Welcome back to the Hirewell Hot Corner where sports and recruitment meet. I am your host, Dan Spittel, joined as always by my co-host, Louis Morici. We realized this episode would most likely be right around the Christmas time that we aired it. So Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of our viewers from the Hirewell Hot Corner.
We strongly appreciate your support and viewership. So Louis great to see you again. Missed you last week at the company meeting. Or as our colleague Jack called our winner meetings. What’s going on in the world of sports? But more importantly, what’s going on in your world? because there’s a lot going on in your world.
There is a lot. There’s a lot. So, reason I missed the winter meetings is I got engaged in New York City. So yeah. Bigs things happening. And actually found out today that I got my offer accepted on the house. So, lots to look forward to on the horizon. So it’s been a busy last couple weeks. Not to mention, I heard on Thursday you got promoted within the company too.
I did as well. Not to toot my own horn, but yes. Yes, I did. It’s an honor. It’s an honor to keep moving up in this wonderful company. Love it. Everything’s coming up, Louis. We love to see it. All right, now that we’ve gone through that, what’s going on in the world of sports today, Louis? Well, as always. I say it every week, football. It’s now coming down to the end, not only in NFL, but in college.
Transfer portal just opened up. I think we’re going to use that as a way to segue players entering the portal looking for new situations, new teams, candidates. Employees starting to explore their options. So that’s kind of the segue we’re going to make today. Absolutely. We’re at the point where only four teams are really competing for something special, and congratulations to those four.
Fun to see TCU in there. But for everyone else, it’s time to reload. Look at the off-season and there are some bowl games, New Year’s Six and whatnot between now and then. But never too early to start looking towards the future and how do we get back towards working towards that national championship.
So I believe we had a record number of players in the transfer portal this year, didn’t we? It was something crazy like that. Yeah. Yeah. I think they’re starting to really understand. Not to to diminish loyalty, but in these programs there’s a lot of depth in most of them. So if you’re going to be a third stringer and it looks like they’re going to bring in someone who’s going to be above you, you might as well go somewhere and play.
Absolutely. The best way to sell yourself is to have game tape. And if you don’t play in the game, you don’t have any. Yeah, you got to do what you can for yourself. Get yourself that extra mile. A previous episode we talked about NIL deals. Maybe there’s a greener pasture somewhere else that you can become more of that face of an organization, of an university, and make a name, make a living for yourself while you’re doing it.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. I mean, NIL deals are starting to be a big source of shaking things up. Look at some of the guys who are thriving in the NFL that didn’t go to big colleges. Josh Allen, think he went to like Wyoming or something. Those smaller schools, if you have the chance to play and do well, it’s better than being on an Ohio State, on an Alabama, and being a third stringer just to say you won a national championship. So, we’re starting to see. Maybe go from less of a bigger name, but go play somewhere, where you’ll actually play. Always love those guys who come from the MAC make a big impact in the NFL. Diontae Johnson’s one, who if he would only run forward more, he’d be having a great season.
We’ll move on from there. Yeah, we’ll keep the Steelers out of it for now. Thank you. So in terms of the transfer portal, in our world, in the US we don’t have that. Because in a lot of places, it’s a right to work. And we have the ability to move whenever we want.
Aside from contracts we sign and specific, whether it be a non-compete or NDA, stuff like that. For the most part, we’re free agents as much or as little as we want to be. Yeah. Yeah. I mean it may come back to haunt you a bit. Might bite you in the ass if you are moving every six months.
It’s hard to invest when you see someone who constantly jumps around. But folks who have been in a role that maybe it’s starting to get a little stagnant. Maybe there isn’t that room for advancement. We’re going to dive into some of the things that you should consider. And when thinking about making a move, maybe staying put, but it’s a good time to be a candidate. That’s for sure. It is certainly a good time to be a candidate with more job openings than there are people in the workforce. Companies are getting more and more desperate to find that really strong talent. And we just touched on a previous episode about competition as well, so we’re really wrapping it all up here, right around Christmas time.
Bring on the presents. Yeah. So in terms of a candidate who’s in a role, and they’re kind of near the end of the year, they’re assessing their current situation. The major thing I’ve seen for the most part, in terms of the main reason people are leaving, is they don’t feel they can grow in their role anymore.
I hear It a lot from candidates all the time. I think I’ve hit my ceiling within the company. I can’t learn anything else and there’s no upward movement for me. What are the main things you’re seeing on your end as far as reasons for people jumping out of their little pond they’re in and exploring what else is out there.
Yeah. I mean, it’s like you said, is there advancement? Sometimes maybe it’s culture. Maybe it’s going from, an in-office role to wanting to be in a remote or a hybrid role. Are you happy? Did something happen? Like there’s all these attributes that go into why someone might be starting to look and that’s what you have to assess like, pen and paper it as old school as it sounds.
Write down the things that you want onto your career, what you’re getting at your job, what you’d like to see and really put value on what you find valuable the most. So if something happened at your role, is it something that’s going to last? Did something just maybe rub you the wrong way at the time and keep pushing forward. So it really is prioritizing what you’re looking for, for the long term. And if you’re not getting that, yeah, maybe it is time to hit the transfer portal or go job seeking. Maybe you don’t get the reference, but Ted Mosby would be very proud of a good old pros and cons list.
It’s from How I Met Your Mother. Never watched it. So let’s just say that. There you go. All right, so we talk about, let’s look at our current situation, let’s write it out, let’s make a pros and cons list. Maybe prioritize what you’re looking for in terms of what’s lacking.
Where do we go from there? Where do we go from there? That’s a good question. Once you’ve found the things that you value most, and if you have decided you are going to look, well then go to your skillset. What do you like doing in your day-to-day role? What are you good at? What are maybe you’re not so good at? Look that way. Like I tell my candidates that if I’m speaking with someone who has a little bit of a wide background, not so specific in one avenue, really think to yourself. Because there’s no point in searching for a job that you don’t even know that you want.
You have to be targeted because there’s so much opportunity out there. Hone in on your skillset and then that should be able to spark the search. So again, laying out what it is that has you leaving and considering. If you do decide you are leaving, really lock in on the attributes of a role that you want and really target roles that are open in that variety.
Yeah, from an individual job seekers mindset, sometimes you’re going out there and it’s a hectic world out there in terms of job openings. I know in my own previous experience, and even with a background in recruiting, just going out on LinkedIn, indeed Google jobs, and there’s just a flood of things available. And you got to just pick and choose your way through it. So absolutely agree that finding like that small area to hone in that skillset, that specific thing or area you want to work in, is ideal. Anytime I’m talking to candidates, aside from talking about what they have done, I say, what do you want to try next?
It’s not always what do you want to do for your life? It’s what do you want to try? Because there’s so many opportunities out there that you can always jump from place to place, from industry to industry, from job to job as much as you want until you find that right niche for you. Of course shameless plug, we always like to say, if you’re looking for other opportunities, if you don’t know where to look, come talk to us.
It’s what we do for a living. You specifically on the sales side and I work more so on the on-demand end, but anyone who reaches out to me on LinkedIn, I’ll happily have that conversation with them. Even though it’s 10, 15 minutes of my life, it might change theirs. And that’s how I feel about that. But any other suggestions for someone who’s jumping out into the transfer portal and doesn’t know where to start?
Just do your research. I have a job posting right now that pretty clearly states that it’s in office in a specific location and I’m getting a lot of applications from folks that are not in that state or even in that city. So when you’re doing your job searching and you’ve found that you should be assessing and looking elsewhere, do it with a purpose. Really dive in like it’s a real job because that’s what it is.
Like looking for a job is a full-time job. So, doing that in tandem with your actual job, hopefully you still have one at this point while you’re looking, pay attention to detail. Because quite frankly, if you’re applying for jobs that don’t make sense, you’re wasting your time. Like if the location doesn’t add up or you’re not open to relocating. Read the fine print and make sure that when you’re sending out your applications, they’re to viable options. Because all the time you’re spending on one that doesn’t make sense could be spent on one that does. So again, it really just comes down to assessing, doing your homework, doing your research, and being diligent in your search.
Absolutely. As an internal recruiter and as someone who essentially serves as an internal recruiter for companies, people always ask me, do you actually review all the resumes you get? Absolutely, I do. But the number of applicants I’ll get for jobs that people mass apply to these things that it makes no sense. It’s very clear that’s not the job that they want. It blows my mind every time, but at the end of the day, sometimes it’s a click away. And, you know, throw a bunch of darts at the dartboard and see what lands.
Yeah, yeah. And to speak to back to that point, people who are looking, they want to be aggressive. They want to send out as many applications. And I get it. It’s a tough environment and it’s kind of spray and pray. Hope that someone calls you back, you get a response. So the wider net you cast, the more responses you’ll get. So, I get it from both sides. It’s a tough environment when-
well, it’s a tough environment when you know what you want, let alone when you don’t know what you want. So, I think it’s a lot of self-reflection what you like, what you don’t like. And yeah, that’s why we have jobs is because we can help people. We can help them decipher what they’re looking for. And hear them out and be like, this sounds like this. This sounds like that. Absolutely. And flip it on the other side. I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel like a positional coach, reaching out to candidates and serving on behalf of the company I’m working with.
How can employers, hiring managers, recruiters, take advantage of the transfer portal? And help recruit these people. And what differentiators can they potentially do to someone who might be looking, is open to work on LinkedIn, just got laid off. There’s a whole spew of different options here.
I think it kind of touches back a little bit on last week’s episode. Just how to be competitive. Whether it’s in office, some of the amenities you could provide if you’re in office. If it’s a remote, is it hybrid? Compensation? Is there equity? There’s so many things to consider. And to throw it back on the candidate side, putting in writing or putting down what you value the most in some of those aspects should help you kind of, ID or disqualify some clients or disqualify some potential job options based on those. To free things up. Ultimately, at the end of the day, we’re looking for a perfect match between a company and a candidate. And there’s enough candidates out there for the companies that we can identify those perfect matches.
Sometimes we don’t get it perfectly right as a person, as a company. But then there’s always the next opportunity. So, I fully agree that assess, work it out. Take your time with this, do your research. The right thing will come around.
Louie two minute drill. Take us home.
You hit the nail on the head. Really assess. So, first part of the assessment is, at your current role, assuming you still have one, do you want to leave? Do you want to stay? Pro/Con list. What are you getting or what are you not getting in your current role that you would like to see in your next one? And then if you do decide that you’re going to start looking, well then do your research.
What are you good at? What do you want to do? What does your day-to-day look like? And find roles that would be the makeup of the role. Absolutely. Louis, if you had a Christmas list for transfer portal targets for Notre Dame, what would that look like? Quite frankly, I would start at a quarterback given ours just hit the portal.
So, kind of vague. Don’t know names off the top of my head. We’ll see what shakes out, but a quarterback that can run an offense and throw the football. And I’ll give a lot of props to Drew Pine for stepping up as a backup through injury. It led to a really solid season. But clearly he knew the writing was on the wall for him. And there’s a lot of really good named quarterbacks out there who wanted another chance to jump in somewhere else and lead an offense towards the national Championship.
So 100% with you. Start at the quarterback and kind of work out from there. Well, Louis, thanks again as always. Always love our time together. Congratulations on everything you’ve had going on in your life. I’m excited to continue watching that success unfold for you. On behalf of Louis and myself, thanks again for tuning into the Hirewell Hot Corner.
Join us again after the New Year for our next episode. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a wonderful New Year to all of you out there. And as always, stay classy LinkedIn.
