If you’ve been staying active in recent Facebook groups (Sourcers Who Code) and discussions for the past few months you would know that Michael Crouse has been very active in our community. He’s definitely someone that I have admired and I decided to take the chance and reach out to him directly. What a thoughtful, giving, and caring individual. He has many years of experience in the IT, Financial, Pharmaceutical, Sales & Engineering recruiting space and he’s someone who just freely shares his knowledge and passion for finding top talent. I was blown away by conversations with him over the phone and I was honored that he granted me an interview. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did.
Michael Crouse is the owner of Recruiting On-Demand Services and OnDemand Staffing based in Atlanta. He offers contract recruitment, sourcing/recruitment training services, staffing, and also consults with companies on recruitment process mapping. He’s a very active member of ATAP and is a board member of Technology Association of Georgia. Currently, he works on contract at INAP as their sole Talent Acquisition manager for their global recruitment needs.
How did you get into recruiting?
I actually fell into it helping my wife’s company (Olsten Staffing) secure a large national contract. She worked for Olsten Staffing in the 90’s and they were trying to land the BMW contract. Unfortunately, they did not understand how manufacturing and distribution worked. I was working in the logistics and distribution at the time. My wife’s boss asked me if I would go and talk to BMW on their behalf. I thought sure, job security for her. Basically, they won the contract and came back to me and asked if I would take it over. I told them at the time I did not know anything about staffing. The VP of Olsten said,” We can teach you staffing, you understand the customer and that what we need”. 3 weeks later I was onsite at BMW and hired 300 people in 2 weeks and we start production line support for the BMW 3 series.
The advice you would give someone starting out?
a. Find a mentor.
b. Ask questions and Listen. Listen to peers, Listen to candidates to learn about the jobs and skill set.
c. Know your client better than they do.
d. Read FullStack Recruiter by Jan Tegze & The Talent Sourcing & Recruitment Handbook by Shally Steckerl.
e. Invest in yourself, training and tolls that help you be the best you can be for your futures
What makes a good Sourcer?
“Hard work, perseverance, and an unquenchable thirst for information and a love to find the unfindable.”
What’s changed in the sourcing world in the past 5 years?
Tools to find people, to find information. Also, the candidate is much more educated as to companies and how to research companies with tools like Glassdoor to learn about the culture and work environments. Social sourcing is catching on and becoming an effective tool in finding people that are not in your main pools of talent.Candidates also are much smarter about compensation, benefits and salaries, so you have to have the best overall package to land the best talent!
Future predictions on sourcing. What will change in the next 5 years?
The use of AI to better find the right people, and allow us to make more human connections and let the administrative side of our jobs take care of itself. I’m an optimist about adding this type of technology and I’m excited to see how AI will impact the talent sourcing industry.
The onset of AI, which is used to label EVERYTHING that automates, is not going to replace us. It is an enhancement to what we do and how we do it. The human element will be needed to evaluate the content of what is found and determine its true value of the individual and how they will work with the ever-changing culture in a company.
Overall, Michael has really made a positive impact in our sourcing community. Recently, he’s done several White Hat training sessions over google hangouts. If you would like to participate in a future training I recommend reaching out to him directly.
You can connect with Michael Crouse here:
LinkedIn
Facebook
Twitter
Recommended Reading:
Boolean Hacks to Source Diverse Talent
How to Use Evernote as a Recruiting ATS
How to Use Mail Merge to Recruit Candidates
