Recruiting Trailblazers

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In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Becca Menhart who, until recently, was an account manager at one of the big box recruitment companies. She then decided to change course from her agency career to seek out an internal recruiting role with a company and a brand that she could really get behind.

Becca succeeded. Today, she’s thrilled to work as a recruiter at everyone’s favorite food delivery company, DoorDash.

She reflects on her journey in making the transition from agency to corporate, saying she had decided that the largely metrics-driven environment of the big box recruitment world ultimately wasn’t for her.

Becca explains how she was hired thanks to the power of LinkedIn, and why she believes that it is better to apply for a handful of roles and take the time to craft personalized messages when reaching out, rather than blasting something more generic to as many companies as possible.

Finally, Becca speaks on the differences between the agency world and internal corporate recruitment, the challenges she’s eager to face in her new role, and what the future holds for her.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [01:39] From agency account manager to internal recruiter

●      [05:25] What Becca thinks of the metrics-driven environment of a big box recruitment company

●      [10:56] The biggest hurdles that Becca knew she had to overcome in order to make the leap into internal recruitment

●      [14:24] How to reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn

●      [20:44] Becca’s candidate experience from the various companies she applied for

●      [23:25] What Becca would do differently

●      [25:12] Key differences between agency work and internal corporate recruitment

●      [29:50] How candidate sourcing has changed in today’s market

●      [32:59] What the future holds for Becca

Key quotes:

●      “With agency life, they give you the great experience that you need. If you can put your nose to the grindstone for however long, you really come out of there learning quite a bit about yourself, how far you can push yourself, how hard you can work, and how resilient you can be, especially at the beginning—you do get beat up quite a bit.”

●      “The old advice says to apply to as many jobs as you can; but, now a lot of us are realizing that it isn’t true because you can’t possibly be excited about that many companies and fields. If you take the time to share why you’re excited about their company, that is the message that recruiters will respond to. Recruiters want to know that you think their job is exciting. Genuine excitement always comes through.”

●      “Luck and hard work, together—that’s where the good stuff happens.”

●      “It comes back to passion. If you guys can align on that, between candidate and recruiter, that’s where the magic happens.”

Connect with Marcus https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusedwardes/

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In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Mark White, a LinkedIn professional who helps companies unlock the value of LinkedIn. Mark basically trains people to use LinkedIn to better achieve their business goals, including business development, targeted marketing, and recruitment strategies. 

He talks about the evolution of LinkedIn, how to leverage LinkedIn’s transactional and social sides, and how to create meaningful conversations on the platform. Plus - some advice on the topic of automation!

 Timestamps

[00:34] About Mark White

[01:30] The evolution of LinkedIn

[02:38] LinkedIn’s major source of revenue

[04:03] We’re LinkedIn’s product

[05:47] Leveraging the platform’s transactional side

[10:23] Having meaningful conversions on the platform

[12:06] Using LinkedIn recruiter platform

[14:39] The problem with the LinkedIn recruiter and the way out

[16:16] Better ways to grab people’s attention on the platform

[20:51] Connection requests vs InMail

[24:35] Mistakes people make when first contacting people

[28:10] Personalizing your outreach

[30:30] Leveraging the platform’s social side

[33:25] Mixing emotional and social element

[34:59] What content resonates more today?

[37:48] Drawing a line between LinkedIn and Facebook’s posts

[39:34] Other marketing strategies on LinkedIn

[43:22] Automation and Data scrapping: Opportunities and risks.

[48:21] Connect with Mark White

Notable Mark White Quotes From The Episode

●      The more we’re asked to do things, the more we’re contacted, then the more we tend to push back.

●      We have to stand out in a way that’s going to make people want to talk to us.

●      If I’m honest a bit that LinkedIn could do a lot better at is in the outreach.

●      If we’re doing a cold outreach using InMail’s, then we tend to make them longer. And generally, that’s not what people want.

●      You ultimately want people to remember you for the specialist that you are.

●      If you can mix the emotional and the work element, then storytelling and the call to action become good content and will actually resonate.

●      LinkedIn is relatively clear on automation: anybody (or anything) who accesses your account on your behalf – is against terms of usage. (and could you banned).

Connect With Mark White

Mark White | LinkedIn

Connect with Marcus https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusedwardes/

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This week, Marcus invokes the Stoics once more and takes a look at the concept of deep work avoidance and recruiter procrastination. Marcus posits that most recruiters are drawn to the activities that yield the most immediate reward and seemingly the most urgent - but sometimes to the detriment of the work that is most important, but less rewarding in the short term.
Marcus suggests a framework for setting yourself up for success as a recruiter and embracing all the work that needs to be done, by executing in a consistent and systematic way.

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This week Marcus delivers another solo episode of The Stoic Recruiter - and ties together a number of Stoic principles in an effort to create the ultimate problem-solving mental arsenal.
From figuring out whether it's a problem that needs your attention - to embracing the reality of it, re-evaluating its importance, and then taking positive action - this podcast gives you a strategy for managing all the recruiting curveballs you are thrown on a daily basis!

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In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Mirtes Lobaito, Founder and CEO of AGM Tech Solutions, an IT staffing and consulting company based in New York. AGM is a certified minority- and women-owned business. Founded in 2018, AGM grew to be a $25 million company within only three years.

The Brazilian-born Mirtes shares how she was able to achieve the American Dream and accomplish so much in such a short space of time in an industry that, in her own words, she “fell into by accident”.

Asked how Mirtes was able to stand above the crowd in an incredibly competitive space, she simply states that the differentiating factor is you. You break through the noise when you are intentional about how you serve your clients, when you act as their consultant, and when you are the first to act and go above and beyond when things go wrong.

Mirtes also explains the attributes of great account managers and business developers. She says that, before adopting the role of “trusted advisor” with their clients, the first and most important step is to nurture an unusual level of rapport with the human being they are speaking with.

Finally, Mirtes touches on the intangibles that lead to uncommon success in the industry, including the power of embracing failure and authenticity, and cultivating a winning team culture.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [01:44] Why Mirtes decided to start AGM Tech Solutions

●      [05:56] How Mirtes stood out from the crowd in such a competitive space

●      [08:18] How Mirtes was able to compete with the big IT staffing services

●      [12:55] How Mirtes landed that first client

●      [16:43] The mindset you need to be a successful account manager today

●      [19:29] What makes a great business developer?

●      [28:16] Why teams need to focus on strategy first before metrics

●      [33:41] The qualities that Mirtes looks for in a new hire

●      [37:41] Embracing failure and authenticity

●      [40:55] How Mirtes was able to put together her winning team

Key quotes:

●      “I wanted to impact clients. Every time we help a client—a hiring manager—we’re not just providing a body. We’re not just providing someone to fill that role. We are truly solving business problems from the beginning until the end. We also impact lives by providing jobs to these people.”

●      “Are you really intentional about how you’re serving your clients? Are you investing your time in getting to know those clients? Are you being consultative with them? Are you going above and beyond when a candidate doesn’t show up? When something goes wrong, are you the first one to take the initiative and address those issues?”

●      “You have to underpromise and overdeliver. Trust is built on delivery. Trust is built on results. Your clients and your business will grow because of the results that you’ve been able to produce.”

●      “The people who are going to succeed in this industry—they have to be a people person.”

●      “There are so many companies who get caught up on what you didn’t do today versus what results you produced today. It’s all about results.”

Resources Mentioned:

●      Mirtes Lobaito on LinkedIn

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In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Heike Hiss, Senior Director of Global Executive Recruiting and G&A Recruiting at Box.  Heike previously served  at Juniper Networks, Heidrick & Struggles, and Apple.

Having transitioned from executive search, Heike shares the challenges she faced in acclimating to her in-house role. She describes the search firm mindset as more “entrepreneurial” and short-term, while internal recruitment constantly has to have the bigger picture in mind when leading candidates through the process.

She then speaks on the value of considering company culture when evaluating candidates and why this factor is more important than looking at level of skill. She also explains why she thinks that culture continues to be undervalued among many companies.

Asked about the future workplace, Heike believes that choosing whether to work at the office or remotely should be an option, as flexibility brings out the best in every member of the team.

Finally, Heike speaks on why she and her team are “obsessed” with candidate experience and her dos and don’ts when it comes to communicating with candidates.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [01:21] Heike’s experience in executive search at Heidrick & Struggles

●      [02:45] The challenges of switching from executive to internal

●      [05:14] Differences between the search firm mindset and in-house mindset

●      [12:24] The importance of fostering a positive and empowering culture

●      [14:48] The downsides of a remote working culture

●      [19:29] Teaching and promoting the language of appreciation to your team

●      [20:28] Why Zoom has ironically brought teams closer

●      [22:47] Should showing up at the office become mandatory or optional?

●      [27:46] Why Heike and her team are “obsessed” with candidate experience

●      [35:22] Heike’s process when she worked in executive search

●      [39:01] Dos and don’ts when it comes to candidate experience

Key quotes:

●      “[Executive search] is more of an art than it is a science [...] and you learn it best from other people who do it well.”

●      “It probably took me almost a year to land fully in my in-house role because I realized that search, at a search firm, is search in its purest form: You’re really focusing on the research and candidate development piece and client management. But it’s somewhat isolated: You are not collaborating with compensation or the finance team or the onboarding team or the legal team. Learning how to collaborate cross-functionally and, frankly, learning business practices—how a company actually runs—is one of the biggest surprises.”

●      “The cultural and value component weighs heavier than any technical skill. They have to have the basics, of course; but, where we make our decision is typically based on culture, and we often reject candidates because they might be brilliant technically but they are missing the connection to our values and culture.”

●      “I personally think that optional hybrid is the only way to go, especially if you want to keep your top talent and you want to attract your top talent.”

●      “You can never communicate too much with your candidates.”

Resources Mentioned:

●      Heike Hiss on LinkedIn

Connect with Marcus https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusedwardes/

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In this episode, Marcus Edwardes speaks with Sarah Taylor, a Senior Technical Recruiter at a mid-stage healthcare startup. She previously held positions as an internal recruiter at Amazon, PG&E, and Mercedes Benz.

Listen in as Sarah shares her experience with her current WFH setup and why she prefers a hybrid WFH model in the future where team members also have the option to choose whether to go to the office or work remotely.

She offers her best advice for creating a positive candidate experience, including how to showcase your company culture when you’re limited to digital means, and why talking to candidates directly instead of relying solely on their resumé often leads to the best matches.

Sarah then describes her approach to building rapport over email and personalizing the initial outreach by categorizing candidates and applying modifiers in her messages as needed. She also gives her opinion on sequenced versus 1-1 emails and using Gem in particular.

Finally, Sarah speaks on how recruiters can effectively communicate company culture through the interview process and how to get the rest of the internal recruiting team on the same page with regard to her approach.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

●      [01:39] Sarah’s experience with her new role so far

●      [02:22] How Sarah overcomes challenges in the WFH environment

●      [06:24] Does being away from the office impact performance?

●      [10:03] The need to increase productivity with a WFH setup

●      [12:01] Sarah’s thoughts on companies paying remote employees differently depending on which part of the country they currently reside in

●      [16:53] How Sarah goes about the initial outreach to maximize candidate experience

●      [21:30] Reclaiming the human component of engaging with candidates

●      [23:53] The advantage of sequenced emails over 1-to-1 emails

●      [31:15] Showcasing company culture through the interview process

●      [34:52] How Sarah imparts her approach to candidate experience to the internal recruiting team

Key quotes:

●      “I do have four children. Their ages range from middle to elementary school; so, if I did not utilize my calendar, I would be crazy (or crazier than I already am). If I’m not organized, I can’t keep either straight.”

●      “I think there are days when Zoom is great because there is so much on the calendar that there would be no way for me to run around to different meeting rooms and be effective and have my head in the game. [...] But, I also think that when you’re able to head down the hall and pop into your hiring manager’s office and talk about what’s working and what’s not working, their opinion, or getting approvals—that’s also a very effective way to build trust. I see both as productive and meaningful.”

●      “My mindset when I’m reaching out to a candidate is to be personalized and be engaging and to share a blurb. Whether I’m working for a famed company or, now, a startup, sharing the blurbs and the links that will help them do their own research might excite them to reach back out to me.”

●      “When you recruit not as a horse with blinders but you look at the bigger picture, the world is your oyster: You're going to not only give the candidate you’re talking to a great experience, but they’re going to go talk [...] and word-of-mouth starts happening and you start getting networking referrals. So many other doors open up.”

Resources Mentioned:

●      Sarah Taylor on LinkedIn

Connect with Marcus https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusedwardes/

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Marcus apologizes to those listeners who were expecting an interview today  - but he had 2 postponements this week. He is pondering whether to continue with the interviews and considers turning this into a solo podcast.
This week - he talks about the Stoic concept "Don't suffer imagined troubles" and delivers an amazing quote from Seneca who tackles this subject head-on.
Marcus continues to say that this bears real relevance to recruiters, who after all, spend most of the time fighting fires and dealing with uncertain outcomes!

Seneca says:
"It is likely that some troubles will befall us; but it is not a present fact. How often has the unexpected happened! How often has the expected never come to pass! And even though it is ordained to be, what does it avail to run out to meet your suffering? You will suffer soon enough, when it arrives; so look forward meanwhile to better things. What shall you gain by doing this? Time. There will be many happenings meanwhile which will serve to postpone, or end, or pass on to another person, the trials which are near or even in your very presence. A fire has opened the way to flight. Men have been let down softly by a catastrophe. Sometimes the sword has been checked even at the victim’s throat. Men have survived their own executioners. Even bad fortune is fickle. Perhaps it will come, perhaps not; in the meantime it is not. So look forward to better things."

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This week, Marcus talks about Stoicism as it pertains to Recruitment and how the key concept of understanding what is in your control and what is not - defines your ability to access Resilience - a characteristic that Marcus claims will immeasurably improve your performance in this profession.

Great quote at the end from Marcus Aurelius:

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.”

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This week, Marcus reviews the traditional KPI/Metrics model that many Agencies have used for decades - and promotes the idea of a more empowering, quality-driven model.

8.5 minutes of great content - and next week we'll be back on the interview train with a TA professional from inside the business.

Connect with Marcus https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcusedwardes/