Venture capitalists are far more collaborative among each other than one may think, and today, we learn how this willingness to share ideas enticed today’s guest to join his current company. Joe Burridge is the Head of Talent at Play Ventures – a venture capitalist firm that loves helping ambitious and passionate entrepreneurs to fulfill their dreams – and he begins our conversation by walking us through his latest career developments since his last appearance on Talk Talent To Me in 2019. After musing on the importance of talent professionals upskilling themselves by listening to podcasts like this one, we discuss the merit of going full-freelance in today’s economic climate, when and how Joe knew that he and his employer were on the same page, the importance of having vast talent pools and making the right hires, and the pros and cons of joining a startup as a talent professional. To end, Joe explains what we could be doing more of to embrace and encourage collaborative work environments.

Key Points From This Episode:

• How Joe Burridge's career has developed since his last appearance on this podcast in 2019.

• Whether he regarded his contracted work as a temporary or permanent solution post-layoff.

• His experience of working in-house and leading a team versus doing more consultative work.

• A brief interlude on the value of listening to podcasts like this one as talent professionals.

• When and how Joe knew that his concerns aligned with his employer's needs.

• A case study from his career, highlighting the importance of talent and making the right hires.

• The pros and cons of joining a startup.

• Joe's recruiting approach, and the trends he sees in current candidate pools.

• What we can learn from the (surprisingly) collaborative nature of venture capitalists.

Quotes:

“In North America, for the most part, if you get laid off it's a fairly immediate thing. Thankfully, in the UK, layoffs take weeks, sometimes months. So, you've got quite a bit of breathing room to figure out what you're going to do next.” — @JoeFindsTalent [0:07:04]

“If you spend your free time listening to a recruiting podcast, I think you're probably a pretty good recruiter. It signals to me that you really care about getting better at your job.” — @robstertweets [0:13:55]

“Yes, there's an abundance of talent available, but you need to be more honed into hiring for culture than ever before when you've got such a variety to choose from.” — @JoeFindsTalent [0:24:32]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Joe Burridge

Joe Burridge on LinkedIn

Play Ventures

Episode: Senior Recruiter, EA Joe Burridge

Alison Kaizer on LinkedIn

Kelly Kinnard on LinkedIn

Rob Stevenson on X

Talk Talent to Me

In today’s episode, I sit down with Gordon Patterson to discuss his mission of fostering relationships and championing individual empowerment. Gordon is the Director of Talent Acquisition at LKQ Corporation, a leading provider of alternative and specialty parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. In our conversation, Gordon tells us about LKQ, the changes the company is currently going through, and the different markets it serves. Hear about his role at the company, the ways he pushes the envelope in recruiting, and the value of brand recognition for finding talent. Discover the different organizations LKQ leverages for recruiting, how it retains employees, and details of its “Your Voice Matters” survey. Find out how Gordon overcame the tech hesitation hurdle, his approach to creating referrals, LKQ’s people process technology (PPT) framework, and what “sweat equity” is. Gain insights into the role of leaders in the recruitment process, the secret sauce to retaining talent, what he has planned for the future, and more. Tune in now!

Key Points From This Episode:

• History about the LKQ Corporation and what makes it unique.

• His role at the company and what he is currently working on.

• Gordon shares his approach to finding top talent for LKQ.

• How national and local partnerships help for networking.

• Hear how many hires LKQ has each year and its employee turnover.

• Exciting programs the company offers employees, such as scholarships.

• Taking feedback from employees and turning it into policy.

• The challenge of slow adoption of technology in the sector.

• Learn about the type of technologies LQK has invested in.

• Relying on non-technological tools for talent acquisition.

• Discover the red flags he noticed in the company’s staffing process.

• Why CRM (candidate relationship management) software is essential.

Quotes:

“It has been really fun to see, in my two years [at the company], how talent acquisition has evolved to impact the business.” — Gordon Patterson [0:05:51]

“At LKQ, we have been very fortunate, even with all the acquisitions and movement, that a lot of our front-line associates have been with the company for twenty-plus years.” — Gordon Patterson [0:11:20]

“The technology that [LKQ] has invested in on the [talent acquisition] side has worked really well.” — Gordon Patterson [0:17:28]

“When you see the business going to contractors or temporary talent or however you want to call it; where there is smoke, there is fire.” — Gordon Patterson [0:22:28]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Gordon Patterson on LinkedIn

LKQ Corporation

Talk Talent to Me

Are you curious about the evolving landscape of recruitment and the secrets behind successful talent acquisition strategies? In today’s episode, I sit down with Kelsey Sorensen, Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition at Black Crow AI, to discuss the dynamics of recruitment in both traditional and startup environments. With a career spanning over a decade in recruitment, Kelsey has honed her expertise in sourcing, candidate assessment, and strategic human resource planning. Her commitment to fostering authentic connections and her ability to create impactful interactions have earned her recognition as a top performer in the field. Black Crow AI is a company that specializes in providing real-time machine-learning predictions without the need for coding. In our conversation, we discuss the how and why of her recruitment journey, her experience in the agency approach to recruiting, and her memorable career moments. Explore how her current role differs from her previous roles and why she prefers a relationship-centric approach to recruitment. Discover why career stability has become critical to candidates, the pros and cons of working for a startup, and hear Kelsey unpack the concept of career stability. Gain insights into the benefits of being a generalist in the recruitment space, the value of stepping outside of the traditional HR role, why you need to love the product or service to take the job, and much more.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Background about Kelsey and how she knew recruiting was the career for her.

• We delve into the pros and cons of the agency approach recruitment.

• Details about her current role at Black Crow AI and what she enjoys about it.

• Unpack the concept of job stability and why candidates are seeking it.

• How marketing can be utilized to enhance recruitment strategies.

• Ways that Kelsey incorporates marketing aspects in her approach to recruitment.

• Explore how to sell the vision of the company to future employees.

• The benefits of working in a startup environment.

• Her methods for building the recruitment pipeline at Black Crow AI.

• What she has planned for her future career trajectory.

• She shares advice and recommendations for fellow recruiters.

Quotes:

“Just, ‘Smile and dial’ is what we used to say in the agency days.” — Kelsey Sorensen [0:06:01]

“I hate to break it to you but no job is permanent.” — Kelsey Sorensen [0:08:01]

“I don’t think [career] stability means the same thing for every single person.” — Kelsey Sorensen [0:09:06]

“I have my hands in all different areas of the organization which allows me to paint a clear picture of what we are building and developing [at Black Crow AI] to candidates.” — Kelsey Sorensen [0:17:26]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kelsey Sorensen on LinkedIn

Black Crow AI

Talk Talent to Me

Hired