I’m excited to announce the launch of my new project, Amplify Talent. This platform will focus on all things talent: trends, tools, recruiting best practices, recruitment process optimization, employment branding, social media, and leadership – among other various musings and observations. The content will be based on my recruiting experience gained over the last 14 years across a broad range of industries and organizations. But before I can move forward with this project, I need to reflect on some of the people who helped me along the way.

The year was 1998. I was a rookie technical recruiter with Pencom Systems in my first job straight out of FSU, learning what it meant to be a recruiter. Fortunately, I had an amazing mentor who believed in me and challenged me to be my best - Rick Krostag. Rick was from the old school of recruiting. Give him a phone book and a phone and he’d find five Java programmers by the end of the day. He taught me how to recruit the right way – building strong and lasting relationships, out working everyone, working with integrity, following through, hustling, and candor. Rick played a key role in shaping my approach to recruiting in the early stages of my career. He went on to establish his own recruiting firm, Connective Talent, in Houston with much success. He was a great boss, and I’m proud to call him a friend. Continue Reading…