February 2026
Anyone Can Do It. Not Everyone Succeeds Alex's Recruitment journey
THE BEGINNING
A different kind of starting point.
Alex Hayes didn't arrive at recruitment through a calculated plan. He studied Geography and Business Management at Loughborough University and, like many graduates, stepped into a role that made logical sense on paper, joining the public sector as a Planning Assistant.
It was a formative experience. He gained a real understanding of how large institutions operate, how decisions are made at scale, and what long-term career trajectories look like from the inside. But the more clearly he could see that path ahead of him, the more certain he became that he wanted something different.
He wanted pace. Progression. The opportunity to build.
The moment I could see exactly where the road led, I knew it wasn't my road.
Through a contact at Phaidon International, LVI Associates' parent company, he made a call, asked for a referral, and stepped into a completely new world. It was a decision made not from certainty, but from curiosity.
THE JOURNEY
Built market by market, from the ground up.
The beginning
- Oil & Gas
First steps in a complex, technically demanding market and learning how to build trust with candidates and clients in high-stakes environments.
2014
- Construction & Engineering
A deliberate shift toward markets with greater scale and long-term structural growth. Expanded remit, new specialisms, deepening expertise.
The opportunity
- Global Data Centres
Others had attempted the market. Alex was selected to lead it. He built the global data centre team from the ground up, now around 80 people strong, and helped shape a market in the process.
Each transition wasn't opportunism; it was judgment. A consistent eye for where talent, technology and global infrastructure were heading next.
THE WORK
Sitting at the intersection of talent and the future.
What drives Alex isn't the commercial side of recruitment; it's who he gets to partner with. His clients are the organisations quite literally reshaping the world around us: delivering next-generation data centres, advancing critical civil engineering projects, and driving the transition to more sustainable energy infrastructure.
When you're partnering with companies that are transforming how cities function, how data moves, how energy is delivered — you realise the work we do has a ripple effect. We're not just building teams. We're helping build the future.
Eight or more years on, candidates still reach out to Alex for advice and perspective. In recruitment, that kind of longevity isn't an accident. It's the result of genuinely understanding people and caring enough to go beyond the surface.
He has a fundamental belief that nobody moves purely for money. When a candidate cites salary as their reason, that's not the answer; it's the symptom. The real work is uncovering what's underneath: the lack of progression, the feeling of being undervalued, the quiet sense that this chapter is over. A great recruiter, he believes, brings the subconscious to the conscious.
WHAT IT TAKES
Anyone can do this job. Doing it well is another thing entirely.
Alex is direct: the people who thrive at LVI Associates are the ones who are clear on why they're here. Not just what they're doing, but why it matters to them personally. That clarity of purpose is what sustains performance when the market slows, the candidate changes their mind, or the deal falls apart.
Two qualities, he says, define the ones who build something lasting.
Curiosity - Ask the questions you don't know the answers to. Be willing to say you're still learning. Translate complex technical worlds into simple, human terms. "It's hard when you're young and positioning yourself as the expert. But if you ask the questions, you'll get there."
Humility - The ones who progress are the ones who look inward first. Ownership of what goes right and wrong is what makes you someone worth following, especially when you step into leadership. "You've got to own it."
Progression is rarely linear.
Purpose always is.
Alex joined because he needed a direction and recognised an opportunity when it arrived. Everything since has been built through drive, curiosity and accountability, and a willingness to step beyond what was comfortable.