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Five lessons I’ve learned during my recruitment internship

Elana Bryce • June 23, 2026
Elana Bryce

Over the past 10 weeks as a Recruitment Intern at Levyl, I had the opportunity to work closely with consultants across a range of People & Culture recruitment projects. My role has involved screening candidates, conducting market mapping, supporting business developments activities, shadowing interviews and gaining exposure to the end-to-end recruitment process.


Through conversations with candidates, clients and consultants, I have gained valuable insights into how workplaces are changing, particularly as organisations adapt to new technologies and shifting workforce expectations. 


Here are the five biggest lessons I have learned so far. 

1.Recruitment runs on connections, not just resumes

One thing that became obvious very quickly is that recruitment is rarely transactional. The best recruiters are constantly building relationships, often without knowing when or how these relationships will pay off. They are constantly building relationships, taking the time to understand people, their careers, and their goals. Those conversations may not lead to an immediate opportunity, but they often become valuable connections that last throughout someone's career.

What stood out to me is that people remember how they are treated. People pick up on things like remembering something from a previous conversation and showing genuine interest in understanding someone’s current situation and career direction.  


2. There is no “best” communication style

One of the most underrated skills in recruitment is knowing how differently people communicate. Throughout my internship so far, I have observed different consultants conduct interviews and screening calls and one thing that stood out to me is that there wasn’t a single style that was objectively “the best”.



Sometimes people prefer more direct and straightforward communication, while others prefer more conversational and are interested to do a bit more ‘small talk’ at the start of conversations. To be a good recruiter means picking up on the ‘energy’ of the person you’re speaking with and adjust how you speak accordingly.

Woman and man in a meeting in the office

3. Careers are Becoming Less Linear

One of the biggest trends I noticed during my internship was the growing shift towards temporary, contract, and project-based work. Especially within People & Culture teams, organisations are increasingly hiring based on immediate business needs, transformation projects, or specific periods of growth rather than long-term certainty. What surprised me was that many candidates prefer this flexibility. Contract opportunities can provide exposure to different industries and challenges much faster than a traditional career path. As a result, careers are starting to look much less predictable than they once did. The idea of staying with one company for decades is becoming less common, while portfolios of experiences across different organisations are becoming increasingly valuable.


4. People & Culture Roles are Changing

Most people still associate HR with hiring or workplace conflict, but there are now entire teams focused on workforce analytics and HR technology. What is becoming interesting was seeing how closely these roles are now tied to data and business performance.

As AI and automation continue to reshape workplaces, People & Culture professionals are often at the centre of that change. They are helping organisations implement new technologies, redesign workflows, and think about how work will be structured in the future.

One particularly interesting challenge is balancing efficiency with employee development. As routine tasks become automated, organisations need to think carefully about how junior employees gain experience and develop the skills needed to progress into more complex and meaningful work.

Woman working on her laptop and man working on his laptop on the background, office setting

5. Recruitment Gives You a Real-Time View of the Economy

Something I have found valuable about working in a recruitment agency specifically was how much exposure it gives you to what is happening in different industries. You start noticing patterns very quickly such as which industries are growing, what skills are in demand, which organisations are restructuring and how candidate expectations are growing and evolving.

For example, I have noticed there were weeks where I noticed an increase in People & Culture opportunities in the mining sector which was interesting given those broader conversations around the transition to renewable energy. I also noticed strong demand within hospitality and service-based industries as organisations continued to invest in their people functions.

Interestingly, many of the most in-demand roles I found sat in the mid-level of the market. Positions such as Human Resources Business Partners were consistently sought after as organisations restructured their teams and changed their people strategies.


What I’ll Take Forward

Over the past 10 weeks, I have gained a much deeper understanding of recruitment and the changing world of work. What has stood out most is that, despite the growing influence of technology and data, recruitment remains a people-focused profession built on relationships, communication, and trust.


The experience has reinforced the importance of adapting to different people, staying curious about industry trends, and building genuine connections. These are lessons that extend beyond recruitment and are skills I will continue to carry forward throughout my career.

Elana Bryce

Elana Bryce is a Recruitment Intern at Levyl. Connect with her on LinkedIn.

Elana Bryce

Elana Bryce is a Recruitment Intern at Levyl.

Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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