SJ Personnel is on a mission to help people build incredible businesses and careers

Sarah Thomas is first and foremost a mum, who has three darling children, Jack 6, Miller 9, and Ethan 11.

Sarah had started and managed SJ Personnel for in excess of 11 years.

SJ Personnel is a Geelong recruitment, temporary labour hire and human resources agency, which is the product of a vision shared by entrepreneurs and co-founders, Sarah Jane Thomas and her father Adam Charleston.

SJ Personnel service the Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast region.

At SJ Personnel, they help small and medium businesses manage their HR compliance.

As a mother of three, Sarah has always envisioned being part of a team that would create and build new and successful opportunities for working women, who want the balance to see their families.

She needed to develop new concepts, chase new markets, influence the company’s direction… and so on.

Naturally, Sarah took on the high degree of risk associated with job stability when she quit her full-time role and took on a role as a start-up.

She therefore needed to be comfortable with uncertainty. This may suit the 20-something single, but not the married, single income earning family with five mouths to feed.

Yet despite the risk, Sarah took on the challenge, looking for a fresh challenge and new ways to integrate women into the work force more freely.

“Working for a start-up company is not for everyone,” Sarah said.

“Many people who are outstanding employees at established businesses can quickly fall flat on their face in a start-up atmosphere.

“Yet others find what they are truly capable being in a less regimented environment where they are encouraged to spread their wings.

“So before applying for that newly created role in an exciting new venture that lights up your eyes with inspiration, ask yourself if you are a risk taker in the boardroom or on the bungee-jumping bridge in Queenstown.

“What exactly are you willing to dive headfirst into when it comes to your career?

“I encourage every women who reads this to have faith and self-belief and jump in head first.”

SJ Personnel live and breathe their company vision and Sarah believes the following have contributed to their success over the last decade:

SJ Personnel Mission
We want to be the best part of someone’s working life. We are on a mission to help people to build incredible businesses and careers. We help business recruit the right staff to grow their business and we help passionate people find incredible jobs.

Values Positive Mindset
We believe recruitment should be an empowering, positive and personalised experience.

People Come First
Our process driven, efficient and professional management ensures businesses can focus on the people and not the paperwork.

Collaboration
We know the best results are achieved when we work with our clients as a team.

We break down barriers
We are all about making recruitment and HR accessible, efficient and fun.

We’ve got your back
We’re here to support our clients every step of the way in their career or business journey. We help people thrive in their working life.

“COVID has made us as a team at SJ Personnel, Geelong recruitment Agency, really tune into our true values and mission statement,” Sarah said.“

As a recruitment company in Geelong, we are a small business, where we truly advocate for small to medium business, we want to empower people to grow and see them exceed as a person and in a team.”