David Hinkle’s Post

Today is the one day of the year when recruiters are under more scrutiny from stakeholders than any other; the first round of the NFL draft. 🏈 👇 Sure, most recruiters aren't forced to broadcast their new hires (and all their dirty laundry) on national TV, but there's lessons to be learned for TA teams that aren't trying to win the Super Bowl. In every stack of candidates you have your studs and your duds - your Round Ones and your Day Threes. But everyone knows resumes, referrals, and highlight reels can be deceiving. 💎 In 2007 - JaMarcus Russell is drafted first overall out of LSU (Geaux Tigers) by the Oakland Raiders. Russell had a stud resume - Sugar Bowl MVP as a junior, all-SEC first-team, 28-TD season, state record-breaking 10k career passing yards in high school, etc. 3 years later, Russell had already played the last snap of his pro football career. His work ethic and inconsistent play made him a liability on the field, leading him to be released only 3 years after being drafted. 💩 In 2000 - With the 199th pick of the NFL Draft, the New England Patriots select Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr (ever heard of him?) out of the University of Michigan. As the 7th QB drafted that year, expectations were as low as could be. 21 years later, Brady wins his 7th Super Bowl ring, rounding out the most impressive QB career in NFL history. Brady was a dud by NFL Scouting Combine standards, but his work ethic, competitive spirit, pocket awareness, and football IQ are the reason that 99% of the football world call him the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). The lesson here isn't profound. Your GOAT is out there, possibly sitting in a stack of old CVs you call "the dud pile." Don't take anyone for granted. Don't put all your money on the resume, the referral, the scouting report. Do your research. Invest in the relationship. Take a CHANCE on someone, because they might just be the 🐐. #NFLDraft #Recruiting #Goats #CallPercy

As Leaders of Leaders, what can you and your recruiters learn about Brock Purdy; from last pick in the draft in 2022 to Super Bowl QB for the 49ers in 2024? For me; it’s called looking for the ‘spark’, just like Scout Steve Slowik did when he grew intrigued by Purdy’s poise, professionalism, levelheadedness and productivity, as a four-year starter at Iowa State. Steve put him on the radar of Assistant coaches Brian Griese and Klay Kubiak, who graded Purdy the best of the late-round options, and then coach Kyle Shanahan was sold! Purdy went on a meteoric rise from “Mr. Irrelevant” as he was called by many, as the final pick of the 2022 draft, to MVP finalist and starting quarterback in the Super Bowl; all in a span of less than 22 months! How many great hires have you missed, will you miss in your career, because you and your recruiting team are simply too busy looking at a resume, level of eloquence, degree, pedigree, etc.? Instead; look intently into their eyes, look for their abilities to connect across boundaries, ability to listen, ability to inspire others, ability to serve selflessly, capacity to achieve results, who carry within them an entrepreneurial spirit; and most importantly a very strong believe system of themselves, others and in a much higher power. There’s where/how/why/when and whom will find your next top pick… Well done Brock, well done. #recruiter #recruitment #recruiting #selection #believeinyourself #believeachieveinspire #spark #listenandlearn #believeinyourdreams

The Atlanta Falcons hired Michael Penix (amazing QB!) for "backup" to the main employee (QB) Kirk Cousins. Mind you, they just signed/hired Cousins last month. A business's job is to do what they think is best for the business: Not YOU. Reasonably so, the Falcons looked around and said, "Mmm, we have this older talent over here, but we have a chance to get this younger talent over there, we'll pay the price for the expected gains." Did the owners know they might take a QB in the draft? Yes. Did they have any obligation to tell Cousins (employee)? NO. This shouldn't be a shock to anyone in that industry, let alone Cousins. Business is business. Yesterday, I presented to risk management professionals. At the beginning of the presentation, I said, "You are the only business that matters. There is no job, there is no manager more important than you." I ended the presentation with, "You owe them nothing. They owe you nothing. You owe you everything." We're all expendable to jobs we don't own at firms that aren't ours. But, you're not expendable to yourself. Stay ready at all times to get/or make a new job. Pay attention to what's not being shown and hear what's not being said. Need Career Coaching? Or a Standout Resume? Contact Me #beyourbestbrand #beyourbestcareerarchitect #resumes

As a passionate football fan and a staffing professional, I've noticed a striking contrast between the NFL and the demanding world of hiring managers. In the NFL, there's a Bye-Week for teams to regroup, strategize, and make adjustments, but for hiring managers, there's no such luxury of time. 🏈👥 ⏳ No Timeouts: While NFL teams enjoy a break to evaluate and prepare, hiring managers are constantly under pressure to make swift decisions. In the hiring game, there are no timeouts or extended breaks. The clock is always ticking, and candidates are waiting. 🔄 The Speed Game: Hiring managers must make quick yet informed choices, just like quarterbacks making split-second decisions under pressure. The competition for top talent is fierce, and delays can mean missing out on the best candidates. 💼 The Immediate Impact: Unlike the NFL's second half, where teams can adjust their strategy, hiring managers need to select candidates who can immediately contribute to the organization's success. There's no room for an extended evaluation period. 🏆 Winning the Talent Game: Hiring managers share the same ultimate goal as NFL teams: assembling a winning team. However, they do it with a relentless sense of urgency, knowing that the success of their organization depends on swift and accurate hiring decisions. So, if you're a candidate waiting for a job offer, remember that hiring managers don't have the luxury of a Bye-Week. They're in a constant race against time to secure the best talent for their teams. Stay prepared, stay engaged, and be ready to make an immediate impact when your opportunity comes! 🙌💼 If you're a hiring manager navigating these rapid hiring decisions, I'm here to help! Having a fresh perspective, an experienced hand, or just someone to bounce ideas off can make all the difference. Reach out to me if you need assistance, insights, or a seasoned collaborator to enhance your recruitment process. Together, we can build winning teams without missing a beat. 💬 #Experis #WePutPeopleToWork #NFL #SpeedOfBusiness #Recruitment #CareerGoals

Are you setting clear expectations for your new hires? And when does that start? The expectations I mean. If it starts before you hire the person, then you're in luck, you've probably dodged a bullet by avoiding the wrong hire. John, can you give me a real life example of this? Absolutely. Ever heard of the Carolina Panthers? Ok stop laughing. They hired a new head coach before the start of the 2023 season after going 7-10 in 2022 and apparently believing they're a new coach and new QB away from contending. Wrong. But here's the thing. Starting in week 1, the new head coach started a rookie QB, rookie QB's aren't very good historically, the most wins by a rookie QB was Norris Weese in 1976 with 9. If you've never heard of Norris, join the club. You don't win a lot of games with a rookie QB so I'm guessing Reich thought he had time for them to get better. Reich's expectations for results didn't align with the person that hired him because Reich got fired yesterday. If you're making $10M a year like Reich, and have a contract, it probably doesn't matter, but if you're like the rest of us, a bad decision like this can be detrimental to you career wise and financially. As a hiring manager - define your expectations for success numerically. Had Tepper said I expect 7 wins at a minimum in 2023, you think Reich goes with the rookie QB? He started the vet in 1 game, and the team scored 27 points - it's the QB's first start with the team - I mean theoretically they gel over time - and they still scored 27. With the rookie they've averaged 14.6. As a candidate - ask for clarification on what your hiring manager defines as success. Had the Panthers scored 27 points in all their games - they'd have won 7 of them. #hiring #hiringprocess #hiringandpromotion #careerpath #careers #hr #humanresources #jobsearch #interviewtips

My old man called me yesterday to talk about my hometown NFL football team - I guess talk isn't the appropriate word - complain is probably a better word. But one thing he said got my attention - "who in their right mind would want the Panthers job next year" - and you know - I'm in the hiring business - so my ears perked up. If I'd have been watching them maybe it would have woken me up. I'd actually been out to lunch earlier in the day and joked after seeing someone in a Panthers jersey (in South Florida) that I used their viewing map to rule out where we'd potentially move. Out of sight out of mind I guess. But who would want this job? There are 32 of them in the world. It's an exclusive club. It pays really well. But this particular team - under their current leadership - hasn't had a coach make it more than 3 seasons: > Ron Rivera: 12 games > Perry Fewell: 4 games > Matt Rhule: 38 games > Steve Wilkes: 12 games > Frank Reich: 11 games Ever heard the saying it's not me it's you? The current leadership of the Panthers does not know what they're doing as far as winning football games. And is an A+ hire willing to join that circus? A friend of mine later in the day suggested that the Panthers should hire Jim Harbaugh and my immediate response to him is why would he take the risk? He's a proven winner - he's made a ton of money - he doesn't have to take that risk and in all honesty - I'd probably think less of him if he did. The Panthers will have to hire someone that they lure with money - maybe it'll be enough to lure Harbaugh - but my guess is they'll have to take a chance on someone less proven - and still lure them with a ton of money. Are you uprooting your family and moving to a new city when the last 5 hires before you were in town for less than a year? The unfortunate thing for the Panthers is that their hiring blunders are well known and public - your company's might be less public but a good candidate is going to look into this. There are so many negative consequences of walking into this level of uncertainty and A+ candidates will get to the bottom of it and avoid it. #hiring #talentacquisition #careers

I read about 350 resumes over the weekend for a specific leadership role. I noticed that when many people get to leadership levels, their resumes stop saying what they actually do. Many (half-ish) took me a minute or more to even understand what field they were in, some not clarifying this until the 2nd page! --TLDR-- One of my favorite ways to reflect on recruiting is to think about professional sports analogies. One of the big differences between pro sports and knowledge work, engineering for example, is that the business world is like 100 different sports with athletes frequently switching amongst them. This makes it all the more necessary for career resumes to be more clear on content. This is the state of career clarity in our culture: Imagine you were recruiting for an NFL team, but you had to review resumes (without any video) of athletes from a wide variety of sports, and this was their summary: - "I was a key player providing leadership skills on the Los Angeles team" - "I practiced keto dieting and regular resistance and HIIT training programs" - "I am dynamic and reliable" - "I helped the team increase our win rate by 15%" - "I am good in the game AND on the sidelines" You would barely be sure if this was a coach or a player! #recruiting #ResumeWriting

From global events to technological developments and more, higher ed is seeing enormous change from all directions. Transformative leadership is the key to navigating these changing times, so what should your institution be looking for in hiring for these roles? Pick up the latest issue of Pinnacle for more insights: https://lnkd.in/g9GSTirz

Avoid hiring mistakes with this question. I ask this question, before an offer is made, to prevent a hiring mistake. “On a scale of 1-10, how do you rank your understanding of what is required to succeed in this job?” Think about the projects and teams and the hiring managers' leadership style. Think about their operating culture and the way they get things done. 8 / 10 – I will ask open questions to confirm their understanding. If they are giving me vague answers, it’s not a good idea to make the offer. We are not there yet. 6 / 10 or lower – I know we have points to address; we are not ready to talk numbers. Here I ask open questions. I want to find out what they don’t know about the role before we re-connect with my client. Reduce hiring mistakes in 2024. 

As the 2023 NFL season gets underway, all eyes are on rookie quarterback CJ Stroud and his leadership of the Houston Texans. Stroud was selected #2 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft after a standout career at Ohio State. While some pre-draft evaluations suggested Stroud may struggle with complex NFL schemes, his early showings have put those concerns to rest. Some commentators had suggested Stroud's reportedly lower than average score on the S2 cognition test indicates he may lack the mental flexibility required of an NFL quarterback. However, Stroud's on-field performance proves standardized test scores fail to capture many dimensions of intelligence critical to quarterback success. Qualities like leadership, strategic thinking, and the ability to process information under duress are not measured by pencil and paper. Now apply this to the hiring process for you and I. - Standardized tests fail to measure many critical job skills like communication, empathy, creativity, and judgment. Over-reliance on test scores provides an incomplete picture of a candidate. - Test scores can be biased against certain demographics due to factors like language barriers, educational access, and cultural experience. Relying on them risks worsening diversity and introducing discrimination. - Test prep favors those who can afford coaching, undermining equal opportunity. Candidates should be evaluated on job-related skills, not test-taking abilities. - Testing creates intimidating conditions that bring out worst performance in many. This hampers an inclusive applicant experience. - Tests only measure abilities at a moment in time, failing to capture growth potential. We risk passing over promising candidates based on fleeting factors. - While tests can provide useful data, they should supplement rather than drive hiring. Interviews, work samples and references better capture qualities that tests miss. Now let's avoid over-indexing on test statistics and instead focus more on human strengths!! #stopthetests #justinterview