When I first started to think through this site, I was immediately aware of the extreme diversity in career paths our amazing friends have chosen. It was hard to choose which to cover first! I 100% believe I chose the right, first victim for my project.

Chris is a full-service talent sourcing manager in a midsized metropolitan area. His primary role is to build relationships with clients and candidates to help place specialized individuals in business vacancies.

As an individual, relationships just happen to be top of Chris’s value list on both a personal and professional level. This was supported consistently when he spoke of what he loves about what he does. Although he is searching for the professionals in a very specific field, he also looks for candidates that are a good fit for the client’s organizational culture.

“It hurts my feelings if my clients aren’t happy.”

Starting with a firm background and education (master’s level) in the professional field he searches through has provided him with the expertise in evaluating the candidates on the skills level. However, we all know skills can be taught – character is much more difficult to cultivate. This is where Chris’s emphasis on relationships play such a vital role in his success at effectively matching clients with candidates.

As he does see there is a need to present himself differently in his professional setting, he is also starting to realize the advantage to being real and that his abilities stem from who he is. Weeks often consist of client lunches and regular check ins to stay ahead and receptive to any new needs of the clients.

Now it wouldn’t be fair to act as though it is all sunshine, rainbows and happy placements. Good for those in the workforce, but it is getting more difficult to recruit active employees when companies are putting more effort and acknowledgement into company culture and happy workers. A large part of recruiting capitalizes on passive job seekers. (Those employees who are not necessarily looking, but open if the opportunity should arise.) Which is ironic, because this is exactly how Chris came to his current position. His current company reach out to him at current status of low job satisfaction. He was presented with an accurate and enticing job description (and it can be good money).

From Chris’s perspective, the outlook on this career is very optimistic. I asked him if he had any thoughts for someone looking to get into this profession. It is an easy entrance; there are no license or degree requirements. Also, with the right people skills, competition is easy. However, with any company you should always look for a good leader and company culture. A good leader in this case has a strong belief in building relationships, spotting talent and good business ethics.

More questions for Chris? Feel free to comment below! Also, don’t forget – you can sign up for updates and newsletters below.