outside of work it’s all about food! I love to find independent restaurants to dine at, and when at home I love to find new recipes and put my own spin on them. Whilst enjoying my food I like to immerse myself in a good fantasy series, whether it be film, tv or book.

Our approach to researching alters for each assignment, using our years of experience we develop research approaches to find the hidden gems in the market.

I use the skills I have learned over the past 4 years to help find the best candidates for the job, as well as conduct research for different projects.

I add value by helping businesses to find the right people for roles which can be challenging to fill. There are many different elements to take into consideration including the brief, culture fit, skill set and location. By actively listening to what a business needs, I am able to understand how that business works and help find the right person for the role. Knowing the market enables me to give guidance, support and push the boundaries to ensure my clients get good customer service, knowledge and ultimately great candidates!

I love taking a different approach and breaking down the barriers between candidate and client. This allows me to build long-term, lasting relationships that benefit everyone.

Away from work I like to keep active. I fill my weekends with playing golf, running and spending precious time with my wife and daughter. She certainly keeps us on our toes with family bike rides and picnics in the park.

James Cumming is the founder and MD of the business and has over 15 years’ experience of recruiting in the UK market at a senior level. After graduating in Chemistry from the University of Birmingham he moved into a career in recruitment working for a well-known global business before launching his own Executive Search firm.

James leads on all our senior appointments, working in conjunction with the research team

James Cumming is also a Freeman of the company of HR professionals. He has launched several HR related industry events including, Thursday Brunch, which showcases thought leaders in the HR profession and the Midlands HR director’s forum.

In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my family and three children. I am also a keen tennis player and a massive supporter of Andy Murray and his achievements for British tennis.

Please feel to connect with me on Linkedin