tal · ent, noun; 1. natural aptitude or skill
jock · ey, verb; 1. struggle by every available means to gain or achieve something
note: yes I realize I list the verbal definition of ‘jockey’ but often refer to it as a person/noun. 😉
Talent Jockey Podcast
Job seekers need advice and guidance so they can find their next career opportunity. Recruiters need to find great talent for their customers. Hiring managers need awesome people to get things done. I want to help all three of you.
Talent Jockey is a podcast hosted by me, Sean Kelley, that provides insight and advice to all three areas.
Job seekers don’t always know how to best approach a career opportunity. Sure, there’s the standard resume, interview, offer, but there are so many more details to consider. I talk about this on Talent Jockey.
Recruiters face high work loads and unreasonable demands from hiring managers. It is a position where the product they’re providing can always say ‘no’. Some recruiters adapt very well, and some could use some advice. Whether you’re corporate recruiting or working for a staffing firm, On Talent Jockey I talk about the challenges recruiters, sourcers and talent acquisition professionals face on a daily basis.
Hiring managers have workloads and time-lines that need to be addressed. They need good, qualified, people to help them get things done. However, many don’t know how to obtain good talent. I talk about your role in the hiring process on Talent Jockey. Some tips may surprise you.
Why you want to tune in and listen. I talk about…
- Resume writing
- Job interviews
- Salary negotiations
- Marketplace – high demand skillset, location, competition
- Social media – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Youtube, Google+
- Staffing – what to know if you are going to work in staffing or with a staffing firm
- Professional development
- Marketing yourself
- Marketing your position and organization
Street Cred
Mid 2006 I applied for a position in the information technology field. A recruiter called me and scheduled me to come in for an interview. I didn’t realize at the time that it was a staffing firm. I filled out their paperwork, spoke to the recruiter and eventually left their office. About a month went by and the recruiter called to tell me that he was leaving his position at the staffing firm. He said that the firm preferred recruiters with technical backgrounds and I presented myself well, so he asked me if I would consider taking over his position. I didn’t have a job at the time so…
Fast forward to October of 2006, I started my first job as a technical recruiter in a specialized division of a Fortune 1000 staffing firm. I learned a lot from management, mentors, peers, candidates and hiring managers/clients. I did well enough that in the first year of being a recruiter I performed better than some peers of mine that had been doing it for 5+ years. It was fun, but pace was unbelievably fast. At one point I even worked the sales side, something I had no intention of doing when I joined the company. I didn’t feel I was a ‘sales’ person. I did it and was okay at it. Not long after assuming the sales position and the economy tanked. I left staffing in 2009 and didn’t return to recruiting until 2011.
One of my peers in staffing eventually became a manager of a recruiting area within corporate human resources. She had witnessed my performance when we were both in staffing and we ended up discussing how she needed a technical recruiter in her newly-created recruiting department. I was doing digital marketing, at the time, for a very small organization. It was a great organization, but one with little professional opportunity to grow due to its size. In March of 2011 I became a Recruiting Consultant within a four billion dollar financial services organization with approximately 4000 full time staff. Leaning on my strengths, I oversaw the entire recruiting function for our Shared Services area which included Information Technology, Facilities, Vendor Management Office, Program Management Office, Information and Physical Security, and Business Continuous Improvement. These areas made up approximately a quarter of the aforementioned 4000 FTE workforce.
Currently I work in information security, but I am often drawn back to my role as a recruiter. I know the value of networking with people and often consult with individuals about the hiring steps that includes resume advice, job interviews, salary discussions, and/or career choices. I still get asked to speak at universities and colleges.
Personal Side
I am happily married to my wife of 14 years, reside in Madison, Wisconsin, and parent four cats – one weighs in at twenty-seven pounds! :sneeze: