August 20, 2024 • 43 mins
Tejal Rives, a recruiter and content creator, shares her content creation journey and how it has made her a better ally to job seekers. She started creating content to bridge the gap between the limited prep she could provide as a recruiter and what candidates needed to know. She shares her experience of using content creation to advocate for job seekers and improve her own recruiting practices. Tejal provides advice for recruiters who want to create helpful content and emphasizes the importance of having a burnout plan.
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//TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 INTRODUCTION
04:44 Dealing with Burnout and Trolls in Content Creation
08:33 The Importance of Repetition and Recycled Content
11:18 Balancing Honesty and Empathy in Content Creation
20:07 Approaching Sensitive Topics with Objectivity and Facts
25:24 Using Content Creation to Advocate for Job Seekers
31:03 Advice for Recruiters Creating Content
38:14 Finding Your Creative Voice and Building Relationships
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Rhona Pierce (00:00):
There's a content creation strategy that can make
you a better recruiter, advocatefor job seekers, and potentially
influence hiring decisions atthe highest levels. And my guest
today has been doing it fornearly a decade. Decade.
Tejal Rives (00:14):
It's made me a better ally to job seekers. As a
recruiter, you only have so manyhours in the day, and you only
talk to so many people becausethe burnout is real. Content
creation has opened up a wholenew batch of people that I would
not typically speak to.
Rhona Pierce (00:30):
That's Tejal Reeves, a recruiter whose
content creation journey startedas a way to give candidates the
prep her company wouldn't allow.Now her insights are influencing
hiring practices and advocatingfor job seekers.
Tejal Rives (00:46):
My part out there is I just stop post date for a
few days and see where thattakes. And, like, I'll be like,
okay. I'll start again, post afew days a week, and see where
that takes. Like, I have, like,a very much of, like, okay, work
on everything in the experiment.It's constantly evolving, and
we're just gonna continueexperimenting.
And like, if the experimentfails, that's okay. We start
(01:07):
something new.
Rhona Pierce (01:08):
In this episode, Tejal will take us through her
content creation process fromideation to impact. She'll share
how she balances honesty withempathy, approaches sensitive
topics, and avoids burnout.Whether you're an experienced
content creator or you're juststarting out, this episode will
(01:28):
give you the tools to enhanceyour recruiting practice through
strategic content creation.Welcome to throw out the
playbook, the podcast forrecruiters tired of hearing that
hiring is broken and ready to dosomething about it. I'm your
host, Rona Pierce.
Let's dive into my conversationwith Tajil. So thank you so much
(01:51):
for being on the show today. Ireally wanted to have this
conversation with you. I've beenI think we've been following
each other for a long time, andI really love your content and
how open and honest you are withjob seekers. So how did you get
started creating content for jobseekers?
Tejal Rives (02:13):
Oh my god. It's been so long. I feel that I'm
coming up on 10 years of contentcreation. Like, I think I
started in 2015, 2016. It was myfirst job right out of, agency,
and it was my 1st corporate job,corporate recruiting job.
And what I realized is that Iwasn't able to that that company
(02:36):
wasn't allowing me to give thetype of prep that I would
normally give. Like, in anagency setting, you give a lot
of prep to your candidate. Youhave a lot of knowledge. And by
leadership in this,organization, they were like,
you know what? No.
You can't give as much prep asyou want. Like, you can give
them some information, not allthe information. I was like,
that's really like, to me, itwas not we we were doing a
(02:58):
disservice to our candidates.Like, they need to know this
information if we're expecting,like, you know, even in a test,
even in college, in school,like, you know what is gonna
come up in your test. Right?
Like, you you get time toprepare. So really, that's when
I started creating content tocreate this level of
transparency and to create someadvice around it because not a
(03:21):
lot of people were postingadvice back then. Back in 2015,
2016, there was not a lot ofrecruiters out there, you know,
truly creating content onLinkedIn that was helpful to job
seekers. And I was like, okay.This is from a recruiter's
perspective.
This is what we look for. Thisis, like, how we look at things.
And, of course, I've mademistakes. I've said some things
(03:43):
that I'm like, oh, that wasreally daunting. You know?
Like, you should probablyshouldn't have said that looking
back into it. But that wasreally where I started is just
to bridge that gap that Icouldn't do because of my role.
I couldn't give my candidatesthat level of information and
the level of prep. So I waslike, I'll start here. Maybe if
(04:05):
they follow me, like, if theycontact with me on LinkedIn,
they'll see the information thatthey are supposed to know.
Rhona Pierce (04:11):
Yeah. I think we've all posted something where
we're like, oh, maybe shouldn'thave, but it's already out there
on the Internet. And, also, withjob seekers, it's you know that
they're gonna go look at yourLinkedIn. Most of them are.
They're gonna go look atsomeone's LinkedIn.
So, yes, that's a great way tobridge that gap of your
(04:34):
organization not allowing you toprep. I I really like that. So
can you walk us through yourprocess for generating content
ideas? Like, how do you makesure that you're addressing what
job seekers really want to know?
Tejal Rives (04:48):
Oh, that's a great question. Typically, what I've
done and I've kinda, like, goneback and forth a bit how much I
put content I put out therebecause their burnout was real.
Right? There was a time when Ididn't post for 6 months because
I was just you know, there's,like, there are people out there
that are trolls that will tellyou that you're doing something
wrong or you're what you'resaying is incorrect because they
(05:11):
did one part of a your job 20years ago as part of their
overall job. That's why theythey're right and you're wrong.
Right? So the the burnout didcome out a lot of times.
Typically, what I look at iswhat are people asking? And
like, what are job seekersasking? What are my friends
(05:31):
asking?
Even though I have conversationsas a recruiter with with job
seekers throughout my career,I'm like, what do you wanna
know? Like, tell me whatquestions do you have and not
really like, I tick down doubts.I'm like, okay. Like, this is in
a week, I'll see your trend. Haseveryone asked me a question
that is are on the same theme?
Okay. I'll write the contentabout that. And what I learned
(05:55):
is that you kinda have to repeata lot of the information because
you might have new followersthat people forget. You know,
content creation, like, LinkedInis like, if you go on either one
of our pages and look at ourcontent, like, it's gonna go
back so far and people forgetthat they have seen this
information. So, like, it's aconstant recycle and constant
(06:16):
update of content creation.
Sometimes when I'm like, oh, Iwanna write something today, but
I don't know what I wanna writeabout because I feel burnt out.
I'll go back and, like, look atthe last couple of weeks or a
couple of months of, like,content and be like, okay. Like,
what can I recycle? What do Ineed to say again? That is still
important.
So I'll do that.
Rhona Pierce (06:35):
That's such a important thing that you
highlighted. People don'tremember our content, and I was
talking to Joel Laughey
Tejal Rives (06:43):
Yeah.
Rhona Pierce (06:43):
About that in a in a previous episode. Really, we
don't. And I recently did a atest because I was having some
issues and life issues, and Icouldn't create new content. And
I went back 3 months, and Ireposted an entire week from 3
months ago of the same exactcontent. And it did way better
this time.
(07:04):
And, like, people who hadcommented on the first time I
posted it commented like, oh,this is so great. They literally
did not remember. So we need tokeep that in mind because
everyone's always so stressed ontrying to come up with new
content. People don't rememberwhat you posted, and you also
have new followers.
Tejal Rives (07:22):
Yeah. And it's one of the things when I started
getting, like, consistent lastyear on TikTok or earlier this
year on TikTok, I was textingMike DeVito. I'm like, Mike,
like, I know you've, like,created great content and you've
got all of those followers.Like, can I, like, ask you? He's
the one who's like, you're gonnarecreate content.
Like, you are going to have torecreate content. People are
(07:43):
gonna forget. You can makeplaylist playlist after
playlist, but it's gonna be hardfor you to say, hey. Go look at
this video or go look at thispost because people forget you
have new followers. And I waslike, that's a great point.
Like, I didn't think about thatfrom, like, a TikTok
perspective. I'm like, oh, Ineed to do that on TikTok as
well or on YouTube. Right? Like,you look at Amy, some of the
YouTubers that we have, andthey're like, a lot of the
(08:05):
content is repetitive and it'sneeded. It's repetitive because
it's needed.
Rhona Pierce (08:10):
Exactly. How do you stay updated on job seeker
needs and, like, industry trendsto keep your content relevant
because we know things changereally quick in our industry.
Tejal Rives (08:22):
Yeah. One of the things that I do is, like, it's
just so funny. Like, I havefriends that are consistently
looking for jobs. So various atvarious points throughout the
year, I have, like, randomfriends that will reach out to
me and they'll, like, startasking me a question. Like, one
of my best friends, she'scurrently looking for a job.
This morning, she texted me andshe's like, how do I nicely say
(08:43):
that I wanna see the actualoffer letter and not just accept
like, give my notice on, like, averbal offer? And I'm like and
it was, like, 7:30 in themorning. I'm like, I am not
ready. Give me, like, an hour.I'll give you that information.
Right? So that's one of the waysthat I try to stay relevant. And
then if I know one of my friendsis looking for a job, I'll,
like, just check-in and say,hey, how was the interview
(09:04):
going? What happened? Did didyou get a second interview?
What did they say? The otherthing I do is I do look at other
people's posts. People in ourindustry, like, I look at your
post. I look at Amy's post. I'lllook at Bonnie's post, Leah's
post, Mike's post, Daniel'spost.
Like, I'll look at all of Joel'spost. Like, I'll look at all of
our posts. And I'm like, okay.Like, what are we seeing? Or
(09:27):
I'll see Amy's comment section.
I'll go and look at where is Amycommenting? Commenting. That is,
like, my number one thing. Like,whenever I'm burnt out, I'm
like, let me see what Amy iscommenting on because you know
people are tagging. Right?
And I'm so, like, proud of her,like, surpassing all of the
followers that she's gotten in,like, a short it feels like a
short period of time, but, like,still it's been years. Can I
(09:50):
also go and see, like, okay?What is Amy commenting on? One
of 3 things. It's, eithersomething dumb regarding ATS.
It's either somebody yelling atrecruiters or, like, she she was
just, like, helping somebodyout. Right? Like or she's things
like that. So I kinda, like,look at people's post and their
comment section. Like, see whatthey're commenting on to stay
(10:10):
relevant.
Because if I don't do that levelof research, I feel that, like,
it's very easy to be stagnantand to lose that touch with the
job seeker reality. And at theend
Rhona Pierce (10:21):
of the day, that's who the content is for. I do the
same thing. I look at everyoneelse's content and their comment
section because what people areasking. And it doesn't mean that
I look at someone else's postand copy exactly what they did
because, 1, even if I agree withthem, I can have a different
angle or a different way ofsaying the same thing. So I'll
(10:44):
never copy people.
And if I am going to say exactlythe same thing that someone else
is saying, I'm always gonnacredit them and tag them. Yeah.
But it's so easy to go in andsee what people are talking to
because that's what they wannaknow. And if your content is for
them, then give them what theywanna know. It can't be what you
(11:04):
want to say.
Tejal Rives (11:05):
Yeah. Yeah. Like, content creation is
communication. Communication isalways about the other person.
If you're not communicating tothe other person, you're not
doing your job.
Exactly.
Rhona Pierce (11:15):
How do you make sure that your content is honest
and transparent about therealities of the job search?
Tejal Rives (11:22):
For me personally, it's been fairly easy because
I'm not here like from thebeginning, I my goal has never
been to take my content creationto the level where I can quit my
job. It's never been aboutgetting x number of followers,
getting brand deals, or gettingany of that. My true intent
behind content creation is tohave a creative outlet, is to
(11:46):
create this level oftransparency that and give
information that I didn't havewhen I first started in
corporate America. Because thereare so many first generation
people, not just immigrants, butpeople that don't have parents
in corporate America, peoplethat don't have any family
members in corporate America. Somy goal has always been to
create this level oftransparency and give honest
(12:09):
advice.
Sometimes that advice is notcool. It's not helpful. Like,
not not helpful. It's not nice.It's not Popular.
Popular. Right? But it's stillhonest advice. Like, I would
love to tell you that an ATS iseating up your resume. That's a
great thing.
I can get a 1000000 followers bymaking those kind of posts, but
(12:32):
that's not the reality as ofright now. ATS is not eating up
your resume. Covers are stillreviewing your resumes. So to
me, it's all it's about creatinghonest and transparent content
that will be helpful. It's funnybecause, like, you can say
something nice or you can saysomething honest.
(12:52):
And what's gonna be helpfulevery single time is honesty in
the long term. I don't wanna beyour best friend that tells you
what you wanna hear. I want tobe the person that you go to for
real advice.
Rhona Pierce (13:06):
Yeah. And as humans, we obviously don't wanna
be canceled. We want people tolike us, but we also, I think,
as recruiters, have a hugeresponsibility in the content
that we're sharing becausepeople are trusting that a
insider, like, we are insiders,are telling them the truth.
(13:26):
Yeah. But, also, people wantit's interesting.
They love the content that'svery optimistic, that's very
telling them, like, oh, it's notyour fault. You're not doing
anything wrong. How do youstrike a balance between
providing that optimistic careeradvice and, like, really setting
real expectations about thehiring process?
Tejal Rives (13:46):
It's a balance. You're right. Like, it is a
balance, that we have to strikebecause I don't always wanna be
like, well, you did somethingwrong or the company did
something wrong because thereality is that you can do
everything right and still notget the job. Right? You can do
everything.
You can have the best resume,best interview. You can have
insider connections. You can bethe best candidate in your head,
(14:10):
but you don't know yourcompetition. And you can still,
like because you don't know yourcompetition, this is like a
blind like, you're fightfighting against the wall.
Right?
You will still lose that job. SoI always try to tell people, I'm
like, it's not your fault. Someof these things is not your
fault. If you are especiallywith candidates that are getting
(14:31):
interviews. And, like, if you'regetting interviews, do not worry
about your resume.
Your resume is doing its job,which is getting you interviews.
Now let's talk about yourinterview strategy. And it's
about showcasing to me, like,people come to me and they're
like, oh my god. I finally got ajob. All I got, like, your
advice was helpful.
My best friend that I was justtalking about, she's like, she
(14:53):
got a job. Like, I I got anoffer. And she's been doing this
for, like, a couple of months.Right? Like, it's it's been a
hard couple of months.
So thankfully, she has a jobright now. So she's looking for
a new job or something better.And I have another friend who is
doesn't have a job right now.And so for them, like, I'm like,
okay. You are doing everythingright.
You are getting interviews. Youare getting to the final round
(15:16):
of the interviews. Now we justneed to get to that point where
we could get you the offer.You're doing everything right.
You are a finalist.
You're one of 2 people. That's agreat thing, especially in this
market. So it's theencouragement encouraging words.
Right? Like, because we want tobe better.
We want to get the job. Andgetting to that point also means
(15:40):
that you need to encourage thepeople and say, hey. You are
doing everything right. Thismarket just is a dumpster fire.
Right?
Like, I tell people this all thetime, and people argue with me.
I'm like, this market is just anabsolute dumpster fire. It's
been a dumpster fire for a verylong time. I don't think it's
gonna get any better anytimesoon, and we just have to roll
(16:00):
over the punches because wethere's only so much we can
control. And it's about givingpeople the control back in their
life and in their job search.
Like, you can't control controlback in their life and in their
job search. Like, you can'tcontrol how the market operates.
What you can control is what youdo. So let's figure out what you
do.
Rhona Pierce (16:13):
Yep. That's very, very good advice. I also
recently helped a family memberwho's navigating a very long
drawn out job search, and theemotions and the the up and
down, it's just it's hard, butyou have to tell people
sometimes it's just not you.Like you said, you don't know
(16:34):
the other person. You don't knowthe competition.
And trust me, sometimes peoplewanna know the competition, and
this is a whole otherconversation I could have. I
remember the one time that I wasinterviewing for a job, and I
knew my competition was becauseit was someone who accidentally
told me that they were goingagainst the the same job. Yeah.
(16:54):
It was worse. I prefer not toknow.
Tejal Rives (16:57):
Yeah. Exactly. Because you are now comparing
apples to oranges. Right? Youare 2 different people.
Like, when I transitioned intomy card role, it was an internal
role. And I was like, okay. Icould figure out who my
competition is. I am arecruiter. Like, I do have
access, but why would I do thatto myself?
Like, I know what I need to doin order to do my best and be my
(17:20):
best at this interview. Andthat's exactly what I did. And I
was out there it's funny to saythis. Not that I wasn't their
first choice, but, like, I stillended up getting the job. I'm
like, I'm happy.
I'm a happy 90 year old. Like,I'm just glad I got this job
because of the trend transitionI've been wanting to make for a
very long time. But knowing yourcompetition is not always good.
(17:42):
Knowing your competition, like,we're not in a race. Like, we're
not in a traditionalcompetition.
Right? Like, in a we'll talkabout the Olympics. Simone Biles
knows who her competition is,but they're doing the exact same
thing. They have to do the exactsame thing. She knows exactly
what she needs to do.
Simone Biles does not worryabout her competition as much
(18:03):
as, like, I feel job seekers,just humans as in general, we
worry about our competition. Andone of the things that I like
not that I'm an athlete. I'mnever gonna be at that level.
But, like, one of the things Ilike to learn from athletes and,
like, people that are at the topof the game are like, do you
care about your competition? Andmost of the time, they don't.
They care about their strengthsand focusing and honing in on
(18:25):
what they bring to the table. Ithink that's the best thing a
job seeker can learn is like,don't worry about the
competition. It's all noise.It's all noise and you just need
to worry about who you are andwhat you bring to the table
because that's the only way youcan move forward.
Rhona Pierce (18:40):
And I think this is a good call out that all
recruiters who are creatingcontent, anyone who's recruit
creating content for job seekersshould keep in mind that it's
such a emotional time. Peopleare trying to see and nitpicking
every single thing they do. Sothe content that you share
shouldn't be encouraging or,like, adding to that stress. And
(19:03):
what I mean is things like, oh,smile and don't do with this
and, like, very subjectivethings that I, I could Yeah.
Speak for hours about that typeof content.
But it's something you have tokeep in mind. Like, what you're
saying out there as an expert isadding to someone's already
stressful situation. So makesure that the content that
(19:26):
you're sharing isn't adding tothat. How do you approach
potentially sensitive topicslike DEI, neurodiversity, and
just potentially sensitivetopics in your content?
Tejal Rives (19:41):
Yeah. I approach it from a objective lens. And,
like, it's it's hard to beobjective than it is, something
as subjective as discrimination.And like, I mean subjective in
the sense of like, I can feelthat I was discriminated against
for a role. And there might nothave been anything to that
level.
Right? It's very like there areobjective metrics to
(20:04):
discrimination and to us beingwomen, us being women of color
that we do like, there are daythere's data around that. When
it comes to those topics, whenit comes to any topics, I focus
on the facts. I focus on thetruth. What are the numbers
actually saying?
The numbers say that women makedollar for dollar less than a
man. It is truer for women ofcolor, for black women, for
(20:28):
Latino women, for NativeAmerican women. And I focus on,
like, my privilege. And eventhough I'm a woman and I'm a
woman of color, like, myprivilege is that I'm
considered, what's the word, thegood immigrant. Like, the you
know what I'm talking about.
Rhona Pierce (20:44):
The model they
Tejal Rives (20:45):
the minority. Like and I focus on that, but I'm
like, hey. I'm coming from aplace of privilege. I do not
know what every single blackwoman is going through in this
country, the type ofdiscrimination that they face. I
do not know what every singleLatino woman is going to or
Latinx woman is going through,Native American woman is going
through.
Right? I don't know. So I sitthere and I listen to people, to
(21:07):
experts. I'm like, what ishappening? Because I wanna be
able to use my privilege as themodel minority and speak out
against these things and, like,uplift other people.
Otherwise, we're all justconstantly I don't believe in
punching down. Right? Like, onthe other times, like, people I
feel are punching down. And I'mlike, no. The facts remain.
(21:28):
These are the facts. And that'slike, we can argue all day long,
and you can tell me I'm wrong,and you will still be wrong
because the facts don't changeon that. So I focus on objective
metrics and I focus on factswhen it comes to neurodiversity,
when it comes to DEI anddiscrimination and things like
that. Because I would love forall of us to be in a world where
(21:52):
these things don't exist. Butthe reality is we are humans and
humans are finicky, and we havebiases, and it's always going to
be a thing.
So how do we minimize thosethings? So when I approach a
conversation, especially thoseposts oh my god. I know you've
seen those posts where they'relike, oh, you just need to smile
more. If the person is notsmiling or if they're not, like,
(22:13):
making eye contact with me, I'mnot even hiring them. I'm like,
oh, let's talk about this.
Cultural issues, neurodiversityissues. We have people with on
on the spectrum. We have peoplewomen, from different cultures
that have been told, hey. Youcan never look a man in the eye.
So you are ignoring all of thesefacts to hire somebody like
(22:35):
Javan is just like you, andthat's gonna look just like you,
and that's gonna come from theexact same background as you
are.
And I bring in data. Right?There has been research done,
and I love academic data. I'm alittle bit open, like I am a
little bit of a puritaness whenit comes to data. And when it
comes to research, I believe inmore academic data than, like,
(22:57):
nonacademic data.
So So I bring academic data. I'mlike, diverse teams are more
productive, are more successful,do bring in more shareholder
value. So by hiring this firstfive minutes and looking at all
of these things that are not jobrelated, you are shooting
yourself and shooting your team.You are making sure your company
(23:18):
is never gonna get past that,like, cusp of the same people,
especially in this day and age.So sorry.
Long answer.
Rhona Pierce (23:25):
No. No. No. But it it's totally true what you said.
And and I know you've probablyhad a lot of these conversations
with hiring managers becausethese are the people that we're
coaching and talking to on adaily basis about this type of
thing.
But let's even take everythingaside from diversity or
everything. Someone might justbe having a bad day. Just
(23:48):
because someone had a bad day,they just got terrible news.
Yep. But instead of cancelingthe interview, they sat there
and had that interview with you.
Sorry if they weren't smiling.Maybe they just found out that
someone died or or, like,whatever. You don't know. That
should have nothing to do withwhether they can do the job or
(24:09):
not type of thing.
Tejal Rives (24:11):
Exactly. We always wanna look at objective metrics
of the role as compared to theperson's skill. Right? And eye
contact is not an objectivemetric. It absolutely does not
matter if you and I can make aneye contact.
If we can communicate, whatdifference does it make? If we
can collaborate, what differencedoes it make if I can't make eye
contact? Right? Like, it's sucha I feel an eighties thing or
(24:32):
nineties thing to do. It's like,you need to make eye contact.
I feel like anytime I comeacross one of those posts, I'm
like, what is this eighties,like, sales movie that we're
watching? Like, you feel like aneighties sales movie that I'm
watching. Like, why are we doingthis?
Rhona Pierce (24:44):
I think I commented recently on something,
and I also added it on one of myposts, and I said friends don't
let friends recruit like it's1980. Like
Tejal Rives (24:54):
I love that.
Rhona Pierce (24:55):
Yep. Yeah. It's like, guys, why why are we even
talking about this? It's like2024.
Tejal Rives (25:00):
How has creating content for job seekers
influenced your own recruitingpractices? It's made me a better
ally to job seekers. Listeningto like, because as a recruiter,
you only have so many hours inthe day and you only talk to so
many people because the burnoutis real even as an approver.
Right? Like you talk to maybe 3people a day, 3 candidates a day
(25:24):
and that's the extent of theconversation.
And content creation has givenme opened up a whole new, like,
batch of people that I would nottypically speak to and hear
their voices. And I take thosevoices and I'm like, okay. If
these people that I don't know,that are not my candidates are
feeling this way, more thanlikely my job seekers are my my
(25:46):
own job seekers are feeling thatway. And I take that data and
bring it up to my hiringmanagers. Like, no.
This is this doesn't make anysense. We shouldn't be doing
this. Let's talk about this. AndI believe that having truthful
data is always helpful in makingbetter decisions. So I can talk
(26:06):
about our feelings all day long.
Feelings are important. How wefeel, it's a part of human
nature. It's part of the humanexperience. But I've noticed
that when we start talking aboutfeelings, like, people we start
losing people. So I startedbringing data up and I'm like,
okay.
These people don't like, this isthe one the data says. This is
what the job seekers are saying.We're not doing this. And one of
(26:29):
my like, it's like an anecdotalstory. I was working at a small
company, and I was in a meetingwith my CTO and my creative
director.
We were sitting down and mycreative director and I love my
like, we are still friends withthis day. Adam is like, oh, I
wanna send them a assessmentbefore they come in for an
(26:49):
interview. My CTO goes, no. Iagree with Tayjal's post from
earlier this week where we'renot sending them an assessment
until they talk to someone fromyour team. That was just, like,
hype in the background,hyperventilating.
I'm like, okay. I like, youknow, at that point, I had,
like, 30 something 1,000followers. I knew people
followed me, and I knew that wasa thing, but it was the first
(27:12):
time in my life. Like, somebodyhad been like, she's right.
We're not doing that.
And, like, especially a CTOlevel. Right? So it was very
much like, yes. I'm doingsomething right. Yes.
If a leader like that that hasbeen doing hiring that has been
in the industry for a lot longerthan I have, like, agrees with
me, then yes, like, I need tocontinue doing this. So that's
(27:33):
like given me, like, the balls,if you will, to be a better
advocate for job seekers. Andsometimes when people get mad
in, like, my deep briefs, I'vehad people get mad at me and
people that, like, try toescalate me and try to report me
to my leadership. And I'm like,all for it. If you think you
have a stance, if you think youhave a case against me, go
(27:56):
report it.
Report it up to the c CEO. Seewhat happened. And that's what I
like, I need it because I knowin my heart I'm right. And if
doing the right things get getsme fired, then doing the right
thing got me fired and I'm okaywith that. I will find a
different job.
That company was just not worth.It's how I feel.
Rhona Pierce (28:15):
It's an important callout also for all recruiters
listening. It's like yourcontent is not only for job
seekers. Your hiring managers,your clients, if you're on the
agency side, are seeing yourcontent. So think twice before
creating content that's, yes,it's gonna get you clicks and
it's gonna go viral because thesame people that you're trying
(28:37):
to now have to work with aregoing to be seeing your content
as well. Yep.
And that's a that's a goodreminder there. And, I mean, in
this case, it helped you. Butimagine if you were saying crazy
things for clicks on theInternet, How would that work
with your credibilityinternally?
Tejal Rives (28:56):
Yeah. And I've actually had, a hiring manager
at my current company reach outto me and is like, Dejal, I
didn't agree with your post. I'mlike, okay. Let's talk about
this. And he's like, I don'tthink that 5 hours is enough for
our like, these are principallevel people that I'm hiring.
He's like, 5 hours, I don'tthink, is enough for people to
prep up. And I've seen peopleprep come and prep with like
(29:18):
less than 5 hours and you cantell that they have not done
enough prep. I'm like, you knowwhat? I hadn't taken that into
consideration. That's a goodpoint because where I work,
Amazon is a very rigorousinterview process.
Like, especially the higher upyou go in the roles that you are
looking to be hired at, the moreprep you are gonna need to take
(29:39):
because it's such a rigorousprocess. And I'm like, you know
what? I didn't take that intoconsideration. That's a good
point. I agree with you.
Like, that did change my mind.So I do have, like thankfully, I
have the those kind ofrelationships where my hiring
managers like, I didn't agreewith your policy. Let's talk
about it. I'm like, okay. Let'stalk about it.
Like, tell me why you didn'tagree with my folks. And
sometimes I change my mind andsometimes I change their mind,
(30:00):
and that's okay. Right? Like,we're all learning. And I'm
grateful to have such greathiring managers where they're
like, okay.
I see your point. Or I'll belike, yep. Thank you for telling
me. I see your point kinda deal.So
Rhona Pierce (30:11):
That that's such a cool story, and it's part of the
the rewards of sharing candidinsights about the hiring
process. People are going tohave opinions, and it's great
when people can have an adifference of opinion with you
in a respectful way. Like yousaid, sometimes people are not
gonna have it in a respectfulway, but that's why you delete
(30:32):
and block people and move on.Any advice for recruiters who
are creating content or who arethinking about starting to
create content on how they canensure that the content they
create is actually helpful?
Tejal Rives (30:48):
Yeah. Actually, it's funny because I have a lot
of people internally that do askme. They're like, hey. You have
all of these followers. Like,how do I get them?
Like, listen. I the one numberone thing I tell them, oh, like,
you have to be cognizant of yourown situation. My situation is
that I'm not the breadwinner ofmy family. I don't have to worry
about if I say something and,like, my company decides, hey,
(31:10):
that was over the line. We arenot going to allow that.
You're written up. You're fired.Whatever the case may be, I know
I'm okay because I'm not thebreadwinner my husband is. I
don't have to worry about that.Right?
But and I tell this to people,like, think about your own
situation. You want to createcontent. Why do you wanna create
content? Where is yourmotivation line? Do you just
(31:32):
want followers?
Because if you just wantfollowers, like, I'm not the
right person for you to mentoryou. And for me, having that,
like, north star, having thatguiding voice is very important.
And I like, my north star is mymom and she passed away when I
was very little. But, like, inmy head, I'm like, would my mom
(31:53):
be proud if I said this thing,if I made this post, if I
responded to a person a certainway? Right?
And not not that, like, I'msnarky. I know I'm snarky
sometimes. Like, there areresponses that I've given
people. Like, my mom wiped outapproved, but that person needed
that. Like, they deserve thatside of your response.
I try to, like, ensure that,like, I'm doing the things for
(32:15):
the right reason. And if I startfeeling like I'm just in it for
the clicks or I'm just in itfor, like, the followers, I'll
take a step back and I'll belike, okay. We've gotten too
far. We need to reset. We needto, like, figure out why we
started and do that.
Because I can continue creatingcontent every single day and I
can have a like, in the next 6months, I can get a 1,000,000
(32:37):
followers. But is that gonna bethe type of followers that I
want? Am I losing myindividuality? Am I losing
Taejal in that whole process? Sofirst things first, I'll tell
people, like, know why you'recreating content.
You don't have to createcontent. And I feel that people,
especially in, like, TikTok,YouTube, like, all of our social
(32:57):
media world, like, everyone'slike, I need to be a content
creator. I'm like, you don'tneed to be a content creator. It
is okay to want a 9 to 5 andclock out at the end of the day
and go spend time with yourfamily. This job is hard.
Like, content creation is a hardjob, and it's gonna take a lot
out of you, and it's gonna burnyou out. So I tell people, like,
(33:18):
why do you wanna create content?Do you know what your strategy
is going to be? Strategiesevolve, but, like, do you have a
north star? Do you have, like, aguiding voice?
Something that will bring youback to center. And what is your
plan when you start feeling thatburnout? Like, the if you don't
have a plan of when you startfeeling the burnout, it's going
(33:39):
to be so easy for you to just,like, take a step back and never
come back on. Right? Like, itI've seen that happen to a lot
of my friends that startedcontent creation the same time I
did.
Like, they don't create contentanymore because they are so
burnt out. And I reach out tothem. They're like, yeah. Are
you okay? I haven't heard fromyou in a while.
And they're like when like, itwas 2019, I think, right before
COVID. And they're like, I'mjust so exhausted while I'm,
(34:02):
like, the daily contentcreation. Like, I can't do this
anymore. I'm like, totally makessense. It totally makes sense.
So have those three things.Like, how about, like, a burnout
plan? My burnout plan is I juststop posting for
Rhona Pierce (34:15):
a few days and see where that takes me. And, like,
I'll be like, okay. I'll startagain. Post a few days a week
and see where that takes me.Like, I have, like, a very much
of, like, okay, work oneverything in the experiment.
It's constantly evolving andwe're just gonna continue
experimenting. And, like, if theexperiment fails, that's okay.
We start something new. Exactly.Yeah.
And there's so many ways. Like,yes, it's more effective,
(34:38):
especially in this day and age,to create content in order to
attract candidates andeverything, but you also have to
take care of yourself. Becauseas a human, you still have to
show up to work. You still haveto be those interviews. You
still have to be person who whocan, like, handle all of the
other stress that comes with it.
So maybe your burnout plan lookslike, look. I won't create
(35:01):
content, but I'll talk to mymarketing team or my employer
branding team or someone else onmy team, and we'll sit and we'll
brainstorm. And by the way, I'vedone this. There have been times
when I've just been burnt out,but I've sat with someone else
on the team and I've been like,look, These are ideas of content
I think you could create. Yeah.
And I just spitball ideas andthey're like, oh, great. Thanks.
And they go and create thatcontent. Look. At the end of the
(35:23):
day, you're trying to serve jobseekers.
You're trying to get them toapply to your roles to know
about your company, whether it'sfrom you, whether it's from the
company page, whether it's fromone of your coworkers. There's
different ways of doing it. Youdon't always have to be on, and
you should give yourselfpermission to take a break. So I
(35:45):
love that you included in yourtips, have a burnout plan. Yeah.
Because it's real.
Tejal Rives (35:50):
Yeah. Exactly. Not like you know, I'm saying this.
Like, people often ask me.They're like, how many
candidates do you find by, like,these silly posts that I do?
Right? Like, my because myhiring managers love the silly
posts that I do. Some of them,like, no longer work with me,
but still, like, here they'relike, hey. I need more traction
on this. Like, can you make apost?
And I've done that. Right?Because they don't like, even
(36:11):
though they don't no longer workwith me, they're still my
customer. And I'll, like, I'lltell them, like, when especially
recruiters come through andthey're they're like, hey. I
can't create the way content theway that you create.
I'm like, content creation isnot about coming up with a idea
from scratch every single time.It is not. It's not about that.
(36:32):
A lot of the job posts that I'vedone are inspired by Amy. And I
told Amy that.
Like, first started like, andwhen I first joined Amazon, I
would like when I startedtalking to her, like, hey. Can
I, like, steal this idea? Andshe's like, girl, go for it.
Like, absolutely. Right?
So that that's, like, you getinspired by other people, and
that's where the creativeprocess lies. If you don't get
(36:54):
inspired so, like, if I see aone of Amy's posts, I'm like,
oh, that's not for me. That'sokay because her creative
process looks very differentthan my creative process, which
will look very different thanyour creative process. Right? I
could never do a podcast.
I tried that. It wasn't for me.Right? So it's it's about
finding your own creative voiceand finding your own creative
(37:14):
process. Everyone is creative indifferent ways.
And that's what people need tounderstand that, like, just
because Tejal and Rona are doingthese two things, doesn't mean
you also have to do the thethose two things. You can do
something completely different.You can start on TikTok. You can
start on YouTube. You can starton Instagram, whatever the case
(37:34):
may be, and that's okay too.
There are many differentavenues. This is not a piece of
pie that you will, you know,that just because I have more,
you will get less. That's nothow this works. Content creation
and followers are not like that.We can all exist in the
ecosystem without pairing eachother.
Rhona Pierce (37:52):
That's what I love about the content creation
community, the recruiter, the TAand HR content creation
community, because I have notmet a single person in this
community that I haven't beenable to, like, reach out and ask
a question or, like, ask tocollaborate or or just anything.
And they've always been so opento talk to me. So that's another
(38:15):
thing. Like, if you havequestions, and I encourage
anyone watching or anyonelistening, reach out to your
favorite content creator in thisspace. Ask them if they would be
willing to partner on a post orsomething or ask just ask them
for for ideas.
Really, I the only times I'veseen problems or beef is when
(38:35):
someone is stealing from someoneelse, word for word because, I
mean, this takes time. Iwouldn't want someone to copy
word for word something thatI've done. And it has happened
and I have privately becausethat's just my style. I have
privately told them, please takethis down unless you want a
public post about it type ofthing. But other than that,
(38:58):
like, everyone is verywelcoming.
Everyone is so willing to help.So I encourage other people,
like, reach out to us. Andyou've mentioned a lot of other
content creators in this. Ithink all of them, I've
interacted with at some point,and they've all been super nice
and willing to help.
Tejal Rives (39:18):
Yeah. And I think you have to realize that the
recruiting community is verylarge, but it's also very small.
Like, if you are a jerk topeople, people aren't gonna talk
about you. And it's not likebitching about you. Right?
Or we're no no one's gossiping.We're all adults. But, like,
people aren't going to say, hey,this person, like, rubs me the
wrong way. And, like, 2 otherpeople are saying the same
(39:39):
thing. Now we have a trend.
The trend is that this oneperson is treating everyone
poorly. And you don't wanna bethe person that leaves people
hurt. Like, you can't, like, besuccessful if you're needing a
wake of bodies in your path.Right? I don't I don't think
Mike would have reached out tome just like be part of his
panel if I was a jerk to himconstantly.
(40:01):
You'd be like, Mike, what, like,you know, like, well, we we had
a beef. Right? Like, so and I'mnot the nicest person. I know
that I'm not the nicest person.I'm not pizza.
Not everyone's gonna like me,and I'm okay with that. I'm at a
point, like, I have gray hairnow. I'm at a point where
they're like, listen. I'm notpizza. Not everyone's gonna like
me.
But the people that I want andthat I think are good, I want to
(40:21):
be liked by them, and I wannalike them. So there are people
that I'm like, okay. I couldgive them a stocky response.
Right? I think there was onepost.
I believe you and I, like,disagreed on it, and you
approached it so well. And I waslike, you know what? She always
approaches the conversationswith an empathy, but, like, a
voice of empathy. And while wehad never spoken officially, I
was like, she's coming from aplace of teaching, not
(40:44):
criticize, and I need to take itthat way. Because I like you,
and you've always been nice tome.
So I'm like, I'm gonna be niceto And I hope I was nice to
Rhona Pierce (40:51):
Yeah. Yeah. You were.
Tejal Rives (40:52):
But there were other people that were, like,
snarky to me in the back. Like,in the past, I'm like, you know
what? We're done. Like, we'redone with this conversation. I'm
done with you being constantlysnarky to me.
Like, I'm gonna be snarky backto you. And I was snarky back to
them. Did I burn a bridge inthat? Yeah. I did.
But that was by choice. Right?My friends call it selective
tajoless, which is like, I'm I'ma dick to people that I wanna be
(41:15):
a dick to people. Sorry. Ididn't go and pardon my friend,
but I'm a jerk to people that Iwanna be a jerk to.
More often than not, it's like,it's a choice that I make, and
it's based on repetitive actionsfrom the people from those
people. Right? Like, I'm notgonna do that the first time
around. I I have to see thatyou've done that multiple times
to me, to someone else, for inorder for me to do that.
Rhona Pierce (41:36):
Exactly. Well, this is a great conversation. I
know a lot of people. A lot ofthe listeners are gonna get a
lot of value out of it. So Ireally appreciate you taking the
time to chat, with me.
How can people get in contactwith you? How can people where
can they find you?
Tejal Rives (41:54):
Most active on LinkedIn. I tell people, do not
follow me on TikTok unless youwanna know more about me than
you're ready for. Right? Right.Like, TikTok is a place where
I'm like, I don't just share jobsearch advice or recruiting
advice.
I also share my personalopinions on things in life. And
I'm okay with that. I have, madethat choice myself. But I tell
(42:14):
people, like, don't do notfollow me on TikTok unless
you're ready or to know aboutthings about me that you are you
might not like. Right?
I'm on Instagram. CaffeinatedCareers is my handle everywhere.
So, yeah, it's LinkedIn. Mostlyon LinkedIn, TikTok and
Instagram. So
Rhona Pierce (42:32):
Perfect. And I also included the links to all
of your socials in the shownotes. So thanks again so much
for this. This is a greatconversation.
Tejal Rives (42:41):
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Rhona Pierce (42:44):
And there you have it, folks. Tejal showed us how
you can work around limitationsimposed by management to
advocate for job seekers andinfluence hiring decisions at
every level. As a recruiter,your voice can make a real
difference. Make sure yourinteractions both on and offline
are authentic and transparent.You never know who's listening
(43:08):
and whose life you're impacting.
And don't forget to experimentwith your content. It's okay to
try, sale and pivot, but youmust have a burnout plan. Know
when to step back and recharge.For more tips on creating
recruiting content, check outepisode 15 where Joel Lalji
(43:29):
shared the strategy that got himover 500,000 followers and
40,000,000 impressions. The linkis in the show notes.
Thanks for listening and I'llchat with you next week.
There's a content creation strategy that can make
you a better recruiter, advocatefor job seekers, and potentially
influence hiring decisions atthe highest levels. And my guest
today has been doing it fornearly a decade. Decade.
Tejal Rives (00:14):
It's made me a better ally to job seekers. As a
recruiter, you only have so manyhours in the day, and you only
talk to so many people becausethe burnout is real. Content
creation has opened up a wholenew batch of people that I would
not typically speak to.
Rhona Pierce (00:30):
That's Tejal Reeves, a recruiter whose
content creation journey startedas a way to give candidates the
prep her company wouldn't allow.Now her insights are influencing
hiring practices and advocatingfor job seekers.
Tejal Rives (00:46):
My part out there is I just stop post date for a
few days and see where thattakes. And, like, I'll be like,
okay. I'll start again, post afew days a week, and see where
that takes. Like, I have, like,a very much of, like, okay, work
on everything in the experiment.It's constantly evolving, and
we're just gonna continueexperimenting.
And like, if the experimentfails, that's okay. We start
(01:07):
something new.
Rhona Pierce (01:08):
In this episode, Tejal will take us through her
content creation process fromideation to impact. She'll share
how she balances honesty withempathy, approaches sensitive
topics, and avoids burnout.Whether you're an experienced
content creator or you're juststarting out, this episode will
(01:28):
give you the tools to enhanceyour recruiting practice through
strategic content creation.Welcome to throw out the
playbook, the podcast forrecruiters tired of hearing that
hiring is broken and ready to dosomething about it. I'm your
host, Rona Pierce.
Let's dive into my conversationwith Tajil. So thank you so much
(01:51):
for being on the show today. Ireally wanted to have this
conversation with you. I've beenI think we've been following
each other for a long time, andI really love your content and
how open and honest you are withjob seekers. So how did you get
started creating content for jobseekers?
Tejal Rives (02:13):
Oh my god. It's been so long. I feel that I'm
coming up on 10 years of contentcreation. Like, I think I
started in 2015, 2016. It was myfirst job right out of, agency,
and it was my 1st corporate job,corporate recruiting job.
And what I realized is that Iwasn't able to that that company
(02:36):
wasn't allowing me to give thetype of prep that I would
normally give. Like, in anagency setting, you give a lot
of prep to your candidate. Youhave a lot of knowledge. And by
leadership in this,organization, they were like,
you know what? No.
You can't give as much prep asyou want. Like, you can give
them some information, not allthe information. I was like,
that's really like, to me, itwas not we we were doing a
(02:58):
disservice to our candidates.Like, they need to know this
information if we're expecting,like, you know, even in a test,
even in college, in school,like, you know what is gonna
come up in your test. Right?
Like, you you get time toprepare. So really, that's when
I started creating content tocreate this level of
transparency and to create someadvice around it because not a
(03:21):
lot of people were postingadvice back then. Back in 2015,
2016, there was not a lot ofrecruiters out there, you know,
truly creating content onLinkedIn that was helpful to job
seekers. And I was like, okay.This is from a recruiter's
perspective.
This is what we look for. Thisis, like, how we look at things.
And, of course, I've mademistakes. I've said some things
(03:43):
that I'm like, oh, that wasreally daunting. You know?
Like, you should probablyshouldn't have said that looking
back into it. But that wasreally where I started is just
to bridge that gap that Icouldn't do because of my role.
I couldn't give my candidatesthat level of information and
the level of prep. So I waslike, I'll start here. Maybe if
(04:05):
they follow me, like, if theycontact with me on LinkedIn,
they'll see the information thatthey are supposed to know.
Rhona Pierce (04:11):
Yeah. I think we've all posted something where
we're like, oh, maybe shouldn'thave, but it's already out there
on the Internet. And, also, withjob seekers, it's you know that
they're gonna go look at yourLinkedIn. Most of them are.
They're gonna go look atsomeone's LinkedIn.
So, yes, that's a great way tobridge that gap of your
(04:34):
organization not allowing you toprep. I I really like that. So
can you walk us through yourprocess for generating content
ideas? Like, how do you makesure that you're addressing what
job seekers really want to know?
Tejal Rives (04:48):
Oh, that's a great question. Typically, what I've
done and I've kinda, like, goneback and forth a bit how much I
put content I put out therebecause their burnout was real.
Right? There was a time when Ididn't post for 6 months because
I was just you know, there's,like, there are people out there
that are trolls that will tellyou that you're doing something
wrong or you're what you'resaying is incorrect because they
(05:11):
did one part of a your job 20years ago as part of their
overall job. That's why theythey're right and you're wrong.
Right? So the the burnout didcome out a lot of times.
Typically, what I look at iswhat are people asking? And
like, what are job seekersasking? What are my friends
(05:31):
asking?
Even though I have conversationsas a recruiter with with job
seekers throughout my career,I'm like, what do you wanna
know? Like, tell me whatquestions do you have and not
really like, I tick down doubts.I'm like, okay. Like, this is in
a week, I'll see your trend. Haseveryone asked me a question
that is are on the same theme?
Okay. I'll write the contentabout that. And what I learned
(05:55):
is that you kinda have to repeata lot of the information because
you might have new followersthat people forget. You know,
content creation, like, LinkedInis like, if you go on either one
of our pages and look at ourcontent, like, it's gonna go
back so far and people forgetthat they have seen this
information. So, like, it's aconstant recycle and constant
(06:16):
update of content creation.
Sometimes when I'm like, oh, Iwanna write something today, but
I don't know what I wanna writeabout because I feel burnt out.
I'll go back and, like, look atthe last couple of weeks or a
couple of months of, like,content and be like, okay. Like,
what can I recycle? What do Ineed to say again? That is still
important.
So I'll do that.
Rhona Pierce (06:35):
That's such a important thing that you
highlighted. People don'tremember our content, and I was
talking to Joel Laughey
Tejal Rives (06:43):
Yeah.
Rhona Pierce (06:43):
About that in a in a previous episode. Really, we
don't. And I recently did a atest because I was having some
issues and life issues, and Icouldn't create new content. And
I went back 3 months, and Ireposted an entire week from 3
months ago of the same exactcontent. And it did way better
this time.
(07:04):
And, like, people who hadcommented on the first time I
posted it commented like, oh,this is so great. They literally
did not remember. So we need tokeep that in mind because
everyone's always so stressed ontrying to come up with new
content. People don't rememberwhat you posted, and you also
have new followers.
Tejal Rives (07:22):
Yeah. And it's one of the things when I started
getting, like, consistent lastyear on TikTok or earlier this
year on TikTok, I was textingMike DeVito. I'm like, Mike,
like, I know you've, like,created great content and you've
got all of those followers.Like, can I, like, ask you? He's
the one who's like, you're gonnarecreate content.
Like, you are going to have torecreate content. People are
(07:43):
gonna forget. You can makeplaylist playlist after
playlist, but it's gonna be hardfor you to say, hey. Go look at
this video or go look at thispost because people forget you
have new followers. And I waslike, that's a great point.
Like, I didn't think about thatfrom, like, a TikTok
perspective. I'm like, oh, Ineed to do that on TikTok as
well or on YouTube. Right? Like,you look at Amy, some of the
YouTubers that we have, andthey're like, a lot of the
(08:05):
content is repetitive and it'sneeded. It's repetitive because
it's needed.
Rhona Pierce (08:10):
Exactly. How do you stay updated on job seeker
needs and, like, industry trendsto keep your content relevant
because we know things changereally quick in our industry.
Tejal Rives (08:22):
Yeah. One of the things that I do is, like, it's
just so funny. Like, I havefriends that are consistently
looking for jobs. So various atvarious points throughout the
year, I have, like, randomfriends that will reach out to
me and they'll, like, startasking me a question. Like, one
of my best friends, she'scurrently looking for a job.
This morning, she texted me andshe's like, how do I nicely say
(08:43):
that I wanna see the actualoffer letter and not just accept
like, give my notice on, like, averbal offer? And I'm like and
it was, like, 7:30 in themorning. I'm like, I am not
ready. Give me, like, an hour.I'll give you that information.
Right? So that's one of the waysthat I try to stay relevant. And
then if I know one of my friendsis looking for a job, I'll,
like, just check-in and say,hey, how was the interview
(09:04):
going? What happened? Did didyou get a second interview?
What did they say? The otherthing I do is I do look at other
people's posts. People in ourindustry, like, I look at your
post. I look at Amy's post. I'lllook at Bonnie's post, Leah's
post, Mike's post, Daniel'spost.
Like, I'll look at all of Joel'spost. Like, I'll look at all of
our posts. And I'm like, okay.Like, what are we seeing? Or
(09:27):
I'll see Amy's comment section.
I'll go and look at where is Amycommenting? Commenting. That is,
like, my number one thing. Like,whenever I'm burnt out, I'm
like, let me see what Amy iscommenting on because you know
people are tagging. Right?
And I'm so, like, proud of her,like, surpassing all of the
followers that she's gotten in,like, a short it feels like a
short period of time, but, like,still it's been years. Can I
(09:50):
also go and see, like, okay?What is Amy commenting on? One
of 3 things. It's, eithersomething dumb regarding ATS.
It's either somebody yelling atrecruiters or, like, she she was
just, like, helping somebodyout. Right? Like or she's things
like that. So I kinda, like,look at people's post and their
comment section. Like, see whatthey're commenting on to stay
(10:10):
relevant.
Because if I don't do that levelof research, I feel that, like,
it's very easy to be stagnantand to lose that touch with the
job seeker reality. And at theend
Rhona Pierce (10:21):
of the day, that's who the content is for. I do the
same thing. I look at everyoneelse's content and their comment
section because what people areasking. And it doesn't mean that
I look at someone else's postand copy exactly what they did
because, 1, even if I agree withthem, I can have a different
angle or a different way ofsaying the same thing. So I'll
(10:44):
never copy people.
And if I am going to say exactlythe same thing that someone else
is saying, I'm always gonnacredit them and tag them. Yeah.
But it's so easy to go in andsee what people are talking to
because that's what they wannaknow. And if your content is for
them, then give them what theywanna know. It can't be what you
(11:04):
want to say.
Tejal Rives (11:05):
Yeah. Yeah. Like, content creation is
communication. Communication isalways about the other person.
If you're not communicating tothe other person, you're not
doing your job.
Exactly.
Rhona Pierce (11:15):
How do you make sure that your content is honest
and transparent about therealities of the job search?
Tejal Rives (11:22):
For me personally, it's been fairly easy because
I'm not here like from thebeginning, I my goal has never
been to take my content creationto the level where I can quit my
job. It's never been aboutgetting x number of followers,
getting brand deals, or gettingany of that. My true intent
behind content creation is tohave a creative outlet, is to
(11:46):
create this level oftransparency that and give
information that I didn't havewhen I first started in
corporate America. Because thereare so many first generation
people, not just immigrants, butpeople that don't have parents
in corporate America, peoplethat don't have any family
members in corporate America. Somy goal has always been to
create this level oftransparency and give honest
(12:09):
advice.
Sometimes that advice is notcool. It's not helpful. Like,
not not helpful. It's not nice.It's not Popular.
Popular. Right? But it's stillhonest advice. Like, I would
love to tell you that an ATS iseating up your resume. That's a
great thing.
I can get a 1000000 followers bymaking those kind of posts, but
(12:32):
that's not the reality as ofright now. ATS is not eating up
your resume. Covers are stillreviewing your resumes. So to
me, it's all it's about creatinghonest and transparent content
that will be helpful. It's funnybecause, like, you can say
something nice or you can saysomething honest.
(12:52):
And what's gonna be helpfulevery single time is honesty in
the long term. I don't wanna beyour best friend that tells you
what you wanna hear. I want tobe the person that you go to for
real advice.
Rhona Pierce (13:06):
Yeah. And as humans, we obviously don't wanna
be canceled. We want people tolike us, but we also, I think,
as recruiters, have a hugeresponsibility in the content
that we're sharing becausepeople are trusting that a
insider, like, we are insiders,are telling them the truth.
(13:26):
Yeah. But, also, people wantit's interesting.
They love the content that'svery optimistic, that's very
telling them, like, oh, it's notyour fault. You're not doing
anything wrong. How do youstrike a balance between
providing that optimistic careeradvice and, like, really setting
real expectations about thehiring process?
Tejal Rives (13:46):
It's a balance. You're right. Like, it is a
balance, that we have to strikebecause I don't always wanna be
like, well, you did somethingwrong or the company did
something wrong because thereality is that you can do
everything right and still notget the job. Right? You can do
everything.
You can have the best resume,best interview. You can have
insider connections. You can bethe best candidate in your head,
(14:10):
but you don't know yourcompetition. And you can still,
like because you don't know yourcompetition, this is like a
blind like, you're fightfighting against the wall.
Right?
You will still lose that job. SoI always try to tell people, I'm
like, it's not your fault. Someof these things is not your
fault. If you are especiallywith candidates that are getting
(14:31):
interviews. And, like, if you'regetting interviews, do not worry
about your resume.
Your resume is doing its job,which is getting you interviews.
Now let's talk about yourinterview strategy. And it's
about showcasing to me, like,people come to me and they're
like, oh my god. I finally got ajob. All I got, like, your
advice was helpful.
My best friend that I was justtalking about, she's like, she
(14:53):
got a job. Like, I I got anoffer. And she's been doing this
for, like, a couple of months.Right? Like, it's it's been a
hard couple of months.
So thankfully, she has a jobright now. So she's looking for
a new job or something better.And I have another friend who is
doesn't have a job right now.And so for them, like, I'm like,
okay. You are doing everythingright.
You are getting interviews. Youare getting to the final round
(15:16):
of the interviews. Now we justneed to get to that point where
we could get you the offer.You're doing everything right.
You are a finalist.
You're one of 2 people. That's agreat thing, especially in this
market. So it's theencouragement encouraging words.
Right? Like, because we want tobe better.
We want to get the job. Andgetting to that point also means
(15:40):
that you need to encourage thepeople and say, hey. You are
doing everything right. Thismarket just is a dumpster fire.
Right?
Like, I tell people this all thetime, and people argue with me.
I'm like, this market is just anabsolute dumpster fire. It's
been a dumpster fire for a verylong time. I don't think it's
gonna get any better anytimesoon, and we just have to roll
(16:00):
over the punches because wethere's only so much we can
control. And it's about givingpeople the control back in their
life and in their job search.
Like, you can't control controlback in their life and in their
job search. Like, you can'tcontrol how the market operates.
What you can control is what youdo. So let's figure out what you
do.
Rhona Pierce (16:13):
Yep. That's very, very good advice. I also
recently helped a family memberwho's navigating a very long
drawn out job search, and theemotions and the the up and
down, it's just it's hard, butyou have to tell people
sometimes it's just not you.Like you said, you don't know
(16:34):
the other person. You don't knowthe competition.
And trust me, sometimes peoplewanna know the competition, and
this is a whole otherconversation I could have. I
remember the one time that I wasinterviewing for a job, and I
knew my competition was becauseit was someone who accidentally
told me that they were goingagainst the the same job. Yeah.
(16:54):
It was worse. I prefer not toknow.
Tejal Rives (16:57):
Yeah. Exactly. Because you are now comparing
apples to oranges. Right? Youare 2 different people.
Like, when I transitioned intomy card role, it was an internal
role. And I was like, okay. Icould figure out who my
competition is. I am arecruiter. Like, I do have
access, but why would I do thatto myself?
Like, I know what I need to doin order to do my best and be my
(17:20):
best at this interview. Andthat's exactly what I did. And I
was out there it's funny to saythis. Not that I wasn't their
first choice, but, like, I stillended up getting the job. I'm
like, I'm happy.
I'm a happy 90 year old. Like,I'm just glad I got this job
because of the trend transitionI've been wanting to make for a
very long time. But knowing yourcompetition is not always good.
(17:42):
Knowing your competition, like,we're not in a race. Like, we're
not in a traditionalcompetition.
Right? Like, in a we'll talkabout the Olympics. Simone Biles
knows who her competition is,but they're doing the exact same
thing. They have to do the exactsame thing. She knows exactly
what she needs to do.
Simone Biles does not worryabout her competition as much
(18:03):
as, like, I feel job seekers,just humans as in general, we
worry about our competition. Andone of the things that I like
not that I'm an athlete. I'mnever gonna be at that level.
But, like, one of the things Ilike to learn from athletes and,
like, people that are at the topof the game are like, do you
care about your competition? Andmost of the time, they don't.
They care about their strengthsand focusing and honing in on
(18:25):
what they bring to the table. Ithink that's the best thing a
job seeker can learn is like,don't worry about the
competition. It's all noise.It's all noise and you just need
to worry about who you are andwhat you bring to the table
because that's the only way youcan move forward.
Rhona Pierce (18:40):
And I think this is a good call out that all
recruiters who are creatingcontent, anyone who's recruit
creating content for job seekersshould keep in mind that it's
such a emotional time. Peopleare trying to see and nitpicking
every single thing they do. Sothe content that you share
shouldn't be encouraging or,like, adding to that stress. And
(19:03):
what I mean is things like, oh,smile and don't do with this
and, like, very subjectivethings that I, I could Yeah.
Speak for hours about that typeof content.
But it's something you have tokeep in mind. Like, what you're
saying out there as an expert isadding to someone's already
stressful situation. So makesure that the content that
(19:26):
you're sharing isn't adding tothat. How do you approach
potentially sensitive topicslike DEI, neurodiversity, and
just potentially sensitivetopics in your content?
Tejal Rives (19:41):
Yeah. I approach it from a objective lens. And,
like, it's it's hard to beobjective than it is, something
as subjective as discrimination.And like, I mean subjective in
the sense of like, I can feelthat I was discriminated against
for a role. And there might nothave been anything to that
level.
Right? It's very like there areobjective metrics to
(20:04):
discrimination and to us beingwomen, us being women of color
that we do like, there are daythere's data around that. When
it comes to those topics, whenit comes to any topics, I focus
on the facts. I focus on thetruth. What are the numbers
actually saying?
The numbers say that women makedollar for dollar less than a
man. It is truer for women ofcolor, for black women, for
(20:28):
Latino women, for NativeAmerican women. And I focus on,
like, my privilege. And eventhough I'm a woman and I'm a
woman of color, like, myprivilege is that I'm
considered, what's the word, thegood immigrant. Like, the you
know what I'm talking about.
Rhona Pierce (20:44):
The model they
Tejal Rives (20:45):
the minority. Like and I focus on that, but I'm
like, hey. I'm coming from aplace of privilege. I do not
know what every single blackwoman is going through in this
country, the type ofdiscrimination that they face. I
do not know what every singleLatino woman is going to or
Latinx woman is going through,Native American woman is going
through.
Right? I don't know. So I sitthere and I listen to people, to
(21:07):
experts. I'm like, what ishappening? Because I wanna be
able to use my privilege as themodel minority and speak out
against these things and, like,uplift other people.
Otherwise, we're all justconstantly I don't believe in
punching down. Right? Like, onthe other times, like, people I
feel are punching down. And I'mlike, no. The facts remain.
(21:28):
These are the facts. And that'slike, we can argue all day long,
and you can tell me I'm wrong,and you will still be wrong
because the facts don't changeon that. So I focus on objective
metrics and I focus on factswhen it comes to neurodiversity,
when it comes to DEI anddiscrimination and things like
that. Because I would love forall of us to be in a world where
(21:52):
these things don't exist. Butthe reality is we are humans and
humans are finicky, and we havebiases, and it's always going to
be a thing.
So how do we minimize thosethings? So when I approach a
conversation, especially thoseposts oh my god. I know you've
seen those posts where they'relike, oh, you just need to smile
more. If the person is notsmiling or if they're not, like,
(22:13):
making eye contact with me, I'mnot even hiring them. I'm like,
oh, let's talk about this.
Cultural issues, neurodiversityissues. We have people with on
on the spectrum. We have peoplewomen, from different cultures
that have been told, hey. Youcan never look a man in the eye.
So you are ignoring all of thesefacts to hire somebody like
(22:35):
Javan is just like you, andthat's gonna look just like you,
and that's gonna come from theexact same background as you
are.
And I bring in data. Right?There has been research done,
and I love academic data. I'm alittle bit open, like I am a
little bit of a puritaness whenit comes to data. And when it
comes to research, I believe inmore academic data than, like,
(22:57):
nonacademic data.
So So I bring academic data. I'mlike, diverse teams are more
productive, are more successful,do bring in more shareholder
value. So by hiring this firstfive minutes and looking at all
of these things that are not jobrelated, you are shooting
yourself and shooting your team.You are making sure your company
(23:18):
is never gonna get past that,like, cusp of the same people,
especially in this day and age.So sorry.
Long answer.
Rhona Pierce (23:25):
No. No. No. But it it's totally true what you said.
And and I know you've probablyhad a lot of these conversations
with hiring managers becausethese are the people that we're
coaching and talking to on adaily basis about this type of
thing.
But let's even take everythingaside from diversity or
everything. Someone might justbe having a bad day. Just
(23:48):
because someone had a bad day,they just got terrible news.
Yep. But instead of cancelingthe interview, they sat there
and had that interview with you.
Sorry if they weren't smiling.Maybe they just found out that
someone died or or, like,whatever. You don't know. That
should have nothing to do withwhether they can do the job or
(24:09):
not type of thing.
Tejal Rives (24:11):
Exactly. We always wanna look at objective metrics
of the role as compared to theperson's skill. Right? And eye
contact is not an objectivemetric. It absolutely does not
matter if you and I can make aneye contact.
If we can communicate, whatdifference does it make? If we
can collaborate, what differencedoes it make if I can't make eye
contact? Right? Like, it's sucha I feel an eighties thing or
(24:32):
nineties thing to do. It's like,you need to make eye contact.
I feel like anytime I comeacross one of those posts, I'm
like, what is this eighties,like, sales movie that we're
watching? Like, you feel like aneighties sales movie that I'm
watching. Like, why are we doingthis?
Rhona Pierce (24:44):
I think I commented recently on something,
and I also added it on one of myposts, and I said friends don't
let friends recruit like it's1980. Like
Tejal Rives (24:54):
I love that.
Rhona Pierce (24:55):
Yep. Yeah. It's like, guys, why why are we even
talking about this? It's like2024.
Tejal Rives (25:00):
How has creating content for job seekers
influenced your own recruitingpractices? It's made me a better
ally to job seekers. Listeningto like, because as a recruiter,
you only have so many hours inthe day and you only talk to so
many people because the burnoutis real even as an approver.
Right? Like you talk to maybe 3people a day, 3 candidates a day
(25:24):
and that's the extent of theconversation.
And content creation has givenme opened up a whole new, like,
batch of people that I would nottypically speak to and hear
their voices. And I take thosevoices and I'm like, okay. If
these people that I don't know,that are not my candidates are
feeling this way, more thanlikely my job seekers are my my
(25:46):
own job seekers are feeling thatway. And I take that data and
bring it up to my hiringmanagers. Like, no.
This is this doesn't make anysense. We shouldn't be doing
this. Let's talk about this. AndI believe that having truthful
data is always helpful in makingbetter decisions. So I can talk
(26:06):
about our feelings all day long.
Feelings are important. How wefeel, it's a part of human
nature. It's part of the humanexperience. But I've noticed
that when we start talking aboutfeelings, like, people we start
losing people. So I startedbringing data up and I'm like,
okay.
These people don't like, this isthe one the data says. This is
what the job seekers are saying.We're not doing this. And one of
(26:29):
my like, it's like an anecdotalstory. I was working at a small
company, and I was in a meetingwith my CTO and my creative
director.
We were sitting down and mycreative director and I love my
like, we are still friends withthis day. Adam is like, oh, I
wanna send them a assessmentbefore they come in for an
(26:49):
interview. My CTO goes, no. Iagree with Tayjal's post from
earlier this week where we'renot sending them an assessment
until they talk to someone fromyour team. That was just, like,
hype in the background,hyperventilating.
I'm like, okay. I like, youknow, at that point, I had,
like, 30 something 1,000followers. I knew people
followed me, and I knew that wasa thing, but it was the first
(27:12):
time in my life. Like, somebodyhad been like, she's right.
We're not doing that.
And, like, especially a CTOlevel. Right? So it was very
much like, yes. I'm doingsomething right. Yes.
If a leader like that that hasbeen doing hiring that has been
in the industry for a lot longerthan I have, like, agrees with
me, then yes, like, I need tocontinue doing this. So that's
(27:33):
like given me, like, the balls,if you will, to be a better
advocate for job seekers. Andsometimes when people get mad
in, like, my deep briefs, I'vehad people get mad at me and
people that, like, try toescalate me and try to report me
to my leadership. And I'm like,all for it. If you think you
have a stance, if you think youhave a case against me, go
(27:56):
report it.
Report it up to the c CEO. Seewhat happened. And that's what I
like, I need it because I knowin my heart I'm right. And if
doing the right things get getsme fired, then doing the right
thing got me fired and I'm okaywith that. I will find a
different job.
That company was just not worth.It's how I feel.
Rhona Pierce (28:15):
It's an important callout also for all recruiters
listening. It's like yourcontent is not only for job
seekers. Your hiring managers,your clients, if you're on the
agency side, are seeing yourcontent. So think twice before
creating content that's, yes,it's gonna get you clicks and
it's gonna go viral because thesame people that you're trying
(28:37):
to now have to work with aregoing to be seeing your content
as well. Yep.
And that's a that's a goodreminder there. And, I mean, in
this case, it helped you. Butimagine if you were saying crazy
things for clicks on theInternet, How would that work
with your credibilityinternally?
Tejal Rives (28:56):
Yeah. And I've actually had, a hiring manager
at my current company reach outto me and is like, Dejal, I
didn't agree with your post. I'mlike, okay. Let's talk about
this. And he's like, I don'tthink that 5 hours is enough for
our like, these are principallevel people that I'm hiring.
He's like, 5 hours, I don'tthink, is enough for people to
prep up. And I've seen peopleprep come and prep with like
(29:18):
less than 5 hours and you cantell that they have not done
enough prep. I'm like, you knowwhat? I hadn't taken that into
consideration. That's a goodpoint because where I work,
Amazon is a very rigorousinterview process.
Like, especially the higher upyou go in the roles that you are
looking to be hired at, the moreprep you are gonna need to take
(29:39):
because it's such a rigorousprocess. And I'm like, you know
what? I didn't take that intoconsideration. That's a good
point. I agree with you.
Like, that did change my mind.So I do have, like thankfully, I
have the those kind ofrelationships where my hiring
managers like, I didn't agreewith your policy. Let's talk
about it. I'm like, okay. Let'stalk about it.
Like, tell me why you didn'tagree with my folks. And
sometimes I change my mind andsometimes I change their mind,
(30:00):
and that's okay. Right? Like,we're all learning. And I'm
grateful to have such greathiring managers where they're
like, okay.
I see your point. Or I'll belike, yep. Thank you for telling
me. I see your point kinda deal.So
Rhona Pierce (30:11):
That that's such a cool story, and it's part of the
the rewards of sharing candidinsights about the hiring
process. People are going tohave opinions, and it's great
when people can have an adifference of opinion with you
in a respectful way. Like yousaid, sometimes people are not
gonna have it in a respectfulway, but that's why you delete
(30:32):
and block people and move on.Any advice for recruiters who
are creating content or who arethinking about starting to
create content on how they canensure that the content they
create is actually helpful?
Tejal Rives (30:48):
Yeah. Actually, it's funny because I have a lot
of people internally that do askme. They're like, hey. You have
all of these followers. Like,how do I get them?
Like, listen. I the one numberone thing I tell them, oh, like,
you have to be cognizant of yourown situation. My situation is
that I'm not the breadwinner ofmy family. I don't have to worry
about if I say something and,like, my company decides, hey,
(31:10):
that was over the line. We arenot going to allow that.
You're written up. You're fired.Whatever the case may be, I know
I'm okay because I'm not thebreadwinner my husband is. I
don't have to worry about that.Right?
But and I tell this to people,like, think about your own
situation. You want to createcontent. Why do you wanna create
content? Where is yourmotivation line? Do you just
(31:32):
want followers?
Because if you just wantfollowers, like, I'm not the
right person for you to mentoryou. And for me, having that,
like, north star, having thatguiding voice is very important.
And I like, my north star is mymom and she passed away when I
was very little. But, like, inmy head, I'm like, would my mom
(31:53):
be proud if I said this thing,if I made this post, if I
responded to a person a certainway? Right?
And not not that, like, I'msnarky. I know I'm snarky
sometimes. Like, there areresponses that I've given
people. Like, my mom wiped outapproved, but that person needed
that. Like, they deserve thatside of your response.
I try to, like, ensure that,like, I'm doing the things for
(32:15):
the right reason. And if I startfeeling like I'm just in it for
the clicks or I'm just in itfor, like, the followers, I'll
take a step back and I'll belike, okay. We've gotten too
far. We need to reset. We needto, like, figure out why we
started and do that.
Because I can continue creatingcontent every single day and I
can have a like, in the next 6months, I can get a 1,000,000
(32:37):
followers. But is that gonna bethe type of followers that I
want? Am I losing myindividuality? Am I losing
Taejal in that whole process? Sofirst things first, I'll tell
people, like, know why you'recreating content.
You don't have to createcontent. And I feel that people,
especially in, like, TikTok,YouTube, like, all of our social
(32:57):
media world, like, everyone'slike, I need to be a content
creator. I'm like, you don'tneed to be a content creator. It
is okay to want a 9 to 5 andclock out at the end of the day
and go spend time with yourfamily. This job is hard.
Like, content creation is a hardjob, and it's gonna take a lot
out of you, and it's gonna burnyou out. So I tell people, like,
(33:18):
why do you wanna create content?Do you know what your strategy
is going to be? Strategiesevolve, but, like, do you have a
north star? Do you have, like, aguiding voice?
Something that will bring youback to center. And what is your
plan when you start feeling thatburnout? Like, the if you don't
have a plan of when you startfeeling the burnout, it's going
(33:39):
to be so easy for you to just,like, take a step back and never
come back on. Right? Like, itI've seen that happen to a lot
of my friends that startedcontent creation the same time I
did.
Like, they don't create contentanymore because they are so
burnt out. And I reach out tothem. They're like, yeah. Are
you okay? I haven't heard fromyou in a while.
And they're like when like, itwas 2019, I think, right before
COVID. And they're like, I'mjust so exhausted while I'm,
(34:02):
like, the daily contentcreation. Like, I can't do this
anymore. I'm like, totally makessense. It totally makes sense.
So have those three things.Like, how about, like, a burnout
plan? My burnout plan is I juststop posting for
Rhona Pierce (34:15):
a few days and see where that takes me. And, like,
I'll be like, okay. I'll startagain. Post a few days a week
and see where that takes me.Like, I have, like, a very much
of, like, okay, work oneverything in the experiment.
It's constantly evolving andwe're just gonna continue
experimenting. And, like, if theexperiment fails, that's okay.
We start something new. Exactly.Yeah.
And there's so many ways. Like,yes, it's more effective,
(34:38):
especially in this day and age,to create content in order to
attract candidates andeverything, but you also have to
take care of yourself. Becauseas a human, you still have to
show up to work. You still haveto be those interviews. You
still have to be person who whocan, like, handle all of the
other stress that comes with it.
So maybe your burnout plan lookslike, look. I won't create
(35:01):
content, but I'll talk to mymarketing team or my employer
branding team or someone else onmy team, and we'll sit and we'll
brainstorm. And by the way, I'vedone this. There have been times
when I've just been burnt out,but I've sat with someone else
on the team and I've been like,look, These are ideas of content
I think you could create. Yeah.
And I just spitball ideas andthey're like, oh, great. Thanks.
And they go and create thatcontent. Look. At the end of the
(35:23):
day, you're trying to serve jobseekers.
You're trying to get them toapply to your roles to know
about your company, whether it'sfrom you, whether it's from the
company page, whether it's fromone of your coworkers. There's
different ways of doing it. Youdon't always have to be on, and
you should give yourselfpermission to take a break. So I
(35:45):
love that you included in yourtips, have a burnout plan. Yeah.
Because it's real.
Tejal Rives (35:50):
Yeah. Exactly. Not like you know, I'm saying this.
Like, people often ask me.They're like, how many
candidates do you find by, like,these silly posts that I do?
Right? Like, my because myhiring managers love the silly
posts that I do. Some of them,like, no longer work with me,
but still, like, here they'relike, hey. I need more traction
on this. Like, can you make apost?
And I've done that. Right?Because they don't like, even
(36:11):
though they don't no longer workwith me, they're still my
customer. And I'll, like, I'lltell them, like, when especially
recruiters come through andthey're they're like, hey. I
can't create the way content theway that you create.
I'm like, content creation isnot about coming up with a idea
from scratch every single time.It is not. It's not about that.
(36:32):
A lot of the job posts that I'vedone are inspired by Amy. And I
told Amy that.
Like, first started like, andwhen I first joined Amazon, I
would like when I startedtalking to her, like, hey. Can
I, like, steal this idea? Andshe's like, girl, go for it.
Like, absolutely. Right?
So that that's, like, you getinspired by other people, and
that's where the creativeprocess lies. If you don't get
(36:54):
inspired so, like, if I see aone of Amy's posts, I'm like,
oh, that's not for me. That'sokay because her creative
process looks very differentthan my creative process, which
will look very different thanyour creative process. Right? I
could never do a podcast.
I tried that. It wasn't for me.Right? So it's it's about
finding your own creative voiceand finding your own creative
(37:14):
process. Everyone is creative indifferent ways.
And that's what people need tounderstand that, like, just
because Tejal and Rona are doingthese two things, doesn't mean
you also have to do the thethose two things. You can do
something completely different.You can start on TikTok. You can
start on YouTube. You can starton Instagram, whatever the case
(37:34):
may be, and that's okay too.
There are many differentavenues. This is not a piece of
pie that you will, you know,that just because I have more,
you will get less. That's nothow this works. Content creation
and followers are not like that.We can all exist in the
ecosystem without pairing eachother.
Rhona Pierce (37:52):
That's what I love about the content creation
community, the recruiter, the TAand HR content creation
community, because I have notmet a single person in this
community that I haven't beenable to, like, reach out and ask
a question or, like, ask tocollaborate or or just anything.
And they've always been so opento talk to me. So that's another
(38:15):
thing. Like, if you havequestions, and I encourage
anyone watching or anyonelistening, reach out to your
favorite content creator in thisspace. Ask them if they would be
willing to partner on a post orsomething or ask just ask them
for for ideas.
Really, I the only times I'veseen problems or beef is when
(38:35):
someone is stealing from someoneelse, word for word because, I
mean, this takes time. Iwouldn't want someone to copy
word for word something thatI've done. And it has happened
and I have privately becausethat's just my style. I have
privately told them, please takethis down unless you want a
public post about it type ofthing. But other than that,
(38:58):
like, everyone is verywelcoming.
Everyone is so willing to help.So I encourage other people,
like, reach out to us. Andyou've mentioned a lot of other
content creators in this. Ithink all of them, I've
interacted with at some point,and they've all been super nice
and willing to help.
Tejal Rives (39:18):
Yeah. And I think you have to realize that the
recruiting community is verylarge, but it's also very small.
Like, if you are a jerk topeople, people aren't gonna talk
about you. And it's not likebitching about you. Right?
Or we're no no one's gossiping.We're all adults. But, like,
people aren't going to say, hey,this person, like, rubs me the
wrong way. And, like, 2 otherpeople are saying the same
(39:39):
thing. Now we have a trend.
The trend is that this oneperson is treating everyone
poorly. And you don't wanna bethe person that leaves people
hurt. Like, you can't, like, besuccessful if you're needing a
wake of bodies in your path.Right? I don't I don't think
Mike would have reached out tome just like be part of his
panel if I was a jerk to himconstantly.
(40:01):
You'd be like, Mike, what, like,you know, like, well, we we had
a beef. Right? Like, so and I'mnot the nicest person. I know
that I'm not the nicest person.I'm not pizza.
Not everyone's gonna like me,and I'm okay with that. I'm at a
point, like, I have gray hairnow. I'm at a point where
they're like, listen. I'm notpizza. Not everyone's gonna like
me.
But the people that I want andthat I think are good, I want to
(40:21):
be liked by them, and I wannalike them. So there are people
that I'm like, okay. I couldgive them a stocky response.
Right? I think there was onepost.
I believe you and I, like,disagreed on it, and you
approached it so well. And I waslike, you know what? She always
approaches the conversationswith an empathy, but, like, a
voice of empathy. And while wehad never spoken officially, I
was like, she's coming from aplace of teaching, not
(40:44):
criticize, and I need to take itthat way. Because I like you,
and you've always been nice tome.
So I'm like, I'm gonna be niceto And I hope I was nice to
Rhona Pierce (40:51):
Yeah. Yeah. You were.
Tejal Rives (40:52):
But there were other people that were, like,
snarky to me in the back. Like,in the past, I'm like, you know
what? We're done. Like, we'redone with this conversation. I'm
done with you being constantlysnarky to me.
Like, I'm gonna be snarky backto you. And I was snarky back to
them. Did I burn a bridge inthat? Yeah. I did.
But that was by choice. Right?My friends call it selective
tajoless, which is like, I'm I'ma dick to people that I wanna be
(41:15):
a dick to people. Sorry. Ididn't go and pardon my friend,
but I'm a jerk to people that Iwanna be a jerk to.
More often than not, it's like,it's a choice that I make, and
it's based on repetitive actionsfrom the people from those
people. Right? Like, I'm notgonna do that the first time
around. I I have to see thatyou've done that multiple times
to me, to someone else, for inorder for me to do that.
Rhona Pierce (41:36):
Exactly. Well, this is a great conversation. I
know a lot of people. A lot ofthe listeners are gonna get a
lot of value out of it. So Ireally appreciate you taking the
time to chat, with me.
How can people get in contactwith you? How can people where
can they find you?
Tejal Rives (41:54):
Most active on LinkedIn. I tell people, do not
follow me on TikTok unless youwanna know more about me than
you're ready for. Right? Right.Like, TikTok is a place where
I'm like, I don't just share jobsearch advice or recruiting
advice.
I also share my personalopinions on things in life. And
I'm okay with that. I have, madethat choice myself. But I tell
(42:14):
people, like, don't do notfollow me on TikTok unless
you're ready or to know aboutthings about me that you are you
might not like. Right?
I'm on Instagram. CaffeinatedCareers is my handle everywhere.
So, yeah, it's LinkedIn. Mostlyon LinkedIn, TikTok and
Instagram. So
Rhona Pierce (42:32):
Perfect. And I also included the links to all
of your socials in the shownotes. So thanks again so much
for this. This is a greatconversation.
Tejal Rives (42:41):
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Rhona Pierce (42:44):
And there you have it, folks. Tejal showed us how
you can work around limitationsimposed by management to
advocate for job seekers andinfluence hiring decisions at
every level. As a recruiter,your voice can make a real
difference. Make sure yourinteractions both on and offline
are authentic and transparent.You never know who's listening
(43:08):
and whose life you're impacting.
And don't forget to experimentwith your content. It's okay to
try, sale and pivot, but youmust have a burnout plan. Know
when to step back and recharge.For more tips on creating
recruiting content, check outepisode 15 where Joel Lalji
(43:29):
shared the strategy that got himover 500,000 followers and
40,000,000 impressions. The linkis in the show notes.
Thanks for listening and I'llchat with you next week.
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