Talk Talent To Me

Head of Talent at Axle, Alicia Kortmeyer breaks down the changes she made to the redundant processes when she first arrived at Axle, the importance of operationalizing the hiring process, and the reasons why a company must allow room for mistakes. We end the conversation by trying to figure out if it is indeed possible to avoid involuntary churn. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing our guest, Alicia Kortmeyer, and a brief family history. What she misses most about being home in Kansas. Axle as a company: who they are and what they do. Logistics as a recession-proof industry. Alicia's professional background and how she ended up working at Axle. How she knew that Axle was the real deal. Thriving in chaos. What her company said about hiring and growth that convinced her to want to succeed. Finding motivation from a relationship between two best friends. The things Alicia put in place to make an impact at Axle when she first arrived. Redundant steps in Axle's interview process that she made changes to. The importance of operationalizing the hiring process and how she was able to do it. Why it's necessary to allow room for mistakes. Paying more attention to the candidates than the job position. Seeing candidates not just as a transaction but as human beings. Whether there's a formula to avoiding involuntary churn and if it's at all possible. Tweetables: "Logistics isn't going anywhere. We're all Amazon Prime people. We all order things online, especially when the world shut down." — Alicia Kortmeyer [0:05:22] "I literally love who I work for and what I do. I love my team. I love the people. I'm so lucky to do what I do every single day. It's chaotic. It's crazy. It's never the same." — Alicia Kortmeyer [0:08:06] "I knew it wouldn't be easy. But who wants easy, right? That's so boring. I thrive in chaos. Even though I pound a bottle of wine often, I wouldn't have it any other way. Water is so boring." —Alicia Kortmeyer [0:11:07] "I love coming into that chaos, where it's like, 'You are the smartest person in the room, go take this, and don't mess this up for us'. I love having that pressure under me. I love coming in and making things better and fixing things, and building people around me." — Alicia Kortmeyer [0:12:33] "I think it's so important to keep getting that feedback from candidates or in the industry, and seeing how we can evolve and how we can change and how we can improve because once you stand still, you're already behind the game." — Alicia Kortmeyer [0:21:51] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Alicia Kortmeyer on LinkedIn Axle Talk Talent to Me Hired

Head of Talent Acquisition at EyCrowd, Matt Bonitt, shares how he ended up at EyCrowd and how their unique work culture cemented his decision to stay. We find out what recruitment policies Matt found in place when he arrived at the company, and what he chose to focus on as his first orders of business. EyCrowd prioritizes aptitude and attitude over skill and Matt gives us examples of the character traits he is looking for in prospective employees. You'll get a close look at his interview process as he tells us of the most difficult aspects of hiring executives. For Matt, it's all relationship-based and his interview format is loose and almost informal, to put the interviewee at ease so that they can feel comfortable enough to portray their true selves. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing our guest, Matt Bonitt and his guitar-themed room. Matt's professional background and how he ended up at EyCrowd. What EyCrowd, as a business, does. The state of EyCrowd's recruitment policy when Matt joined the company. What he prioritized as the first points of business in his new position as Head TA. EyCrowd as a remote-work organization. An exercise in company culture when determining prospective employee characteristics. Examples of character traits that Matt is looking for when hiring: humility is number one. Exploring the finer details of his interview process. Having a loose interview structure to put the interviewee at ease. Whether the current means of assessment in the interview process is fundamentally flawed. The possibility of replicating paired coding for other functions. Matt's background in interviewing and hiring executives. Searching for and placing executives: a relationship-based game. What the most difficult part about looking for executives to hire is. How executives are able to skip the interview process entirely. Matt's future career prospects. Tweetables: "I love the people aspect but I was a little bit getting sick of the corporate structure." — Matt Bonitt [0:02:24] "You don't have to speak formally to be professional, you can just be real with people." — Matt Bonitt [0:02:33] "We place aptitude and attitude over skill. We have an excellent training and development program so we just want smart people with good hearts." — Matt Bonitt [0:04:54] "It's a very nerve-wracking situation when you're going in an interview with somebody. So, one way that I augmented that was telling them all the questions I'm going to ask them upfront, and not having them answer them right away." — Matt Bonitt [0:08:50] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Matt Bonitt on LinkedIn EyCrowd EyCrowd App Talk Talent to Me Hired

Doreen Goldman, VP TA at TCW guides us on how to draw parallels from our own experiences and empower candidates to explore their different directions and potential trajectories. We go on to look at how to foster positive relationships to allow a candidate to connect with their potential employers, all while remembering the power of authenticity, growing your strengths, and acknowledging your areas of growth potential. Key Points From This Episode: Doreen's background and how she came to work in TCW. The talent acquisition department in TWC. The nature of competition in the industry. Understanding Doreen's industry experience with developing technical and functional roles. Chatting about Doreen's passion for her job: helping candidates build relationships. Doreen's lack of regrets for her beginning hustles in her career. TWCs screening for the interviewing process. The balance between balancing growth potential and proving your capabilities. The campaigns that Doreen is running in TWC. The most impactful approach that a recruiter can take to learn and develop. Doreen charts her personal growth trajectory as a VP. The importance of budgeting your time and prioritization. The balance between criticism and appreciation. Tweetables: "The hard skills, the technical skills, are what we look for and are the hardest to satisfy." — @reenyg926 [0:04:11] "That's the key. It's being able to differentiate the candidates that are saying they're willing to learn and whether they are capable and willing to put the time in." — @reenyg926 [0:04:36] "Speed is everything. If you're not getting to the candidate first, somebody else is." — @reenyg926 [0:07:33] "You're only as good as the last role you filled." — @reenyg926 [0:08:37] "With Talent Acquisition, it's all about the reputation that you have, and the way you treat people." — @reenyg926 [0:10:25] "People stay when they feel appreciated, people stay when they feel valued, and when they're acknowledged for their hard work." — @reenyg926 [0:23:39] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Doreen Goldman on Twitter Doreen Goldman on LinkedIn TCW Talk Talent to Me Hired

Talk Talent To Me travels to the Shelton Theatre in San Francisco, CA for a LIVE recording with Gusto's VP of TA, Emil Yeargin, and Dropbox's Head of Global Commercial Recruiting, Justin McKenna. The panel discusses how to resource large talent teams, maintain the human touch while automating processes, and how to make sure the Talent team has a seat at the table when big decisions are being made.

Today on Talk Talent To Me, we are joined by the founder of Metaview, Siadhal Magos. Metaview trains their clients to become better interviewers through providing transcripts of the interviews and giving feedback on their skills. Tuning in, you'll hear some examples of the feedback they will give, their 'gold standard' of interviewing, why the average employee is not very good at conducting interviews, and how Metaview helps their clients identify their best interviewers and use them as an example for other employees. We also discuss some unique ways clients have used Metaview's tools and why the highest performing employees aren't always the best interviewers. Next, look into why employees should run the same interview and how to prevent burnout. Lastly, Siadhal gives us some tips on what leaders can do to improve their interviewing process. Join us to find out more! Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today's guest, Siadhal Magos. Siadhal explains what Metaview does. Some examples of the feedback the company will give clients. Metaview's 'gold standard' of interviewing. Why the average employee is most likely not good at conducting interviews. How Metaview's clients identify their good interviewers and how the company assists them. Who Metaview aims their training at; the interviewer. How customers have used Metaview's tool in a way Siadhal didn't expect them to. How people are finding that their highest performing employees aren't necessarily their best interviewers. Why employees shouldn't run too many interviews as it risks burnout. Why interviewing for one specific role increases efficiency over interviewing for many different roles. What leaders can do to ensure that their companies are conducting good quality interviews. Tweetables: "What we don't want is for everyone who adopts Metaview to end up interviewing exactly the same. What you want people to do is use this ability - to coach more of their interviewers to be - what they consider their best interviewers." — @smagos [0:08:59] "We're staunch believers in the power of the data within interviews." — @smagos [0:15:31] "We are just trying to augment people's ability to run great interviews and make great decisions." — @smagos [0:16:23] "The most important thing as an interviewer - is to understand the competencies you want to know about by the time you leave that interview." — @smagos [0:25:23] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Siadhal Magos on Linkedln Siadhal Magos on Twitter Metaview Talk Talent to Me Hired

Today, we chat with VP of Talent Acquisition for Global Business Solutions at Fiserv, Bryan Schreiber. Bryan walks us through how recruitment has changed over the years, whilst still remaining true to a single core philosophy: Building relationships. We get to understand that the more honest a company is and the more they work on building that initial relationship with a potential employee, the more likely they are to find the right candidates and indeed keep them. Key Points From This Episode: Engagement and company culture is what will keep retention numbers up. Many companies are attractive so job seekers are looking at many places at the same time; a big problem for recruiters. It's important to make prospective employees aware of your company's ethos. Successful recruitment can happen in any industry, as long as you know how to engage. In executive recruiting, people generally know exactly what they want. As a recruiter, you should know what you're selling, and keep selling it. It's all about relationship Recruiters and hiring managers should have a great relationship with one another. Behavioral stacks are great indicators for recruiters. It's not a bad idea to stay at one company for a while and build those relationships. Tweetables: "To be able to explain that in a way that a candidate can understand and connect the dots back to their own life, that's engagement." — Bryan Schreiber [0:17:33] "Gain a real understanding of the environment and the people—those relationships will support you for life, even if you leave." — Bryan Schreiber [0:36:51] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Talk Talent to Me Hired

NBCUniversal's VP of Global TA Suzan Vulaj & Shutterstock's VP of TA Valerie Vadala join Rob LIVE from the Canary Club in New York City to kick off Talk Talent To Me's 2022 Roadshow.

Today we are joined by VP of People and Talent at Robust Intelligence, Riffat Jaffer. Listening to Riffat tell the story of her career journey and her 15 years of experience in the industry, we begin to understand what has cultivated her immense passion for talent acquisition and employee experience. Along the way, we hear all about her challenges, triumphs, and experiences in companies that shaped the path she is on today. This episode is full of advice, stories, and takeaways that will change your perspective on hypergrowth within a business, the normalization of internal hiring processes, and the importance of growth potential. Key Points From This Episode: A look into the HR role Riffat plays in Robust Intelligence. Looking at Riffat's career background in the talent acquisition industry. The journey Riffat has followed to end up at Robust Intelligence. Understanding why Riffat prefers working within smaller, rather than larger, companies. The ways Riffat solves problems at smaller companies with fewer resources. The functioning, working, and scaling of recruiting in different sized businesses. Understanding when and how to normalize processes within your business. The technical debt of not having a uniform and normalized interview process. Looking at a company's potential for successful hypergrowth. How to assess a company's potential for hypergrowth. The elements of Riffat's job that she is passionate about. Looking at characterizing people, their motivations, and their love for their jobs. An important reminder to remember growth potential when hiring. Tweetables: "We hire people that want to do more than their core job. So, at startups, the mindset is always, we can do anything, and we can do it better." — @staffingqueen [0:08:13] "Think about diversity and make sure that your positions are being looked at and applied to by a diverse group of candidates." — @staffingqueen [0:12:19] "Integrating both employee experience as well as the recruiting cycle is really critical and essential." — @staffingqueen [0:20:03] "Figuring out where each candidate is in [their] journey really helps make them successful once they're in the job." — @staffingqueen [0:22:44] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Riffat Jaffer Email Riffat Jaffer on LinkedIn Riffat Jaffer on Twitter Robust Intelligence Robust Intelligence on LinkedIn Sequoia Capital Wealthfront Google Talk Talent to Me Hired

TA Manager Erica Schroen joins to discuss her role at Sysco Labs, how the larger Sysco ecosystem supports her talent team, and how she's charting her recruiting career growth. Key Points From This Episode: A welcome to today's guest, Erica Schroen COVID-created work dynamics and tips on making friends in your 30s. The background story behind how Erica ended up in recruitment at Sysco Labs. How Erica's instinctual competitive nature saw her forge a successful career. The satisfaction and fulfillment of giving a job offer letter. The connection between Sysco Labs and the greater Sysco Technologies. Understanding Erica's team's focus within Sysco's customer experience division. The agility of a small team with the resources, tools, and support of a big company. Examples of campaigns, partnerships, and changes Erica has cultivated. The need for honest, transparent communication when advising on hiring processes. The next steps in Erica's career journey. Tweetables: "It was selling them why they needed to work with me, why was I the industry leader, and why were they going to pay me a percentage of someone's salary to find them." — Erica Schroen [0:07:37] "For me, it was about placing the person where they wanted to grow and learn and see their next step." — Erica Schroen [0:11:23] "What I've learned the most is that it's those constant check-ins. Whether you like it or not, you got to do it and you got to let them know the progress and the pulse of what's going on." — Erica Schroen [0:27:07] "I have realized it is better to speak up sooner rather than later." — Erica Schroen [0:27:26] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Erica Schroen on LinkedIn Erica Schroen on Instagram Sysco Labs Talk Talent to Me Hired

Come See TT2M LIVE! Register below: New York City - The Canary Club - June 1st San Francisco - Shelton Theatre - June 8th London - The Steel Yard - June 16th Kin Insurance Recruiter (and formerly Rob's boss) Tessa Groll sits down with returning champion & Career Coach, Sarah Baker Andrus for a full career coaching session. Sarah asks Tessa leading questions about what fulfills her in her work, how she approaches her role, and gives advice on how she can stay in the driver's seat of her newfound career in the talent space.