I believe a gap exists in the recruiting space, and Guild Talent fills this space by focusing on Senior Managers, Directors, and VP roles of the non-technical variety. After now nine months in business, I remain confident that the gap exists and also more confident in my decision to start the business.
There are a few reasons for the gap (in my opinion):
- The fees are quite high for retained executive search projects, so it makes sense that it’s a crowded space, and one that’s attractive for recruiters.
- Contingency/staff level recruiting is where the majority of hiring happens, it makes up the majority of the workforce, and where traditional contingency recruiting first started. For new recruiters, it’s the lowest barrier to entry, so it makes sense that it’s also a very crowded space.
When you combine those two parts, the ‘in-between’ folks are often harder to find and thus not attractive for traditional contingency recruiters. Still, larger retained search firms are not able to garner hefty fees for director roles.
The last part of the question is around my focus on non-tech/G&A placements, and that one is easier to answer. I’m not a very technical person at all myself, and I’ve spent my career in the G&A portion of a business. It’s what I know well and where I’ve built a vast network, so it makes sense for me to focus on that space. To boot, given how much technical hiring is going on in the Bay, there is an equivalently higher number of recruiters focused in that space, and tech recruiting is a crowded market.
With the decision to “go for it” and surround myself with a particular type of professional, I’m drawn toward Operators.
I did some work with John Hittler, an impressive business coach who put me through an exercise to help figure out where I’m most optimized, which is when I have a long to-do list, and am operating in a state of ‘organized chaos.’
I think that the DNA of a strong Operator is the same, which is what draws me to them. They enjoy taking on many complex and ambiguous problems and forging a solution from the chaos. There are a few aspects of an ‘Operations’ executive, which I’m also quite envious of – mainly tied to the structure and process through which they do their jobs. Many of them had some pretty intense training early in their careers (banking/consulting), which I did not.
I’m a work in progress, and I’m humbled to have the ability to work with as many quality folks as I do, given that I learn from each of them.
Thanks for reading.
Jamie Ceglarz | LinkedIn
Read On:
