Client Testimonials
Dedicated: Original: Sagacious
Suzy Hassan, Managing Director & Co-Founder, Potentia Insight
“Sarah has been fantastic in helping us find candidates for very specific roles – she supported us with a recent key hire for a role we had been trying to fill ourselves for ages, with no luck.
Sarah and team took the hassle out of this recruitment for us, sending us only very relevant and well-vetted candidates who perfectly matched the role, resulting in a speedy hire.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Daughters of Sailors for recruitment and will be in touch with them for our next challenging recruit!”
Caroline Hawkings Chief Talent Officer at Savanta
"We have worked with Sarah and Pam for several years now, they are an integral part of our talent acquisition team and strategy.
They help us with our graduate recruitment programme as well as proactive headhunting for specific roles.
They are truly brilliant to work with - responsive, helpful, challenging (in a good way!), and just generally lovely people.
I cannot recommend them enough.”
Stephanie Shaarwi Managing Director at Irrational Agency
“Every time I have to start a recruitment process I prepare myself for hours of interviews that don’t lead to anything.
Sarah carefully selected each person we interviewed, kept nudging me along to make sure I didn’t miss out on some great candidates and genuinely made me feel like she understood what we wanted and how best to get us what we needed. With the occasional rant and giggle we got what we needed and at a fraction of the cost.
Will definitely be working with her again.”
Hannah Sealy Client Director at Research Bods/Strat7
"It’s been an absolute pleasure working with Pam to recruit into the team, she really takes her time to understand the role and think about recruitment from a people perspective – not just the cv’s/job specs she reads. This has allowed us to open our eyes to candidates with new skills and experiences, but also takes into account the cultural fit that is so important to us at Researchbods.”
Matt Rice-Haynes Head of Partnerships at Disrupt
"We’ve used Sarah for some really tricky roles but we’ll almost always go to her for advice on most hires.
She goes above and beyond and most importantly, she gets me and our business . I'd wholly recommend her if you are looking to grow your team”
Gareth Hodgson Director at Mustard
“The best recruitment company I’ve ever dealt with. You want to know why?
After working with Sarah for the first time, Daughters of Sailors immediately became our go-to for recruitment. Yes, the different model that they use is a game-changer from a commercial perspective, but it’s not just about that, that just feels like a bonus.
From day one, Sarah felt like part of our team and that’s because she invested the time to understand who we are at both a cultural and operational level – and actually listen/take this on-board. You don’t feel like you are being bombarded with CVs they happen to have, you genuinely feel like they are out there finding the right person for our needs and who will fit in.
You are never left questioning where things are at, because they communicate and update regularly and manage expectations well. They have their ear to the ground on what is going on in the sector and offer useful advice and perspective. They just get it. And you always have a laugh on the phone with them too!”
Lindsay Morrison Head of Talent Acquisition at Savanta
"Sarah and I had first been in touch over 10 years ago, when I used her inhouse as a recruiter and have stayed in touch since.
That’s one of the things that sets her apart – she values nurturing and maintaining relationships. When I saw the role she was recruiting for, despite being at the final stage already with another role, I just knew I had to find out more.
She had a great way of explaining the role, the culture, the aspirations, and guided me through the process without ever being pushy. When I was offered she was as excited for me as I was for myself. She supported me through the onboarding time, and beyond. Highly recommend Sarah”
Charlotte Kenyon, HR Director
“We have worked with Sarah Penny for several years, initially through Penny Cross and more recently as Daughters of Sailors. Sarah is a brilliant partner in recruitment across a range of disciplines which allow us to scale up and support our recruitment activities in a flexible and bespoke way depending on the requirements. From running a large-scale graduate screening process to looking for a needle in a haystack on healthcare recruitment she will work with us to identify how best to approach a search. She demonstrates integrity and honesty – doing the right thing for both the company and the people she talks to. And very importantly she has a wonderful sense of humour, making working with her a pleasure.”
Mark Long, Managing Director, Pegasus Insight
“We recently engaged Sarah and the DoS team to find a Research Exec for our start up research business. I found the total process from briefing to appointment to be frictionless and a pleasure from start to finish. Sarah managed our expectations superbly, did a super filtering job and delivered us with high quality candidates to interview, I’d have no hesitation in recommending their service.”
Ron Orgiefsky, Business Development Director
“I had the good fortune of meeting and working with Sarah during my time at Verve. My experience was that she is a focused, efficient, and a "get down to business" type, which can sometimes imply that a person is lacking in emotional intelligence. But Sarah has that in spades. She is empathic, a wonderful listener and communicator in general, and she has a quick wit as well.
But I think that the best testimonial I can offer is not what I think of Sarah, but what I learned that candidates think of her. I had already left Verve when I just happened to meet two different people through networking, each of whom had interviewed for roles at Verve. They each provided, unsolicited, incredibly positive feedback about Sarah and the recruiting process. Even though each person didn't progress in the process and be offered a role, both commented that Sarah's transparency, timely follow-up, candor, and professionalism left them with very positive views of Verve and Verve's recruiting practices. If all corporate recruiters operated with the same level of integrity and professionalism which Sarah does, the recruiting process would be so much better.”