About Us
Acorn Career Consulting was founded by Ian Black to address the need for more personalised career guidance and interview coaching for students and graduates.
Ian Black – Founder
Buillding on many years of experience in recruitment, I am proud to have been able to create a bespoke career consulting service, that will help students and graduates reach their full career potential. I know this is a service I would have found hugely beneficial when I left university, and so I feel both excited and privileged to be able to help new graduates start a successful career path.
Credentials
BSc Geography - University of St Andrews
MSc Business Management - University of Edinburgh
SHL Accredited Test User for Ability and Behavioral Psychometrics
Disc Strengths Assessor
Enhanced DBS
Biography
I was educated in Scotland and have a Bachelors degree from the University of St Andrews and a Masters degree from the University of Edinburgh. I had no idea what I wanted to do when I left University and found the support from the careers service and my immediate network didn’t add much value. After a couple of false starts in property and a graduate scheme in the FMCG industry, I finally found my niche when I moved into headhunting and spent over 12 years working across a vast range of industries and roles.
Over the past decade, I have interviewed and coached over 5,000 candidates through the interview process, and so have an intimate understanding of the job market and what it takes to be successful at application and interview stage. I have recruited roles at all levels from graduate through to CEOs with clients in financial services (banking, asset management, hedge funds, insurance), professional services (accounting and management consulting), telecommunications, media, pharmaceuticals, retail, FMCG, local and central government, charities and social enterprise.
I am an SHL accredited psychometric testing supervisor for ability and behavioral assessments, an accredited DISC strengths assessor and I am currently qualifying as a personal performance coach.
Over many years of offering informal careers advice to graduates, it became clear to me that the current system is not giving students the personal support they often need. The graduate job market is a minefield, and I am passionate about helping students avoid the usual pitfalls and guiding them to make the right decisions to set them up for successful and fulfilling careers.