The Resilient Recruiter

In these unprecedented and challenging times, a recruiter can easily lose sight of the “why” and fall into the trap of boredom and burnout. How do you recover from burnout and reignite your passion? My special guest, Sharon Hulce explains how creativity and continuously reinventing yourself can help you overcome these challenges.  Sharon is the president of Employment Resource Group Inc. (ERG) in Wisconsin and has twenty-four years of expertise in Executive Search specializing in placing outstanding leaders. She has won numerous awards including MRI’s Person of the Year and also Account Executive of the Decade. She is also a Forbes Author who recently published her book, “A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis: How To Bleed Passion & Energy Back Into Your Career”. Episode Outline and Highlights [2:07] Sharon shares the story behind her book, “A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis”  [7:18] How do you fight “recruiter’s burnout?” [12:29] Running a desk during a crisis - three specific steps you can take. [25:00] How do you uncover an MPC’s real value? [29:07] How inbound marketing is changing the landscape of the recruitment industry. [31:07] Hear the four “buckets” that Sharon applied in order to generate more inbound leads. [41:10] Sharon explains her company structure and how it works. [48:22] How Sharon shifted from contingent to retained search. Resilience in This Time of Crisis In this challenging environment, many recruiters can easily forget their “why.” What helped Sharon operate during times of crisis? As she puts it, “I have been through two recessions, 9/11, and now a pandemic. So, in my career, I’ve been through a lot. The one thing that I think has made us resilient and stay optimistic and energetic, and actually continue to build through all of this is really understanding what does value mean for your customers.” Hear three specific steps she took to stay in shape during times of crisis.    Shifting to a Retained Search Business Model Sharon has been doing a retained search business model for 18 years. I am an evangelist of the retained model for the benefits it brings to the client, candidate, and the recruiter. However, shifting to this model from a contingent business model can be challenging to some recruiters especially if their client would prefer the former.  How did Sharon come about shifting to the retained search? “I had worked a contingent desk for just shy 17 years… The day I decided I wasn’t doing it any other way [shifting to retained] I lost my top 3 clients. So fifty percent of my business went away. And I held my ground… I said listen, “You have changed your value proposition multiple times since we’ve started working together. I am now changing mine. I am good at what  I do. I am a top 5 construction practice in the country. If you want to work with me as the owner of this organization and have my work on your searches, you need to pay me to do it.” Listen to how being firm and being able to deliver helped Sharon shift to the retained business model.   Sharon Hulce Bio and Contact Info Sharon is the President and CEO of Employment Resource Group Inc. and has twenty-four years of expertise in Executive Search specializing in placing outstanding leaders. Her unique approach to business is as follows: “A business and community’s most valuable asset is the people within.  For our clients, our role is to understand the necessary competencies, knowledge, social interaction, and personality critical for integration and outstanding performance within their organization.  For our candidates, our purpose is to help them define their purpose, attain goals, and find their life’s vocation.  We are proud of the emotional intelligence we have been able to share with our clients and candidates alike”  She has won numerous awards including MRI Person of the Year 2019, Champion of the Chamber Award Winner (Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce 2019), 2019 Walter L. Rugland Community Service award, just to name a few. She was also inducted into the Pinnacle Society in 2015 and is a Forbes Author for “A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis”. Sharon’s website link Sharon on LinkedIn  Employment Research Group website link Employment Research Group on LinkedIn Employment Research Group on Facebook Employment Research Group on Twitter @ergsearch A Well Done Professional Midlife Crisis: How To Bleed Passion & Energy Back Into Your Career, Amazon link People and Resources Mentioned Rich Rosen on LinkedIn Craig Picken on LinkedIn Pinnacle Society website link Inbound Marketing Roadmap for Recruiters, by Mark Whitby Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #6 Habits of a Million-Dollar Biller, with Rich Rosen TRR #22 Craig Picken’s Journey From Naval Aviator to Big Billing Solo Recruiter   Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

With the paradigm shift of working remotely in a distributed setting, how do recruitment businesses create a cohesive culture for their employees? In this episode of the Resilient Recruiter, my special guest Boris Epstein shares how he managed to build a company culture consistently aligned with their values while rapidly growing his business to 150 people in three and a half years.   In line with the 4th of July Independence Day celebration, hear how values and company culture, recruitment service differentiation, and value proposition development can give a sense of independence and self-sufficiency to your recruitment business. Boris is the Founder & CEO of Binc, the technology industry’s dedicated flexible recruiting team. Winning best workplace awards two years in a row, their clients include big names such as Paypal, Tesla, Airbnb, Pinterest, DropBox, just to name a few.   Episode Outline and Highlights [3:00] Binc’s service model and what makes it effective  [11:46] How to create a cohesive culture when your employees are distributed. [17:58] Values alignment - how to infuse your business values with different levels of accountability. [20:10] Shifting to a remote culture - how to train your people while promoting camaraderie in a distributed setting. [29:00] From startup to 150 people in three and a half years - how to manage a very fast level of growth [37:04] Boris shares their current challenges during the coronavirus pandemic economy [43:11] How to maintaining your culture in these challenging times [50:23] Boris shares best practices in recruitment differentiation    Building Your Business Culture with Values Boris strongly believes in building a cohesive culture despite his business model, on which employees are distributed in different locations. How do you create such a culture? Values development. For Boris, consistent alignment with your values creates a strong sense of unique business culture. As Boris puts it: “Values are really big. To define our values it took quite a bit of time, it took almost nine months to define our values. The right words, the right level of resonance. Then once you define your values, it’s ‘what are the ways we can make these values visible?’ How are our values visible in business development? How are our values visible in our review and promotion cycle? How are our values visible in our client engagement? Once you go through that exercise, you could very clearly see, oh this value is very visible here. This value is not very visible here.”   Recruitment Differentiation - How to Develop a Clear Value Proposition To stand out from competitors, it is important to have a unique value proposition. This is something that is not easy, otherwise all recruitment agencies would have a clear value proposition. So what advice would Boris give to leaders? “Our philosophy from day one, from 18 years ago, ... was to offer a differentiated alternative to growing technology companies. So we always wanted to offer something differentiated… We think the status quo is something to fight against in perpetuity.” He added, “In general, you have to acknowledge what it is that the market wants. You have to acknowledge what it is that other people in the market are already doing. You have to acknowledge what your assets are. And from those assets, you have to go through a very creative exercise to explore how you could position your assets. Through that, you can land on something distinguished.”   Boris Epstein Bio and Contact Info Boris is the Founder & CEO of Binc, the technology industry’s dedicated flexible recruiting team. He has personally made hundreds of hires in his 16-year recruiting career and is an expert in the development and management of the top recruiters in our industry. He serves on the Board of The Pinnacle Society, an organization consisting of the top-performing recruiters in the US. Boris on LinkedIn Binc website link Binc on LinkedIn Binc on Twitter @BINC Binc on Facebook People and Resources Mentioned Rich Rosen on LinkedIn Shaun McCambridge on LinkedIn Pinnacle Society website link Productivity Tool - Monday.com website link Looker Analytics Tool website link 5 Ways to Differentiate Your Recruiting Firm From the Competition - by Mark Whitby webinar link Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #6 Habits of a Million-Dollar Biller, with Rich Rosen TRR #11 Recruiting Recruiters: How to Attract, Hire, Develop and Retain Great Recruiters with Shaun McCambridge Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

Success in any field is found in knowing your worth, being generous in giving credit, and proactively seeking to bounce forward no matter what setbacks come your way. My special guest, David Perry, perfectly illustrates these ideas through some entertaining and inspiring personal stories. Known as the “Rogue Recruiter”, David is the Managing Director of Perry-Martel International, an Ottawa-based staffing and recruiting company that places executives in technology, real estate, and construction. Perry-Martel has been featured in Inc. Magazine, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, and Washington Post, to name just a few. Listen in and discover why David lives by the saying, “Why bother to think about what you can do when you can just go and do it?” Episode Outline and Highlights [03:01] How Perry-Martel worked its way to over $100 million in placement fees [10:10] The amazing story behind David and Jay Conrad Levinson’s book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters [24:43] A primer on David’s online job hunting platform My New Job Hunt [46:25] How David was able to continue working while recovering from a stroke [52:34] Penning the second edition of Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters [55:40] David’s philosophy on taking action [57:44] The impetus behind David’s next book Hiring Greatness [1:00:01] How to use “The Starbucks Coffee Cup Caper” job search tactic [1:05:48] Using Facebook Ads effectively Experiencing Greater Success with Grit and Humility Threats of lawsuits never slowed David down. Neither did a life-threatening stroke. The former situation led to his growing Perry-Martel to over $100 million in placement fees. The latter led to his adding 80% of new material to the second edition of his book Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters. In his own words, “Why bother to think about what you can do when you can just go and do it?” In addition, David eventually came to enjoy the freedom of doing things for the betterment of his stakeholders “just because I can”. By focusing primarily on what you get out of any big endeavor, you will end up falling short of doing the best that you would otherwise be capable of if you, instead, left your ego at the door. Says David, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you don’t care who takes the credit.” The Starbucks Coffee Cup Caper David brings up the unique job search tactic known as “The Starbucks Coffee Cup Caper” (originally “Tim Hortons”). You, the recruiter, would walk into Starbucks and ask an employee for ten (clean) empty paper coffee cups. Go to Staples and buy ten mailer boxes. Put together your Guerrilla one-page resumé. Along with this, write your Guerrilla one-page cover letter, which will tell your prospective employer that you wish to discuss possible solutions to their company’s problems over coffee. Take both documents, put them in one of the coffee cups, which you then put inside the mailer box, and send it to the employer via FedEx 2Day®. Rinse and repeat for another nine individuals. Once you get the ping informing you that a box has arrived, wait 45 minutes before sending a text to give the recipient a heads-up. Enjoy how the rest of the interaction plays out. (This tactic also works for prospecting.) David Perry Bio and Contact Info David is a recruiter, the author of seven books, and a sought-after motivational speaker. He was presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Community Service. He served as the Managing Partner of Perry-Martel International since its founding in 1988, and in that time has recruited executives that total $393+ million in salaries negotiated on 5 continents. Alongside all this, David co-founded MyNewJobHunt.com, “the first online Job Transition Platform written to help job hunters connect with employers in a whole new way.” David on LinkedIn David on Twitter David’s email: dperry@perrymartel.com Perry-Martel’s website People and Resources Mentioned Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0 – a book by David Perry and Jay Conrad Levinson Hiring Greatness – a book by David Perry and Mark Haluska My New Job Hunt – an online platform for job hunters My Stroke of Insight – a book by Jill Bolte Taylor Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

If you have ambitions to scale your staffing business, it’s important to understand both the opportunities and challenges involved. Even if you don’t plan to grow a huge recruitment business, I suspect you’ll learn a lot from my special guest, Gerard Koolen.  Gerard is the owner of Lugera, a multinational recruiting and staffing agency operating in 9 countries in 30 offices with 400 internal staff. In this interview, he shares the highs and lows of his entrepreneurial journey that lead to building a €130M Staffing Business. Gerard holds nothing back and Gerard reveals his strategies, mindset and philosophy of investing in both people and technology. Episode Outline and Highlights [2:56] Two key factors that lead to Lugera becoming the #1 agency in its area [4:44] How and why Gerard started a recruitment company [12:00] The benefits of doing business in Eastern Europe [15:17] The challenges and pitfalls of growing fast [20:50] When is the right time to expand your recruitment business? [25:40] How to inspire incredible staff loyalty [28:20] Growing through acquisition - hear strategies that worked [35:40] The value of investing in technology [44:04] Gerard shares the biggest lesson learned in his career Marrying Recruitment and Technology Gerard is a firm believer that innovation is key and sees the value of HR technology, especially with his own staff. Instead of focusing on repetitive tasks, technology helps his sales staff to focus on selling. As he puts it: “Technology helps us to do much more than without technology. We really learned the great lesson that when you are in recruitment, even if you have so many great people working for you, help them with great technology.” A great example that Gerard shared in our conversation is how he came about developing STAA, or Sales and Talent Acquisition Application. Nobody in Silicon Valley wanted to invent the technology to cater to the idea Gerard was presenting, and so he was forced to have it developed on their own. After spending more than €1.5M and 4 to 5 years of development, it finally went live. What was the result? In Ukraine alone, they were able to triple the number of placements.  Increasing Employee Loyalty  Back in 2009, Gerard was forced to let go of 100 employees in Romania due to the economic crisis. The next day, it was amazing 30 people came back, saying that they still want to help and they will work for free. They were eventually rehired, and because of their help, they were able to maintain their revenue. What created such loyalty in the team members that they were willing to work for free? This is what Gerard said: “We are not in it for the money. We are in it for helping people. We really like what we do. Although we are professionals and we need to get paid, but we are there for our people, for the candidates, for the clients. That is why people love to work with us.”  Gerard Koolen Bio and Contact Info Gerard is the owner of Lugera, a multinational recruiting and staffing agency. Gerard started Lugera in Slovakia in 1996 and is now operating in 9 countries in 30 offices with 400 internal staff. Lugera is focused on Permanent Staffing, Temporary Staffing, Payroll & Outsourcing generating revenue of €130M. Gerard is crazy about helping as many people as we possibly can with a better job. He is help driven, he thinks that innovation is key and is a front-runner in innovative HR technology. Gerard on LinkedIn Gerard on Facebook Gerard’s blog link Lugera website link Lugera on Youtube STAA website link If you are interested to be a partner in using STAA, get a 50% discount for listeners from the podcast by emailing gerard.koolen@lugera.com and mentioning Mark Whitby People and Resources Mentioned The Infinite Game - a book by Simon Sinek  Jordan Lawrence on LinkedIn Christy Brown on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #18 How to Build Your Business During a Recession, with Christy Brown TRR #19 Building a Multinational, Micro-Niche Recruitment Group, with Jordan Lawrence Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

How does having a sense of honour help you build relationships at the highest level in your recruitment business? In this episode of the Resilient Recruiter, my guest Richard Hoon will share his perspective gained from a successful 25-year career in recruitment.  Richard is the founder and CEO of I Search Worldwide and has been a C-Suite search practitioner for over two decades. He is also co-founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Validus, a fintech company that is now worth more than $100m. Richard is also the Chairman of the Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life, a 20-year-old charity in Singapore. This is very timely for our parent listeners for the upcoming Father’s Day weekend. Although not related to recruiting, if you are a parent or planning to be a parent sometime in the future, I am sure you will find value in Richard’s wisdom on this topic.  Episode Outline and Highlights [3:16] Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life: two approaches to eradicate fatherlessness. [9:50]  Richard’s key achievements [13:11] How to manage a large business when you can’t be everywhere at once. [14:10] Bringing honour back to the recruitment industry [18:24] Why we need to shift from contingency to pure retained model [23:00] How to handle challenges when dealing with internal recruiters and HR [36:30] Never too late to start from zero - how Richard co-founded a fintech company  [39:42] Philosophies and strategies when building a larger business. [49:52] How art collecting it influences your thought and creativity Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life Richard is the current Chairman of the Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life, a 20-year-old charity in Singapore.  What is the charity about? In Richard’s words: “The goal is to eradicate fatherlessness. Every child born has a father, but the father is not present, is not engaged, not actively contributing to the family. So the child grows up fatherless. Our job is to encourage fathers to be more active and engaged with their children.”  In order for them to address fatherlessness and the negative impact on children, they take preventative and intervention approaches. “We do events, we do programs, we do training, we do father and child bonding camp, we encourage national events like eating with your family.” Bringing Honour Back to the Recruitment Agency Richard believes that having partners that you can trust with the same long-term philosophy is important when you are managing your business, and so is being honourable. For Richard, having those who value honour in the recruitment business is really a minority. “The recruitment business is high grounding... They say things they don’t mean, they say things they don’t know, and probably get a lot of untruths.” He added,  “I don’t want a recruiter’s name, one day, being associated with a second-hand car salesman.” This is how Richard puts it on how it should be addressed: “This is a very honourable business because when you put people together, you have got to really be responsible for their career, for their future, but you are also responsible for the company... Unfortunately, the lack of training in the recruitment industry probably gets a lot of just short term results.” He added, “If you always say good things, you are already propagating a lie. If there’s anything I would like to do, it’s to bring honour back to the recruiting industry. By making sure recruiters go back to a centered sense of morality.” Never too late to start  At the age of 60, Richard Co-founded a fintech company, Validus. For him, it is never too late to start from scratch. Starting from zero, the company today is worth over $100million dollars.  Richard Hoon Bio and Contact Info Richard Hoon is the founder and CEO of I Search Worldwide and has been a C-Suite search practitioner for over two decades. He was the Managing Director of Asia for an international executive search franchise and was the General Manager of International SOS. He has held senior and regional roles with companies such as American Express, Tourism Victoria, and Pall Corporation. Richard is the current Chairman of the Centre for Fathering & Dads-for-Life, a registered charity, and IPC in Singapore. He is a co-founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Validus, a fintech company that has received series A funding from a major financial institution. He is the President of the Circumnavigators’ Club and the President of the Palm Island Club. He is also a fellow of the Singapore Institute of Directors. Richard on LinkedIn I Search Worldwide website link People and Resources Mentioned Centre for Fathering website link Doug Bugie on LinkedIn James Caan on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #3 The 4 Qualities of The World’s Top Recruitment Leaders, with Doug Bugie Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

As a recruiter, it is important to have a unique value proposition to be successful. In this episode of The Resilient Recruiter, my special guest Craig Watson is challenging the accepted paradigm of how recruitment services are sold and delivered. His business model is disruptive, either you are going to love it or hate it.  If you are a third-party staffing and recruiting agency, you may feel threatened by Craig’s business model. But setting emotions aside, listen to how his innovative thinking is reimagining the talent acquisition process. Craig Watson is Founder & Director of Recstra, which to his words, “a community of freelance recruiters who are changing the face of recruitment forever.”  Craig actually comes from a traditional agency background with over 20 years of recruitment & sales industry experience. Episode Outline and Highlights [5:22] Why Craig launched a weekly podcast (Tapod) and four key pointers on what makes it successful. [8:19] How hosting or listening to podcasts adds value for recruiters  [17:50] The Recstra business model and how it is challenging the norms of a recruitment agency model. [34:24] Will the traditional recruitment business model eventually lose its place in the market? [48:48] “Recruitment is Dead” - why Craig wrote a blog with this title and what it means for you as a recruiter. [56:21] Craig’s volunteer work as a Lifesaver “Hey, Can I Buy You a Coffee?” Craig and I believe in the value of learning and how being exposed to topnotch people with great ideas adds value. As Craig puts it, “If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room... It is important to find people who are doing a really good idea or really good ways of doing it, ask to buy them a coffee, sit down and be honest and try to get some more information and learn something.” Relating his experience with Max Walker, a Cricket celebrity in Australia, and Max’s philosophy on why he always makes time for people. “You know what Craig? If anybody ever asks me for coffee, I would bite the handoff to take it. The worst thing I am ever going to get out of that is free coffee, and the best thing is I might learn something.” Getting Recstra from Concept to Reality Recstra is a platform with a community of experienced, freelance recruitment consultants. Clients receive high-quality recruitment services while achieving significant cost savings. How did he come up with that concept? Craig said that “Recstra was born out of a need to have a point of difference for me to be successful.” After doing a data study of why recruiters are leaving the industry, he found out that 28% of recruiters left because they either wanted more work-life balance and flexibility, or they didn’t want to sell. From there, he was able to come up with a business model of remote working and flexibility, instead of a traditional agency environment on which recruiters are traditionally working from 8-5.  Another way Craig is challenging the norms in the agency recruitment business is through his billing model -  an hourly rate, based on activity. In a general sense, it is pay per service not pay per outcome. How is that working for him? They’ve broken down the recruitment process and an average perm role has around 15 to 17 hours of dedicated activity. For an average role, they are able to complete a placement for about under AUD3000. In comparison, the average placement fee in Australia is within AUD12,000-15,000. This did not go down well with some of his competitors. “Straightaway, the recruitment agency industry which I was so immersed in got their hackles up and said, ‘You are undercutting us, you are diluting it, what are you doing?’ I’m not on here to upset people, all I can do is talk about my experience and the research that I have done which I am happy for it to be challenged in any way.” Lifesaving Work  Craig is President of Venus Bay Surf Lifesaving Club that achieved the Australian Lifesaving Club of the Year in 2019 in a field of over 370 Clubs. Running a small club of 600 volunteer members gives him the opportunity to learn a lot of leadership skills when it comes to inspiring and motivating people. This also enables him to have an active lifestyle and the opportunity to save lives.  Craig Watson Bio and Contact Info Craig Watson is Founder & Director of Recstra and Co-host of the Tapod podcast. He is extremely proud of the Recstra revolution - a community of freelance recruiters who are changing the face of recruitment forever. TaPod is ranked in the top 10 of Career Podcasts in ANZ and its informal and informative style has seen it become a staple amongst TA Leaders and professionals in the region. With over 20 years of recruitment & sales industry experience, he is a trainer and consultant to a number of Industries and Corporate groups - specializing in social media, building businesses, building your TA Tech Stack, managing process, leadership skills, business modeling, attraction, engagement, and retention. Craig has presented keynotes to Global Conferences and was recently named in the Top 50 Global HR & Recruitment influencers. Craig on LinkedIn Craig on Twitter @CraigWatsonRec Recstra website link Recstra on Facebook Recstra on Instagram Recstra on Youtube TaPod Link and LinkedIn  People and Resources Mentioned Robin Doenicke on LinkedIn Greg Savage on LinkedIn Ann Swain on LinkedIn The Movement Documentary link Why 98% of Recruiters Fail to Differentiate their Firm from the Competition, by Mark Whitby, video link Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #1 The Future of Recruitment: Strategies To Stay Relevant and Effective, with Greg Savage TRR #4 How Robin Doenicke Is Leading His Recruitment Agency to 10X Growth in Just 3 Years Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

If the ability to perform under pressure is a pre-requisite for success in recruitment, then it’s no surprise that Craig Picken has reached the peak of our profession as one of the top-producing recruiters in the United States. Eight years’ experience as a decorated Naval Flight Officer – with more than 100 combat missions, 2,000 hours of flight time, and 325 aircraft carrier landings – was perhaps the ideal proving ground for Craig’s later career in recruitment.   Craig is the co-founder and the managing partner for the Northstar Group which is a boutique executive search firm based in Wilmington,  North Carolina. Since 2009 Craig has concluded several hundred executive-level searches in leadership, sales, and operations for some of the most prominent companies in the aviation and aerospace industries. Episode Outline and Highlights [1:36] Craig’s background: from being a naval pilot to being a recruiter. [6:06] Three main skills from Craig’s naval career that are transferable to the recruitment business. [14:50] Dealing with a very difficult client - hear how it was handled professionally.  [21:30] Long-term business perspectives that you can apply during this pandemic. [31:45] Craig speaks about the biggest challenges in his career. [34:40] The story of how he once got fired -  and how it led to a making a fortune in two different industries  [44:45] Craig’s strategy on how to handle recruitment business downtime due to an economic downturn. [53:50] Craig discusses the value of doing a podcast and other ways he is connecting with his audience. “ How to Fly When Your Airplane is on Fire” During the interview, Craig recalls several instances where sudden unexpected airplane system malfunctions endangered the lives of his co-pilots. He then added, “The one thing that the navy teaches you well is not how to fly. It is how to fly when your airplane is on fire. And all your systems are going to hell.” He strongly believes in keeping an open mind rather than being a control freak. When things are not going the way they should be, it should be about the ability to be flexible.  Translating it to recruitment, he says “That is where recruiters got to understand. What are you doing when everything is going to hell? It’s a very emotional business, you can’t control people. A lot of recruiters talk about control. I don’t try to control anybody.” Being a Value in these Difficult Times With the significant impact of the coronavirus to the aviation and aerospace industry, what is Craig currently doing to maintain his momentum? “Building my network, talking, and being a value.” Craig’s perspective is helping people get to where they need to be. And when their business comes back, he is the person they will be thinking about. Strategically, he looks at the long term rather than immediate results. “I take everybody’s call… And my only goal is to be a value.” Hear his philosophy on how the recruitment business is a business of helping people. Where there is Chaos, there is Opportunity Just when Craig and his wife are expecting the birth of their twins, something terrible happened - he got fired from his job. This caused them monumental stress, but as Craig puts it, “where there is chaos, there is an opportunity.” For him, getting fired taught him to be more entrepreneurial and to be more on moving forward.  Giving back to the Community Aside from rescuing dogs, Craig is also a big contributor to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Ltd (JDRF), a charity focused on eradicating juvenile type 1 Diabetes. If you wish to know more about this organization, you may refer to the link in the below section. Craig Picken Bio and Contact Info Co-founder and Managing Partner for Northstar Group, a boutique executive search firm based in Wilmington, NC, Craig is focused on recruiting senior-level leadership, sales, and operations executives for some of the most prominent companies in the aviation and aerospace industry. Clients include well-known aircraft OEM’s, aircraft operators, leasing / financial organizations, and Maintenance / Repair / Overhaul (MRO) providers. Since 2009 he has personally concluded several hundred executive-level searches in a variety of disciplines.   Craig on LinkedIn Craig on Twitter @craigpicken Craig on Facebook  Northstar Group website Aerospace Executive Podcast JDRF website People and Resources Mentioned  Paul Siker on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #6  Habits of a Million-Dollar Biller, with Rich Rosen Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter  

Imagine starting a recruitment business at the age of 54, having never worked in the recruiting industry before, and becoming a “big biller” within 5 years.  In this episode of the Resilient Recruiter, you’ll meet Irishman Paul Taaffe, founder and CEO of FINANCE People Solutions based in Frankfurt, Germany.  Prior to starting his business in 2014, he was either a CFO or CRO for US global blue-chip companies such as Pepsi Cola, Nike, Lear Corporation, and Dell. I asked Paul to come on the show and discuss his extraordinary success running a boutique search firm.  Paul has doubled the business, on average, every year and last year managed to bill €4,000,000 in revenue!  That’s over $4.5M USD.   Sure, that figure is the gross sales and includes both permanent placement and interim revenue, so the Net Fee Income will be somewhat less.  Still very impressive considering Paul is the sole fee earner, supported by a small team.  In fact, Paul has built so much momentum that he closed five deals this April despite the coronavirus pandemic. Episode Outline and Highlights [4:22] History of Finance People Solutions (FPS) [6:37] What is Paul’s recipe for success? [9:00] Three aspects that help Paul to leverage relationship in recruitment. [14:30] How to level up from having a professional relationship to a professional friendship.  [19:25] Coronavirus experience: Three keys to keeping things moving forward. [26:16] FPS’s structure and how efficiency is integrated into each role. [31:18] Successful basis for acquiring new customers [32:00] Paul shares his advertising strategy with FINANCE Magazin. Hear his interesting narrative on how he came about with this idea. [41:00] How Paul engineered his five placements in April - during the coronavirus. [45:30] Explanation of the interim-to-perm business model. Being an “unkompliziert” person When it comes to building sustainable candidate relationships, Paul believes that it all comes down to personality. He is an uncomplicated (unkompliziert in German) person, and because of that, he is able to easily connect with candidates that he treats as friends.  Paul said, “Mark, I have become friends with so many of these candidates. They are not just candidates, that sounds very cold. They are friends or business friends of mine.” Explaining his interim-to-perm business model Paul was able to describe how his interim-to-perm business model has successfully provided solutions to a lot of his clients. This solution de-risks the hiring process for his customer. As Paul puts it, “Over the last few years, we are doing more and more interim business because it is the instant solution kind of thing.” For him, “It is like delivering quality results in a very short period of time.” Paul Taffe Bio and Contact Info Paul is the founder and CEO of FINANCE People Solutions (PFS) in 2014. He has been in the recruitment business since 2014, and prior to that, he was either a CFO or CRO for US global blue-chip companies such as Pepsi Cola, Nike, Lear Corporation, and Dell as well as having worked in Private Equity. He founded the PE Finance Organisation Benchmarking company, Taaffe, and Partners in 2011. Paul on LinkedIn Paul’s email: ptaaffe@finance-ps.com FINANCE People Solutions website link People and Resources Mentioned FINANCE Magazin website link Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

As the market continues to be challenging due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the search and recruitment industry remains ultra-competitive. How can small boutique recruiting firms and solo recruiters compete against the large, well-known search firms who have greater resources at their disposal?   In this episode of the Resilient Recruiter, my wonderful guest Matt Schwartz shares how he runs his retained search practice in New York City, one of the most competitive markets in the world. Matt is the President of MJS Executive Search, a small boutique search firm that he has been running for 17 years. With fees averaging to $100,000, his firm is serving Fortune 500 companies including American Express, Mastercard, and PepsiCo. How does a small boutique firm pitch against incumbent top 10 search firms, and win? Listen to this episode and find out. Also, he shared his astounding journey on how he recovered from Covid19 and as well as the mindset and actions he had to take while recuperating, enabling him to close a very significant deal while on his sickbed. Episode Outline and Highlights [1:10] Matt shares what he had to endure and how he recovered from the coronavirus. [4:18] How he closed a search while recuperating. [6:30] Proactive steps Matt took to overcome his frustration caused by the virus. [13:25] Matt narrates his career and transition to building his own search firm. [25:55] How does a very small boutique search firm win against incumbent headhunting firms? [27:55] What is “removing the black box” approach? [33:45] How to negotiate a relationship with talent acquisition partners. [38:23] What helped Matt’s firm to “get their foot in the door” [40:30] Matt shares his greatest learning and how it resulted in a drastic change. “I was being careful but probably got it through my travels.” Matt is based in Westchester County in New York, which was the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the US. He described in detail the symptoms that he had to endure. “It was frustrating, a lot of days,” said Matt as he shares what was going on in his mind while recovering. Matt shared proactive steps he took to overcome that frustration and how he still took care of business. Amazingly, he was able to complete a search and earned a placement fee of $185,000. Setting His Firm Apart from his Competitors Operating in a highly competitive market, what sets MJS Executive Search from its well-known competitors?  As Matt puts it, “We are great at identifying people from alternative industries who are the best of the best of what they do, and bringing this mix of skills to diverse organizations.” “Typically we are up against, one other firm, and typically its a large one.”  Being a smaller firm does not mean reducing your fees. “We are not any cheaper, at the end of the day it’s up to them to have a comfort in terms of who they feel more comfortable with” Part of Matt’s success is properly setting expectations with his clients and preparing well in giving his presentations. “I don’t treat a sales conversation as a sales conversation. I treat it as a consultative meeting. I come in prepared with great questions.” Matt Schwartz Bio and Contact Info  Matt Schwartz is the President of MJS Executive Search. MJS Executive Search is a leader in recruiting and placing senior level, transformational Marketing, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, User Experience, Segment Marketing and Acquisition, Digital Innovation, Employee Engagement, Corporate Communications, Media Strategy, Product Management, Product Marketing and Sales leaders for Global Fortune 500 to Entrepreneurial Start-ups. Matt has been running his own firm for 17 years. Prior to that, he was with Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc. Prior to that, he was with Heidrick & Struggles International, Inc.  Matt on Linkedin MJS Executive Search on twitter @MJSearch MJS Executive Search website MJS Executive Search on Facebook People and Resources Mentioned Heidrick and Struggles on LinkedIn Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter

As we are now navigating through one of the most challenging moments of running a recruitment business, where should we focus our time, energy and resources for maximum return in both the short and long term? In this episode of the Resilient Recruiter, my special guest Jordan Lawrence reveals the incredibly effective marketing strategies behind the growth of his core business, Payments & Cards Network.  He breaks down how to partner with media companies, events organizers and even local governments to dominate your market niche.   Of course, we’ll also dig into what Jordan’s doing right now to pivot his marketing during the coronavirus crisis and ensure his company is well-positioned to catch the rebound. You’ll also hear Jordan’s valuable insights and perspective on building a success culture in different countries, hiring recruiters, keeping your team motivated and engaged, experimenting with the 4-day workweek, and embracing the “next normal.” Jordan founded the Payments & Cards Network around 10 years ago and the business has since evolved into a Micro Niche Recruitment group called PCN Capital which is comprised of Payments & Cards Network, Digital Source, Sekura Capital and PCM (Payments & Cards Media). The three recruitment brands focus on the FinTech Space, Data Science & Cyber Security respectively and operate from offices in Atlanta, Amsterdam & Singapore. Episode Outline and Highlights [3:00] How the business is dealing with the coronavirus. [5:55] An important key to keep your team motivated and engaged in these difficult circumstances. [8:20] Discussion on two areas of adjustments to “up their game”.  [10:15] How to reassure hesitant candidates during the coronavirus crisis - Warning: This is not a recruitment spiel. [13:10]  Jordan’s philosophy on building a community with media businesses.   [19:30] A very interesting discussion [+pointers] on how to keep a LinkedIn group relevant. [23:20] Will switching to a four-day workweek work for your business? [29:05] Jordan discusses the “new normal” for recruiting businesses. [32:45] Hear about Jordan’s “How to Hire Remotely with Confidence” webinar. [36:00] Benefits of having multinational offices versus having just one head office. [39:20] What led to Jordan’s partnership with a local government  Building a Community via the Media Businesses Jordan shared why and how he built a community through media and marketing and how it impacted his business. Dive into Jordan’s brilliant ideas on how to make marketing work for his business. For example, hear how using magazines in both physical and digital format helped his recruitment business grow exponentially.  The Philosophy Behind a Four-Day Workweek Will a four-day workweek fly in the recruitment industry? Hear Jordan’s perspective on how it can be a huge benefit. One way he puts it is “People before would sort of work really hard over the five days, binge on a Saturday… belly recovering on a Sunday, and stumbling to work on a Monday morning, it may not be so productive.” He added “Arguably, is there much getting done anyway on a Monday morning and a Friday afternoon? I don’t know. Now we are giving the opportunity to have a really good rest..” Adding Value to the Ecosystem of the Niche that You are Serving Having a multinational firm, Jordan’s success is defined by his mindset on adding value. In his words, “I think it is making yourself a part of the fabric of the industry you are trying to service rather than being seen as someone only taking and I think that’s really important.” On having a global presence, this is what he said: “If you are serious about growing globally in a niche market, you have to be on the ground and you have to have facetime. It shows you’re there for the long haul rather than just making the sort of hit and run deal which you do see all over the place.” He also discussed their support for the "Free a Girl" foundation which frees young girls from sexual slavery. You may refer to the link in the below section. Jordan Lawrence Bio and Contact Info Jordan Lawrence founded the Payments & Cards Network around 10 years ago and has since started a Micro Niche Recruitment group called PCN Capital which comprises of Payments & Cards Network, Digital Source, Sekura Capital and PCM (Payments & Cards Media) with offices in Atlanta, Amsterdam & Singapore the three brands focus on the FinTech Space, Data Science & Cyber Security respectively. Jordan also Co-Founded Volt Open Banking www.getvolt.io at the start of 2019 with FinTech industry experts sourced from his experience with PCN. Jordan on LinkedIn Jordan on Instagram  PCN Capital website PCN Capital on Youtube PCN Capital on Instagram PCN Capital on Twitter @PaymentsNet We are hiring aggressively at the moment so if you wish to take part in our growth as well as our forward-thinking culture, 4 day week and general good vibes then reach out to our excellent Head of People and Ops Victoria Hammond (who joined us from Google incidentally) at victoria@pcn.capital. People and Resources Mentioned Free a Girl Foundation website Christy Brown on LinkedIn Katie Howard Cross on LinkedIn David Stone LinkedIn Rogier Rouppe van der Voort on LinkedIn Cube19 website Connect with Mark Whitby Get your FREE 30-minute strategy call: www.RecruitmentCoach.com/Breakthrough Mark on LinkedIn Mark on Twitter: @MarkWhitby Mark on Facebook Mark on Instagram: @RecruitmentCoach Mark on YouTube Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy TRR #15: How Katie Howard Cross Empowers Women to Excel in Recruitment TRR #18: How to Build Your Business During a Recession, with Christy Brown Subscribe to The Resilient Recruiter