Talk Talent To Me

Jennifer Tardy is back to discuss how her company, Jennifer Tardy Consulting, is training recruiters to eradicate historical under-representation. You’ll hear all about our guest: why she started her company, why the company stands out from the rest, and who can make use of their services. We also discuss what companies who seek out Jennifer’s help want to achieve, what Jennifer needs to know about them to assist, how she uses shock value to challenge deep bias, and her philosophy of ‘calling people in.’ Jennifer explains how our bias leads to problematic perceptions of who is qualified and who isn’t qualified and tells us why we need to have a more accurate understanding of what a qualification actually is before explaining under-representation and why it is a huge problem when it comes to diversity. She also explains her company’s term Lived Experience Intelligence and tells us why increasing diversity is a long journey that requires commitment from a company as a whole. So, to hear all about how you can become committed to playing an active role in increasing diversity, join us now!   Key Points From This Episode:   An introduction to today’s guest, Jennifer Tardy.  A bit about Jennifer’s background and what led her to start her company. What makes Jennifer Tardy Consulting unique.  What Jennifer wants to learn about the companies she assists with diversity.  What the employers that go to Jennifer for help are actually looking for.  The problems surrounding our biased perception of qualifications.  How Jennifer unpacks peoples’ deep unconscious bias: shock-value.  The importance of ‘cleaning up’ the idea of who is qualified and who isn’t qualified.  The challenges of under-representation and what it is.  Jennifer’s company’s philosophy of ‘calling people in.’ The importance of positioning recruiters as a partner.  Why increasing diversity is an ongoing process that is going to take time and teamwork.  The difference between noticing the problem and being committed to making change.  How she would advise people on any resistance they may face from people in senior positions. Jen explains the concept of Lived Experience Intelligence.  Which organizations could make use of Jennifer Tardy Consulting.    Tweetables:   “[Employers are] looking to shift the mindset of the people who are on the front lines of doing this work - so that they're able to identify when bias is presenting itself so that they can mitigate it, dismantle it, remove it so that the most competitive person can get hired.” — @JennTardy [0:06:12]   “The biggest hurdle that we face on the front lines of increasing diversity is our ineffective perception of who is qualified to do the job.” — @JennTardy [0:06:59]   “Diversity includes everyone.” — @JennTardy [0:13:50]   “In order to find the most competitive candidate, we have to remove biases, because that's filtering who can get through, who's seen as competitive to begin with.” — @JennTardy [0:23:17]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Jennifer Tardy Consulting Jennifer Tardy on LinkedIn Jennifer Tardy on Twitter Jennifer Tardy on Instagram Talk Talent to Me Hired

In this episode, we are having a very exciting in-person conversation with the Chief People Officer of Velocity Global, Sarah Fern. You’ll hear all about Sarah’s career, her first time as a Chief People Officer, what it’s like when HR and talent teams work together, and how you can wind up on the wrong side of the business. Under no circumstances can you be passive in your pursuits, and today, Sarah shares how you can shape your life and be the CEO of your own career! We also discuss how to challenge excessive meetings and protect your time (even in a less senior position), and empowering yourself to take care of your mental health. Sarah tells us about the incredible scaling of her company before breaking down her team and what their roles are. Finally, she leaves us with some incredible pearls of wisdom on how to advance your career.  Key Points From This Episode: Introducing today’s guest, in the flesh, Sarah Fern.  Sarah tells us what she is doing in Denver. What Sarah plans to do when she meets team members who joined Velocity during COVID. The challenges that come with remote work.  An overview of Sarah’s background and how she landed her current role.  Sarah’s experience with talent teams and HR teams working together.  How you wind up on the wrong side of business. Why she believes that you can shape your life and your future and why you can’t be passive. Sarah’s experience of being a first-time Chief People Officer for Velocity Global. The unforeseen challenges of working with Velocity Global.  Why Sarah challenges the need for constant video call meetings.  How you can protect your time at work if you’re in a less senior position.  Why having more meetings makes you less productive.  The company’s role in mental health and why you ultimately need to empower yourself.  The scale of Velocity Global and how that’s impacting Sarah and her team.  Sarah explains the different roles in the talent team.  Why a startup mentality can be scrappy when you’re expanding.  How Velocity approaches outgrowing systems.  Sarah shares some advice for people looking to advance their careers.    Tweetables:   “You should take the best of the best and you should put it together.” — Sarah Fern [0:07:37]   What I have learned over the years is that you can shape your life. You can shape the future.” — Sarah Fern [0:09:13]   “There isn't a playbook for this remote ‘work anywhere’ world. You've got to continuously challenge yourself and go, is this sustainable? Mental health, work-life balance, boundaries, being at your best game.” — Sarah Fern [0:17:30]   “The days are gone when there's a linear career ladder. Those days are truly behind us.” — Sarah Fern [0:33:16]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Sarah Fern on LinkedIn Velocity Global Hired

Alison Kaizer returns! She shares her journey transitioning from moonlighting for Golden Ventures to taking on a full-time role. She shares some of the details of her consulting conversations and how it differs for different clients. We talk about some of the resources she provides to eliminate possible friction later on in the hiring process, and why she believes that hiring a good candidate is just the tip of the iceberg. Hear about the difference an ATS can make, why Alison believes that sourcing is such a powerful tool, and what she has done to prioritize leveling up her skillset today.  Key Points From This Episode: Welcome to our first three-time guest on the podcast, Alison Kaizer. What prompted her current job change to Golden Ventures. How easing into a full-time role at Golden Ventures has already paid dividends. The difference between the work she was doing as a contractor and the depth of her engagement as a full-time employee. Why Alison doesn’t think it’s always appropriate to allow employees to take on consulting work. What her consulting conversation consists of and how it differs for different clients. Providing resources to eliminate friction later on in the hiring process. Why Alison believes that finding a great candidate is the tip of the iceberg. How communicating a streamlined process can remove up to 80% of anticipated friction. Using an ATS like Teamtailor and Greenhouse to craft your careers page that attracts talent. Why she believes that sourcing is such a great way to find the right talent. Why inbound sourcing is scalable. The value of planning out your day to be more efficient and take more on in accordance with your priorities. Alison’s strategy for learning and upskilling herself: approaching everything through a problem-solving lens. How she has leveled up by working with people who weren’t going to be easy on her.    Tweetables:   “If you are in-house somewhere and you're feeling stale, you're probably not doing the role to the fullest extent. I think particularly with talent, there are always areas to improve.” — @alisonmichellek [0:12:55]   “You can probably remove 80% plus friction, just being able to go back to a candidate and say, “This is exactly what we're looking for and this is the process that you can expect.” — @alisonmichellek [0:25:33]   “Taking the time upfront lends itself to a really frictionless process, where you're not wasting your time talking to people that are wrong because you have a clear mental picture of what greatness looks like. You can start with the ideal and then flex as needed.” — @alisonmichellek [0:26:50]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: Alison Kaizer on LinkedIn Alison Kaizer on TwitterGolden Ventures Teamtailor Talk Talent to Me Hired

Jessica Williams shares her experience of working two full-time jobs for a year, discussing time management, employee reactions, and career goals. The concept of overemployment, challenges faced, and the changing dynamics of work ownership are explored. Strategies for balancing multiple roles and achieving financial success are also highlighted.

With experience working for the likes of CareerBuilder and The Adecco Group, Marcus Sawyerr is now the founder and CEO of EQ Community, a private member's network that connects professionals to opportunity. Today he joins us to discuss all things talent and the types of challenges currently coming up when he talks to clients. Marcus sheds light on why he founded EQ Community and some of his goals for the company before discussing the importance of DEI and the gap between the well-meaning folks talking about it and the reality of the market. You’ll also hear about how EQ Community is adding value in the counseling it offers to talent to companies who are trying to build a more representative workforce. To hear more about the importance of retention in a climate where companies are scaling back on hiring, what Marcus learned about HR tech when he worked for The Adecco Group, some profound insight into developing inclusive culture in terms of DEI, and so much more, tune in today!   Key Points From This Episode:   The types of challenges are coming up currently when Marcus Sawyerr talks to clients.  Why Marcus is not phased by the fact that companies are trying to be more lean and scale back on hiring.   Why he thinks that retention is more important now than it has been previously.  Some of the considerations that come into play when employees choose employers.  What led Marcus to found EQ Community and some of his company goals.  The four C’s that EQ Community focuses on: Community support, Connections, and access to Careers, which leads to Capital.  The gap between the well-meaning folks talking about DEI and the reality of the market.  Where EQ Community is adding value: offering counseling to talent and the two areas they focus their efforts on when helping individuals. How they help organizations develop an inclusive culture in terms of DEI.  Why it is so critical to focus on the onboarding part of the DEI process.  The circumstances that would make EQ Community a poor fit for an organization.  Signals that people can look for to understand if a prospective company is a place where they can thrive and what Marcus’s “red carpet experience” would entail. Thoughts on whether or not all candidates should be treated fairly or if preference should be given to referrals. How you can enhance the candidate experience from a communication standpoint with technology.  What stood out about the HR tech companies Marcus evaluated when working for Adecco.   Tweetables:   “I think as companies get their employees in the right positions and get their ducks in a row, so to speak, retaining that top talent is going to become more and more important. We'll probably see a little shift in the type of business that we do with organizations moving forward.” — Marcus Sawyerr [0:03:28]   “I noticed there were less and less people that looked like me when I got to the “top” and thought, ‘If I don't set something up to empower people to get access to these opportunities, these experiences I've had, I'd be missing an opportunity myself.’” — Marcus Sawyerr [0:08:49]   “Part of what we've spent time on is really changing that narrative and not having DEI as something that's a nice-to-have, something to help people, but really it’s a superpower to drive performance inside organizations.” — Marcus Sawyerr [0:11:46]   “I think that you can absolutely, with technology today, enhance the candidate experience from a standpoint of communication.” — Marcus Sawyerr [0:22:14]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Marcus Sawyerr  EQ Community  CareerBuilder  The Adecco Group Talk Talent to Me Hired

Our guest today is Shaina Semiatin, the head of talent acquisition at Grindr, the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people. She’s data-driven and strategic, with extensive experience in growing and scaling venture-backed and private equity-backed startup. Shaina unpacks some do’s and don’t’s for the talent acquisition process and shares her thoughts on the current archaic process and how it needs to shift to keep pace with the speed of light with which candidates are moving. Tune in now, to hear more from Shaina, enjoy!   Key Points From This Episode: Pink flags: Shaina shares her thoughts from a recruiter’s point of view. Missteps people make on LinkedIn. More about Shaina and her role at Grindr. What’s on the horizon for Shaina and Grindr next year. We discuss how candidate expectations deviate from the current archaic recruiting process. What differentiates the Grindr process in the market. The balance of being fast where it matters in the recruiting process. Her views on staying competitive in the recruiting process. We discuss scenarios when it would be okay to condense your recruiting process. Why having great hiring partners is something not to take for granted. Resistance TA folks may receive during interviews and how to navigate it.  Examples of 'why' versus 'what' questions in conversations with hiring partners. An example of a bad 'why' question and the challenges they bring.     Tweetables: “The biggest misstep people can make in this day and age if they want to work, especially in tech is just not having a presence at all.” — Shaina Semiatin [0:02:55]   “A recruiter will find you if you’re out there and it’s up to you to control that narrative.” — Shaina Semiatin [0:04:37]   “What we try to do at Grindr, which is atypical, is build an extremely high touch candidate process, an extremely communicative candidate process — one that creates a lot of opportunity to proactively share resources with candidates… so they don’t have to go digging themselves to learn about who we are and what we believe” — Shaina Semiatin [0:12:52]   “I think the best recruiting can do right now to catch up to candidates is to just stay human centered in the design..” — Shaina Semiatin [0:17:30]   “The one area in terms of speeding up interviews, the one area we would not sacrifice on is quality of signal or fairness in the process. We keep that as a parameter, we keep it as a north star.” — Shaina Semiatin [0:21:46]   “Starting [with] broad [questions] is the best possible way to get true answers..” — Shaina Semiatin [0:30:26]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Shaina Semiatin on LinkedIn Grindr Talk Talent to Me Hired

Corrine Ishio discusses what responsibility talent teams should plan in playing a consultative approach with candidates, as well as how to be honest with yourself about your career motivations and make sure you are playing the long game in recruitment. Corrine Ishio on LinkedIn

As the Director of Talent Acquisition at HealthTrackRx, Clarisce takes joy in connecting the brand and its core values to the organization and its people, while also attracting fresh talent to come in and be in alignment with those values. In today’s episode, you’ll learn more about how she does this by providing her organization with the best possible resources in order to help fuel development and personal growth, rather than simply checking the boxes. We have a truly eye-opening conversation about detoxing from destructive corporate cultures and distinguishing between good people leaders and people who are good at their jobs. Clarisce also shares some actionable advice for challenging misplaced expectations when it comes to bringing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to the C-suite, and how to do so in a meaningful way.    Key Points From This Episode:   A look at Clarisce’s rapid career trajectory and how she ended up in her current role. What Clarisce means when she says that recruiting is the fun side of HR. How she believes recruiting has ‘rebranded’ and evolved. The tangible impact that recruiters have on an organization and its people. What Clarisce misses about “being in the trenches.” Pros of stepping into a leadership position, namely becoming a mentor. Making the most of the opportunity to shape an organization from the inside out. The process of detoxing from destructive corporate cultures. A reminder that people don’t ‘quiet quit’ good jobs at good companies! How talent acquisition bridges the C-suite and marketing departments. Issues that are top of mind for Clarisce as Director of Talent Acquisition. Distinguishing between good people leaders and people who are good at their jobs. Why issues that affect recruitment are also leading indicators for the health of the business. Challenging misplaced expectations when it comes to bringing DEI to the C-suite. Tips and advice for building your organization’s DEI plan. Why the C-suite is terrified of saying the wrong thing! What meaningful DEI actually looks like in an organization.   Tweetables:   “I like to say [recruiting] is the fun side of HR. We're not dealing with investigations into people's drama. We're out there connecting the brand and the core values to the organization, to people, and attracting them to come in and be in alignment with that.” — Clarisce Tolston [0:09:20]   “It sits between HR and the C-suite. I feel like that's the sweet spot for talent acquisition. That's where we do our best work.” — Clarisce Tolston [0:11:11]   “If you create the environment where people are ‘quiet quitting’, you need to check your culture, not the people that you want to secretly fire because they're not working on the weekend.” — Clarisce Tolston [0:26:54]   “The people at the top must reflect the health and the body of the organization. That's what DEI [means].” — Clarisce Tolston [0:39:36]   “That's what DEI is. It’s saying, ‘I'm coming to you with a certain need, based on culture, based on religion, based on my background. If you have the ability to accommodate me, you do.’ That’s it.” — Clarisce Tolston [0:48:53]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Clarisce Tolston on LinkedIn HealthTrackRx Talk Talent to Me Hired

Jessica is the Head of Talent Acquisition at Atlantic Street Capital Advisors, as well as the host of the Jess Get Hired Podcast. In this episode, she introduces us to her podcast, explaining the topics she covers, and some of the recurring themes and pieces of advice that come up. You’ll hear how Jessica got her current position at Atlantic Street Capital Advisors, the value of networking (and how to do it), and her recommendations on how other recruiters can find their next positions. She also sheds some light on her role at Atlantic Street Capital Advisors, what she is working on, and some of the recruiting processes her team implement in the companies they acquire. For valuable tips on how to build a network, what the must-have tools for any HR tech stack are, and why cover letters are actually a waste of time, make sure not to miss today’s conversation!   Key Points From This Episode:   The Jess Get Hired Podcast and how it started during the pandemic.  Jessica’s ultimate goal to leave corporate America and start her own consulting company.  Some of the recurring themes and pieces of advice that come up on Jessica’s show.   Jessica’s recommendations for how recruiters can find their next role.   Thoughts on the LinkedIn trend of Social Saturday. How Jessica got her current position and the value of networking.  Jessica’s role at Atlantic Street Capital Advisors and what she is working on.  Some of the recruiting processes that Atlantic Street Capital Advisors put in place in the companies they acquire. Major challenges faced by Jessica and her team, like introducing technology investments. The types of tech that they introduce and must-have tools for any HR tech stack.  Jessica’s views on the cover letter and whether or not it has any value.  How to avoid posting a cover letter and still get the job!   Tweetables:   “One day, [when I get out of corporate America], then this will be my brand. Hopefully, I can take what I’ve learned through podcasting and all the people that I’ve met along the way and turn it into some type of consulting business.” — Jessica George [0:05:25]   “Not all HR people are good recruiters and not all recruiters can do HR. That’s just fact!” — Jessica George [0:16:41]   “I hate cover letters. I think it’s a waste of time. As someone who looks at hundreds of resumes a week, the last thing I want to do is read through the fluff of a cover letter. I’d rather get to the nuts and bolts of your resume and see the key things that I need to see” — Jessica George [0:26:46]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Jessica Fiesta George Jess Get Hired Podcast  Atlantic Street Capital Advisors Talk Talent to Me Hired

Kate Duchene, the CEO of RGP, is here to discuss the new, modern way of matching and connecting professional work to talent. By describing her consultative approach, Kate helps us understand how to break talent into operational and transformational needs in order to ensure efficiency and better outcomes. With her passion for problem-solving and innate curiosity, Kate has built an employee-focused business that is based on project-based hiring and insourcing skillsets to meet shared needs and values. Plus, Kate discusses the work-from-home life model, the importance of letting go, how to move past failure, human competencies, and more!   Key Points From This Episode:   Some background of RGP. How RGP has early conversations with potential partnering companies. RGPs talent placing process. Common challenges companies are facing: talent gaps.  How the pandemic created changes in approaches to working life. What Kate thinks is sacrificed from working from home.  How Kate became the EVP of HR in RGP. The importance of creating specialized roles as your business grows.   Kate's characteristics which make her a good CEO. Why you don’t need to be an expert in all aspects of your job. Why challenges can build better trust and relationships. The need for finite employees to fill specific needs. Characteristics that make up the power of human competencies.  The talent pool that inspired the beginnings of RGP. How flexibility and accountability have adapted since the pandemic. Kate’s capital and talent management advice.   Tweetables:   “Both leaders of organizations and talent management will have to balance the needs and wants going forward [after COVID-19].” — Kate Duchene [0:08:27]   “The challenge is that as an organization grows, when do you start creating more defined roles so that you can achieve the focus and the impact you need?” — Kate Duchene [0:15:39]   “Very rarely do you get to perfect and, most times, very good is exactly what you need.” — Kate Duchene [0:20:21]   “People remember you when you work through challenges.” — Kate Duchene [0:23:23]   Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:   Kate Duchene on LinkedIn RGP Talk Talent to Me Hired