On Wednesday 7 October, Perfect Placement officially turned 23!

Back in 2003, when Lisa and Glenn Unstead first started the business, CVs were still arriving by fax, job adverts appeared in newspapers and candidate records were kept in filing cabinets.

Thankfully, quite a lot has changed since then.

What started as a small automotive recruitment business covering Norfolk and the South East has grown into a UK-wide recruitment consultancy, with 36,840 successful placements under our belt.

We've seen plenty of changes in the Motor Trade over those 23 years, and recruitment itself is almost unrecognisable compared with when we started. But one thing hasn't changed: we're still doing what Perfect Placement was set up to do, helping automotive businesses find good people and helping candidates find their next job.

So, with another birthday ticked off, we thought we'd take a little look back at how it all started and some of the things we've achieved along the way.

It All Started Back in 2003

October 2003 feels like a lifetime ago in some respects.

Finding a job often meant checking the local newspaper, sending off a paper CV and waiting for the phone to ring. For recruiters, filing cabinets, spreadsheets and fax machines were all part of a normal working day.

It was against this backdrop that Lisa and Glenn Unstead established Perfect Placement, initially concentrating on automotive recruitment across Norfolk and the South East.

They started with a simple idea: to provide a recruitment service that genuinely understood the Motor Trade and the people working within it.

As the business began to grow, so did the team. The first employee joined around 18 months after the company was established, with Alister Smith and Dan Unstead following shortly afterwards.

Over the years, Perfect Placement expanded beyond its original regional focus, gradually building a network of automotive employers and candidates across the UK.

We shared more about those early days in our 18th anniversary blog, and it's quite something to look back at where it all began.

Recruitment Has Changed Just a Little...

It's probably fair to say that if you took a recruiter from 2003 and dropped them into a recruitment office today, they'd have a few questions.

For a start, there would be considerably fewer filing cabinets.

Online job boards, digital applications, social media, recruitment databases and, more recently, AI have completely changed the way employers and candidates find one another.

The Motor Trade itself has changed enormously too. Vehicles have become more technologically advanced, the skills employers need have evolved, and the way customers buy and maintain their vehicles looks very different.

Throughout those changes, Perfect Placement has continued to adapt.

Today, we recruit for franchised dealerships, independent garages, commercial vehicle businesses, accident repair centres and other automotive employers across the UK.

Our consultants cover everything from Vehicle Technicians and MOT Testers to Service Advisors, Car Sales Executives, Parts Advisors and senior management positions.

We might have considerably better technology at our disposal these days, but recruitment still comes down to understanding the vacancy, knowing the market and speaking to people.

36,840 Placements Later...

Now, here's a number that deserves a moment.

Since October 2003, Perfect Placement has made 36,840 successful placements across the automotive industry.

That's 36,840 occasions where someone has secured a new job and an employer has found somebody to join their team.

Of course, not every placement is straightforward. Anyone who's worked in recruitment will know that there can be a fair few phone calls, interviews, negotiations and unexpected developments between receiving a vacancy and getting someone into their new role.

But that's part of what makes the successful ones so rewarding.

We've helped people take their first steps into the Motor Trade, supported experienced professionals moving into management positions and worked with employers recruiting for everything from individual vacancies to larger teams.

And one of the nicest parts of being in business for this long is seeing people come back to us years later, sometimes as candidates looking for their next opportunity and sometimes as hiring managers themselves.

It's a reminder that a successful placement can be the beginning of a much longer relationship.

Fourteen Consecutive Car Dealer Power Awards

We've had a few things to celebrate in 2026, and July was a particularly good month.

Perfect Placement was once again named Automotive Recruitment Agency of the Year at the Car Dealer Power Awards, making it our 14th consecutive win since 2013.

It's an award that means a lot to us, particularly because the Car Dealer Power Awards are based on feedback from the automotive industry.

Being recognised by the people and businesses we work with is something we're genuinely grateful for.

And while we're certainly not going to complain about another award, we know that recognition has to be earned through the service we provide every day.

And Then Came 1,000 Google Reviews

As if July hadn't given us enough to celebrate, we also reached another milestone: 1,000 Google reviews.

For a recruitment business, feedback from the people we've helped is incredibly valuable.

Some reviews come from candidates who've just secured a new position. Others recognise a consultant who kept them updated, offered advice or helped them through what can sometimes be a stressful process.

We know that changing jobs is a big decision, and it's lovely to hear when someone has had a positive experience with our team.

To everyone who has taken the time to leave us a review over the years, thank you. We really do appreciate it.

Of Course, None of This Happens Without the People

It's easy to focus on the numbers when celebrating a business anniversary, especially when there are 23 years' worth of them.

But Perfect Placement has always been about the people behind those numbers.

From Lisa and Glenn getting the business off the ground in 2003 to the team we have today, a huge amount of hard work has gone into getting us to this point.

Recruitment isn't always an easy job. There are busy days, difficult vacancies, last-minute changes and the occasional situation that doesn't quite go to plan.

But there are also plenty of reasons to celebrate, whether that's a candidate receiving a job offer, a consultant reaching a personal milestone or an employer finally finding the person they've been looking for.

And after 23 years, there have been an awful lot of those moments.

We'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has worked at Perfect Placement, past and present, for the part they've played in the business.

We also owe a huge thank you to our clients and candidates.

Whether you've worked with us for years, used our services once or recommended us to somebody else, you've helped Perfect Placement become what it is today.

Looking back at our 20th anniversary and 22nd birthday celebrations, it's lovely to see how much has happened in just the last few years, let alone since 2003.

So, What Happens Next?

The automotive industry will continue to change, recruitment will continue to evolve, and we're sure there will be plenty more challenges and opportunities along the way.

But for now, we're simply pleased to be celebrating another birthday and to have so many people to thank for helping us get here.

Happy 23rd Birthday, Perfect Placement!

And to everyone who's been part of the last 23 years, thank you. Here's to many more!

About the Author

Ashley Camies
As Marketing & Automation Manager at Perfect Placement, Ashley Camies has 14 years of automotive recruitment experience. Since 2011, she has supported motor trade employers and candidates across the UK, using first-hand recruitment data and experience to produce practical guidance on automotive careers, salaries and hiring trends.