Unlocking Leadership with Sarah Englade - HigherHer by Talent Collective Ep 11

[00:00:00] Welcome to the HigherHer Podcast by Talent Collective, presenting conversations with inspiring women in talent. And get ready ladies, because this is the last time you're going to hear a man's voice on this show.

[00:00:14] Hi everyone and welcome to today's episode of HigherHer, a podcast put on by Talent Collective. Talent Collective is a community for women in the recruiting space and we welcome you all today. Thank you so much for joining us.

[00:00:29] We have a really, really special and amazing guest here today, Sarah Englade, and she is going to talk all about her recruiting journey and share some really amazing stories with us. So I'm excited for that.

[00:00:43] So my name is Krista Tam, I'm one of the co-founders of Talent Collective. My other co-founder Natalie is traveling today, so it's just me, surprise.

[00:00:53] But I wanted to do just a really quick intro to Sarah. So Sarah has been in the recruiting space for some time now.

[00:01:00] And she has recently, in the last few years, started her own recruiting firm that has very, very quickly scaled.

[00:01:09] And she actually did a workshop for us a couple of months ago about basically how she started her company.

[00:01:16] And what I really love about Sarah is just how real and raw and like transparent she is.

[00:01:25] Because, you know, I think there's so many people in the recruiting space who can really hold their cards close, especially on the agency side and not want to talk about like what's worked and what hasn't because they feel like you're going to steal their secrets.

[00:01:39] Right. But Sarah does not have that mentality at all. She's all about abundance, which I just appreciate and admire so, so much.

[00:01:48] So Sarah, I'm going to pass it to you. Would love to hear a little bit about your story, your recruiting journey and what you're up to now with your business.

[00:01:56] Yeah, that was a great intro, Krista. Thank you so much. And I'm excited to be here because to your point, I feel like we have to talk the truth here.

[00:02:06] Like I think a lot of our stories are they're really not unique. We're so similar in this space.

[00:02:12] So, you know, I got started in recruiting 12 years ago on accident like we all do. It's all an accident.

[00:02:18] I was looking for a job. I started my career in Massachusetts in medical spas, transferred to Houston, Texas and as a kid and worked in that space in that industry for six and a half years

[00:02:31] until I found myself in a situation where I found it difficult to have stability with this one company.

[00:02:38] And I gave my resume to my only friend that I knew that was a recruiter.

[00:02:41] And up until that point, I'd actually never met a recruiter. I didn't know what recruiting was.

[00:02:46] And she had just started. So gave her my resume and she's like, OK, let's go ahead.

[00:02:53] We're going to call you in and get you interviewed.

[00:02:54] And so I show up to this interview at this big, huge recruiting firm, walked in and it was really unusual because I'm thinking they're meeting with me to where they can place me in Houston.

[00:03:05] And they were actually really on joining them because I came from sales.

[00:03:10] So that's when I actually learned what recruiting was.

[00:03:13] And it was a very long interview process with this company.

[00:03:16] It's pretty big. Houston is the fourth largest city.

[00:03:19] So it's like where to place her. So I actually switched careers, took a chance 12 years ago and joined this company and started in temp staffing in downtown Houston.

[00:03:31] So that's where it started.

[00:03:34] That experience there, it was great foundationally.

[00:03:37] I learned everything that you possibly need to learn regarding KPIs and all the good stuff.

[00:03:42] Right. But it was a very unusually toxic environment for Sarah.

[00:03:45] You know, and I think that's very common in the industry because it is salesy.

[00:03:50] It's very competitive.

[00:03:51] And I just came from a super female dominated industry.

[00:03:54] And so, you know, I thought I could conquer anything.

[00:03:57] Right. But that particular environment was very, very challenging for me.

[00:04:01] And so through that, I was a top producer, though.

[00:04:05] I grew with that company, was with that company for six and a half years and I was fired.

[00:04:10] So I was fired from that position and not for my performance, probably more or less for my attitude, to be honest.

[00:04:17] So after six and a half years of being in an environment that's not right for you, it does chip away at you.

[00:04:24] It really does. Yeah.

[00:04:25] And it chipped away at me.

[00:04:26] I was a completely different person.

[00:04:28] So that was an experience in itself.

[00:04:33] But it took me, you know, walking out the door with my six and a half years of memories, basically.

[00:04:40] And I just instantly felt relief.

[00:04:42] I just did.

[00:04:43] I could not quit that job.

[00:04:45] So my full-time job became finding a job, landed with a company that was my saving grace.

[00:04:50] And I had six job offers in two weeks, but really wanted that role.

[00:04:53] And I wanted it because they created a position for me to allow me to continue working because I was being held to my non-compete.

[00:05:01] So even though I was fired from my job, I was reminded of my obligation to not work in Houston for a competitor for 12 full months.

[00:05:11] So that was really fun.

[00:05:14] So I took this position and ended up working out of Memphis, Tennessee for the first six months of my non-compete.

[00:05:21] Then I worked out of Dallas.

[00:05:22] And then what happened was the pandemic in 2020.

[00:05:25] So right when my non-compete was over, that's when COVID hit.

[00:05:30] And, you know, I was with that company and made it through a couple of rounds of layoffs.

[00:05:34] But then September of 2020 hit and I was impacted by the layoff because the world was upside down.

[00:05:40] Like there were no jobs.

[00:05:41] It was crazy.

[00:05:43] So like any sane person, I decided to start a company in a pandemic.

[00:05:49] So that's what really happened.

[00:05:50] That's what triggered the whole thing.

[00:05:52] It was a wild, wild ride.

[00:05:53] And I do want to preface this.

[00:05:55] Like people are so scared to start their own companies.

[00:05:57] I started when there was like no reason to start a company.

[00:06:00] Like it was so confusing and it was a total risk right there.

[00:06:03] But I don't know.

[00:06:04] I think sometimes you have those moments of realization when you're like, okay, I've done

[00:06:10] this agency thing now for eight years.

[00:06:12] I'm a top producer.

[00:06:13] I've been in an environment that I learned the foundation, but I learned also what I don't

[00:06:20] want.

[00:06:20] And then the next company was so chaotic, but everybody was so happy.

[00:06:24] So, you know, you take up what you can from each one of those experiences.

[00:06:27] And I hit Google up to, you know, teach me how to start a company.

[00:06:32] And, you know, here we are four years later, you know, and thriving.

[00:06:35] So it's been an awesome ride.

[00:06:37] Yeah.

[00:06:37] Oh my goodness.

[00:06:38] Well, I love it.

[00:06:39] Thank you so much for sharing that.

[00:06:41] I too started in temp staffing.

[00:06:42] So I know all of the fun ups and downs of what that means.

[00:06:47] It's like true bootcamp if you ever had it.

[00:06:50] So it is.

[00:06:51] And I always say this too, like, listen, like there's a lot of people, it's crazy enough

[00:06:55] that a lot of people are trying to enter recruiting in 2024.

[00:06:58] And, you know, I've been asked, what's your advice?

[00:07:00] It's like, look, if you can start in temp staffing in a downturn, you can do anything.

[00:07:05] So like, if you want to get thrown into that craziness and go for it.

[00:07:09] And yeah, you can do anything that you want in this industry after that, after conquering

[00:07:13] that.

[00:07:13] Cause it's a beast.

[00:07:14] Well, funny enough.

[00:07:15] So I moved to San Francisco in September of 2008 and was looking for my first recruiting

[00:07:22] job.

[00:07:23] And that was the downturn, the last downturn.

[00:07:27] And the only job I could get was at a temp staffing firm.

[00:07:32] And I was so desperate.

[00:07:34] I was like, turning through my savings.

[00:07:35] So desperate.

[00:07:36] I was like, okay, I'll do it.

[00:07:37] Like did not want to work at an agency.

[00:07:40] Ended up taking the job.

[00:07:41] Luckily, thank the Lord.

[00:07:43] I was at a really amazing agency and ended up staying there 13 years.

[00:07:49] But you're so right.

[00:07:51] It was probably the hardest I've ever worked in my life and probably ever will work in my

[00:07:56] life.

[00:07:57] But it taught me so much, so much.

[00:08:00] So let me put that in common.

[00:08:01] I love it.

[00:08:02] No, you learn everything about yourself too.

[00:08:05] Like, you know, you learn to be decisive.

[00:08:07] You learn to like, you know, operate at the speed of lightning.

[00:08:11] Like if you can really just embrace that industry and like that specific space of staffing, it

[00:08:18] really does teach you how much you can actually do.

[00:08:21] Yes.

[00:08:22] Yes.

[00:08:23] Well, I'd love to hear from you.

[00:08:26] We encourage our guests to be vulnerable when they're open to it.

[00:08:31] And, you know, just be human.

[00:08:34] We all have challenges in life, both in our personal lives, but also in our work lives.

[00:08:41] And so we'd love to hear from you, maybe, you know, some kind of serious challenge that

[00:08:45] you've dealt with in your life, either personally or professionally.

[00:08:48] And what did you learn from that experience and how did you overcome it?

[00:08:53] So I think it's a mix.

[00:08:55] Like during that time when I was fired from my job and looking for a job and also not being

[00:09:01] college degreed.

[00:09:03] So that mix there is an insane challenge for me.

[00:09:06] But you want to know something, Krista.

[00:09:08] I think I made it a bigger challenge, like personally.

[00:09:11] I wasn't really pushed too hard on either one of those being fired and then not having

[00:09:16] a degree.

[00:09:17] But for me, that was massive.

[00:09:19] That was a mix of embarrassment, to be honest.

[00:09:23] I'm embarrassed I got fired.

[00:09:26] I was kind of embarrassed.

[00:09:28] To be honest with you, I really didn't have time to feel embarrassed because my full-time

[00:09:31] job was finding a job.

[00:09:32] So I mean, I was having to shine this light and talk in all these interviews.

[00:09:36] Like I said, I had six job offers.

[00:09:37] And every single time I'm walking into these interviews, what I found to help me overcome

[00:09:43] the bit of shame that I did have was talking about it.

[00:09:47] Like I didn't have time to come up with a better story.

[00:09:51] The story was the story.

[00:09:53] I was fired.

[00:09:54] And then when I was asked, well, why were you fired?

[00:09:57] The reason I was given by two people in the room was because I told a girl at happy hour

[00:10:02] I didn't want to be her friend.

[00:10:04] So the story was so stupid.

[00:10:06] So it just was.

[00:10:08] So it's like I had to talk about that.

[00:10:10] So I think that helped just getting it out and being honest.

[00:10:15] Couldn't make it up.

[00:10:16] That was the reason.

[00:10:17] But then also too with the education piece, it's funny because I tried college four different

[00:10:25] times.

[00:10:26] Like it's just not my gig and it just never was.

[00:10:29] And I think that honestly has pushed me to be just such a hard worker because again, I

[00:10:34] think it's my own pressure I put on myself to really perform because it's like I feel

[00:10:39] like I have to.

[00:10:40] I feel like I have to show up and really impress people, you know?

[00:10:43] So I actually use that as like fire now.

[00:10:46] So I, and, and again, it's just, I think it was a Sarah thing and having to come over those

[00:10:51] insecurities, get over them to just realize they're really not that big of a deal.

[00:10:55] You can be fired and have no college degree and still be insanely successful.

[00:10:59] And there's so many people as examples of that.

[00:11:02] So, you know, it was those things.

[00:11:03] Yeah.

[00:11:03] It was a moment for Sarah.

[00:11:05] I really had to have a coming to Jesus with her to be like, you're, you're kind of okay.

[00:11:09] You don't have to be ashamed of these things.

[00:11:11] Yeah.

[00:11:12] And I really hope the, um, the college degree thing is going away and I feel like we might

[00:11:18] be shifting a little bit in that direction because like you said, there's so many brilliant

[00:11:24] people in the world, not only entrepreneurs, but, you know, also just brilliant creators in

[00:11:30] the world that have been so successful.

[00:11:34] And it just goes to show like traditional schooling, you know, does not make or break your success

[00:11:40] or mean that you're smart or otherwise.

[00:11:43] Um, and you know, I have kids that are in elementary school right now and I just like, I don't know

[00:11:49] where they'll end up or if they'll even want to go to college, but I'm already trying to

[00:11:54] talk to them about like, you know, if you aren't that good in school, find out what you

[00:12:00] are good in, like capitalize on that, like find out what your strengths are and go all in

[00:12:06] on those things. And, you know, I, it's hard that everybody's held to that standard when many

[00:12:13] people do not fit that mold.

[00:12:15] Oh, 100%. I never did. Like I struggled in school. I have a learning disability. I have like a

[00:12:20] dyslexia of the ear. A lot of people that have that girl out of it. I never did. So it's like,

[00:12:25] don't bring me to a concert. Cause I can't hear nothing. It's just like, like it's, and I still

[00:12:29] have it. And you know, um, I am that girl. If you bring me out to a loud place, I'll be like,

[00:12:34] huh? Huh? Like I'm probably like the annoying friend, you know, I've had to like, you know,

[00:12:38] I struggled with that in school because I didn't know what it was. I actually didn't,

[00:12:41] I wasn't diagnosed with it until I was 26 oddly enough. So, you know, I really had to work through

[00:12:46] a lot of those things, but to your point, you know, I am a huge advocate of education, but there's a

[00:12:51] lot of different ways you can educate yourself. And I'm, and I self-educate all the time. I surround

[00:12:55] myself with the right people. I, you know, constantly think about like the diet, right? Like

[00:12:59] what are you consuming? It's not just like the food that you eat, but like,

[00:13:04] what are you listening to? Who are you surrounding yourself with? Like that all really matters. And

[00:13:08] if you can actually master that, um, you can just continuously just elevate and level up without

[00:13:14] having to go get a four-year degree. You just can't. So, so true. Well, thank you for sharing

[00:13:21] those challenges. I want to go a little bit deeper or get a little bit more specific, um, and talk about

[00:13:28] being a woman in the workplace. Um, so are there any unique challenges that you've faced in being

[00:13:35] a woman in your career and how did you overcome those? So, you know, what's crazy is I never think

[00:13:43] about the challenge of being a woman. Like I never really think about my gender, right? Like I just,

[00:13:50] I've always been like, you can do whatever you want. You just have to put your mind to it. But

[00:13:53] I can say that, um, yeah, I've experienced some challenges and it's, it's crazy even having to talk

[00:13:59] about these things because I don't really think you should have to deal with it, but obviously we

[00:14:04] shouldn't have to. But, you know, for me being a woman, especially, you know, being in sales,

[00:14:09] having to show up to meetings and meet people that I don't know, I have definitely been in some very

[00:14:14] uncomfortable, awkward situations, meeting specifically, you know, men, uh, that have been a little

[00:14:21] too inappropriate and you've had to, you know, learn to set boundaries with grownups that you

[00:14:26] don't realize, uh, you should be, well, you don't, you don't think you have to set boundaries

[00:14:31] with. Um, and I've also been in situations, you know, going into rooms with other women where I'm,

[00:14:36] I'm kind of, uh, disregarded or not really taken seriously, you know, based on appearance. So,

[00:14:43] you know, it's, it's a, it's a funny line here because, you know, being a woman, it's like,

[00:14:47] you're almost like not allowed to be the full package. You, you're either really smart or you're

[00:14:53] really pretty or, you know, whatever it is. And, um, it's just a shame that, you know, women really

[00:14:59] can't be, you know, embraced to being like the full package when you have that you have to take

[00:15:06] seriously and that you have to really respect the boundaries. So, you know, it's, it's been a long

[00:15:13] road and, you know, I think that, you know, for me, I'm like every other woman, you know, like trusting

[00:15:17] and, you know, empathetic and want to, wants to be liked. And so having to, uh, really grow up and

[00:15:26] kind of grow up quickly in sales, uh, to be able to establish like firm boundaries and, um, walking into

[00:15:34] rooms, like commanding that respect. So you do have to learn how to carry yourself as a woman for sure,

[00:15:40] to be able to, uh, stand out for the reasons you want to stand out.

[00:15:45] I can relate so much to everything you just said. So, um, I had a situation when I was in undergrad

[00:15:51] where I, I was a sociology major. So I took a lot of classes that were about, um, like even sometimes

[00:16:00] like identity or like diversity and all of these things. And there was this one activity

[00:16:08] that they had us do where like, you write on a paper, all the different pieces of your identity,

[00:16:13] like your roles that you play in life. Like I'm a sister, I'm a student and I'm a worker, whatever.

[00:16:21] And I did not put on there. I'm a woman. Like it wasn't even in my head that that was a part of my

[00:16:29] identity. And when everyone else started talking about theirs and they were saying, I'm a woman,

[00:16:35] I was like, how could I even not think of that? Yeah. I'm like the same way. I'm kind of built

[00:16:43] that way. Yeah. And I feel almost like privileged or blessed in some way, because I think there are

[00:16:51] so many women who maybe they're not brought up that way. They're brought up to feel, you know,

[00:16:57] like they are lesser or, you know, culturally, like there are so many, so many different things.

[00:17:03] But then obviously that was like a huge awakening for me that like, gosh, being a woman is part of my

[00:17:08] identity. Wow. Yeah. Who knew? It is. Yeah. And then going into my career at the agency I was at,

[00:17:16] I was very, very fortunate to have very strong women leadership. It was mostly women in the company,

[00:17:22] very supportive environment. So I was never really faced with like any kind of like issues in the

[00:17:31] workplace. Yeah. Yeah. Until, until I left that company and I, and I did have a couple of situations

[00:17:38] thereafter that really made me open my eyes. Like, this is what other people have been talking about.

[00:17:44] Like, this is what women actually face. So lots of sexual harassment and it happens. And, you know,

[00:17:50] unfortunately, you know, a lot of people don't like talking about it. My first company I worked at,

[00:17:54] I never talked about it. I never brought it up to anybody. My second company, it was outrageous.

[00:17:59] It was crazy. And I, you know, you have to stick up for yourself and it is so uncomfortable and it's

[00:18:06] so sad. It's so sad that it fully, you know, it's live and well and happens to a lot of people

[00:18:14] and a lot of women don't speak up and, you know, it's just really disgusting and unfortunate that

[00:18:19] it's part of like our world for some reason. We're just like targets for it, but you know,

[00:18:25] you've got to set your boundaries and you have to like, what I, I heard, I don't know who said this,

[00:18:30] but I think about this often when I'm in uncomfortable situations and you have to advocate for yourself,

[00:18:34] you know, you have to speak up for yourself and you have to speak up for what you believe in,

[00:18:38] even if your voice quivers. And I find myself now as a business owner, really owning that because,

[00:18:46] you know, when I have to stick up for myself, doesn't, it's not easy for me and my voice will

[00:18:51] quiver, but I'm still doing it. Oh my gosh. I love that. Well, you can be a huge role model,

[00:18:57] I think for so many women, because it's hard to speak up and, you know, you might get some calls

[00:19:02] after this because I think a lot of us could, could learn from you and, you know, you're clearly

[00:19:08] doing the hard things that so many other people don't do because naturally it's really hard.

[00:19:16] So thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Let's go and like talk about something a little bit

[00:19:22] more on the light side. Would love to hear any recruiting stories that you might have about like,

[00:19:29] let's say like a recruiting fail that turned into a funny story. You know, do you have any example of

[00:19:35] like that? Yeah. You want to know what's so funny is I only thought about this today, this story,

[00:19:40] because it's, I was talking to, okay, I've been doing this a long time, 12 years. A lot of my old

[00:19:45] clients, they're still my clients to this day. Um, and they're more friends, right? So I was reminded

[00:19:52] of the story. I blacked this story out, but it is really funny now. So this hiring manager was like,

[00:19:58] Sarah, do you remember it was like six or seven years ago I called you and I needed, it was,

[00:20:02] I was still in temp. So this was probably six years ago. And she's like, I needed a temp AP

[00:20:07] specialist, but our budget was like, not great. And I'm like, Oh yeah, I remember that. But we had

[00:20:11] filled this role a couple of times and then the light bulb went off. I was like, Oh my God, this was

[00:20:15] really funny. So we ended up filling a position with someone very entry level and it was my candidate.

[00:20:22] So, um, this, I, you feel like responsible when these things kind of go crazy. So she's like,

[00:20:27] it was an oil and gas company, PE backed, like in a high rise, really nice environment. And I have

[00:20:33] this entry level AP person with maybe about six months of experience, but she fit the budget.

[00:20:37] And I know my candidates, I get to know them. And I remember she told me that she was a Mac makeup

[00:20:42] artist on the side and all these, I was like, that's really cool. I'm an esthetician, you know,

[00:20:46] by, by trade. So I'm like, that's great. So she's at this job and she's there right around this time

[00:20:52] of year. It was actually Halloween. So the day before Halloween, she had asked the hiring manager,

[00:20:58] like, Hey, are we dressing up for Halloween? Can we come in costume to the office? And she was like,

[00:21:01] well, actually, no, we have all of our investors that are flying in that are going to be here. So

[00:21:06] we need to look sharp. Yeah. And the next question she asked was, well, can we wear makeup? And she's

[00:21:12] like, yeah, you can wear makeup, but like no costumes, no nothing. Like everyone look sharp,

[00:21:15] be here early. So I remember this, I was like dying. So she goes, Sarah, she's like,

[00:21:20] I remember showing up to the office and like, she's already at her desk and she, I saw the back

[00:21:25] of her, but then she turned to look at me at her whole face was painted like a cat. Oh my goodness.

[00:21:31] Oh my goodness. She was like, what are you doing? What are you doing? They're about to walk in. Like

[00:21:36] go home right now. Wash your face, go home. And then she called me and she was like, release her from

[00:21:41] her contract right away. I don't want her back. She can't listen. I told her no costumes, but she came

[00:21:46] in costume makeup. Like, no, I'm like flabbergasted. Find me someone else. And so I called my

[00:21:51] candidate and I was like, what did you do? And she's like, I guess I misunderstood. I'm like,

[00:21:55] well, can you at least send me a selfie? And she did. She sent it to me and the whole office,

[00:22:00] we were just like, well, she is a professional. I mean, it didn't look good.

[00:22:05] Right. Right. I mean, the lady said she can wear makeup, right? She wasn't wrong.

[00:22:10] I was like, oh my God. I was cringing when she reminded me, but I remember that whole thing and

[00:22:15] being like, why would you do that? Why would you show up to an oil and gas company? Like with your,

[00:22:23] like, but it was, it's so funny now. Years later, it is hilarious. Yeah.

[00:22:28] Oh my goodness. Well, that's one for the books. I wish you still had that picture.

[00:22:33] Oh my God. So do I. It was so good. It was so funny. I mean, we've got tons of stories.

[00:22:39] I've done this for 12 years. I had one candidate, uh, in accounting one time,

[00:22:44] like somebody came up to the office and was like, Hey, I think that's this entire lot needs to be

[00:22:47] repaved. And it was an auto company. And, um, the guy was there on a contract basis as a controller.

[00:22:54] And he said, sure, let's go ahead and do it. So he agreed to have this whole entire lot towed.

[00:23:00] I mean, not towed, paved, repaved. And the owner of the company was like,

[00:23:04] I just got slapped with a 25 or $30,000 bill. Who's paying for this? And I'm like,

[00:23:11] you are like, what are you talking about? Because your temp agreed to this. All the cars were moved

[00:23:17] off the lot. They're here. And I'm like, I don't know what to do. Like you're putting these,

[00:23:23] that's why I say start in temp, start in temp staffing. Cause you deal with craziness and you

[00:23:27] really do learn how to like maneuver those things. It was just been wild. Yeah.

[00:23:33] Absolutely. Oh my gosh. I had to find a guy. So we were in San Francisco. So there was a lot of like,

[00:23:40] um, I don't know, like promotional gigs that we had to fill or like people standing on the street,

[00:23:47] trying to sell something to like tourists or whatever. So there was a company that wanted somebody

[00:23:53] to get into a gorilla costume and hand out bananas that had the company's logo on them.

[00:24:02] So do you know how hard it is to find someone who would do that? So no kidding.

[00:24:07] And actually, this is actually a great story. So, um, I had this candidate similar to your gal,

[00:24:14] like very green entry level, maybe like recent college graduate and just the sweetest guy. But like,

[00:24:22] I didn't have anywhere to send him because he literally had zero experience. So I would send

[00:24:27] him out on these gigs. I called him one day. I'm like, this is crazy. Would you do this? He had the

[00:24:32] best attitude. It was like, I'll do it. I'll be there. Like he like saw it through. Like the client

[00:24:39] was happy. It was great. Kid you not a couple of days later, my client, I was working with Pandora.

[00:24:45] So they called me a couple of days later and they wanted an AP specialist. And they're like,

[00:24:50] you don't care if the person doesn't have any experience. We just want someone with a great

[00:24:54] attitude and like send them here tomorrow, no interviews or anything. So he was my guy. Like

[00:24:59] I called him and I was like, I actually have something like real for you. And because you

[00:25:04] had such a good attitude, like, you know, show up in Oakland and here's, here's the details.

[00:25:09] He ended up staying with Pandora for like six years and got a bunch of times. And it was just

[00:25:15] like, all because you wore that Corolla costume, dude. You're awesome. Like you never know what

[00:25:20] doors are going to open. Like that's the thing. It's like, it's amazing. Like you could, to your

[00:25:25] point, be on the side, you know, rolling signs and everything like that. The next thing, you know,

[00:25:29] 20 years later, the CEO, like that's why it's like, I feel like sometimes people really just have to

[00:25:34] give these temp gigs an actual shot because it really is an opportunity for people to make an

[00:25:38] impression. However you have to make that impression, just make it good. You really never

[00:25:42] know. The sky's really the limit a lot of the time with these contract opportunities because it can

[00:25:46] literally change your whole entire career. Yes. 100%. I think that was why. That's a great story.

[00:25:52] I know. Yeah. It was like so fulfilling to me to, to be able to place people like that. Right. Because

[00:25:59] like, like you said, I mean, I think recruiting in general is about changing lives, but like

[00:26:04] you can literally change the course of life by, by making a placement like that. So.

[00:26:09] Especially putting them in like a gorilla suit. I mean, you never know. Right. Like look at that

[00:26:13] success. Yeah. Okay. Well, last question for us, Sarah. So, um, going back to women in the workplace,

[00:26:23] um, and hopefully our listeners can take maybe a nugget or two of wisdom from you on this one. Um,

[00:26:29] so what qualities do you think are essential for women in leadership roles? Um, and how can somebody

[00:26:35] go about cultivating some of those qualities, um, if they're related to looking to grow in their career?

[00:26:41] So opposite to you, you got really lucky at your company because you said you were surrounded by

[00:26:46] really strong women leadership. Okay. I never had that. For me being in that environment and now

[00:26:54] being out of it. What I think women need to get better at is really being able to support other

[00:27:01] women. Like if you're the leader, learn the ways to like not have to compete with them. Like when

[00:27:06] you're in a leadership position anyways, your job really isn't to like micromanage and tell them what

[00:27:10] to do. It's to give them, uh, the support to be able to be lifted and to grow. So to be genuinely

[00:27:17] curious and really interested in wanting your team of women to succeed without cutting them down,

[00:27:26] dimming their light. And that's hard for a lot of women. Like we talk about this a lot of the time,

[00:27:30] women supporting other women is rare. And when it happens, it's beautiful. And we don't always have

[00:27:38] to be so competitive. So I think for me, I'll, I'll be honest. I had traits like that being in

[00:27:44] environments where you're constantly being, you know, beat down by your leadership team that you

[00:27:49] really want to be like in some ways, like you idolize them, but you don't know why. I don't know.

[00:27:56] Leaving that now, I can tell you this, what's worked for me and what's made me a better leader over the

[00:28:02] years. And I'm still learning as I go has been by surrounding myself with very strong women leaders

[00:28:08] and male leaders and making sure that you're really are invested in this. Like, you know,

[00:28:14] for me, I'm part of an entrepreneur program called RHA syndicate, and it's a program for

[00:28:18] entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, intrapreneurs, but it's about personal excellence. It's about actually

[00:28:23] building a strong culture, having values, abiding by your values and really lifting up your team.

[00:28:29] It's about showing up. It's about leading by example and, you know, really being that example to

[00:28:36] help to inspire. So I think that if you can find people that really do align with wanting the best

[00:28:43] for people, you are going to, you're going to benefit from that because you are the average

[00:28:49] of the people you surround yourself with. So it's about finding people that are stronger leaders than

[00:28:54] you are and embracing, you know, what they bring to the table and executing that with your own team.

[00:29:00] So that's my advice. Love that. Yeah. I love it when leaders are,

[00:29:07] feel strongly about making their team as good or better than they are. Right. Yes.

[00:29:13] I think that like not many people can do that and do that well and have the humility to do that,

[00:29:20] but that just makes the entire organization better. Right. Yeah. Like I was awesome when I was in a

[00:29:26] leadership position with a pretty large team because I didn't have to be number one. I was really good at

[00:29:30] my job. I, I was a top performer, but my team, I wanted them to be amazing and awesome. And you know,

[00:29:37] what feels really, really good is that, you know, years later kind of exiting that first company,

[00:29:42] the amount of people that I worked with at that company that have now since DM'd me or reached out

[00:29:48] and texted and just said, Sarah, I want you to know that working for you made me the person I am

[00:29:54] today in my field, such a strong worker because you worked as hard, but you supported us so well.

[00:30:00] And it feels really, really good to hear that because, you know, again, like you don't know,

[00:30:04] you want to be such a good leader and yet it's your intention, but sometimes you don't go about

[00:30:09] it the right way. So also to like really investing in the team and making sure that they know, like,

[00:30:14] look, I've got your back. I want you to commission. I want you to grow. I want you in my position,

[00:30:18] like, and I'm going to get you there too, but we've got to work, you know, together on this.

[00:30:21] I don't know. There's something very powerful about seeing people grow on your team and just

[00:30:26] kill it. It feels good. Yeah.

[00:30:28] Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, amazing. Thank you so much for being again, just so real

[00:30:34] and transparent and vulnerable with us. To close us out, tell our listeners a little bit about

[00:30:41] your business. Like where can they find you if they want to get in touch with you?

[00:30:45] Like what do you recruit for? What are your specialties? All that good stuff.

[00:30:49] Yeah. So Monarch Talent Solutions, we're here in Houston, Texas. You can find us on basically

[00:30:54] every platform. We're big on Instagram, Monarch Talent HTX. We're on YouTube. LinkedIn is our

[00:31:00] platform. It's our baby. We live in it. And here's, we specialize in accounting, finance,

[00:31:06] and HR directly in Houston. So we only specialize in the Houston market, but this is what I always like

[00:31:11] to tell people, you know, especially, you know, fellow recruiters and women in recruiting.

[00:31:16] When I first started out and I started my own company, nobody would give me a shot at mentoring

[00:31:21] me. I reached out to people, I DM'd them and I said, Hey, I just started. You've been doing this

[00:31:26] longer. You're clearly better at this than I am. And I'd love to take you to lunch or even just

[00:31:31] virtually meet you and just pick your brain if that's okay. And I was shunned. Like people either

[00:31:36] didn't respond or they chose to respond in ways that were snarky. And if you're a woman in recruiting,

[00:31:43] needing some support and you DM me, I've got your back. I will jump on a zoom with you. I will jump

[00:31:48] on a teams with you and I will give you some time to be able to ask questions. If there's anything

[00:31:52] that's weighing on you that you could benefit from a conversation with me. So, you know, just

[00:31:57] Sarah Inglade on LinkedIn, look me up, hit me up and you know, we'll see if we can be friends.

[00:32:02] Amazing. Well, I love it. Thank you so, so much for being here with us today, Sarah.

[00:32:07] Um, really appreciate you. And, um, we'll put a link to your, uh, bio and, and all that good stuff

[00:32:14] in the show notes. Um, so thanks for being here everyone today and, um, hope you like and subscribe

[00:32:21] to our podcast and you can find more about talent collective at talent collective co.com and also on

[00:32:29] all the socials and LinkedIn and all that good stuff. So until next time, we'll see you soon.

[00:32:34] Bye. Bye.