Episode 2 - Kaylee Estes

[00:00:04] Hello everyone, welcome to Hire Her, the Talent Collective Podcast that we have just started. We are very, very excited to be here for our second episode and today we have Kaylee Estes with us. We are so, so excited to introduce Kaylee to our audience. Kaylee is a newer member of ours and she has recently founded our Atlanta chapter. So, I'm very excited to have you Kaylee.

[00:00:33] Kaylee and I met months ago and we started talking all about, you know, potentially having her start an Atlanta community for us. Kaylee also has a very impressive background in talent acquisition and about a year and a half, two years ago started her own thing. So she has been absolutely killing it. So Kaylee, tell us, we'll just start out kind of open-ended, but tell us a little bit about you and about your journey

[00:01:03] and TA what you're doing now. Yeah, well thank you for having me. It's so great to be here and super excited to bring Talent Collective to Atlanta. So yeah, my background in TA, it's very similar to what you hear, like you don't go to college to become a recruiter. So my first role was with a staffing firm here in Atlanta. I initially interviewed thinking I would be a healthcare recruiter and they put me on a technical recruiting team and quickly found that that was a really good fit.

[00:01:31] So I dove into that and I was there for almost four years. So I was hired by a startup to really get their TA off the ground. So in Atlanta, I've worked with two like really high growth startups here.

[00:01:49] And then in January 2023, I founded my own talent strategy and recruiting firm. So it's been a journey and it's great to get to see all sides of it.

[00:02:00] Well, congratulations. Such a successful background. I also, I think we talked about this the first time you and I chatted, but you worked at Greenlight, which I use for my kids.

[00:02:10] Yeah, me too.

[00:02:12] Yeah, yeah.

[00:02:15] If anyone needs to have like a money management system for the kids and their, what's it called? Like allowance, I guess.

[00:02:22] Yeah.

[00:02:23] Check them out.

[00:02:23] Yeah, it was a great experience. We grew the team from like less than 100 to over 500 people in a year. So it was, it was a lot of fun.

[00:02:33] Here are questions. So first off, we'd love to understand a little bit about how you've gotten to TA. Everyone's stories are different.

[00:02:42] And we'd love to hear a little bit about your story.

[00:02:45] Yeah, well, it started out, I had a good friend here in Atlanta who is working at a staffing firm.

[00:02:50] And I had just, I was in the middle of like my first job post-college and was looking for kind of my next role, but I wanted it to be a longer term career path.

[00:03:01] So my friend called me and she's like, Hey, my company's hiring. You should come interview for this recruiter role.

[00:03:06] I had no idea what recruiting really was.

[00:03:09] But I went into the interview and it went really well. And I loved all of the people that I met.

[00:03:14] And I was like, you know, I'll figure it out to get to work with people like this.

[00:03:17] So yeah, my first role was with a staffing firm, very much like an entry-level recruiter.

[00:03:25] I also wanted to be a healthcare recruiter and I ended up being a technical recruiter.

[00:03:28] So just jumped right into that and it definitely stuck. And that's still what I'm focusing on today.

[00:03:35] Oh my gosh. So, so special. Well, and those were the days, right?

[00:03:38] When you got to go in, apply for a job and you pretty much get it right away.

[00:03:44] It feels so different now. Yeah. It's a very different experience finding a job than what it used to be.

[00:03:52] Exactly. Yeah. Eight rounds of interviews at one company, but hey, now you're almost one and done.

[00:04:00] It's like an interview. You got a phone call, you got a job offer. You started like the next week.

[00:04:07] Those were the days. Well, speaking of hiring and getting hired,

[00:04:12] you've obviously worked agency and in-house. We'd love to hear a story of maybe like a candidate

[00:04:20] that you place, like a really, really cool story that just sticks out and you'll never forget that,

[00:04:25] that situation. Yeah. Well, there's so many after doing this for so long, I'm sure you guys can relate.

[00:04:31] But the one that immediately came to mind was right when I first started my agency,

[00:04:36] one of my first clients was a former CTO that I worked with and he was at a new company

[00:04:41] and he was able to hire an entry-level software engineer, which I'm sure you guys also know,

[00:04:47] those roles don't really come along that often, especially ones where they'll take a candidate

[00:04:53] from a bootcamp that hasn't ever worked full-time as a software engineer before.

[00:04:58] So I was really excited about the search. I rarely get to work on roles like these. So I was pumped.

[00:05:04] So I ended up working with a candidate that was a technical support engineer at another startup in

[00:05:09] Atlanta. He had just finished bootcamp and he interviewed and he did so well. They were so

[00:05:15] impressed. They hired him almost right away. And the cool thing about that, that I go back to is like,

[00:05:21] I know that getting him and helping him get that job set him on the path to getting another software

[00:05:28] engineering job down the road. So it's just been really great to see somebody like that succeed and

[00:05:33] change their career path. So yeah, that one definitely stands out. And he was just like the

[00:05:39] world's nicest person. So I don't know. It's just those types of candidates like really stick with

[00:05:44] you and make the job totally worth it. I think that's why I enjoy recruiting so much. And that's

[00:05:49] why I wanted to be a recruiter is because the idea of helping somebody get their first job or

[00:05:55] something like that just felt really great. So. And you'll have many more. Yeah. Yeah. It's always

[00:06:02] fun when you get, you know, those feel good type of roles every once in a while. So yeah, that one,

[00:06:09] that one definitely stands out. That's why we're all in this business to change those lives. And I think

[00:06:15] especially when you play somebody so junior, you really get to set the trajectory of their careers.

[00:06:21] So yeah, very, very cool. Okay. So for our next question, let's hear about someone or people

[00:06:29] that have helped elevate you in your recruiting career. Yeah. Well, there's a lot of people that

[00:06:37] come to mind, but when I was thinking about this, the one that stands out the most is probably the team

[00:06:43] that I worked with before I went out on my own. So while I was at Greenlight, you brought up Greenlight

[00:06:48] before, um, as their head of TA, I were, I was a part of an all women recruiting team. Um, and they

[00:06:55] were amazing. And I was a first time, you know, director, head of TA. So they were super supportive

[00:07:02] and just a really great team to work with. So I would definitely say that they helped, um, elevate me

[00:07:08] because I had a lot to learn about how to be a director of TA and things like that. So, um, those

[00:07:14] folks came to mind immediately. And then I also think like the people I worked with at my first

[00:07:20] staffing firm, just that team in general, um, they're some of the best recruiters that, you know,

[00:07:26] I've ever worked with. And I think the teams around me have always elevated me because I've learned a lot

[00:07:31] from them. You know, you get a lot of support from the teams that you work with. So, um, yeah, that's

[00:07:38] definitely what comes to mind when you ask that. I love about your team that was like under you so

[00:07:46] to speak. Um, it's almost like kids, right? It's like, we're always thinking about like, what do we

[00:07:52] want to teach our kids and what do we want them to learn from us? But sometimes it can be so

[00:07:58] reciprocal, right? Like our, our kids can be our greatest teachers sometimes, right? Like just,

[00:08:05] oh yeah. So many things. Yeah. You learn a lot, especially I wasn't a first time manager. I'd

[00:08:11] been managing teams for a while, but I was definitely a first time like leader of an organization

[00:08:18] of that scale and just what we were tasked with, what we had to do during that time. Um, it was a lot

[00:08:25] of like learning on the job, you know, and you're faced with a lot of situations you don't know. So

[00:08:30] I definitely learned a lot from the team that I was working with and they were a great support system

[00:08:35] along the way. And, um, I've definitely taken those lessons as I've started my own business

[00:08:40] and thinking about like the type of team I want to have down the road and, um, and things like that.

[00:08:46] So amazing. Thank you. Great. So next question, um, this is like right on brand with this podcast. We really

[00:08:57] wanted to use hire her as a platform to really elevate the voices of various women in talent that, um,

[00:09:06] we've met along the way through our journey of starting talent collective. And so our favorite

[00:09:09] question is who has, um, really empowered you. Is there a woman that has empowered you in the industry

[00:09:17] that you would like to chat up? Yeah. Um, so there's actually, um, a mom at the school that

[00:09:25] my kids are at who owns an agency here in Atlanta. And so when I had the idea to go out on my own,

[00:09:32] she was my first phone call. And normally I think recruiting kind of gets a bad rap that people are

[00:09:37] really competitive with each other. They're not going to help each other because you could be like

[00:09:42] viewed as the competition or something like that. But she was the exact opposite. She took me out to

[00:09:47] coffee. She was like, here's the name of my banker. Here's the name of my lawyer. Here's the name of,

[00:09:53] you know, this marketer that I use. She basically helped me go from zero to, oh, I have a business now.

[00:10:00] Like everything from, did you think about, you have to pay occupational tax? Did you think about all of

[00:10:05] these things that you definitely didn't think about when starting your business? And so, um,

[00:10:10] she's been a really great support and I know I can call her, you know, on those rougher days of

[00:10:16] business ownership and she's been there and done that and has an incredibly successful agency and

[00:10:21] team around her. So, um, yeah, she's been such a support and she was always my cheerleader, which I,

[00:10:28] you know, I just appreciate and I hope to be that for other people in the industry. Um, I really try not

[00:10:33] to view other recruiters in a competitive light. Um, like I just want to help people, especially if

[00:10:40] they're going out on their own, um, trying to start something. Yeah. What a great story. And it's

[00:10:46] such a reminder of things, stories like that, that we've heard of within talent collective,

[00:10:52] the community, there's several different women agency owners that are now like partnering together.

[00:10:57] They're doing splits and they're helping teach each other different verticals or like introducing.

[00:11:03] And so it's just really refreshing to see that other women doing the same exact thing are really

[00:11:10] amplifying other women and not taking. So yeah, that's been one of my favorite reasons for talent

[00:11:16] collective. Um, you didn't ask this, but I'll say it like just knowing that I can reach out to people

[00:11:23] in the community that have owned a business before or have like walked the path that I'm walking.

[00:11:29] There just are not that many people out there that have gone out and started their own agency.

[00:11:35] Um, and there are definitely not a lot of women out there that have done it. So that's been a really

[00:11:41] great resource. And I think about my friend and I'm like, man, she was so encouraging. I'm not sure I

[00:11:47] would have had the guts to actually go do it, you know, without her being like, Oh yeah,

[00:11:51] you've got this. And you know, when you need a banker, give me a call. I'll tell you who to call.

[00:11:56] Um, so all the things that you don't think about when you're starting business, she was there for,

[00:12:01] and yeah, it's so helpful. Well, awesome. We're so honored that you decided to join us

[00:12:08] on our podcast and be a part of our community and also helping us really champion our mission in

[00:12:14] Atlanta. Um, we're so lucky to have met you along the way and, um, appreciate, you know, giving us an

[00:12:21] opportunity to have a conversation with you about your inspiring story. So thank you Kaylee for joining

[00:12:27] us. Thank you for having me. Yes. So we will see you soon, uh, at our launch coming up October 3rd

[00:12:34] in Atlanta. Um, but thank you everybody for tuning in today. And, um, we're excited to bring you more

[00:12:42] inspiring stories from other women in talent, and we will see you next time. Bye.