You can pack a lot into an hour with Raphael Mokades. It's a good job – because today, like every other day, the fast-talking, basketball-playing, entrepreneurial powerhouse has an awful lot to say.
With friends in common, we've met before – several times in the past ten years. On every occasion, I learn Mokades has added yet another twist to his career, which now spans internships in politics (with MP Paul Boateng) and advertising, to the Financial Times, to working on diversity at Pearson (the FT's parent company). Oh, and did I forget to mention the club nights run for a year on the side?
But in the past three years, something has changed. Mokades seems more focussed - which must be down to the success of his own business - Rare Recruitment- a company he describes, as specialising "in getting fantastic people from ethnic minority backgrounds and putting them in top organisations."
Started in 2005 and now based in London's Clerkenwell, Rare's client list is already super-impressive, including KPMG, L'Oreal, the NHS, the Economist, the Civil Service Fast Stream and this very newspaper, the Guardian.
In three years, Mokades and his team have placed hundreds of candidates in roles where they have thrived. Rare Recruitment isn't just a success story – it's a success story with a soul.
Mokades says reactions to his business range from, 'Wow, fantastic', to 'Isn't that illegal?' (and no, it isn't). But very few people ask 'Why?'
"I think most people who have worked are at least sort-of aware that people with darker skin get treated worse than people with lighter skin with the same aptitudes and qualifications," he said.
This injustice is what drives him. "How can you possibly justify a situation where 17% of people coming out of university are from ethnic minorities – but only 3 or 4% of those joining your business are?"
Of his own ethnicity, Mokades explains that with DNA gathered from Israel, Uzbekistan and Iran, he considers himself simply, brown. He feels defining himself racially is, not helpful, but on his 'outward identity', he said: "I'm British and I'm Jewish (but I'm not at all religious) and I've got dark hair and I'm bald and I'm five foot nine..."
On his 'inward identity', he explained: "I have a million different allegiances – to the part of London where I'm from, to my family, to my friends, certain ideological beliefs, to QPR ..."
Mokades grew up in London's Brent, his dad a basketball coach, his mum a schools' inspector. After graduating with a first in History from Oxford, he started on a management training scheme with the FT. "Their brochure said, 'In everything we do, we aspire to be brave, imaginative and decent.' I thought that was brilliant," he said.
But it wasn't. He had a "miserable" experience. "I rocked up at the FT, thinking I was joining a really aggressive, thrusting business – but, straight after 9/11, it wasn't the place to be," he said.
From that experience he realised modern career success comes from thinking short-term, not long-term. "Plan your next job – but never the next ten years," he advises graduates now. But the experience wasn't all bad - he said: "Through it, I met some fantastic people who are the reason I'm running Rare now."
One of those people was David Bell, director of people at Pearson, who Mokades was introduced to by colleagues in a bar. Hearing Bell talk about diversity was, he remembers, "the first thing that I'd heard in move than a year that really excited me – that I really thought was interesting. At Oxford I did a lot of work to encourage inner city and ethnic minority people to come to the university. I decided to get myself involved in this diversity business, by hook or by crook."
Negotiating a temporary contract within 'the corporate thing' at Pearson, Mokades was convinced the company's problem was solvable: people from ethnic minority backgrounds simply weren't applying for jobs there. He explained: "I told David I didn't want to go back to the FT but that I wanted to stay at Pearson and work with him on diversity. He said, 'Alright, we'll give you three months – let's see what you can do.'
"I suggested going back to my old university and taking a bunch of black and Asian students out for lunch to pitch Pearson to them."
Mokades' legwork achieved encouraging results, landing him a permanent job working for Bell on diversity for Pearson globally.
He remains proud of his achievements at Pearson. "When I started, 5% of their UK staff were from ethnic minorities. When I left, three years later, 11% were," he said.
That's when he started Rare, whose advisory board, is chaired by Bell.
"Candidates don't get 'special treatment', or 'the inside track,'" Mokades explained. Rare simply provides the sort of preparation their competitors may have had since birth.
"We invite them into these companies, so they feel comfortable in a corporate environment – and that's a huge thing. We introduce them to people currently doing those jobs, ideally people from similar backgrounds, so they can see it really is achievable. And we run mock interviews and practice numeracy and verbal reasoning tests. Basically, we tell them the rules of the game."
The thrill of receiving the phone call to say one of Rare's candidates has been offered a job never wears off, Mokades says. "It's phenomenal –unbelievably rewarding. We are still a small company and we want to do more, but I'm so pleased with what we've managed to achieve. Every time we place a candidate, we're making progress."
Tanya de Grunwald is the author of, Dude, Where's My Career? The guide for baffled graduates
