Kathleen Quinn Votaw's fate was sealed when Kelly Temp Agency hired her on the spot in the mid 80's. Her progression in the field of recruitment has been strong and steady and her fascination continues to grow and develop. "You are not limited to any one industry. Our service is people and every industry needs people." Kathleen has found her own recruiting methodology and it is embedded in her firm, TalenTrust. Her interest in inspiration is not passing, for it is clearly evident in how her business is managed and the message her website conveys.

"We meet people all the time whose lives we change; I enjoy that part quite a bit." She sees gratitude in candidates and from clients on a daily basis and it feels good to be a part of that. It is difficult to determine her firm' s niche, and interestingly enough, there is a reason for that. She doesn't believe in them. "You build a pool that becomes stagnant. There is an art to sourcing and the most employable people are those that are currently employed." Huh. So happy, working people make the best employees? Imagine that.

Kathleen shares an oft-heard idea on RecruitingBlogs.com, "Far too often, recruiters rely on job posting. Just searching the net instead of building relationships that are new and critical to the industry." Kathleen and crew aggressively build fresh relationships relative to individual searches, as well as utilizing their established connections. She sees little value in merely posting ads, conducting phone interviews, and throwing resumes to see which ones stick.

She has a difficult time resolving contingency search issues in her head. "The working for free concept is something I do not subscribe to. Our industry is doing a disservice by allowing this staffing model to continue." About five years ago, Kathleen took a three-month sabbatical to see where her future fit in. She left her position as a District Manager at CDI Solutions not really sure if she enjoyed recruitment anymore. That is until she received a call from a former client that wanted to know what the heck she was doing. Her client asked, "Couldn't you just do what you love, but do it your way? I have this opportunity that I need you to take care of." That was the crystal-clear moment for Kathleen and the seeds for TalenTrust were planted.

Kathleen's view of recruitment embodies the full-service model. "People in the recruitment industry need to become more consultative. This requires a fundamental shift in how we perceive ourselves. Why would we do anything for free? We need to get out of the transactional mindset and price it as a professional service. We broker relationships that help companies grow; approach it with ethics and quality. The solutions that are good for recruitment must be good for the candidate and client."

Like so many of us, Kathleen recognizes the influence of social networking. "The trick will be harnessing its power." LinkedIn is a professional network providing credential information. Social networking exposes what is beyond the credentials, it reveals the journey. "This changes everything."

Kathleen's LinkedIn profile
Her recent post, Fighting for Superstars
TalenTrust


by rayannethorn