Welcome back to the Hirewell Hot Corner, where sports and recruitment meet. I am your host, Dan Spittel, joined as always by my Ironman co host, Louie Morici. Louie, great to see you again. Let’s jump right in. What’s going on in your world and the world of sports today? In Chicago, it’s been below zero wind chill.
So, trying to stay warm, got to work from the couch where the heated blanket is, you know, got to keep the costs on the house down with the heating bill. But as far as sports go, lots going on. Obviously playoff football, very exciting. Some great games already. You know, nothing has been like too much of a blowout.
You know, some teams like your Steelers played the Bills tough, exciting game, and one that was postponed due to weather as well, we’re all experiencing it. So it’s been a fun time to be a sports fan, minus the Blackhawks. Connor Bedard broke his jaw and had surgery. But, let’s just forget about that right now. He’ll be back. He’ll be back.
The Steelers did what most of us expected and were a first round exit to a far superior Bills team. They did, the final score was a little closer than I thought it would be, so I guess take what we get. I am firmly jumping on the Lions and the Bills bandwagon from here on out. I think a Lions/Bills Super Bowl would be the coolest thing ever, because both fan bases absolutely deserve it and I think everyone will be happy regardless of the outcome.
Just my opinion. Hey, I feel it. As someone who, you know, Lions are in the Bears division, so eh, don’t really care. I got a lot of ties to friends in Buffalo for them. You know, majority of them would like to, you know, see them win, but I don’t know if I could handle dealing with, you know, their egos, if they do.
But I think I’m just going to keep rocking with the Niners. I mean, started the year. I’m like on paper, they have what I think is the best team. Christian McCaffrey, Kittle adding Chase Young, great defense. I even think Brock Purdy is serviceable to the highest extent without actually being an elite quarterback.
They’re good, they got Deebo, they got Aiyuk, like they’re built for this. So that’s who I still, I think wins the Superbowl. Who I want to doesn’t really matter. The Bears aren’t in it, so. The Niners are probably the most well rounded deep roster, I would say, in the NFL. So should be interesting to see how that goes for them.
You know, we’re talking about playoffs, things that are still happening. Let’s talk about kind of things that aren’t happening anymore. I think, was it last week? It was a huge coaching turnover. It was the end of multiple eras. We had Bill Belichick and the Patriots are no longer a tandem force. Nick Saban retired.
Arguably the greatest college dynasty in the last X number of years puts him right up there with Bear Bryant from Alabama. And Pete Carroll and the Seahawks no longer working together. That’s three huge changes at the coaching between college and the NFL. Yeah, I mean, it’s-
As a fan of both, obviously, NFL and college, it’s synonymous, those guys with their teams. Like you expect it every year, expect them to compete every year.
And to know that someone else is going to be calling shots on those sidelines is, I don’t know if-
It’s not comfortable. Like, it’s just, you know, we’ve gotten so used to it, that stability. And I think your guy, well, I’ll let you, you know, chime on. It’s good to see that he’s coming back. Yep.
Seems that Mike Tomlin will be returning to the Steelers for 2024. Assuming that’s the case, I haven’t seen anything that would dispute that. In some level, it’s nice to have stability. When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers, stability at coaching has been huge. We’ve had three head coaches since 1960.
I mean, it’s legitimately insane. You don’t get numbers like that. Apparently the Packers have franchise quarterbacks one after the next, because Jordan Love, is apparently the guy. They had to go there. They had to go there. They just keep reloading. It’s impressive.
It is. But, and, you know, Mike Tomlin’s floor is apparently nine wins, so we have a lot, there could be a lot worse things happening for Steelers fans. And in terms of Saban and Pete Carroll, their careers are ending in terms of coaching. Pete Carroll’s going to go work at the front office for the Seahawks, which is really awesome.
Bill Belichick’s not done. He’s interviewing for head coaching jobs. What’ll be weird, we’ve talked about seeing players in different uniforms. Seeing Belichick on any sideline outside the Patriots just feels so strange. Granted, he had a whole career before the Patriots, but like when you think of Bill Belichick, it’s Patriots, the cutoff hoodie in the snow, Tom Brady, Gronk, Edelman, Amendola, like winning titles.
Like that’s what you think of. Like it’s a whole period of football that is Bill Belichick and the Patriots and all the pieces. So, you know, there’s whispers about him going to Atlanta. You mentioned he has a close relationship with, I don’t know if it’s their owner or CEO or whoever. You know, that’s a weird spot, but also makes sense.
Personal relationships. I think they’re underutilizing a lot of pretty solid pieces like Kyle Pitts, you know, Drake London. So, could I see that? Yes. I thought he’d probably go to more of a contender that maybe is underachieving, but regardless, yeah, it’s just weird. It’s going to be uncomfortable for, especially the fans of those teams, the Seahawks, and Alabama and Patriots and all that.
So just going to have to get used to it. Like always things happen to change over time. I like the concept of stability. You know, it’s something that’s-
it’s huge in the locker rooms and within the organizations. How do we talk about stability and recruiting in the job search, in any of that, Louie? Well, stability is something that a lot of folks have not been able to find in roles. You know, we’ve seen the tech market be a roller coaster, as it always is. It’s high at points where all these new startups bringing headcount on and then they lose funding and it seems like it all happens all at once.
And, you know, as a candidate, your resume is starting to get filled with four jobs and three years of eight, nine months stints, and it’s starting to work against you to always want to be in these, what I would call the “sexy” industry that is the software as a service and technology. Now, it’s great, I’m not sitting here and saying that it’s not.
But, stability needs to start climbing the ladder as far as, you know, priority, on the priority wire, when it comes to choosing jobs. Is it a long term play, because we’re finding that long term plays can either make or break you when it comes to reviewing even a resume or getting you in a door or closing a door.
So stability as far as the industry you’re in, the role you’re in, company you’re in, I think it needs to be on top. Next to, compensation is always a big one. So I think it’s an interesting concept to look at because you look at older generations, previous workforces, where stability was key. Longevity was what you did.
You had, in some cases, one person working at one company for 30, 40 years. That was the norm. Lately, the trend in the younger workforce has been to jump from company to company every few years to maximize your growth and earning potential. You know, we talk about money, is obviously a driving factor.
That’s been more consistent lately of people having a role every 18 months, two years, three years, and jumping around to get up the career ladder that way, because they weren’t seeing long term growth and stability within the company they were at. It’s two sides of a coin. We got one side, is people voluntarily jumping around year to year.
And then you’ve got the layoff side, people having to go and get another job eight months, nine months after going through a job search once again. And so it’s just kind of figuring out will we see a shift in people jumping voluntarily as we see more and more big name companies and more of these layoffs within specific markets.
Yeah, it’s like you mentioned the voluntary versus unfortunate layoffs, like, you know, jumping just to find a better base salary. And it’s going to, it kind of comes back to bite you in the ass. I’ve seen it firsthand from some friends of mine. But yeah, like, being someone like myself, who has taken on kind of a niche market of the sales part of our business in the manufacturing industrial side.
That side did not really take a hit at all during COVID. You know, people were still hiring because these products, these services, they are necessary. So start thinking about what’s a nice to have versus what’s a need to have from a product, from a service, from a company, from an industry, and develop your targeted search, maybe away from something that is one of a hundred other products that are similar on the market.
You know, it might be very niche, but at the same time, it’s a niche that is needed. So I’ve been trying to work with folks who, you know, are open to potentially looking into some of these more industrial manufacturing companies because you mentioned earlier, you know, the demographic of these folks who are in these spaces have been there 25, 30 years.
But you know what? They’re starting to retire. So that’s why these companies are hiring, looking for that next person who wants that 25, 30 year relationship and enroll and move up within this company to take it to the next level, to take it to the next, you know, 30, 40 years. So it’s this value based, like what you’re prioritizing and maybe looking outside the box of what you’re normally looking into.
Yeah, for sure. You know, you touched on that being a priority. And manufacturing as a whole, largely you could say it’s recession proof. It’s roles that will always be there. It’s a necessary piece of our economy and our day to day life. Finding other industries that the jobs should and always will need to be there.
I was in healthcare recruiting during COVID. I had a pretty secure job. The health care workers were of the utmost importance. When most people couldn’t go to work, health care workers had to go to work. And so I considered myself fortunate to be recruiting in that space at that time.
Health care is not going anywhere. It can’t and it won’t. It’s another industry to consider. If you’re looking for a new role and you’re wondering, how do I get out of this rut or this loop of constantly seeing turnover. These are just two examples. I’m sure there are other industries we could hit on that have pretty strong stability in terms of longevity and lower turnover.
It’s always turn over, it’s in certain areas. And then you can look at stability from a company standpoint. You touched on, there’s a lot of these startups and startups are very volatile. They can be awesome. They can be great. They’re not for everyone. You look at some of these stalwart companies.
You’ve been here a hundred years, grown from this to this generation to gen, whatever that may be. And I know right now there are some large companies who are going through layoffs, Microsoft, Google, and you hate to see it because you thought they were pretty secure, pretty safe in their action.
There are still plenty of companies out there that have a history, are growing the right way, doing so consistently, and are looking for people to jump into that longevity. And that’s the last point I want to touch on, is how can candidates kind of look for this in a job search?
Interview questions. Ask about it in an interview.
There are companies who outwardly and proactively talk about longevity and growth. We have clients who are looking for people long term, and they even say so very, very clearly in the job description that we have for them. Louie, what kind of questions can candidates ask a manager to kind of help them figure out, well, this place is stable. This is going to work.
Yeah, I think going into career progression will do a little bit of telling, you know, if someone has the bandwidth to stay there long term, they’ll have a career path. So asking questions like, what does advancement look like, in 5 years and 10 years or whatever.
And then on the flip side, be blunt. Ask when’s the last time you guys had to do a mass layoff, if ever, and really vet these companies like they’re vetting you. And don’t be afraid to ask some of those hard questions and draw the line in the sand if they’re like, yeah, you know, we’ve gone through it once every three years.
Well, that’s kind of a red flag. It’s like the dating world. Like, there’s a red flag, you know, it’s not for everyone, but you got to look at it from that kind of standpoint and make sure that you’re making a decision based on what you’re seeing, what you’re being presented.
and obviously fact and not just because you need a job and, you know, all that. Got to look out for your best interests. It’s always important. Two minute drill. Louie, let’s take it home. You know, we touched on Bill Belichick and where we think he’ll end up going. Where do you think Jim Harbaugh is going to land in the NFL?
I don’t know if I’m missing, if he declared he’s leaving Michigan, but I think he’s staying at Michigan. If not Michigan, the Chargers. Those are the two options, I think. He has interviewed at the Chargers. I believe he also interviewed for the Falcons as well. He’s already hired an agent. I think he’s going to go somewhere in the NFL.
I think LA makes a lot of sense. Be interesting to see. Tennessee could be a contender. I don’t really know if that fits him, but who knows. Any crazy predictions for this weekend’s playoff games? Yeah, I actually. Granted, so I think the Buccaneers are going to beat the Lions. First off the Bucs, I love that just the hype around them after this past win.
I always, I mean, when it comes to like from a hockey standpoint, if the team that has the buy plays a team that went to game seven, the prior round. Usually that team comes out and is more well oiled than the team that’s just been sitting for a week or two. So I think the Bucs are going to come out and beat the Lions.
I think that’s my wild prediction. I love Baker Mayfield, too. Well, I’m going to look for the Bills to get over the Mahomes hump, take him out at home. He doesn’t play much on the road in the playoffs. Should be another cold, terrible weather weekend. Look for them to run it back and make themselves to another AFC championship.
Yeah, I mean, let’s face it. Any football fan is going to be tuning into that. It’s two of the best quarterbacks in the league. Just a great rivalry that’s came about. So I’m excited to watch that for sure. A hundred percent. Well, on behalf of Louie and myself, thank you once again for tuning into the Hirewell Hot Corner.
Please do join us again in two weeks for our next episode. And as always stay classy LinkedIn.
