WEBVTT 00:00:02.120 --> 00:00:06.480 Welcome to the MedTech Talent Lab, the number 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:09.560 one catalyst for advancing careers and building 00:00:09.560 --> 00:00:13.019 high -performance teams. Sponsored by the Anthony 00:00:13.019 --> 00:00:16.320 Michael Group, helping companies secure in -demand 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:20.399 talent in regulatory affairs, quality, clinical, 00:00:20.839 --> 00:00:24.940 engineering, R &D, and other areas for medical 00:00:24.940 --> 00:00:28.800 device, digital health, diagnostics, and other 00:00:28.800 --> 00:00:32.340 organizations across the US life sciences sector. 00:00:33.359 --> 00:00:41.780 Here's your host, Mitch Robbins. All right, welcome 00:00:41.780 --> 00:00:44.420 back to another episode here on the medtech talent 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:46.600 lab podcast. I'm your host, Mitch Robbins, the 00:00:46.600 --> 00:00:49.009 founder. and managing director here at the Anthony 00:00:49.009 --> 00:00:50.750 Michael Group, building companies and careers 00:00:50.750 --> 00:00:53.509 across the industry. Today, I have the pleasure 00:00:53.509 --> 00:00:56.570 of sitting down with Miss Erica Logan. Erica 00:00:56.570 --> 00:01:00.530 is the director of talent acquisition at SQL 00:01:00.530 --> 00:01:03.409 MedTech. Now, before we get into SQL MedTech 00:01:03.409 --> 00:01:06.489 and Erica's background, just real quick, she's 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:08.469 been in the staffing and recruiting business 00:01:08.469 --> 00:01:11.950 since 2006, which was shortly after she came 00:01:11.950 --> 00:01:14.069 out of school in 2004. And I'm anxious to learn 00:01:14.069 --> 00:01:15.870 more about how she got into this crazy business 00:01:15.870 --> 00:01:19.719 that we call recruiting. But she's held positions 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:22.079 in corporate recruiting leadership with companies 00:01:22.079 --> 00:01:24.980 like Varicell and Paratherapeutics before joining 00:01:24.980 --> 00:01:28.980 SQL MedTech in 2023. She's worked on the dark 00:01:28.980 --> 00:01:31.620 side, as we like to say sometimes, or as talent 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:34.620 acquisition leaders say, in the third party side 00:01:34.620 --> 00:01:39.500 with a staffing firm as well. But for those unfamiliar 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:42.099 with SQL MedTech, SQL MedTech is developing the 00:01:42.099 --> 00:01:45.019 next generation of transformative drug delivery 00:01:45.019 --> 00:01:47.650 advancements in the diabetes space. The company's 00:01:47.650 --> 00:01:50.969 twist AID system will replace the burden of daily 00:01:50.969 --> 00:01:54.129 injections with automated, accurate delivery 00:01:54.129 --> 00:01:57.510 of insulin to help improve blood sugar control. 00:01:57.750 --> 00:01:59.510 So without further ado, Erica, welcome to the 00:01:59.510 --> 00:02:02.829 show. Thanks, Mitch. Thanks for having me. You 00:02:02.829 --> 00:02:05.730 got it. I am excited for you to be here and we're 00:02:05.730 --> 00:02:08.069 going to dig into a variety of talent topics 00:02:08.069 --> 00:02:11.009 today. But you got to help me here because I 00:02:11.009 --> 00:02:12.909 always joke and say nobody comes out of school 00:02:12.909 --> 00:02:15.629 saying they're going to be in recruiting just 00:02:15.629 --> 00:02:19.110 like a lot of the roles for that matter in med 00:02:19.110 --> 00:02:21.069 tech, but tell us if you would. You came out 00:02:21.069 --> 00:02:23.650 of school roughly around 2004. You got into staff. 00:02:23.750 --> 00:02:26.689 You're recruiting 2006. Is that right? Yes. Yes, 00:02:26.689 --> 00:02:29.349 that's right. And you're exactly right. I didn't 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:32.409 exactly go to college to become a recruiter. 00:02:32.550 --> 00:02:35.389 It wasn't a role I knew about after graduating. 00:02:35.969 --> 00:02:38.930 I actually went to college with the thought that 00:02:38.930 --> 00:02:41.289 I was going to go to law school after and then 00:02:41.289 --> 00:02:46.830 become a lawyer. But then I interned at a couple 00:02:46.830 --> 00:02:49.090 of different law offices during the summers. 00:02:49.229 --> 00:02:53.530 And I'm so glad I did because it showed me that 00:02:53.530 --> 00:02:55.930 what it's really like to be a lawyer is nothing 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:58.689 like it is on Ally McBeal, which is what I thought 00:02:58.689 --> 00:03:02.030 going into college. It's not quite as glamorous. 00:03:02.030 --> 00:03:04.569 And I just couldn't really see myself doing that 00:03:04.569 --> 00:03:08.129 long term. So then when I graduated in 2004 with 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:12.050 an art history degree, there weren't a ton of 00:03:12.050 --> 00:03:15.150 opportunities out there. Um, so I, I actually 00:03:15.150 --> 00:03:18.930 moved from Cleveland, um, to Boston, uh, where 00:03:18.930 --> 00:03:21.550 I had some friends from college, uh, and I just 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:24.490 started temping, um, because I, you know, just 00:03:24.490 --> 00:03:26.550 to get my foot in the door somewhere. So that's 00:03:26.550 --> 00:03:29.169 where I learned about, um, just the existence 00:03:29.169 --> 00:03:33.409 of staffing agencies and what they did. Um, and 00:03:33.409 --> 00:03:37.689 then how I got into staffing myself was it was 00:03:37.689 --> 00:03:41.919 through college sort of, so. I went to my friend's 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:45.080 bachelorette party and her younger sister was 00:03:45.080 --> 00:03:48.199 there. So we were hanging out and she actually 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:51.580 worked at Aerotech, a staffing agency. And she 00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:53.539 and I just hit it off. And by the end of the 00:03:53.539 --> 00:03:55.900 night, she was trying to recruit me to come work 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:59.599 at Aerotech. And she just made it sound like 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:02.560 a lot of fun that, you know, you just talk with 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.539 people and help them get jobs. And that that 00:04:05.539 --> 00:04:07.840 sounded good to me. So she got me an interview 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:11.250 and The rest is history. So quotations around 00:04:11.250 --> 00:04:13.969 just talk with people and help them get a job, 00:04:14.370 --> 00:04:17.629 right? It's just that support. Yeah. I kind of 00:04:17.629 --> 00:04:19.230 got chills when you were telling your story because 00:04:19.230 --> 00:04:23.569 I have a very similar story. So I got into recruiting 00:04:23.569 --> 00:04:28.550 in 2009. But right around that time, I was thinking 00:04:28.550 --> 00:04:31.370 about going to law school and I found a program. 00:04:31.389 --> 00:04:33.730 I actually got into the program. It was a joint 00:04:33.730 --> 00:04:37.149 JD MBA program. And before I decided to go through 00:04:37.149 --> 00:04:41.819 all the trials and tribulations of studying again 00:04:41.819 --> 00:04:44.360 and paying for law school. I thought, man, I 00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:46.660 think I want to at least see if I could vet this 00:04:46.660 --> 00:04:48.019 out and decide if this is really what I want 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:51.259 to do. And so I went into a staffing agency to 00:04:51.259 --> 00:04:53.360 try and get a clerkship in a law office, which 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:55.360 I didn't. But when I was there, I said, hey, 00:04:55.759 --> 00:04:57.439 you know, my mom always said she thought I'd 00:04:57.439 --> 00:04:59.439 be a good recruiter. But in that case, she was 00:04:59.439 --> 00:05:01.000 thinking of campus recruiting. She didn't know 00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:03.740 what recruiting was. And I said to the lady who 00:05:03.740 --> 00:05:04.839 was helping me at the time, I said, what do you 00:05:04.839 --> 00:05:07.259 guys do? Like, can you tell me more? And she 00:05:07.259 --> 00:05:11.319 kept my information and lo and behold, you know, 00:05:11.420 --> 00:05:13.339 there's more to the story, but I ended up coming 00:05:13.339 --> 00:05:15.339 to work for them about six months later. She 00:05:15.339 --> 00:05:17.600 called me back and the rest is history. But that's 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:18.899 so funny because I was thinking about going to 00:05:18.899 --> 00:05:22.480 law school at the same time too. Yeah, both are 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:24.720 kind of the path for people who not sure what 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:26.740 they want to do, but they really like talking. 00:05:27.959 --> 00:05:30.910 That's awesome. So fast forward, you were in 00:05:30.910 --> 00:05:32.730 the third party world for a while. How did you 00:05:32.730 --> 00:05:35.730 end up leaving a third party agency to come and 00:05:35.730 --> 00:05:39.629 do corporate recruiting? So I sort of had a step 00:05:39.629 --> 00:05:43.129 in between. So I was at Aerotech from 2006 to 00:05:43.129 --> 00:05:46.829 2010. Obviously, during that time, there was 00:05:46.829 --> 00:05:50.029 a recession and just a lot of changes at the 00:05:50.029 --> 00:05:54.250 company. And it was just becoming more and more 00:05:54.250 --> 00:05:58.939 difficult to get placements. it just really felt 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:02.779 like my time there was coming to an end. So I 00:06:02.779 --> 00:06:07.540 actually saw a posting on monster .com for a 00:06:07.540 --> 00:06:10.720 role at Pro Unlimited, which is like a vendor 00:06:10.720 --> 00:06:14.399 management solutions company. So they are onsite 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:17.180 at big companies and manage their contingent 00:06:17.180 --> 00:06:19.680 workforce program. So I thought that would be 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:22.279 a great way to kind of get my foot in the door 00:06:22.279 --> 00:06:24.959 on the corporate side and really start to learn 00:06:24.959 --> 00:06:27.290 about how things work. on that side while still 00:06:27.290 --> 00:06:30.209 being able to use all the skills that I had learned 00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:34.509 in the staffing world. So that ended up being 00:06:34.509 --> 00:06:37.370 a great fit for me, too. My first stint with 00:06:37.370 --> 00:06:41.269 them was at National Grid, managing the contingent 00:06:41.269 --> 00:06:44.750 workers there. And then I quickly got an opportunity 00:06:44.750 --> 00:06:49.399 to go work on site at Novartis. which was really 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:52.139 exciting for me because when I was at Aerotech, 00:06:52.339 --> 00:06:55.240 my focus in staffing was mostly in clinical research 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:57.399 and scientific staffing. So being able to get 00:06:57.399 --> 00:07:00.699 back to that was a lot of fun. And then I got 00:07:00.699 --> 00:07:04.180 the opportunity to manage my own account at Cubist 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:07.319 Pharmaceuticals. And so I did that for about 00:07:07.319 --> 00:07:11.620 a year and a half. And then at Cubist, things 00:07:11.620 --> 00:07:14.689 were slowing down as well. What I didn't know 00:07:14.689 --> 00:07:16.750 at the time was that Cubist was in the process 00:07:16.750 --> 00:07:21.970 of being sold to Merck. Obviously, they weren't 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:25.250 doing as much hiring, so I was just trying to 00:07:25.250 --> 00:07:26.870 put my feelers out there and figure out what 00:07:26.870 --> 00:07:30.529 I could do next. I happened to have lunch with 00:07:30.529 --> 00:07:33.250 one of my friends from Aerotech just to check 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:37.639 in and see how things were going. if she knew 00:07:37.639 --> 00:07:40.160 about anything, maybe she had heard about from 00:07:40.160 --> 00:07:42.060 one of her clients or something. And so she went 00:07:42.060 --> 00:07:45.740 back to the office that day, talked about what 00:07:45.740 --> 00:07:48.120 I was looking for with her team. And someone 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:50.740 on her team actually just had come from another 00:07:50.740 --> 00:07:52.519 meeting that morning saying, hey, actually, one 00:07:52.519 --> 00:07:56.120 of my clients is Astrum Biosciences at the time 00:07:56.120 --> 00:08:02.100 who later became Varicell. They used to be part 00:08:02.100 --> 00:08:06.540 of Genzyme and then Genzyme was sold to Sanofi 00:08:06.540 --> 00:08:09.279 and then a couple years later Sanofi divested 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:13.220 this division of the company so they became their 00:08:13.220 --> 00:08:17.959 own freestanding organization and so all of their 00:08:17.959 --> 00:08:21.180 HR department was actually in Michigan and they 00:08:21.180 --> 00:08:23.180 didn't have anybody on site in the Cambridge 00:08:23.180 --> 00:08:27.980 area so Just a sort of a right place at the right 00:08:27.980 --> 00:08:31.379 time situation I went in and interviewed with 00:08:31.379 --> 00:08:34.600 their manager and and that's how I made the move 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:39.179 into That's hilarious. So your friend Because 00:08:39.179 --> 00:08:40.879 you so you worked at aerotech made some friends 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:44.000 and they ended up placing you. Yeah, that's awesome. 00:08:45.179 --> 00:08:49.480 That's awesome So TA has so many facets to it 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:52.460 right you guys are hounded by all walks of life 00:08:52.460 --> 00:08:55.870 internally externally And you have had the opportunity 00:08:55.870 --> 00:08:59.289 to be part of now at least three corporate entities 00:08:59.289 --> 00:09:02.450 all at different places along the life cycle 00:09:02.450 --> 00:09:06.049 of kind of building the team because there's 00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:08.889 startup, there's rapid scale, there's kind of 00:09:08.889 --> 00:09:11.110 peak employee count, but kind of managing retention 00:09:11.110 --> 00:09:16.860 and managing the turnover that you do have. What 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:18.100 do you think's been the most challenging? If 00:09:18.100 --> 00:09:19.539 you look across, you know, what you're doing 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:21.580 right now compared to what you've done in the 00:09:21.580 --> 00:09:22.899 past, what do you think's been most challenging 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:27.299 as a TA leader? Oh, wow. I mean, there's certainly 00:09:27.299 --> 00:09:31.500 challenges at every organization. When I first 00:09:31.500 --> 00:09:36.879 started at Veracel, you know, that was a small 00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:40.179 unit of a very, very large company that all of 00:09:40.179 --> 00:09:43.559 a sudden just became their own freestanding company. 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:48.559 So they were used to having corporate resources. 00:09:49.580 --> 00:09:52.940 They never met their recruiters. They were in 00:09:52.940 --> 00:09:57.460 an office in New Jersey. Every process that they 00:09:57.460 --> 00:09:59.620 had to follow was the corporate process, and 00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:01.779 those didn't necessarily translate to the needs 00:10:01.779 --> 00:10:07.200 of this very small niche organization. So coming 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:12.100 in there, they had processes set up, but they 00:10:12.100 --> 00:10:16.039 weren't really working for them. it was an opportunity 00:10:16.039 --> 00:10:20.240 to work with a lot of the big departments that 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:23.039 did a lot of hiring to ask what was working for 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:25.500 you, what wasn't, and let's design a process 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:30.899 that will work for us where we are now. So it 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:33.019 was a bit of a challenge trying to figure out 00:10:33.019 --> 00:10:36.480 what things do we want to keep and what things 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:40.000 do we need to keep from just a FDA regulation 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:45.360 perspective and what do we want to design? from 00:10:45.360 --> 00:10:48.259 scratch to best suit the needs for, you know, 00:10:48.340 --> 00:10:51.379 this group. So that was the first time I really 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:55.759 had an opportunity to design a process from scratch 00:10:55.759 --> 00:10:58.000 in a collaborative way like that. And it was 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.639 really something that definitely has served me 00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:05.820 now as I'm coming on board at SQL, where, you 00:11:05.820 --> 00:11:08.379 know, we just started this company 18 months 00:11:08.379 --> 00:11:11.639 ago, I was the first HR person at all. So, you 00:11:11.639 --> 00:11:13.850 know, we really didn't have anything at all. 00:11:14.350 --> 00:11:17.210 So just going through that situation really helped 00:11:17.210 --> 00:11:21.230 me with where I am today. And I got to imagine 00:11:21.230 --> 00:11:23.110 being the first person, especially from a talent 00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:25.629 perspective, there's so many things that you 00:11:25.629 --> 00:11:28.809 have to balance at the same time. And it's like, 00:11:28.809 --> 00:11:31.009 what tools should we use? How do we get candidates 00:11:31.009 --> 00:11:34.450 on board? How do I rein in hiring managers? They've 00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:36.230 got umpteen hats that they're wearing right now, 00:11:36.230 --> 00:11:38.169 but they've got to make time to interview these 00:11:38.169 --> 00:11:40.649 people. Talk through that, if you would. What 00:11:40.649 --> 00:11:43.019 have you done? For those who are listening right 00:11:43.019 --> 00:11:46.580 now who maybe are either aspiring to be able 00:11:46.580 --> 00:11:48.740 to build something from scratch one day, or they're 00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:50.220 currently in the process right now and they're 00:11:50.220 --> 00:11:52.500 super overwhelmed, talk through maybe some of 00:11:52.500 --> 00:11:53.899 the things that you've had to work through that 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:57.340 you have put in place that are helping. Sure. 00:11:57.639 --> 00:12:02.580 Yeah. I was fortunate in the way that the company 00:12:02.580 --> 00:12:06.940 is new and so really the most important thing 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:10.690 that people needed was more people. Um, you know, 00:12:10.690 --> 00:12:15.389 I was coming from a place of, um, I don't want 00:12:15.389 --> 00:12:18.649 to say power, but it was certainly a role that 00:12:18.649 --> 00:12:21.409 was respected because it was still critical to 00:12:21.409 --> 00:12:27.389 the organization. So, um, in that way, I, I think. 00:12:29.149 --> 00:12:32.169 It can be different and different organizations 00:12:32.169 --> 00:12:34.730 if your company has different priorities, but, 00:12:34.789 --> 00:12:38.080 um, just because I was coming in. right at the 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:39.779 beginning where staffing was one of the most 00:12:39.779 --> 00:12:43.179 important things that did make prioritizing it 00:12:43.179 --> 00:12:49.740 a little bit easier. I also really thought hard 00:12:49.740 --> 00:12:52.759 about what had worked for me at other companies 00:12:52.759 --> 00:12:57.080 and what hadn't. And when you're in a startup 00:12:57.080 --> 00:12:59.659 environment, I think what people like best about 00:12:59.659 --> 00:13:01.500 it is you're able to move really quickly and 00:13:01.500 --> 00:13:03.700 not have a lot of red tape. So I wanted to set 00:13:03.700 --> 00:13:09.149 up a process that matched that vibe. while also 00:13:09.149 --> 00:13:13.429 retaining the bits of red tape that are critical, 00:13:13.590 --> 00:13:17.710 things like compliance and making sure we're 00:13:17.710 --> 00:13:20.429 giving everybody an equitable opportunity to 00:13:20.429 --> 00:13:24.090 come join the company, that we're doing compliant 00:13:24.090 --> 00:13:26.129 background checks and not checking too many things, 00:13:26.129 --> 00:13:29.690 things like that. So just being able to hone 00:13:29.690 --> 00:13:32.730 in on what's most important and really waiting 00:13:32.730 --> 00:13:35.470 out the rest so that we can bring people on quickly. 00:13:36.539 --> 00:13:39.500 I think that is what allowed me to be successful 00:13:39.500 --> 00:13:43.019 and for us to hire people really quickly. What 00:13:43.019 --> 00:13:45.139 I like about what you said there is that you 00:13:45.139 --> 00:13:47.840 talked about leaning on previous experience that 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:49.500 you've had in other companies to kind of help 00:13:49.500 --> 00:13:52.159 you. But at the same time, you didn't try to 00:13:52.159 --> 00:13:54.080 implement so many things that you thought would 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.580 be great quickly. You kind of looked at what 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:58.220 is the greatest need that we have right now. 00:13:58.220 --> 00:14:00.100 The greatest need is throw everything out and 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:01.799 let's get some people on board. That's what makes 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:06.289 that's what we need right now. Process and Maybe 00:14:06.289 --> 00:14:07.690 smoothing things out and having a little bit 00:14:07.690 --> 00:14:09.750 more finesse to what we do will come. But right 00:14:09.750 --> 00:14:12.970 now, let's be scrappy, just like a startup needs. 00:14:13.149 --> 00:14:15.950 And you know what? The other thing too is, as 00:14:15.950 --> 00:14:17.669 I think through the timeline, you actually did 00:14:17.669 --> 00:14:19.909 as a talent person, you actually came on board 00:14:19.909 --> 00:14:22.490 very quickly because most organizations kind 00:14:22.490 --> 00:14:26.950 of use the founders and the core leadership team 00:14:26.950 --> 00:14:28.970 at first to recruit some people and then bring 00:14:28.970 --> 00:14:31.110 on a talent person. So they actually did something. 00:14:32.250 --> 00:14:34.929 Probably to their to their credit really great 00:14:34.929 --> 00:14:37.450 as far as being able to delegate that to you 00:14:37.450 --> 00:14:40.610 Yes, and I do think that's exactly what happened. 00:14:40.610 --> 00:14:44.429 So Alan Lottman is our CEO It's my understanding 00:14:44.429 --> 00:14:47.070 that the very first person he hired was Beth 00:14:47.070 --> 00:14:50.909 Kite who is our head of The whole commercial 00:14:50.909 --> 00:14:54.769 team so both market access and sales And it just 00:14:54.769 --> 00:14:56.850 so happened that she and I had just worked together 00:14:56.850 --> 00:15:00.509 at pair therapeutic So she she knew me and then 00:15:00.509 --> 00:15:03.570 you know Alan hired I think eight or nine of 00:15:03.570 --> 00:15:07.309 the other, you know, VPs and executives through 00:15:07.309 --> 00:15:10.990 his network. But then between Beth and Alan, 00:15:11.250 --> 00:15:12.809 that was, they're like, well, that's, that's 00:15:12.809 --> 00:15:15.850 everyone we know. So we need probably 100 more 00:15:15.850 --> 00:15:20.049 people to get this show on the road. So, you 00:15:20.049 --> 00:15:22.690 know, understandably, you know, at that early 00:15:22.690 --> 00:15:25.830 stage, when I started talking to Beth about opportunities 00:15:25.830 --> 00:15:29.389 at sequel. The company was literally founded 00:15:29.389 --> 00:15:32.730 on June 1st and she and I started talking maybe 00:15:32.730 --> 00:15:36.929 three weeks later. So it was very much the infant 00:15:36.929 --> 00:15:39.809 stages. The company did not yet have a name, 00:15:40.470 --> 00:15:43.830 let alone a website. We had a building where 00:15:43.830 --> 00:15:49.370 the office probably was going to be. And so obviously, 00:15:49.450 --> 00:15:54.110 you know, not a lot of known entities or anything. 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:57.519 It was very, very, very new. So we just talked 00:15:57.519 --> 00:16:00.279 about like a part -time contract opportunity 00:16:00.279 --> 00:16:06.259 and just hearing, you know, I did need a full 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:08.580 -time job ultimately, but just hearing about 00:16:08.580 --> 00:16:11.440 the brilliant people who were starting this company 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:14.919 and just knowing you don't get opportunities 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:17.570 like this every day to come in. from the very 00:16:17.570 --> 00:16:19.950 beginning and build the department exactly how 00:16:19.950 --> 00:16:22.429 you want it. So I said, you know, I don't really 00:16:22.429 --> 00:16:24.429 care what you call yourselves or how you want 00:16:24.429 --> 00:16:30.110 to pay me. I'm on board. This is so cool. So 00:16:30.110 --> 00:16:32.769 yeah, I did start as a part -time contractor, 00:16:32.769 --> 00:16:37.889 but in our first month, you know, as we sort 00:16:37.889 --> 00:16:40.330 of figured out how long things were going to 00:16:40.330 --> 00:16:43.009 take and what was really needed. Um, Alan saw 00:16:43.009 --> 00:16:45.330 that there, you know, this was a full time need. 00:16:45.610 --> 00:16:48.730 And so he brought me on. Um, originally I was 00:16:48.730 --> 00:16:53.490 brought on as director of HR. So, um, he, it 00:16:53.490 --> 00:16:55.610 was a very casual conversation. It was very funny. 00:16:55.610 --> 00:16:57.690 He's just said, Hey, you're doing a great job. 00:16:57.710 --> 00:17:00.049 I'd love to bring you on full time. I think being 00:17:00.049 --> 00:17:02.210 director of HR. So just like, if we have any 00:17:02.210 --> 00:17:04.150 other HR stuff that needs to get done, you can 00:17:04.150 --> 00:17:09.109 do that too. And I just said, okay. So, um, yeah. 00:17:09.549 --> 00:17:12.430 And now it's transitioned though more to your 00:17:12.430 --> 00:17:15.430 over talent specifically. Is that right? Okay, 00:17:16.029 --> 00:17:18.730 but but cool cool opportunity though, because 00:17:18.730 --> 00:17:20.750 I'm sure you did do some of the foundational 00:17:20.750 --> 00:17:22.829 HR stuff that maybe you weren't exposed to as 00:17:22.829 --> 00:17:25.029 much in your corporate recruiting roles prior. 00:17:25.150 --> 00:17:28.170 Is that right? Yeah, that's for sure. So we did 00:17:28.170 --> 00:17:31.430 have a PEO so they you know manage our benefits 00:17:31.430 --> 00:17:34.880 and paywall but You know, I hadn't even really 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:38.920 done much with HRAS systems before. You know, 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:41.740 I had had some exposure, but this was my first 00:17:41.740 --> 00:17:44.140 time really doing onboarding in those systems. 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:48.420 And then, you know, we actually had to go through 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:52.900 open enrollment in October of that year. So like 00:17:52.900 --> 00:17:55.339 a month after I started, I was working with the 00:17:55.339 --> 00:17:59.000 CEO and the PEO to select the benefits for our 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.200 benefits program. That was definitely not something. 00:18:01.529 --> 00:18:06.029 I've done before. I selected our 401k vendor 00:18:06.029 --> 00:18:12.210 and implemented a 401k. So yes, I definitely 00:18:12.210 --> 00:18:15.990 got exposure and experiences that I had never 00:18:15.990 --> 00:18:19.549 had before and I think are just very unique to 00:18:19.549 --> 00:18:24.609 be able to do that. For sure. 100%. So I want 00:18:24.609 --> 00:18:27.910 to steer our conversation to 2024 right now. 00:18:27.910 --> 00:18:30.779 Here we are as the time of this recording. We're 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:33.559 almost in the middle of December and it's been 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:38.559 a crazy year employment -wise You know in our 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:40.799 space more layoffs than I've seen probably since 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:45.380 I've been in this space He a leaders bombarded 00:18:45.380 --> 00:18:49.160 with applications all over the place and You 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:51.940 know LinkedIn is a funky thing in the sense that 00:18:51.940 --> 00:18:55.359 you see these job postings and it says 300 applications 00:18:55.359 --> 00:18:57.960 or whatever within a few minutes and then you 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:00.619 hear From the TA said no, that's not really true. 00:19:00.660 --> 00:19:02.480 We're not getting that much or if we do they're 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:04.720 not all qualified So I want to talk about real 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.660 time Experience that you're you're having yourself 00:19:08.660 --> 00:19:10.839 and then perhaps advice for those who are in 00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:13.940 job seeking mode who listen to this back So first 00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:16.220 and foremost, you've got a variety of postings 00:19:16.220 --> 00:19:18.140 for jobs that you guys are working on, too Is 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:20.440 it like that in your world? Are you getting a 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:22.279 gazillion applications for each requisition that 00:19:22.279 --> 00:19:26.319 you have open? Well, the short answer is no, 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:29.839 we're certainly not. So right now, the majority 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:32.920 of the postings that we have are for field roles. 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:35.960 So they're for a specific region. I think that 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:40.000 helps so people know that for this territory, 00:19:40.099 --> 00:19:42.500 we're only hiring people from within 50 miles 00:19:42.500 --> 00:19:45.759 of Duluth or wherever it is. So for those types 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:48.000 of roles, we're not getting bombarded at all. 00:19:48.059 --> 00:19:50.240 I mean, we're getting a healthy number of applicants. 00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:54.299 And I think LinkedIn is absolutely pushing our 00:19:54.299 --> 00:19:57.380 jobs out to the exact right people because we're 00:19:57.380 --> 00:19:59.859 getting applicants who are in the diabetes space 00:19:59.859 --> 00:20:05.980 for the most part. Whenever we have an IT or 00:20:05.980 --> 00:20:08.680 marketing role that says it's remote, yes, we're 00:20:08.680 --> 00:20:11.980 getting absolutely bombarded with applications. 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:17.599 But I will say, for the time being, we're not 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:22.390 using AI to screen through resumes. For 90 % 00:20:22.390 --> 00:20:24.589 of our roles, the hiring managers are going into 00:20:24.589 --> 00:20:26.849 the rec and truly looking at every applicant. 00:20:28.089 --> 00:20:30.730 And, you know, they have an understanding of 00:20:30.730 --> 00:20:33.170 the industry and what we're looking for. So, 00:20:33.230 --> 00:20:35.410 you know, they're making the decisions on who 00:20:35.410 --> 00:20:39.349 we're speaking with. And then, you know, the 00:20:39.349 --> 00:20:41.890 team is also doing, you know, external outreach. 00:20:43.430 --> 00:20:45.990 So I would say, you know, if you see a role and 00:20:45.990 --> 00:20:48.549 it's perfect for you, apply as soon as you possibly 00:20:48.549 --> 00:20:53.700 can. and make sure your resume is tailored for 00:20:53.700 --> 00:20:57.559 the role. For our company, since we're launching 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:00.759 in the diabetes space, for most of our roles, 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:03.619 we're firing that therapeutic area experience 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:06.240 or just making sure that your resume screams 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:10.640 that. I know that people a lot of times give 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:12.460 the advice that you should reach out to the hiring 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:16.480 manager or the recruiter on LinkedIn. I do think 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:19.940 that's a great idea, but If you're reaching out 00:21:19.940 --> 00:21:22.259 to me through LinkedIn and telling me that you're 00:21:22.259 --> 00:21:24.400 a perfect fit for the role and you don't meet 00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.180 the minimum qualifications for the role, then 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:32.180 that is frustrating to me because you're just 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:34.440 not, you know, some roles there's qualifications 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:38.859 and we do. We're very deliberate when we're developing 00:21:38.859 --> 00:21:41.640 our job descriptions to make sure we're not asking 00:21:41.640 --> 00:21:46.259 for anything more than what we need. From the 00:21:46.259 --> 00:21:49.259 beginning, I made a push so that we're not requiring 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:52.440 a college degree if it's really not a requirement 00:21:52.440 --> 00:21:57.440 for the role. But if we are a regulated industry 00:21:57.440 --> 00:21:59.920 and we are launching really quickly, so there 00:21:59.920 --> 00:22:01.859 is some experience that you just need to have. 00:22:02.660 --> 00:22:07.779 So I would say if you are a perfect fit for a 00:22:07.779 --> 00:22:11.880 role and you really want to make sure the recruiter 00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:14.980 sees your resume, it's great to reach out to 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:17.619 them through LinkedIn. Make sure you apply to 00:22:17.619 --> 00:22:20.279 the job first, because again, you know, a lot 00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:22.440 of times we can only consider people who have 00:22:22.440 --> 00:22:24.859 applied for, you know, lots of different compliance 00:22:24.859 --> 00:22:28.720 reasons. And then if you can put in that blurb, 00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:30.920 what makes you a great fit in one or two sentences, 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:33.359 those are the messages I pay attention to. And 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:35.059 those are the messages that I forward through 00:22:35.059 --> 00:22:38.359 to the hiring manager. Thank you. I'm glad to 00:22:38.359 --> 00:22:40.480 hear, you know, from the horse's mouth kind of 00:22:40.480 --> 00:22:42.329 what goes through your mind, what you're looking 00:22:42.329 --> 00:22:44.410 for, what you see. And one of the biggest frustrations 00:22:44.410 --> 00:22:46.609 I have too is people complain about not finding 00:22:46.609 --> 00:22:49.490 work or not getting callbacks or not getting 00:22:49.490 --> 00:22:51.970 any response. But you also got to be careful 00:22:51.970 --> 00:22:54.009 as to what you're applying to. I can't tell you 00:22:54.009 --> 00:22:55.309 the amount of people that reach out to me and 00:22:55.309 --> 00:22:57.950 say, Hey, I saw this position that you made a 00:22:57.950 --> 00:22:59.730 LinkedIn post about. I'm blah, blah, blah. It's 00:22:59.730 --> 00:23:02.069 like has nothing to do it. So why would you spend 00:23:02.069 --> 00:23:05.250 my time talking to you when you didn't have a 00:23:05.250 --> 00:23:07.809 courtesy that the respect, I guess upfront to 00:23:07.809 --> 00:23:09.609 realize like This is not even my wheelhouse. 00:23:09.630 --> 00:23:13.089 So why don't you focus on what you do best and 00:23:13.089 --> 00:23:15.069 add as much values you possibly can within that 00:23:15.069 --> 00:23:18.829 space? So I love that. What did you mention AI? 00:23:18.930 --> 00:23:21.109 Hey, we're not using AI right now. AI is coming 00:23:21.109 --> 00:23:24.009 for all of us. And I think in a way in a good, 00:23:24.210 --> 00:23:27.430 you know, it's scary because the rate that it's 00:23:27.430 --> 00:23:29.910 evolving is unbelievable. And I always say, do 00:23:29.910 --> 00:23:32.349 I think it's going to replace tasks and perhaps 00:23:32.349 --> 00:23:34.529 responsibilities? Yes. But do I think it's going 00:23:34.529 --> 00:23:37.849 to create alternative jobs? and have people who 00:23:37.849 --> 00:23:41.569 can harness the power of AI be well off? Absolutely. 00:23:42.150 --> 00:23:44.009 So what's your perspective as to what's going 00:23:44.009 --> 00:23:46.009 on with AI in our space in talent acquisition? 00:23:47.190 --> 00:23:49.109 Yeah, and thanks for giving me an opportunity 00:23:49.109 --> 00:23:52.150 to clarify what I just said. So I'm not using, 00:23:52.230 --> 00:23:55.250 and my team is not using AI to screen candidates 00:23:55.250 --> 00:23:59.529 out, but do we use AI for other things? Absolutely. 00:23:59.650 --> 00:24:02.890 Like if you're not using ChatGPT to write your... 00:24:02.970 --> 00:24:05.109 job descriptions, I don't know what you're doing 00:24:05.109 --> 00:24:07.950 with your life because it's, I mean, that is 00:24:07.950 --> 00:24:10.630 a great use of your time. We're also looking 00:24:10.630 --> 00:24:14.329 at a couple of AI tools to use as, you know, 00:24:14.490 --> 00:24:18.630 note taking during our conversations with candidates. 00:24:19.529 --> 00:24:22.309 So I think there's there's certainly opportunities 00:24:22.309 --> 00:24:25.109 to use AI, like you said, to make our jobs easier 00:24:25.109 --> 00:24:27.549 so that we can focus on the human aspects of 00:24:27.549 --> 00:24:32.029 our job. I think the most important thing that 00:24:32.029 --> 00:24:35.329 a recruiter can do is have that initial conversation 00:24:35.329 --> 00:24:39.009 with the candidate. Not only to figure out if 00:24:39.009 --> 00:24:41.789 the candidate is a good fit for the role, but 00:24:41.789 --> 00:24:44.430 the part that people don't talk about as much 00:24:44.430 --> 00:24:47.170 is how much we're selling the role to the candidate 00:24:47.170 --> 00:24:50.190 and making connections in the conversation to 00:24:50.190 --> 00:24:52.910 help the candidate see how their experience makes 00:24:52.910 --> 00:24:55.630 them a good fit for the role and what they're 00:24:55.630 --> 00:24:58.349 looking for in a company is what you'll find 00:24:58.349 --> 00:25:05.039 here. AI can't do that. And people do really 00:25:05.039 --> 00:25:06.680 want that human connection. They want to talk 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:09.559 to somebody who's so excited and so passionate 00:25:09.559 --> 00:25:12.460 about where they work and what they do and can 00:25:12.460 --> 00:25:17.339 really see in you what makes you tick and how 00:25:17.339 --> 00:25:20.380 that would really be fostered and enhanced at 00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:27.200 your new company. I almost want to go like this 00:25:27.200 --> 00:25:30.509 because it's true. I mean, it's true. the power 00:25:30.509 --> 00:25:32.930 of the human connection, but the goal that you 00:25:32.930 --> 00:25:35.089 just shared is that it's a two -way street, right? 00:25:35.109 --> 00:25:37.369 There's got to be a value proposition to an organization 00:25:37.369 --> 00:25:39.869 as to why somebody should stop dead in their 00:25:39.869 --> 00:25:41.890 tracks and see this as at least a no -brainer 00:25:41.890 --> 00:25:44.069 to not only have an exploratory conversation, 00:25:44.130 --> 00:25:47.089 but to hopefully learn more because what they've 00:25:47.089 --> 00:25:49.650 heard is intriguing enough to realize, hey, doing 00:25:49.650 --> 00:25:52.470 this same job here compared to down the street 00:25:52.470 --> 00:25:55.609 is different. And I think it's, especially in 00:25:55.609 --> 00:25:58.089 down markets, companies overlook that. But please 00:25:58.089 --> 00:26:00.559 realize that if even in down markets, there's 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:02.500 still people who are gainfully employed, who 00:26:02.500 --> 00:26:04.559 are not going to cover off the ball, who could 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:06.859 be a huge asset to your organization if they 00:26:06.859 --> 00:26:09.279 came work for you versus elsewhere. And those 00:26:09.279 --> 00:26:12.000 who are unemployed, their most important priority 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:13.740 is to land a job. So that means that you already 00:26:13.740 --> 00:26:15.380 have competition because they're trying to interview 00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:17.339 with as many companies as they can in this space. 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:22.160 So it's just as important. How do you, how do 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:25.079 you, and I'm not talking about necessarily SQL 00:26:25.079 --> 00:26:26.740 MedTech, I'm talking about in the course of your 00:26:26.740 --> 00:26:29.519 career. How do you convey the importance of that 00:26:29.519 --> 00:26:32.180 piece to your hiring teams? Because I don't think 00:26:32.180 --> 00:26:36.920 oftentimes they necessarily stop to realize or 00:26:36.920 --> 00:26:40.339 understand that. Yeah, that's a good question. 00:26:41.880 --> 00:26:45.279 I think it's really just as simple as talking 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:49.539 about that in my initial kickoff conversation. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:54.380 I always have a scheduled... Wreck kickoff even 00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:56.619 if it's a role that we've filled before or with 00:26:56.619 --> 00:26:59.279 a hiring manager who has done a lot of hiring 00:26:59.279 --> 00:27:02.000 Because you know to your point the market is 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:06.059 always changing and and they rely on us to tell 00:27:06.059 --> 00:27:08.420 them You know what? It's really like out there 00:27:08.420 --> 00:27:13.259 and and how they need to handle the search so 00:27:13.259 --> 00:27:17.549 You know I think the phrase time kills all deals 00:27:17.549 --> 00:27:20.089 is something that we use amongst our team and 00:27:20.089 --> 00:27:22.569 not really with hiring managers. But that's the 00:27:22.569 --> 00:27:26.930 basic message is that, you know, for the right 00:27:26.930 --> 00:27:30.990 people, we are selling our company and the role 00:27:30.990 --> 00:27:34.069 as much as they are selling themselves to us. 00:27:34.069 --> 00:27:38.309 And so the candidate experience is really paramount 00:27:38.309 --> 00:27:41.869 from the beginning to the end. And here's what's 00:27:41.869 --> 00:27:44.369 going to make us successful. It's having a very 00:27:44.490 --> 00:27:47.529 clear outline of what the interview process is 00:27:47.529 --> 00:27:50.130 going to look like, having impeccable communication 00:27:50.130 --> 00:27:53.630 with the candidate, and what I really try to 00:27:53.630 --> 00:27:58.009 focus in on in that intro meeting is all the 00:27:58.009 --> 00:28:00.190 decision points in the process and how are we 00:28:00.190 --> 00:28:02.690 making those decisions and what's the time frame 00:28:02.690 --> 00:28:05.769 for those who's in charge of that and who's driving 00:28:05.769 --> 00:28:08.869 that because every little decision point is an 00:28:08.869 --> 00:28:12.380 opportunity for a clog in the process and And 00:28:12.380 --> 00:28:14.500 that's when candidates get frustrated and that's 00:28:14.500 --> 00:28:17.720 when the hiring process loses steam. So just 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:20.240 making sure those things are all decided upfront 00:28:20.240 --> 00:28:24.420 is really what has graced the wheels for me and 00:28:24.420 --> 00:28:27.500 allows the hiring manager to understand that, 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:30.539 you know, what's really important in the process 00:28:30.539 --> 00:28:34.119 and how we're going to get our goals met at the 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:37.500 end. Have you ever worked with a process where 00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:39.460 the hiring manager or the hiring team for that 00:28:39.460 --> 00:28:41.700 matter wanted you know, umpteen steps in the 00:28:41.700 --> 00:28:43.680 process. They got to have an intake call and 00:28:43.680 --> 00:28:44.960 then they got to do this test and then they got 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.519 to meet with the four of them. And then if they 00:28:46.519 --> 00:28:47.660 meet with the four of them, then they got to 00:28:47.660 --> 00:28:48.960 meet with so -and -so. Have you ever had that 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:50.680 where she's like, this doesn't make any sense? 00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:54.460 Oh, yeah, of course. And, um, and, you know, 00:28:54.480 --> 00:28:57.339 I, I advise and I explain, you know, why this 00:28:57.339 --> 00:28:59.720 isn't going to work. Um, you know, ultimately, 00:29:00.140 --> 00:29:02.960 um, I do sort of have a feeling that, you know, 00:29:02.960 --> 00:29:08.839 it's their wreck and, um, they, They need to 00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:11.460 be comfortable with the process. So I do advise 00:29:11.460 --> 00:29:17.319 on best practices and I do sort of feel like 00:29:17.319 --> 00:29:22.200 in a way if if we just Do their bad process and 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:24.059 they see that it's bad, then they'll be more 00:29:24.059 --> 00:29:28.740 willing to fix it so Yeah, we've changed when 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:32.069 the pain is great enough, right? Yeah, yeah And 00:29:32.069 --> 00:29:33.950 it's like, oh gosh, everyone's canceling their 00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:35.869 interviews and we've had three people drop out 00:29:35.869 --> 00:29:38.250 because then, then I have the data to show them 00:29:38.250 --> 00:29:41.509 of, you know, what's happened and what's not 00:29:41.509 --> 00:29:45.069 working. Um, so, you know, I don't, I don't like 00:29:45.069 --> 00:29:49.349 to do it that way, but, um, that, that has, that 00:29:49.349 --> 00:29:52.430 has happened. Yes. The more I host these episodes 00:29:52.430 --> 00:29:55.569 with, with, especially on the TA side, the more 00:29:55.569 --> 00:29:58.589 I want to preach just the importance of the talent 00:29:58.589 --> 00:30:01.720 acquisition professional's responsibility. To 00:30:01.720 --> 00:30:04.779 coach the hiring team because they were all once 00:30:04.779 --> 00:30:06.920 candidates as well But just because they were 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:08.900 candidates and just because they have a hire 00:30:08.900 --> 00:30:10.559 to make doesn't mean that their professional 00:30:10.559 --> 00:30:14.779 hiring I don't know how to say basically the 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:17.079 professional hiring teams, right? They have a 00:30:17.079 --> 00:30:19.819 they have a need which is to hire somebody but 00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:22.579 the the way that they do it Doesn't necessarily 00:30:22.579 --> 00:30:24.539 mean they've got you know a PhD in how to do 00:30:24.539 --> 00:30:27.180 it And so I think for people who hire so many 00:30:27.180 --> 00:30:29.680 people in the organization, it's it's your responsibility 00:30:29.950 --> 00:30:32.130 to coach them in the best interest of themselves 00:30:32.130 --> 00:30:34.730 and the organization and the candidate. And I 00:30:34.730 --> 00:30:37.549 think having that trust in place and really building 00:30:37.549 --> 00:30:40.970 it based on delivering results and backing yourself 00:30:40.970 --> 00:30:44.630 up with data like you said is is paramount. I 00:30:44.630 --> 00:30:47.750 totally agree. Yeah. And and to that point, too, 00:30:48.589 --> 00:30:51.730 is, you know, folks who are doing a lot of hiring, 00:30:51.730 --> 00:30:56.009 they have an outsized influence on the marketplace 00:30:56.009 --> 00:30:59.380 and what people outside of the company think 00:30:59.380 --> 00:31:03.319 about our company, especially at a new company 00:31:03.319 --> 00:31:06.839 where most of the people who have heard of SQL 00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:09.180 for the first six months that we were around 00:31:09.180 --> 00:31:11.460 probably heard about the company because they 00:31:11.460 --> 00:31:13.920 saw a job ad or they applied to a job here or 00:31:13.920 --> 00:31:18.700 somebody they know got a job here. So that's 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:25.640 a huge responsibility that the TA team has. we 00:31:25.640 --> 00:31:29.559 are really the stewards of our company's reputation. 00:31:30.059 --> 00:31:33.099 And if all people know about our company is that 00:31:33.099 --> 00:31:35.740 I have to talk to 18 different people to get 00:31:35.740 --> 00:31:37.480 my foot in the door there. And I had no idea 00:31:37.480 --> 00:31:40.900 what was going on half the time. Then everyone 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:43.000 just thinks we're disorganized and we don't know 00:31:43.000 --> 00:31:45.200 what we're doing. And maybe this isn't going 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:47.819 to be such a successful company. But if you have 00:31:47.819 --> 00:31:51.579 a tight process from the beginning and you the 00:31:51.579 --> 00:31:54.299 candidate experiences what they were told they 00:31:54.299 --> 00:31:56.599 were going to up front and we make decisions 00:31:56.599 --> 00:31:59.900 quickly. That shows the candidate that, you know, 00:31:59.920 --> 00:32:02.440 even if they don't get a job that we know what 00:32:02.440 --> 00:32:06.980 we're doing and we're a company that operates 00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:10.119 with, you know, integrity and standards. And 00:32:10.119 --> 00:32:13.579 I don't think people really think about that 00:32:13.579 --> 00:32:16.980 part of it. And that has come into some of my 00:32:16.980 --> 00:32:19.019 coaching conversations is, you know, we don't 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:21.339 need this to be a perfect candidate experience 00:32:21.339 --> 00:32:25.400 just to be nice and to hopefully hire the best 00:32:25.400 --> 00:32:29.160 person. It's really important to do that so that 00:32:29.160 --> 00:32:33.259 we're maintaining our good standing in, you know, 00:32:33.400 --> 00:32:38.180 the broader atmosphere. I love that because I 00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:43.759 always say people talking positively or people 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:45.880 talking negatively or people talking which one 00:32:45.880 --> 00:32:47.799 do you want them to talk which direction you 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:50.019 want them to go right because they're going to 00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:51.660 speak one way or the other depending on their 00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:54.599 experience and I think that this can experience 00:32:54.599 --> 00:32:56.519 thing it kind of gets on my nerves a little bit 00:32:56.519 --> 00:33:00.400 because it can be almost a buzz phrase versus 00:33:00.400 --> 00:33:02.299 like actually taking action about it like oh 00:33:02.299 --> 00:33:04.539 we want a good candidate experience and very 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:07.859 similar to D and I honestly a few years ago even 00:33:07.859 --> 00:33:10.519 and I say that with respect I think it's an important 00:33:10.519 --> 00:33:12.619 topic, but it's a matter of Are we talking or 00:33:12.619 --> 00:33:14.460 are we actually taking action to do some things 00:33:14.460 --> 00:33:17.599 internally? So with that said, and this is probably 00:33:17.599 --> 00:33:20.579 where we're going to wrap, I could tell that 00:33:20.579 --> 00:33:22.680 you're very passionate about a canned experience 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:26.160 and that you are doing something about it. Is 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:28.059 there one or two pieces of advice that you can 00:33:28.059 --> 00:33:30.019 give maybe to somebody who's listening right 00:33:30.019 --> 00:33:32.960 now who's kind of cowering a little bit because 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:34.819 they know it's important, but they're frustrated 00:33:34.819 --> 00:33:36.400 because they see what's happening in their own 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:38.480 organization? Give one or two pieces of advice 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:42.619 as to perhaps things that they can either implement 00:33:42.619 --> 00:33:46.640 straight away or advice on how to have that conversation 00:33:46.640 --> 00:33:51.000 internally? Yeah, that's a great question. So 00:33:51.000 --> 00:33:55.779 if you're in a situation where it's a very fixed 00:33:55.779 --> 00:33:57.759 process and you feel like you don't have a lot 00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:01.099 of control over what you can change, what I would 00:34:01.099 --> 00:34:04.759 most focus on is that initial candidate conversation 00:34:04.759 --> 00:34:09.260 and really just setting the tone and making sure 00:34:09.260 --> 00:34:11.880 the candidate understands what the process is. 00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:15.860 Because even if the process is terrible, if they 00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:18.480 know what to expect, that provides the candidate 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:21.980 a lot of comfort and security and will prevent 00:34:21.980 --> 00:34:26.159 them from needing to check in a lot. And it's 00:34:26.159 --> 00:34:29.219 just people just want to know what to expect. 00:34:29.260 --> 00:34:33.139 So if you can set that up very clearly. with 00:34:33.139 --> 00:34:35.559 how long is the process going to take, how many 00:34:35.559 --> 00:34:38.260 steps are going to be, where there might be changes 00:34:38.260 --> 00:34:41.260 in the process, how long in between steps they 00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:46.920 can expect. That is a huge impact on the candidate 00:34:46.920 --> 00:34:49.079 experience, and I think that's something that 00:34:49.079 --> 00:34:53.679 everybody can do. If you have a little bit more 00:34:53.679 --> 00:34:57.559 opportunity to take control of the process, The 00:34:57.559 --> 00:35:01.159 very first thing I would change is looking at 00:35:01.159 --> 00:35:05.079 your application process. It's like you said, 00:35:05.260 --> 00:35:08.139 a lot of people are out of work and applying 00:35:08.139 --> 00:35:13.820 for a lot of jobs and it's very stressful to 00:35:13.820 --> 00:35:18.760 have to do that. And if you have to, if it takes 00:35:18.760 --> 00:35:21.300 you half an hour to apply for a job on your website, 00:35:22.199 --> 00:35:26.539 that makes people feel not only frustrated and 00:35:26.539 --> 00:35:28.579 annoyed, but it makes it seem like, well, maybe 00:35:28.579 --> 00:35:30.820 you just have a lot of red tape as an organization 00:35:30.820 --> 00:35:34.599 and maybe this is how it's going to be to actually 00:35:34.599 --> 00:35:36.880 work there. Is everything going to have a thousand 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:39.880 steps? And maybe I don't really want to do that. 00:35:40.300 --> 00:35:43.639 So if you can just have a very straightforward 00:35:43.639 --> 00:35:46.079 application process where you submit your resume, 00:35:46.360 --> 00:35:49.840 you maybe answer two or three specifically relevant 00:35:49.840 --> 00:35:53.079 questions. And then you can be on your way. And 00:35:53.079 --> 00:35:56.280 if you can apply on your phone, you've already 00:35:56.280 --> 00:36:00.219 set up a great candidate experience. I love that. 00:36:00.280 --> 00:36:02.519 And I appreciate all the truth and just the kind 00:36:02.519 --> 00:36:06.579 of realness from you today because like I said, 00:36:06.679 --> 00:36:08.260 yeah, you hear it all over the, all you got to 00:36:08.260 --> 00:36:10.300 do is go on LinkedIn. You see all these posts 00:36:10.300 --> 00:36:12.239 about terrible candidate experiences from the 00:36:12.239 --> 00:36:13.980 candidate side and then companies preaching about 00:36:13.980 --> 00:36:16.059 how they care about candidates. So for you to 00:36:16.059 --> 00:36:18.679 come here and give some real actual items and 00:36:18.679 --> 00:36:21.449 speak truth from Your perspective from both sides. 00:36:21.449 --> 00:36:24.710 I really appreciate that Thank you. Yeah, I mean 00:36:24.710 --> 00:36:28.130 it's It's not rocket science. I think it's just 00:36:28.130 --> 00:36:30.170 finding a way to treat people the way they want 00:36:30.170 --> 00:36:34.670 to be treated and you know just finding a way 00:36:34.670 --> 00:36:37.789 to make your experience reflect what it's really 00:36:37.789 --> 00:36:42.110 like to work at the company and I do think that 00:36:42.110 --> 00:36:45.429 is what's made me successful here at sequel is 00:36:45.429 --> 00:36:47.909 you know, I'm not coming in with an agenda. I'm 00:36:47.909 --> 00:36:51.269 just trying to put together an experience that 00:36:51.269 --> 00:36:55.809 works really well for everybody. And I don't 00:36:55.809 --> 00:36:57.630 think that that's necessarily the experience 00:36:57.630 --> 00:37:00.949 that all hiring managers have had when they're 00:37:00.949 --> 00:37:06.829 working with people in HR. So I appreciate you 00:37:06.829 --> 00:37:09.909 saying that. Thank you. Well, listen, I appreciate 00:37:09.909 --> 00:37:11.710 you being such a valued guest and the nuggets 00:37:11.710 --> 00:37:14.210 of gold that you shared today. If it's cool with 00:37:14.210 --> 00:37:16.769 you, on the show notes, we'll put a link to your 00:37:16.769 --> 00:37:19.820 LinkedIn profile. as well as a link to SQL and 00:37:19.820 --> 00:37:21.460 encourage anybody who's interested in learning 00:37:21.460 --> 00:37:24.960 more to reach out. That would be great. Thank 00:37:24.960 --> 00:37:29.320 you. I think we have about 150 openings on our 00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:32.039 careers page right now. So, yes, we are hiring. 00:37:32.480 --> 00:37:34.719 Please check us out. You heard it right there 00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:37.119 from the horse's mouth, guys. SQL MedTech, Erica, 00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:39.139 thank you so much for being here. I appreciate 00:37:39.139 --> 00:37:41.280 it. It's been such a pleasure. Thanks, Mitch. 00:37:43.380 --> 00:37:46.219 Thanks for listening to the MedTech Talent Lab 00:37:46.219 --> 00:37:50.269 Podcast. For more content rich episodes, log 00:37:50.269 --> 00:37:54.289 on to TheAnthonyMichaelGroup .com or subscribe 00:37:54.289 --> 00:37:57.550 to the show on your favorite podcast platform.