Talk Talent To Me

In today's episode of Talk Talent to Me, we are joined by Maria Molin, Head of People at Mavenoid. Maria breaks down her history in recruitment and how her interest in AI learning led her to join Mavenoid. We delve into Mavenoid's ambitious growth targets, how that has affected employer branding, and unpack some of the methods that Mavenoid has been using to drive hiring outcomes. Maria discusses some of the exciting things that Mavenoid has been doing to foster connection between colleagues during remote work and how they are supporting their hybrid working needs. Hear about Mavenoid's Unlimited Books policy as well as other ways that they are facilitating skills growth for their employees. Later we take a look at Mavenoid's approach to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and some of the steps they're taking to increase representation, including partnering with Pink Programming to recruit women in STEM. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today's guest Maria Molin, Head of People at Mavenoid. Maria's history in recruitment and how she joined Mavenoid. Maria's many duties as Head of People at Mavenoid. The high rate of growth at Mavenoid and some of the campaigns that are driving hiring outcomes. Some of the online remote activities that Mavenoid has been doing for their employees. How Mavenoid is helping their employees find the balance between remote and in-person work. Surveys and other methods Mavenoid has been using to gauge the needs of their employees with regards to remote work. How Maria makes decisions on what to prioritize as Head of People. The various ways that Mavenoid allows their employees to learn and grow in their skills. The Unlimited Books policy at Mavenoid and why Maria loves it. Mavenoid's generous stipend for employees to pursue learning opportunities. How Maria is approaching growing her skills and interests. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Mavenoid and the steps they are taking to increase representation. How Mavenoid is measuring and holding itself accountable to its DE&I goals. Tweetables: "Even though we hire a lot of new people, I get so happy every time I read what made someone join Mavenoid." — Maria Molin [0:08:08] "We also have an unlimited books policy, which a lot of us love. So, essentially, if you buy a pile of books, and you want to take three days off to just like be in your hammock and read your book, you can do that." — Maria Molin [0:16:17] "We're also connecting with more female coding schools to reach out to women. There are a lot of women studying STEM right now and I think it's an amazing opportunity to connect with women and get them into the industry." — Maria Molin [0:22:25] "The percentage of women in the company has grown a lot, and I would say also working remotely, it's a great opportunity to bring in people from different backgrounds, and that is something that we're really aiming for in all the roles that we're recruiting for." — Maria Molin [0:23:52] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Maria Molin on LinkedIn Mavenoid Talk Talent to Me Hired

Joining us on this installment of Talk Talent To Me is the Head of Talent at Amplify, Natasha Katoni. Prior to Amplify, Natasha was one of the very first technical recruiters at Segment, where she went on to become Technical Recruiting Manager. In today's episode, she shares her somewhat unexpected career journey and what she has learned about talent, scalable processes, and interesting problems along the way. We discuss the importance of really listening to candidates without bringing your own biases into the mix, why building strong relationships with external agencies and platforms is an essential part of the recruitment process, and why there is no one pathway in talent. Natasha speaks candidly about some of her personal motivations, successes, and shortcomings as she has progressed through her career. She even turns her own processes back on herself as a candidate and shares her advice for those currently on the job hunt: be thoughtful and process oriented, but don't forget to trust your gut! Key Points From This Episode: Natasha shares her journey at Segment, where she was one of their early recruiters. Some of the scalable process that were implemented as Segment's talent operations grew. Learn more about Segment's focus on pre-selling, candidate motivations, timing, and tools. How Natasha decided whether or not a candidate was worth the time spent on them. Questions to ask technical talent that is in high demand, like what is motivating their search. What Natasha has noticed about how candidates express their motivations or priorities. The importance of listening to candidates without bringing your own biases to the table. The value of taking a step back and reassessing your systems and potential problems. Three golden metrics: onsite to offer, offer to close, and top of funnel interested rates. Where these processes can break down and the value of building strong relationships with external agencies and platforms. Natasha shares what she loves about working at Amplify; how her personal interests align. Hear about her transition from an internal operator role at Segment to VC with Amplify. Why there is no one pathway in talent; more on Natasha's less than traditional journey. Natasha weighs in on how talent partners can be most useful to early-stage companies. Her personal motivation for accepting her current position at Amplify: interesting problems. Natasha emphasizes the importance of trusting your gut while also being thoughtful and process oriented when looking for a job. Tweetables: "One of the mistakes that companies constantly make is they talk about moving as quickly as possible. That's not always helpful. You don't always want to move as fast as possible. What you want to do is capitalize on the recency bias." — Natasha Katoni [0:07:18] "When you want to experiment, when you want to build, when you want to fix a system that isn't working how you want it to, I would try to speak the language of the person that you're trying to convince." — Natasha Katoni [0:16:14] "Spending time building those relationships with external people to be able to support and add to your internal recruiting team when you need it – but also not bloat your recruiting team so that it's so big that you have to lay people off – that's the key." — Natasha Katoni [0:22:07] "You should be very thoughtful and process oriented when looking for a job and use the checklist process on yourself as a candidate as well." — Natasha Katoni [0:36:25] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Natasha Katoni on LinkedIn Amplify Hired Triplebyte Connery Consulting Talk Talent to Me

Click here for your free copy of People Operations: Automate HR, Design a Great Employee Experience, and Unleash Your Workforce. The pandemic has thrown a barrage of challenges at those of us in talent teams and as it nears its end, there are still so many variables at play. Today we are joined by Kevin Marasco, the chief marketing officer of Zenefits, a company known for streamlining onboarding, benefits, payroll, and PTO. Kevin is also the author of People Operations: Automate HR, Design a Great Employee Experience, and Unleash Your Workforce. Today Kevin sheds light on some of the many challenges that talent teams have faced as a result of the pandemic. While people are now trying to get "back to work" or find some sort of a normal or familiar operating rhythm, we have to accept that things will never go back to how they were and find ways to integrate new workflows, new operating rhythms, and new policies. We also discuss how these challenges are further impacted by the talent crisis and the Great Resignation, as well as the potential impacts of the gig economy. Kevin explains how at this present time, companies are re-evaluating their strategy when it comes to work in general with regard to who does the work, who can do the work, where they work, and when they work. Tune in to find out what the 80-20 rule is and how HR people can utilize technology to automate the essentials and optimize their roles to be the most impactful toward their companies. Key Points From This Episode: Some background into what Zenefits does. Kevin sheds some light on some of the challenges that people teams and people leaders have faced during the pandemic. The challenges of going "back to work" in light of all of the temporary and permanent changes of the pandemic. How these challenges are further impacted by the talent crisis and the Great Resignation. The potential impacts of the gig economy on HR and talent positions. How every company has to re-evaluate its strategy when it comes to work in general. The technology Kevin uses to do his research to understand the pain points of those in HR. How through his research Kevin has come to see a whole new side of this career. How HR people can optimize their roles and be the most impactful toward their companies? The 80-20 rule and the importance of automating less important tasks with technology. How this information is broken down in Kevin's new book People Operations. Tweetables: "I think every company has to re-evaluate their strategy when it comes to work in general, right? That's who does the work, who can do the work — because I think that's shifted and is continuing to evolve — where they work, and when they work?" — Kevin Marasco [0:07:42] "For people leaders [the gig economy] offers them new opportunities. They can engage in work for companies in ways that they haven't before, but moreover, I think you can re-evaluate how we're building companies." — Kevin Marasco [0:09:33] "I think about the 80-20 rule and it is about focusing on the 20 percent that's going to drive 80 percent of value. That is where you get this forced multiplier effect and that starts with 'Okay, take this stuff that has to be done and automate it.'" — Kevin Marasco [0:16:17] "It's kind of like automating the essentials then frees us up to focus more time on systemic programs that will have a bigger impact for the organization." — Kevin Marasco [0:17:22] "Let the robots have part of your job, embrace them. Picture them as like a personalized assistant that's going to help you and free you up to do work that you are going to be more passionate about, that's going to add more value to the business." — Kevin Marasco [0:18:20] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Kevin Marasco Zenefits People Operations Hired Talk Talent to Me

Here today to share insights from his 20 years of experience in San Francisco's tech and real estate industries is Colin Yasukochi, Executive Director of Tech Research at CBRE. In this episode, we discuss how the shift to remote work has given companies the opportunity to expand their borders beyond a physical location, why many companies have chosen to adopt a remote first or hybrid work strategy, and the surprising growth in tech talent hiring over the past year despite the pandemic. Colin introduces us to the Brain Gain and Brain Drain principles, which describe hiring culture based on proximity to universities. We explore the lack of diversity in tech and the slow growth that requires the younger generation to develop an interest in tech careers and explore the relevance of geographic data in a remote era to guide you in prioritizing diversity and seeing how you fare compared to other companies. We hope you join us today! Key Points From This Episode: An introduction to Colin Yasukochi and his 20 years in tech and real estate in San Francisco. How the shift to remote work has opened up a lot of companies to take on new hires. The benefits of remote work, which include flexibility and access to a larger pool of talent. What the 2021 Scoring Tech Talent Report aims to do: to help inform workforce decisions. How it does this by looking at labor market trends in workforce growth, tech degree graduates in each market, and supply and demand. What is meant by 'tech talents': what you do for your job, not where you work. The staff contingent of tech companies: half tech jobs, half sales, finance, HR and more. The growth in tech talent hiring over the past year despite the pandemic. How there has been a 5 percent growth in demand for software engineers over the last year. What companies realized about expanding beyond a physical location during COVID. Why many companies have chosen to adopt a remote first or hybrid work strategy. How remote hiring is still a relatively small contingent of the growing work force. The benefit of having in-person interactions for innovation and how we cannot determine whether the hybrid working situation will work well or not. Tech graduates as the primary source of hires and the brain gain and brain drain principle. The movement towards hiring graduates who don't have a background in tech. How diversity is becoming an increasing focus in terms of staff contingent. How the data showed the overrepresentation of white and Asian males. Why we need to encourage people in high school and before that to pursue tech degrees. The relevance of geographic data in a remote era: most companies aren't totally remote, and this data helps to guide the location of new offices with diversity in mind. Why geographic data enables you to develop a strategy to increase the numbers. Tweetables: "Remote work has always been there, but we've got this new opportunity to expand that beyond where we ever thought it would go." — @colinyasukochi [0:03:14]"Having in-person interactions with people and collaborating is a big part of the innovation process. It's not the only necessary method, but it's certainly something that has been traditional over time. We're going to have to see how well the remote or hybrid situation works." — @colinyasukochi [0:11:20] "Change is going to come slowly. That's where it's really important to reach back a little bit further and try to encourage people in high school or even before that to get interested in tech degrees." — @colinyasukochi [0:17:04] "If you understand where the diverse or underrepresented groups are physically located and then what markets or what universities they may be attending, that is going to give you a leg up to develop a strategy that enables you to increase the numbers." — @colinyasukochi [0:23:20] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Colin Yasukochi on Linkedin Colin Yasukochi on TwitterCBRE Scoring Tech Talent Report Talk Talent to Me

It takes conviction to build a team that aligns with both your values and your requirements. Diversity is important to Diane Yu, Chief Technology Officer of Better, a digital first home ownership company that offers mortgage, real estate, title, and homeowner insurance. Tune in to hear about Diane's career trajectory, why she believes that the best approach to building a team is to ensure that it's diverse, and how choosing talent is not just about the present but the future too. We touch on designing your target of talent according to your company culture and Diane tells us why she chooses to hire entrepreneurial people who never take no for an answer. Find out why she prioritizes personal characteristics over past experience and nurtures high performing recruiters within her company, judging this according to both accepted offers and recruited candidates. Diane believes that it is possible to build a team that fulfills both diversity and candidate criteria through building the right pipeline. Key Points From This Episode: Introducing Diane Yu, Chief Technology Officer of Better. The start of her career as an entry level software engineer at DoubleClick. How she realized the impact of making good choices in hiring as a manager. FreeWheel's global client base and potential to change the entire financial industry. Why Diane believes that the best approach to building a team is to include diversity. How choosing talent is not just about the present, but the future too. Designing your target of talent according to your company culture. Why she chooses to hire entrepreneurial people who never take no for an answer. Why, in a fast-moving company, it is impossible to create a five-year plan. Characteristics she looks for in new candidates: natural curiosity and eagerness to learn. The talent team's responsibility to interview for roles and gauge the right type of candidate. How Diane nurtures high performing recruiters. Why she pays attention to more than just accepted offers. Why you have to have strong convictions to build a strong, diverse team. Revamping the target pipeline in order to prioritize both diversity and her criteria. An example of an unexpected drop: Diane's daughter playing soccer in a princess dress. Why Diane works very hard to make sure there is no one outlier on a team. Unconscious bias and avoiding this as a reason for candidate drop-off. Tweetables: "When the leadership actually puts an extreme focus on talent, you can build the best execution focused team that can win out against large competitors." — Diane Yu [0:06:38] "We could actually change the entire financial industry – how people own a home, how people get a mortgage, and how people use [that] home to actually grow their financial wealth." — Diane Yu [0:07:17]"It's not about how well-spoken you are. It's about whether you have that mindset to be able to find a solution. If you believe something, you'll actually do whatever it takes to get there, not letting anybody stop you on the way." — Diane Yu [0:13:58]"We need people that are naturally curious and are getting excited about learning new stuff. You can see that from the interview. You can see that via the conversation." — Diane Yu [0:18:27] "It actually takes conviction. You cannot just stop at, 'This is what I want and then let's see how it goes.' You actually need to look through every step along the way." — Diane Yu [0:29:25] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Diane Yu on LinkedIn Better FreeWheel Hired Talk Talent to Me

The talent organization is often seen as a business within a business, but sometimes it is seen more as an expense than a massive contributor to the bottom line. Today we are joined by Liberty Mutual's Shawn Tubman, who is the head of talent acquisition, and Loralie Thostenson the SVP, technology talent officer. Our guests provide insight into how the operation of the huge talent organization at Liberty Mutual is structured before we discuss how the talent team is seen as an expense center, and how to put into dollars and cents how it is profitable. Tuning in you'll hear about the transactional lens and the global lens through which Shawn sees ROI for talent processes, as well as the pros and cons of the qualitative approach versus the quantitative approach to proselytizing the value of HR to an organization. Later we talk the very important role of strategy in HR, how our guests determine what specific things a talent organization needs to do to meet the needs of a business, how understanding these needs informs the process of decision making, and why you should ask "A year from now, what are we going to regret not doing?" Listen in today to find out how to balance trying to reach a high headcount goal while also being strategic, the importance of scheduling time for strategizing, and Shawn and Loralie's advice on how to build your career and be deliberate about your own growth. Key Points From This Episode: How Shawn Tubman has managed to stay at Liberty Mutual for so many years. Loralie Thostenson's thoughts on how the job may stay the same, but unique challenges provide diversity. Insight into how the operation of the talent organization at Liberty Mutual is structured. Thoughts on how the talent organization is often seen as a business within a business and how this compares to other departments. How Shawn and Loralie put into dollars and cents how HR contributes to the bottom line. The transactional lens and the global lens through which Shawn sees ROI for talent processes and how they differ. Thoughts on the qualitative approach versus the quantitative approach to proselytizing the value of HR to an organization. How our guests determine what specific things a talent organization needs to do to meet the needs of a business on a macro-level. How taking the time to understand what the organization really needs informs the process of decision making. Why you should ask "A year from now, what are we going to regret not doing?" How to balance trying to reach a high headcount goal while also being strategic. The importance of scheduling time for strategizing. Loralie's advice to make sure that you always understand how you're adding value. Shawn's advice to not be afraid to push yourself outside of your comfort zone and the importance of self-awareness. Tweetables: "You can't put a price on making the best hire because one hire could really change and shape an organization." — Shawn Tubman [0:13:46] "'Nothing really happens in an organization until you make a sale,' right? You've got to make the sale and then everything comes after it. — The thing that came to my mind was, 'Nothing happens until you hire the person that makes the sale.'" — Shawn Tubman [0:14:17] "I think one way of thinking about it is data often times is your 'what' and the anecdote is the 'why'. Having the 'what' and the 'why' paired together on any topic really makes the connection and gives the whole picture." — Loralie Thostenson [0:17:50] "There is a balance between the transactional piece of recruitment, which is working with a hiring manager to fill a singular job and then having that overarching strategic approach. I don't think one could live without the other." — Shawn Tubman [0:22:56] "A well-thought-out strategy, it has to be part of all recruitment organizations, whether that exists on the individual recruiter desk or whether it exists on the leader level for a large organization. Time and intentionality has to be spent in defining that strategy." — Shawn Tubman [0:23:51] "Make sure that you always understand how you're adding value to the business regardless of what level talent role that you're at." — Loralie Thostenson [0:30:46] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Shawn Tubman Loralie Thostenson Liberty Mutual Hired Talk Talent to Me

Whether you work remote, in person, or partially remote, the new world of work contains multiple employee experiences. Today we are joined by Annie Lin, the VP of People at Lever, a company known for helping businesses grow their workforces and improve their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Annie joins us to discuss the new world of work and how to negotiate it from a talent perspective. While some people return to the workplace, others don't and because everyone's day-to-day experiences are different, creating an equitable environment for workers is a new challenge that we face. Annie explains how we can think about these new hybrid forms of work in a similar way to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Tuning in you'll hear how Lever is aiming for equity in everyone's ability to have an equal impact, irrespective of their day-to-day work experience, and how the company is now less focused on effort and more focused on results. You'll also discover insight into developments in the job market and talent war, the importance of finding ways to attract diverse candidates, how Lever sets its goals for DEI, and why they break these down to the team level. Key Points From This Episode: An introduction to Annie Lin, her role at Lever, and her background. The realization Annie had that drew her out of business management and into people ops. How she pushes her team to think about their roles from the mindset of being partners to the rest of the business. The realities of Annie's role right now in the context of the new world of work. How she level sets for all of these different experiences to create an equitable environment for the individuals in them. Lever's goal for equity in everyone's ability to have an equal impact. How Lever is less focused on effort and more focused on results. How Annie thinks about this in a similar way to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Annie's contact with the customer base and the product team. Insight into developments in the job market and how to stand out in the talent war. The importance of finding ways to attract and bring in diverse candidates. Insight into Lever's OKRs with regards to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and how they set these goals. What success looks like in terms of DEI for Lever. Why they break down DEI to a team level. Annie's analogy for looking at the positives of hybrid work and its challenges. Tweetables: "There's a lot that makes a business work or not work and I truly believe that almost everything boils down to people; who you have, who you don't have, how those people work together, how they don't work together, how they evolve and grow as the organization evolves and grows." — Annie Lin [0:03:52] "I really push my team to think about their roles from the mindset of a partner to the business." — Annie Lin [0:05:00] "We're actually not aiming for complete egalitarianism in terms of everyone's day-to-day experiences, but rather what we are optimizing for and aiming for is equity in everyone's ability to have an equal impact." — Annie Lin [0:11:51] "We have people who quite frankly are just effective in different types of environments and we want to be inclusive of all of that. We want all of those different types of people to still be able to be successful." — Annie Lin [0:14:41] "I would encourage other people leaders to think about as well, is not just think about the world of hybrid work as a problem that has to be dealt with, — but also as this incredible opportunity to really tap into the strengths and the upsides that come with it as well." — Annie Lin [0:27:38] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Annie Lin Lever Hired Talk Talent to Me

In a rapidly growing company, it's often a natural instinct to solve your problems by throwing more bodies at them through recruitment. Today's guest believes that there is a much better way to build and maintain your talent. Tyler Parson is the head of talent at Chili Piper, a series-B startup that does meeting lifecycle automation for sales and revenue teams. Tyler was hired as the company's first people operations hire and has been instrumental in building the company's talent. Initially, she was hired to spearhead recruiting, but after expressing her desire to be responsible for the entire employee life cycle, her role evolved. Tuning in today, you'll hear why Tyler believes strongly that companies should hire a head of people before a head of talent and why it makes sense to combine the role of recruitment with that of employee ops. We discuss the importance of building the headcount plan strategically, instead of just hiring bodies, and why recruitment should not be an order-taking function, but a strategic partnership between talent and leadership. Tyler also explains why companies should do a better job of looking at their existing talent as plastic with the skills and the desires to move into other roles, and how companies can get a better understanding of their employees career ambitions to provide them with a path to grow towards what they love. Key Points From This Episode: An introduction to Tyler Parson and how she became known as the class clown. Insight into Chili Piper and Tyler's role in the company. Why it makes sense to combine the role of recruitment with that of employee ops. Why Tyler believes that new companies should hire a head of people before a head of talent. The first things Tyler implemented on the people ops side of Chili Piper. The importance of building the headcount plan strategically, instead of just hiring bodies. Why recruitment should not be an order-taking function, but a strategic partnership between talent and leadership. The importance of differentiating between the critical needs and the wants of a role. Why companies should do a better job of looking at their existing talent as plastic, both willing and able to fulfill other roles. How the Piper Plan Initiative is used to understand their employees' career ambitions. The intentional conversations had between management and employees around individual development. How the Piper Plan Initiative feeds back into the recruiting process. How employees are responding to this initiative. Thoughts on what makes a good employee. The importance of providing employees with a path to grow towards what they love. Tyler's advice to anyone who wants to grow into a more fulfilling role. Tweetables: "Companies choose between hiring a head of people first or a head of talent first. I really fall into the camp where I think that the head of people should come in first. Get your culture locked down, get your impression plans locked down and then hire talent into the function." — Tyler Parson [0:07:16] "I really believe that if you – you can put all this time and energy into hiring the talent, but if you don't develop it and enable it and retain it, then you're spinning your wheels on recruiting." — Tyler Parson [0:07:42] "What we're trying to build at Chili Piper, — is creating a culture where if you want something new, you always ask for it internally first and if it's in the realm of possibilities, if it's in our growth plan which it probably is, then we try it." — Tyler Parson [0:16:36] "When you work in a company where people love what they do in a genuine way and you allow other people the path to grow towards what they love, that makes a good employee. I don't care how many meetings you booked." — Tyler Parson [0:25:09] "Be brave enough to be honest with yourself about what really does bring you joy and more importantly, be brave enough to identify when it's not aligned with what you're doing right then." — Tyler Parson [0:28:23] "It is just a matter of identifying what brings you joy and start to just insert it into your existing job as much as you can. If you can't, then maybe it is time to find a new one." — Tyler Parson [0:28:47] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Tyler Parson Chili Piper Hired Talk Talent to Me

As the pandemic recedes, millions of workers have decided to rethink their jobs and how they are living their lives. On today's episode of Talk Talent to Me, we get together with recruitment expert Sarah Baker Andrus to discuss this dramatic trend, why now is an excellent time to be looking for a new job, and how to do the internal work necessary to find and identify a job that you'll love. In our conversation with Sarah, we hear about her history in recruitment and how she came into the career almost by accident when she discovered that it was a great fit for her personality and interests. You'll hear Sarah break down some of the biggest mistakes people make when they first start looking for a job and explain why job boards are never the best place to start your search. Instead, you should be researching the type of companies you want to work for and intentionally reach out to them. Sarah offers some useful strategies for determining the type of position you'll thrive in, like reflecting on high points in your career to identify your most valuable skills and asking yourself "Do I want to work here?" instead of "Will they hire me?" We spend some time reflecting on how worker demands and expectations are shifting in America and examine the many legitimate reasons workers have for leaving their jobs. We had a fantastic time talking with Sarah, and we're sure you'll find the conversation as informative and useful as we did. For all this and much more, tune in today! Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today's guest, Sarah Baker Andrus. How Sarah discovered a fascinating career in recruitment almost by accident. How reflecting on high points in your career can help you identify your most valuable skills. Why it's equally important to identify the traits that your co-workers rely on you for. How to turn those traits you've identified into a job search. Why you should change the question from "Will they hire me?" to "Do I want to work here?" Why you should identify employers and companies that you want to work with. How men and women approach job searches differently on average. Why Sarah does not promote starting your job search by looking at job boards. How to use intentional networking in your job search. Sarah shares her feelings on accepting a job from an organization that has reached out to you on LinkedIn. Why you should be intentional about the process of leaving your job and finding a new position. The type of questions you need to ask yourself to accurately evaluate your current job versus a job prospect. Why Google is a useful tool for finding organizations that hire people with your particular skill sets. The great resignation that has been happening in America and the many legitimate reasons people gave for leaving their jobs. Why now is a great time to be looking for a new job. The risks of leaving a job versus the risks of staying at a job that isn't working for you for too long. Tweetables: "I've spent the bulk of my career, so more than 20 years, as a recruiter myself, leading recruitment teams, thinking about recruitment marketing and recruitment strategy, and I have really spent my whole career immersed in everybody else's career." — @avarahcareers [0:01:38] "I was very geeky and intentional about documenting what was working for me at that stage. I thought it was interesting to sort of be the guinea pig in my own adventure." — @avarahcareers [0:04:17] "One thing that I think I knew instinctively, and I'm sure you'd agree, is that when we think about the high point moments in our careers, there were certain skills, abilities, talents, that we brought to those achievements. We all want more of that." — @avarahcareers [0:04:32] "The vast majority of jobs never even get on to the boards and it's far more effective to target your list of employers and then go on their careers page and monitor that and create your own job board, whether you use an Excel spreadsheet or some notes." — @avarahcareers [0:10:57] "So many great places that are starting from a different premise that has a new way of doing things and that's what I find really exciting. If you're at a place that isn't keeping up, then you become identified with that place." — @avarahcareers [0:33:12] "We need to give equal consideration to the risk of staying and what that can do to your career over the long haul." — @avarahcareers [0:33:43] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Sarah Andrus on LinkedIn Sarah Andrus on Twitter Sarah Andrus on Facebook Avrah Careers Hired Sign Up to Hired Talk Talent to Me

Throughout her career of more than a decade, one thing has always remained the same for today's guest: the importance of leading with empathy and humanity. As a young, queer, tattooed woman, Ashlyn stands out in the traditional world of finance, but it was in this world, where someone took a chance on her as a high school dropout, that she rapidly climbed the ranks. In her early twenties, she ran operations for several advisory firms before identifying her true calling: recruiting. Through her work as Senior Talent Partner at Altruist, she's able to help people find their place and activate their talents and passions. Her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion really shines through in this interview, as does her mission to empower and educate candidates to make the best decisions for themselves and their long term. We touch on the process of poaching, negotiation and salary expectations, and Ashlyn's 'everybody wins' approach, as well as how Altruist's onboarding and training philosophy provides a safe space for new hires to say "I don't know." Key Points From This Episode: An introduction to Ashlyn McIntosh, her career trajectory, and her current role at Altruist The importance of being intentional when hiring and retaining talent. How Ashlyn's role as senior talent partner differs from that of the director of talent. How the rest of the team is structured and how they have grown it through new hires. Why Altruist believes in starting off with their best offer, not forcing candidates to negotiate. Ashlyn explains how forcing negotiation inherently reinforces biased pay inequities. Hear her opinion on salary expectations and listing salary bands in job descriptions. Why she advocates for candidates who undersell themselves; the 'everybody wins' approach. How smart companies retain talent by paying them what they are worth. The value of breaking the taboo around discussing your salary with your coworkers. The utility of soliciting salary expectations in a world where no one is forced to negotiate. Ashlyn's approach to onboarding, which involves borrowing from previous companies. Find out more about Altruist's skills-based and systems training philosophy. Tweetables: "We need to be giving the best employee experience possible because all it takes is one bad day and, suddenly, somebody is responding to a recruiter InMail. You have to be careful about the kind of employee experience that you're providing people, or else they do have options." — Ashlyn McIntosh [0:08:43] "When it comes down to being competitive, I still always want the candidate to make the right decision for themselves and their long term. I don't get very pushy. I try [to] be a sounding board for my candidates." — Ashlyn McIntosh [0:14:20] "Forcing people to negotiate is inherently sexist and racist. There are going to be far less women who are comfortable negotiating. There are far less people of color who are comfortable negotiating." — Ashlyn McIntosh [0:15:52] "Letting people know 'you can do better' is really important. We have had such a mentality within our society because of capitalism that, if one person wins, it means you can't win when, in reality, there's room for all have us to win. Why would I hold somebody back from that?" — Ashlyn McIntosh [0:19:43] "There are companies that reward their recruiters for costing the company less money. I don't necessarily think those are smart companies. Smart companies hire the ideal talent for whatever their company is for what they're worth." — Ashlyn McIntosh [0:21:22] Links Mentioned in Today's Episode: Ashlyn McIntosh on LinkedIn Altruist Talk Talent to Me