Talent Search Partners, Inc.

TALENT SEARCH PARTNERS, INC.

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September 2025

A Cost Effective Approach To Profitability

Career Insight, Career Preparation, Leadership, Recruitment /

One of the weaknesses of leaders that I’ve witnessed is their resistance to engaging in proactive dialogue with talent in their industry. Most decision makers are reactive when it comes to talent acquisition. It’s for certain that an organization will experience turnover by way of resignation, retirement, parental leave, termination, or death. We know these things will happen as a normal course of doing business, yet we wait for the inevitable, and scramble to fill these gaps in our talent structure. These are generally not when the best decisions are made. Hires in these moments are normally made out of convenience to stop the bleeding. The best time to take a loan is when you don’t need one. The same theory applies to hiring. The smartest time to be engaging in conversations with suitable people in your marketplace is when you don’t need to, or when your team is running at full capacity. Talent scouting should not take a break since you can’t control people and the decisions they make. We’ve all had those untimely meetings with our best people on a Monday morning. They usually start with, “Good morning, Steve – I’d like to thank you for this amazing opportunity to work with you and my team at XYZ Company for the past 10 years. That being said, I’ve decided to take my talents to South Beach.” The first reaction is usually how you can soften the impact of this person’s departure and prevent any disruption to the core activities of your business. Counteroffers seldom work, and the process of searching for a replacement is time consuming and taxing emotionally for all involved. What I’m proposing is the initial investment of 1 conversation a week with someone in your industry. However this person comes to you, you should be receptive to these meetings / discussions as a way of evaluating your market, that person’s fit, and the likelihood of a hire now, or in the future. This is proven, and guaranteed to solve a lot of your people problems. The argument against this might be, “It’s a waste of time to engage in these discussions without an official hiring request.” Or, “this goes against company policy. All such conversations should be had with the appropriate HR or TA professional within our organization.” Fair. Follow the appropriate policies and procedures. Don’t burn bridges. I’m speaking to a minority of decision makers at the highest level who can afford to be having these conversations with key people in their industry, choosing not to handle such situations as they come. This is detrimental to talent building. By the way, these discussions should also be happening internally with members of your current team as a way of succession planning, and knowing what roles are appropriate to be evaluating externally. You may need to push back on the conventional mindset, and that requires diplomacy and patience. What’s for certain is you’ll be ahead of your competitors, and your brand will reach those in your marketplace that wouldn’t have known about you otherwise. Your organization will reap the benefits for years to come. This is what good leadership looks like.

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The Colonization of Good Leadership

Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

Unprecedented circumstances call for unprecedented leadership. Followers are crying out for compassionate leaders who put the human above profit. Morals above self-interests. This starts at the ground floor… Ground floor? – Making better hires. This requires doing a better job of vetting current and future leaders. The growth of any company requires enlisting the service of competent professionals who work and lead with character. Any company that cuts corners when it comes to hiring the best their marketplace has to offer, is not interested in sustainability. By cutting corners, I refer in part to hiring strictly based on technical prowess and business acumen, while ignoring gut or instincts. Hiring for character & integrity has nothing to do with credentials from an accredited institution… Engineers are notorious for being highly analytical and data-driven… The best that I’ve witnessed and had significant exposure to, were able to level the brilliance of their engineering minds and couple that with instincts, sometimes used interchangeably with making decisions with the heart. However you choose to spin it, there is a demand for leaders who are balanced and who can cultivate new leaders. That’s the mark of effective leadership – its ability to replicate itself. This leads to great financial, and people returns for that organization. My premise is simple – if I’ve been enlisted to find a replacement for an employee who has left the organization, wouldn’t it make sense to investigate the reasons for that failed relationship? Too many in the recruitment and talent acquisition space are complicit in these failed relationships. How many of us have nailed a “jumpy” professional to the wall in a condemning manner and let poor leadership off the hook (Jumpy – a term used amongst recruiters to describe someone who moves from job to job frequently (i.e., months or a year at a time). We scrutinize those employees without holding leaders to the same level of interrogation. We have a responsibility to ensure that we are putting people into organizations that are healthy, working for leaders who understand their own responsibilities.

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Some Vultures Wear Custom-Fitted Suits

Career Insight, Leadership, Recruitment /

Recruiters! You’re feeding on dead-end positions; chasing after them like hungry vultures; willing to compromise for an organization that will not give you repeat business. You’re feeding on dead-end positions; positions that have no legitimacy or strategic direction, no growth trajectory for top prospects, no upper management support, and will likely end in termination or resignation of the hired employee within a year. This cycle has repeated itself time and time again, and you’re guilty by association. You’re complicit in this hoax of a hiring process by accepting these types of roles from hiring managers that are looking to exploit the most vulnerable the marketplace has to offer. Top performers don’t trust you, and rightfully so. Why would I put my career and family’s well being in the hands of someone who operates out of desperation and purely transactionally?! You have been biting the fee bait, taking anything dangled in front of you, and feeding this into the marketplace. We have a responsibility to the people, families, and corporations we represent to hold ourselves to a higher standard. There are times when you will have to walk away from something (or someone) to guard the integrity of what you do as a profession. This test will come to all of us. If not you, then who? If not now, then when?

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Don’t Take Time For Granted

Inspiration, Leadership, Recruitment /

There’s a war for time! More time with the family. More time with your children. More time to complete that project. More time to exercise. More time to eat. More time for everything you hold dear. We’re all given the same allotment of time in a day. It cannot be subtracted from, or added to… 24 hours is our daily portion 🕰️ The difference between a good professional and a poor professional is their ability to give you a return on your time. You pay a plumber to fix that leak because it will save you hours of trying to fix it on your own, which gives you more time to do the things I mentioned above. Don’t take time for granted. We think we’ll always have more time. Hiring Executive – “I don’t believe in retaining a recruiter!” You’re essentially saying that you have no regard for your time. You’re willing to commit your most valuable commodity to a search process with 3️⃣ to 4️⃣ recruiters who have not given you their undivided attention. The majority of decision makers have confused the benefits of retaining a search partner. They think it’s about paying you for work you haven’t done yet. What you’re really doing is retaining the time of that partner. Why do we continue to take time for granted?! That position will go unfilled for months/years despite your elaborate job advertisement, LinkedIn post, network, or even your robust TA team. A good recruiter marries all of the variables and people involved in the hiring process. We are the glue that allows for a seamless engagement of top talent. We ensure superior brand representation by crafting a go-to-market campaign that is sure to sift the best out of your marketplace. Why do you continue to put your “people problems” in the hands of those who have “people problems.” Give yourself a return on your time.

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