The Shortlist – A Personal Perspective, from Sophie Long

Cambridge graduate Sophie Long joined the Damhurst team in August 2024 after completing an MA at UCL. In her role as an associate, Sophie provides vital market intelligence and analysis to inform search and strategy while nurturing strong relationships with both clients and candidates.

For the latest edition of our Shortlist series of interviews with Damhurst team members, Sophie told us about her journey from the Welsh Valleys to the City of London, her passion for specialist research, and how she keeps the team functioning with cake and sausage rolls.

I got the job at Damhurst within two weeks of handing in my thesis. I was interested in research-based roles and my recruiter suggested executive search. I had an interview with Guy and Olivia, and joined the team a few days later.

At UCL, I was known for exploring obscure subjects. I took an MA in Issues of Modern Culture and researched topics like the Western film genre and the physicality of the book. My dissertation was on Federal Art in America during the Great Depression.

As a student, I spent my Saturdays playing board games with total strangers. A group of around 20 of us met up in a café and played role-play-murder-mystery games called Blood on the Clocktower for up to six hours at a time.

Fundraising means being able to talk to anyone. I was part of a telecommunications campaign at Cambridge, calling up alumni to ask for donations to my college. I spoke to a lot of important people, from aristocrats to Alastair Campbell. I discovered I had a flair for sales.

We pride ourselves on how much we care at Damhurst. It comes through in all the work we do – we take every project very seriously and deliver to a high standard from beginning to end.

There are two sides to my role. You need to have emotional intelligence and a way with people as well as being able to apply yourself to the research side. I recently supported our pro bono search for a new chair for Insurance United Against Dementia, and we’ve just produced an advisory pack for how a Lloyd’s syndicate can go into the captive market. That kind of project lends itself to my skillset, identifying a niche issue and doing the work to uncover a solution.

Our USP is that we find the most interesting candidate for the role. I enjoy getting out into the city, meeting new people and learning about what they do. It helps that I love a good natter and I’m very nosy. I’ve had conversations ranging from the aviation war market to media contingency plans if Beyoncé doesn’t turn up for a concert.

It’s exhilarating working with a team of experts. There’s an energy that comes with the knowledge people have – the team is always fizzing with ideas. It’s rewarding to know we’re at the top of our game, working with rigour and operating efficiently.

I grew up in a tiny town in the Valleys. I expected a company like Damhurst to be very intense and formal, but it’s really not like that. None of us take ourselves too seriously. The one P&L structure means we’re very collaborative, but we don’t work in a way that’s stuffy or overly corporate. When I take annual leave, I can properly switch off knowing my colleagues will cover for me.

I was the first person in my family to go to university. I went to an overcrowded, underprivileged secondary school in Wales where it wasn’t normal to care about academia. I worked incredibly hard to get into Cambridge and I’m really proud of that.

I’m the office baker. When the Coast to Coast team got back to the office, caked in mud, Guy inhaled about four of my sausage rolls. I think at that point he realised he’d made the right decision in hiring me.