“I learned the value of hard work by working hard.” –  Margaret Mead

“Nobody wants to work anymore.” Is that what you’re hearing lately? Your business is growing, or you need to fill a gap in existing operations, but you can’t find a single qualified prospect? Have you endured a bunch of interviews, finally made an offer, and the person you hoped might be a good fit didn’t respond? Or – the nightmare continues – have you been showered with resumes from candidates who all applied through Indeed or LinkedIn but you have no way to differentiate them? Worse yet, did the candidate who accepted your offer fail to show up? If you’ve lived through any of these gut-wrenching situations, my friend Julie Mansfield of Auctus Search Partners, LLC can probably help you avoid repeating the experience.

Julie is a self-proclaimed “social butterfly” who loves meeting people and connecting them with others. “Over the years,” she said, “I’ve learned how to hone-in on what’s really important to each client and use that to differentiate between the candidates I’ll present.” This helps Julie stand head and shoulders above other recruiters – she invests time to intimately understand the client’s company, needs, and culture and to help them define the qualifications and qualities of candidates for which she will be searching. Julie shared that “I’m all about finding and making that match – finding exactly the person the company is looking for and being able to offer exactly what the candidate’s looking for.”

“Finding and entering an employment relationship is like dating,” Julie observed, “If you find the right person, the relationship blesses everyone.” Julie shared that searching for, finding, and cementing these matches is what she likes most about her work. “It’s a thrill to participate in a successful placement because the match makes everyone’s work life, and the other parts of their lives affected by the work life, better. The main thing,” she says, “is helping the client get their life back and saving their time.” She takes pride in successful placements, and many clients have commended Julie by telling her that the candidate she helped place was the best hire the client ever made.

Nearly all of Julie’s business comes to her through referrals. “New clients will be testing me,” Julie says, “and I’ll testing them. I’ll be seeing if we communicate well.” Julie’s recruiting and placement process makes the entire experience easier for both the client and for the prospect. One way Julie improves her client’s recruiting and placement function is by helping them define the position and what they’re looking for, putting that information it in the job description, and communicating the opportunity and desired outcomes well to prospects. “Sometimes,” Julie says, “clients don’t even have a job description or simply don’t know what to call the position.”

On the prospect side of the relationship, Julie personally interviews each candidate with whom she works. “I want to look them in the eye and make sure they’re someone I want to introduce to my client,” she said. Having worked in the talent acquisition arena for over twenty years, Julie trusts her own intuition. “I can quickly see when people are not telling the truth,” she says. “If a person can’t look me in the eye, or if they’re nervous and I can’t calm them down, that’s a red flag. You’re not going to recognize these red flags if you haven’t conducted lots of interviews, but I’ve interviewed thousands of people.”

Julie’s interviews make the hiring process easier for the client because Julie will narrow the field to two or three well-qualified candidates. Normally, all of us would be overwhelmed speaking with ten to fifty prospects. It’s simply beyond most of our capabilities to usefully store that much information. By narrowing the range of choices, Julie allows her client to focus on thoughtfully considering each candidate. This not only cuts down the time the client devotes to finding the candidates, which can be especially time-consuming in the current market; it also allows the client to spend their time effectively by interviewing only those candidates who are pre-qualified as a good match for the position.

Julie points out that mid-market and small companies often don’t have big human resources teams, a vice president of human resources, or a director of talent acquisition, so whoever is doing the recruiting, screening, interviewing, and hiring is probably handling these tasks alongside their regular functions. Most people performing dual roles come to a point where they can’t perform both roles well – that’s where Julie comes in. “Most people don’t enjoy going through dozens or hundreds of resumes, and most don’t enjoy preliminary interviews,” Julie says. “I let them do what they do best while I do what I do best,” she added.

Julie has access to tools and software that are not available to most companies. Julie also has access to information about salaries, industry norms, and other employment information that can help clients define job opportunities and set compensation. Julie uses all these tools to match job seekers with her clients’ needs. She also actively seeks out people who might be a good match for her client’s need and proactively approaches them. Julie is well connected, having grown up in the Denver area and lived here her entire life. Julie shared that she often finds the best candidates by networking and by soliciting recommendations. She has over 20 years of experience recruiting, both in corporate and agency settings, and is now a partner with Auctus Search Partners.

In addition to these local contacts, Julie recruits candidates throughout the United States. She is familiar with those states and localities that have greater or fewer candidates possessing particular qualifications. Whether an employment opportunity is desirable also often depends on the locality where candidate may be required to live. For example, it is often difficult to entice a candidate to move to Denver because of our high housing costs.

If Julie were looking for talent acquisition help, she recommends looking for someone with high integrity, who is dedicated, and who will treat both candidates and clients well. She shared that she would also look for a hard worker who values open communication, doesn’t hide things, and has a long record of experience.

Julie also emphasized that it’s extremely important for a single person in the company to be tasked with all the hiring. Even when working with Julie, it’s more efficient to have this point-person in the lead. If you think your company would benefit from Julie’s expertise, please reach out to me. I’d be honored to connect you.