Talent Trade Tidbit - Are We Real?

Find out how ThinkingAhead's unique approach to search seemingly has one client questioning reality itself.

Discover what sets ThinkingAhead apart, hear stories from recruiters, and browse opportunities by clicking here.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hi, this is Stephanie Maas, partner with Thinking Ahead Search Firm.

(00:05):
I want to share with you a conversation that I had in the last couple of weeks.
It was actually really neat opportunity for me to share with a potential client how we are a little bit different.
And the reason why I wanted to share this is we do this a lot.
Our firm is a boutique firm.
We're not a volume shop.
We aren't better or anything like that.

(00:26):
I'm not insinuating that we just do things a little bit different.
And because of that, sometimes it nets a little bit different.
Well, not sometimes that usually nets a different result.
And I was sharing this with somebody who had been referred to me and they said, Hey, we're thinking about launching a search.
We have heard about you in the market and we've heard that you're different.

(00:47):
So we want to hear, how are you different?
And while we have a lot of statistics that we, you know, we use to kind of back up what we do in our process, why it's successful, so forth and so on, what I really chose to focus on was our approach to partnering with our clients to solve their talent acquisition needs.

(01:08):
And sometimes, depending on what that need is, sometimes our clients just need a 110 percent dedicated effort.
Go find me three to five folks in the market that match this criteria.
I need them in the next four weeks and I need to be able, they need to be good enough that I can hire from that three to five within the next 90 days.

(01:29):
Absolutely.
That's a great reason to call me.
Sometimes what our clients need is, Hey, I know we need something.
We think this is what it is.
We don't know what the market looks like.
We don't know if we're even being realistic, but we need somebody who truly knows and understands both us and the market to simply even get us launched in the right direction.

(01:52):
Sometimes that's the need we feel.
Absolutely.
Sometimes the need we feel is of a different sort.
Hey, we, we've been getting in front of great candidates, but we can't seem to get anybody over the finish line.
We think there's something going on in our recruiting process.
We need some help as far as that goes.
Again, absolutely happy to help in all these different ways.

(02:16):
But what was funny is as I was sharing this with the client, and part of what makes us different is we really do take a true partnership approach when we choose to work with the client.
I only take on a handful of clients at a time, so I have to be very selective with who we partner with to make sure that it's going to be a win for the both of us.

(02:37):
And what they said after I shared some of this with them is, is they said, Are you for real?
And it actually cracked me up.
Are you for real?
And it took me back for a second.
I collected my thoughts and I said, Well, I think so.
And they said, You know, we ask this question all the time to hear what recruiters say.
And the truth is, they all say the same thing.

(02:59):
And that's the irony.
They all say they're different.
And they all say the same thing.
She said, what you described in terms of a true talent acquisition partnership, that's exactly what we need.
So I guess that means we're real.
I sure hope so.