Talk Talent To Me Rob Stevenson: Recruiting, Employer Branding, and Career Growth Expert.

Today, we speak to Nancy Connery, the very first VP of HR at Salesforce, where she spearheaded strategic investments in human capital and fueled the company’s remarkable growth by building its industry-leading HR infrastructure. After seven years, she left Salesforce to build her boutique human capital consultancy Connery Consulting. From this sprung her latest venture, compensational intelligence company OpenComp, where, in addition to being co-founder, Nancy is the co-host of the OpenComp podcast, High Growth Matters. In this episode of Talk Talent to Me, Nancy sheds some light on the early days of Salesforce and her critical role in recruiting (and retaining) the best talent as the company grew. We also look at her decision to leave her comfortable position as VP to pursue her own path in the industry and gain some insight into her belief that talent retention and upskilling are just as important as hiring, plus so much more. Tune in for a fascinating conversation and some thought-provoking advice from someone with a litany of experience in the human capital space!
 
Key Points From This Episode:
How Connery Consulting helped Nancy realize the opportunity for OpenComp.
A look at the core offering of OpenComp: charting your organization’s compensation path.
Insight into Nancy’s career journey, starting with her role as VP of HR at Salesforce.
The benefits of investing in human capital early on.
Why recruiting and retaining the best talent is important as you build a company.
The constant evolution of an organization’s talent needs.
Why retention is equally as important as recruitment and onboarding.
The value of offering development opportunities and helping your people upskill.
Nancy’s decision to leave Salesforce after seven years to start her own consultancy.
Advice for making the leap from something comfortable into the unknown.
Themes that Nancy has recognized when it comes to client challenges.
Why a high headcount isn’t always a positive thing for team leads.
How the attitude to talent has changed over the past five years.
Tips for weathering the storm of tech sector layoffs as a leader in the field.
What to expect if you tune into the High Growth Matters Podcast.
 
Tweetables:
 
“As people think about the evolution of their careers, [it’s important] to think about [the fact that] you don’t need to run everything. What are the core areas where you really shine and can help get the company to the next level?” — Nancy Connery [0:09:22]
 
“You need to think about employees [in the same manner as customers] as you grow the company, not only recruiting them but also how do you develop them? How do you retain them? Can they grow with the lifecycles and stages of the company?” — Nancy Connery [0:13:34]
 
“To me, [retention] is equally as important as the recruitment and onboarding piece for companies.” — Nancy Connery [0:13:50]
 
“There’s a lot of self-satisfaction and pride in the fact that I made that leap from something that was extremely comfortable to the unknown.” — Nancy Connery [0:25:09]
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Nancy Connery on LinkedIn
Connery Consulting
OpenComp
High Growth Matters Podcast
Talk Talent to Me
Hired
 

We are live at Talent Acquisition Week with another incredible guest, Jacob Rivas. Jacob is a Senior D&I Talent Sourcer and is here to share his knowledge about recruitment with us today. In this episode, you will hear all about his talks at Talent Acquisition Week, the response he is getting, how he got into D&I, what makes him different from other talent recruiters, how he communicates with candidates, and how to approach subject lines. Jacob also explains how things have changed for him since leaving Box. Finally, he shares the most amazing career advice he has ever received with us. So to hear all about D&I recruitment and why you should not be afraid to fail, tune in now!
 
Key Points From This Episode:
 
Welcoming today’s guest, Jacob Rivas. 
Jacob tells us about his talks at Talent Acquisition Week and how he felt during them. 
What people are asking for from Jacob in terms of training. 
How Jacob learned about and became interested in D&I. 
Why you have to stand out from the crowd when it comes to engaging with candidates. 
How Jacob approaches candidates and why that sets him apart from other talent recruiters. 
The importance of asking what a candidate needs before giving them too much information. 
How Jacob’s approach changed when he left Vox. 
How to handle subject lines when communicating with talent. 
Jacob shares the best career advice he’s ever received with us. 
 
Tweetables:
 
“Diversity is really the new area to go and if you’re intentional, you can make a big impact.” — Jacob Rivas [0:04:27]
 
“Candidates are people not products.” — Jacob Rivas [0:05:57]
 
“Fail fast, fail hard, learn from those mistakes, and don’t be afraid to make a mistake.” — Jacob Rivas [0:15:31]
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Jacob Rivas on LinkedIn
Talk Talent to Me
Hired
 

We are on the floor of TA week in San Diego, California, and chatting with Mike ‘Batman’ Cohen about why he loves TA week and how it provides authenticity, vulnerability, and acceptance in the talent world. Mike goes on to explain what DEI hiring is, why it is so important, and how people in talent acquisition need to take the safety of their employees seriously. Looking deeper at safety, Mike explains that it is more complex than fire drills; it is about using vulnerability to go beyond the surface level. You will hear about why there is no right way to do recruiting, what it means to be human, the dissemination of information, and Mike shares the best career advice he has received. 
 
Key Points From This Episode:
 
How Mike is finding TA week and why he is loving it.
The power of authenticity and ‘owning your stuff’. 
Human nature and how it relates to talent acquisition.
The importance of DEI hiring and what it looks like in businesses.
What it looks like for a recruiter to be vulnerable.
What it means to ‘be human’.
Mike shares some personal stories of being vulnerable in his job.
Why we need to remember that we are all just doing our best.
The dissemination of information and the platforms that show real people. 
The relationship you build with the people you work with.
The best career advice Mike has received.
 
Tweetables:
 
“Humans are uncomfortable being uncomfortable.” — @BatmanRecruiter [0:03:44]
 
“There is no right way to do recruiting. There are a ton of wrong ways, but you’re never going to ‘get it’.” — @BatmanRecruiter [0:06:48]
 
“We tend to judge ourselves by our intent and other by their actions.” — @BatmanRecruiter [0:11:00]
 
“We are all doing the best we can with the tools at our disposal. ” — @BatmanRecruiter [0:11:19]
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Mike Cohen
Mike Cohen on Twitter
Mike Cohen on LinkedIn
Mike Cohen on Instagram
Wayne Technologies 
The Culture Code
Talk Talent to Me
Hired
 

We are live on day two of Talent Acquisition Week! And today, for the third time on this podcast, we welcome the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Talent Management at Leaf Group, Tara Turk-Haynes. Tara has made it her mission to embed DEI into Leaf Group’s talent management strategy, with the hopes that this trend spreads across the entire industry. She explains why this mission is important to her and how she’s gone about it in her current role, as well as why she’s more likely to recruit ‘career changers,’ why the industry should pay more attention to how they market to emerging talent, and why all companies should do their best to accommodate for the post-pandemic concerns of candidates. We then discuss Leaf Group’s new Director of Recruiting Operations, Rhona Barnett-Pierce, paying specific attention to how Tara recruited her on Twitter, why Rhona’s career trajectory ultimately landed her the job, and how her resume stood out from the rest because she highlighted the strengths that she would be using in the role she applied for.  We end with a chat about the current state of DEI and how companies need to do more to tailor their DEI targets according to their own needs, instead of setting them based on law and societal pressures. In 20 minutes, we gained a wealth of knowledge from the remarkable Tara Turk-Haynes, including the best career advice that she’s ever received! 
 
Key Points From This Episode:
 
For the third time on this podcast, we welcome the VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Talent Management at Leaf Group, Tara Turk-Haynes.
How Tara is enjoying her second Talent Acquisition Week, and her favorite content so far.  
What it means to embed DEI into TA practices. 
Why Tara is focused on recruiting ‘career changers,’ and how she goes about it. 
What her TA Week panel discussed, and the outcomes thereof. 
The importance of paying attention to the emerging talent market.
Why companies need to speak to the post-pandemic concerns of candidates.
How Tara recruited her new Director of Recruiting Operations, Rhona Barnett-Pierce.
Why your resume should always highlight your strengths in the position you’re applying for.
How Rhona’s career trajectory made her the perfect candidate for Tara. 
What Tara prioritized when starting her current role of VP of DEI and TM.
How she went about embedding DEI in Leaf Group’s talent management strategy.
Why companies need to be more deliberate and aware when forming their DEI targets.
The best career advice that Tara has ever received. 
 
Tweetables:
 
“My mission, and my own personal goal, is to talk about how we [can] embed diversity, equity, and inclusion into our practices, and not making them this separate thing that we talk about alongside talent.” — @ttarahaynes [0:03:36]
 
“You should be grateful to have a job. Even though labor statistics go up and down and sideways and we’re telling all these different data stories, at the end of the day, something has shifted with the pandemic.” — @ttarahaynes [0:07:21]
 
“That’s what people want: What can you pull out of your toolbox to show people that you will be successful at the thing they want to hire you for?” — @ttarahaynes [0:13:50]
 
“If you focus on salary first, you’ll always get a little disappointed. But if you’re happy where you are, if you like the people that you work with, if you feel like you’re learning, then you’re going to grow in so many other areas.” — @ttarahaynes [0:19:35]
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Tara Turk-Haynes on LinkedIn
Tara Turk-Haynes on Twitter
Tara Turk-Haynes on Instagram 
Tara Turk-Haynes on TikTok 
Leaf Group 
Center Theatre Group 
Talent Acquisition Week 
Rhona Barnett-Pierce on LinkedIn
Talk Talent to Me
Hired
 

Live with us today at Talent Acquisition Week is Brian Fink, Talent Acquisition Partner at McAfee, to discuss how to recruit in online chat forums. We discuss why this event is not one to be missed, why Brian loves Hired and events in general, and what his presentation is about. Brian even shares with us how he "hacks Slack," how he recruits on Discord, and why you should use your personal email address when joining these communities, as well as how you can find them and what mistakes to avoid. We delve into why Brian offers practice interviews and resume reviews before discussing why conversations have to be taken offline. He also tells us what he looks for when recruiting for certain roles and shares the best career advice he has ever gotten. To hear all this and more, tune in now!
 
Key Points From This Episode:
 
Why you don’t want to miss this event next year and what Brian likes about events.
What Brian’s presentation is about: how to hack Slack!
Why he loves that Hired gives him the opportunity to make credible relationships. 
Tips for recruiting on Discord. 
Why you can hire immediately and give feedback on a resume. 
How to join these online communities and why you should use your personal email address. 
Why Brian offers mock interviews to people who are sharing their resumes. 
What he looks for when he’s looking to hire for specific roles. 
The importance of taking conversations offline. 
How to find these online communities. 
How these communities protect themselves from people who handle things incorrectly.
Brian shares the best career advice he’s ever received with us!
 
Tweetables:
 
“Your community is going to tell you what they’re interested in and how you can bring value to them.” — @thebrianfink [0:19:46]
 
“[Always] do one more [thing than the other guy is doing]. It will set you apart from a work ethic standpoint, but also from a candidate experience standpoint.” — @thebrianfink [0:21:32]
 
Longer Quotes:
 
“I like to think of recruitment as tuning into the channel, WIIFM: what’s in it for me? When you tune into WIIFM, we’re able to have a genuine conversation not built around what we’re trying to serve and the interests that we’re trying to perpetuate but instead the mission that that candidate or that individual is trying to serve.” — @thebrianfink [0:06:13]
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Brian Fink on LinkedIn
Brian Fink on Twitter
Brian Fink on Instagram
Kubernetes Slack
Slack
Medium
Discord
Slofile
Talk Talent to Me
Hired
 

Today, we kick off our coverage from the the floor of Talent Acquisition (TA) Week in sunny San Diego, California. We chat with Matt Rimer, Director of TA at Trinity Health, about some of the biggest hiring challenges currently facing healthcare and why it’s an exciting time to be involved with talent acquisition in healthcare. Matt tells us about the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the healthcare industry and the strategies Trinity Health is implementing to attract more healthcare talent, especially nurses. We also discuss the involvement of C-suite executives in these initiatives and the launch of Trinity’s employee referral program, along with Matt’s key insights on the percentage of total hires that should come from referrals. To learn more about healthcare TA, liaising with C-suite executives, and implementing high-level strategies, be sure to tune in today! 
 
Key Points From This Episode:
 
Get to know today’s guest Matt Rimer, Director of Talent Acquisition (TA) at Trinity Health.
The topics Matt will cover during his talk at the Talent Acquisition conference in San Diego.
Learn about the launch of Trinity’s new employee referral program.
An overview of the talent acquisition challenges in healthcare.
Trinity’s current focus on growing its nursing talent and attracting new employees.
Why referrals play a key role in attracting talent in healthcare.
Missing talent in healthcare and the financial pressure it creates.
The growing vacancy rates at many healthcare organizations.
Why it’s an exciting time to be involved in healthcare TA. 
How C-Suite executives are addressing TA challenges.
The high-level metrics that C-suite executives are typically interested in.
The percentage of total hires that should come from referrals.
 
Tweetables:
 
“We're acutely focused right now on trying to figure out how to grow our nursing talent, but then more specifically, how to take that Trinity health employment brand into the market, make it a great place to work, and attract folks from our competitors.” — @mattrimer [0:02:17]
 
“Referrals play a key part for us — engaging our existing talent to help us find the talent that is available out on the market.” — @mattrimer [0:04:52]
 
“I think it's a good opportunity for talent acquisition professionals. To not only put up the strategy, but then show that they've got the delivery muscle to actually meet the objectives that they're setting out to do.” — @mattrimer [0:08:04]
 
“If we need to hire nurses right out of school, inexperienced nurses, what are the things that we need to do to actually increase that pipeline?” — @mattrimer [0:08:36]
 
 
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
 
Matt Rimer on LinkedIn
Matt Rimer on Twitter
Trinity Health
Talent Acquisition In The Trenches Podcast
Talent Acquisition Week Website
Talk Talent to Me
Hired