[Podcast] Industry Spotlight | Sarah Englade: Founder of Monarch Talent Solutions – Resilient Recruiting: Building Strong Client Relationships

Sarah Englade [00:00:00]:
When you’re starting out your own company or maybe your company is still really small, but we’re in a market like this that we’re in, you have to be able to say no to the wrong business. To say yes to the right clients. You have to, you have to say yes to the clients that align with your value system that you know can see the value in you and all the hard work that we’re going to be doing for them. You know, if you’re just partnering with any body, it will honestly start chipping away at you and how you value yourself and then it starts to change how they value you too. So really kind of know the difference between something that’s worth it long term or is it just for that one simple transaction and if it’s just for the transaction that one off, if you can, if you have the ability, like I do, to say no, say no, to focus on the right business that’s going to be long term, a long term client for years and years and years.

Kortney Harmon [00:00:48]:
Hi, I’m Kortney Harmon, Director of industry relations at Crelate. This is the Industry Spotlight, a series of the Full desk experience, a Crelate original podcast. In this series we will talk with top leaders and influencers who are shaping the talent industry, shining a light on popular trends, the latest news and the stories that laid the groundwork for their success. Welcome back to another episode of the Full Desk Experience. Industry Spotlight welcome to another episode of the Full Desk Experience. Today I am very honored to have a very special guest with us, Sarah Englade. Sarah is the founder Executive Headhunter at Monarch Talent Solutions. I got a chance to cross paths with Sarah through Benjamin Mena’s session that he had just a few weeks ago and I’m blown away.

Kortney Harmon [00:01:42]:
Sarah is known for her expertise in executive search, particularly in the fields of accounting, finance, human resources, and has a decade of experience at global recruiting firms and a track record of placing over 2,800 candidates. Sarah’s really established herself as a top producer in our industry and I’m so excited to have her here as we’re going to dive into current temperature of the recruiting industry. Explore how Sarah and her team have pivoted in the last year trends as she sees shaping our field into 2025 and I’m so excited as Sarah’s insights are sure to be invaluable for anyone looking to navigate this ever evolving landscape of recruitment. So without further ado, Sarah, thank you so much for joining us today and taking the time out of your busy schedule to be with me thank you.

Sarah Englade [00:02:29]:
For asking me to be on this. I’m so excited about being here.

Kortney Harmon [00:02:33]:
I love it. Now, my first question for everybody is just tell us a little bit about you, how you got into this industry. I mean, no one goes to elementary school. I want to be a recruiter when I grow up. So I want to know your story, how you got into this industry, what was the evolving features. And then tell us a little bit more about Monarch Solutions as well.

Sarah Englade [00:02:52]:
Well, I got into recruiting just like everyone else on accident. I went to school, actually, to be a medical esthetician back in Boston, where I’m from. And I did that, you know, kind of straight out of high school. And that’s how I got to Houston, Texas. So I worked for a national company. I put in for a transfer when I was 23. Houston, Texas picked me up, and I left home. So I was in that industry for about six and a half years.

Sarah Englade [00:03:14]:
Left one company for a competitor and didn’t do my research on the competitor. And it was a great experience for six months. And then the last three months were scary, where this company was just expanding all over the city of Houston, but didn’t have the capital to back it. Couldn’t actually cash my check, like the day after I got it, because it would bounce. So being single in Houston, Texas, in my early 20s, I was scared. Gave my resume to my only friend who just became a recruiter. Like the month before. I didn’t even know a recruiter.

Sarah Englade [00:03:43]:
I didn’t know what recruiters did. I didn’t know they existed. I didn’t know the field was an actual thing. But she had just started as a recruiter with a really large global firm. Gave her my resume. She hooked me up with an interview. And during that interview, I’m thinking, these people are going to. They’re getting to know me to see where they can help place me with another company in Houston.

Sarah Englade [00:04:03]:
But that’s not actually what happened. They were interviewing me. They saw my strong sales experience, and they were trying to figure out where to place me within their company as a recruiter. So it happens like everybody else. So I ended up pivoting my entire career, left esthetics, which I absolutely loved, that I was in for six and a half years on a chance in recruiting. And I’ve been recruiting for 12 years now, so it was a great pivot. But I stayed with one firm for six and a half years, went to another very large global firm for about 18 months and, well, 16 months. But it was during that time the pandemic hit.

Sarah Englade [00:04:38]:
So that was actually the moment when I was impacted by being laid off for the first time ever in my life. I was part of a layoff in September of 2020 and October of 2020 is when I officially launched Monarch Talent Solutions.

Kortney Harmon [00:04:52]:
So yeah, the rest is history. So tell us a little bit about Monarch and what you do in the industry and like your story with Monarch.

Sarah Englade [00:05:00]:
So selfishly I started a company because of wanting it to be a safe space for me to be me. You know, I had worked in these two large firms and the first firm, we were very scripted, we were very metrics Dr. We were kind of like we were all the same. I mean the first company that I was with was huge. But if I was in trainings with people in California or even in like Europe or whatever, we all sounded exactly the same. Like we really couldn’t have like our own personality, our own flavor or anything like that. It was just not how we did things at that firm. And so the second firm, they didn’t care about any of that.

Sarah Englade [00:05:30]:
They were just like, be yourself, you know, like, there’s no rules here. So when I started my own company, I really wanted it to be safe for me because I had a really rocky beginning in my recruiting career. So I started Monarch to really put humanity back into hiring, but put back into hiring for job seekers, but also for me, like I wanted peace, to be myself. So that is what we’ve been doing. So I specialize in direct hire. I only work in Houston, Texas so I only work with Houston based companies. I’m in direct hire for accounting, finance, hr, more like that. Senior to executive level.

Sarah Englade [00:06:04]:
My main industry that I focus on here is oil and gas and manufacturing. Those are the two industries that are very, very big here that have treated me very well for 12 years. And so I’ve really created my company around those industries and servicing those industries specifically. Clearly you can tell I believe in niches because riches are in niches. So if anybody wants to start their own company niche down, that’s my advice. I think it’s the best advice that I was ever given and it really helped me to take off. But the beginning of Monarch was difficult. You know, I don’t think a lot of people talk about that.

Sarah Englade [00:06:33]:
I think that there’s like this, you know, social media thing where everybody starts a company and then it looks successful overnight. It’s like the overnight success which doesn’t exist. It’s not true. You know, for six months I started my company and it was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I never, ever started a company before. I don’t have a single entrepreneur in my family on either my side or my husband’s side. I had no one to really look to. So a lot of this was happening for me slowly by making mistakes, by.

Sarah Englade [00:06:58]:
I had to ask a lot of questions. You really have to be okay with asking for help. Help. But it took me six months in a pandemic, and then early in 2021, I mean, I was just hustling. I was. I’m still very KPI driven, but it took me six months to get a paycheck. So I think a lot of times people just say there’s so much freedom in owning your own firm. There’s so much, you know, of this or that and all this, other things.

Sarah Englade [00:07:18]:
But there’s also a lot that you have to put into it. There’s a lot of blood, sweat, tears, sweat equity goes into this. It’s a lot to own your own company. But it’s been phenomenal. It really has. After it took me six months to get a paycheck, the clients just have not stopped. So we’ve been able to do that by really relating to people. I think that’s the biggest thing that really sets us apart, is we care about the relationship first over the transaction.

Sarah Englade [00:07:39]:
So we really are trying to solve people’s problems and not force them, guilt them, and do all the things that the industry is known for, being pushy or overselling. Like, we want to be very honest, transparent, always.

Kortney Harmon [00:07:50]:
I love that. So obviously you started a business in one of the most difficult times and then challenge for six months. Talk to me about the current state of what you’re feeling today in the recruiting industry? Because we’re what, post four years Pandemic.

Sarah Englade [00:08:05]:
Yeah.

Kortney Harmon [00:08:06]:
And after you’ve gotten established, how are you feeling about the current state of our industry today?

Sarah Englade [00:08:11]:
You know, with our industry, we’re so dependent upon a strong economy. And, you know, I started my company in a weak economy and I thought it was the best thing for me. Honestly, looking back on it, I think I timed it perfectly and I had no idea. I knew it was going to be hard, but it really kind of created a lot of, like, strength in me and a lot of good character kind of going through a tough time. I actually think right now is worse than when I started my own company. I think the economy and the market is way harder. So I think a lot of that too. I mean, I’ve been doing this for 12 years, so every time there’s an election year.

Sarah Englade [00:08:42]:
We prep for that the year before. So we already know it’s going to be slow, but this year has been very, very slow. So I’ve seen a lot of people, too, come out and start their own companies in 2024 and recruiting. And some people, not even from this base, they were like, leaving, you know, maybe a construction, working in construction and then going into construction recruiting. And I think it’s awesome because, I mean, I started my company in a down market. This is a down market, in my opinion. And so a lot of people are starting their own firms in a down market. So I think it’s building character for everybody.

Sarah Englade [00:09:12]:
I think it’s kind of showing that a lot of people do have grit but actually think that the market is not good. And I don’t think it’s been good since the end of 2023. But. So I don’t think that the election is going to create miracles. Right. Like, I don’t think, like, we’re just going to hit the election and find out who won and then the world’s going to be better. I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. But I actually do think it’s going to help to relieve a lot of stress for a lot of folks and a lot of companies that have been waiting to hire because they don’t know what policies are going to impact them and all the things.

Sarah Englade [00:09:40]:
So everyone’s just waiting. I think it’s going to definitely warm up because a lot of people will know now in moving forward, like, what’s going to impact their companies. And then I think that we’ll start really seeing a good change. And what I’m predicting to be, I think, a change that we all really need in recruiting, probably like Q2 of 2025. I think we’re just going to start seeing it go back up. So I’m just keeping my fingers crossed for it, for sure. But I think it’s been tough.

Kortney Harmon [00:10:06]:
I’m going to call you Q2 of next year. We’re going to.

Sarah Englade [00:10:09]:
Yeah, call me, please, girl. I’m praying every day because I hope you’re absolutely right.

Kortney Harmon [00:10:14]:
Now, obviously, 2023 to 2024, I heard a steady, like, it was like steady decline conferences that I’ve been to locally, and not even locally, no one’s coming to mid Cornfield, Ohio. But essentially in the industry, there’s some optimism. Yes. Around the election. Yes. The idea of at least I’ll know, I’ll know how to pivot. Are you feeling that same Reprieve I’m actually talking to people that said, you know what, three months ago I didn’t have the job orders, but people are starting to spend just this much more right now than they did three months ago. Are you saying the same in your industry right now?

Sarah Englade [00:10:50]:
I mean, I have job orders right now that I’m working on, but I think three months ago, no, I think I was busier three months ago. I think we’re all different. I think it depends on like your niche. Right. But I think the good thing that we all know if you’re a seasoned recruiter, the market does go like this. It’s up and down, up and down, up and down. You got to be able to ride the wave. And so it’s not always going to stay like this.

Sarah Englade [00:11:10]:
And so I think that’s the biggest thing is that wean know is that as seasoned tenured recruiters or people that are newer that need to listen to this, it’s really, really, really bad when it’s really, really bad. And it’s so good when it’s good. So you really just have to hold on for that. But it’s going to get better. It always does.

Kortney Harmon [00:11:26]:
This too shall pass.

Sarah Englade [00:11:28]:
It will, yeah.

Kortney Harmon [00:11:29]:
So obviously with what you’ve done over the past two years, talk to me about any major shifts that you’ve observed in your industry over the past two years.

Sarah Englade [00:11:38]:
Major shifts in my industry as in like accounting, finance, HR or, or accounting.

Kortney Harmon [00:11:45]:
And finance or oil, gas, whatever way. Like there’s a lot of people that are like, healthcare is booming, you’ve never been better. It’s still great. It may be struggling depending on your niche. Like, have you seen any trends or things happen over the past year to two years in the specific area that you’ve been.

Sarah Englade [00:12:00]:
I can’t say I think that HR has been impacted the most in, you know, layoffs and people looking. I’ve got some excellent, tenured, smart, just brilliant HR like CHROs and VPs and directors that were impacted by layoffs either end of last year or earlier in the year that are still looking. I mean, these are highly paid individuals and we’re in a white collar recession. So you know, these folks that should be working, they’re still looking, they’re still hunting, they’re getting to an offer and losing to someone else. I mean, it’s just such a competitive spirit space in hr. What I’m finding here in Houston, Texas, at least that there are less jobs and so many people wanting those. So I feel like HR has been heavily impacted more so than the accounting field. Because during the pandemic, so many accountants did not come back to work.

Sarah Englade [00:12:47]:
They switched careers. I think we all kind of, you know, during that time, a lot of us, even me, I mean, I started a company in the pandemic. I totally shifted what I was doing too. I think a lot of people had these coming to Jesus moments during that time. And accountants, it’s accounting, you know, it can be boring, it’s. But also can be really stressful. A lot of those folks, 300,000 people is what they’re saying, did not come back to work. And kids are not taking up accounting as a major in college nowadays.

Sarah Englade [00:13:10]:
They’re just not. And so that’s impacting, you know, how many accountants we have then. They’re predicting that in 10 years, 70% of the CPAs will be retired. So accounting is a little bit different. It’s, that’s crazy. And that’s why I keep telling people when they come to me, they’re like, should I go for a CPA or an mba? I’m like, cpa, you’ll have a job for the rest of your life. Do that. So accounting, we’re still seeing hiring, but I sit in that like six figure space.

Sarah Englade [00:13:36]:
So there’s not a lot of those jobs right now like they used to be. So companies that are not creating jobs and people that are not quitting their jobs are impacting how many jobs we’ve got to fill in accounting. So accounting has been my bread and butter this year. We’ve been making the most placements and kind of like that senior accountant space and controller space. But being in oil and gas, I mean, oil and gas is very tricky. You know, like a lot of people are, especially, you know, the younger generation, honestly, graduating college. They’re taught that oil and gas is bad. It’s like an evil industry.

Sarah Englade [00:14:04]:
It’s volatile, it’s environmentally not safe. So kids come out of college and they don’t want to go into oil and gas. They want to go into like renewable energy or the tech industry or real estate or whatever it is. But oil and gas is an amazing industry. And so we just have to really educate the younger generation on everything that it can bring for your career because it brings longevity. You’ll have a lot of global mobility, you know, development, like professional development. And you’re paid exceptionally well in oil and gas. So we just need to educate more, to attract more people there.

Sarah Englade [00:14:36]:
But it’s just been tricky all around. But HR has probably been, in my experience this year, the most heavily negatively Impacted, for sure.

Kortney Harmon [00:14:46]:
That stat about accountants is crazy. We’ve talked about upscaling and reskilling, needing to be like, the way of the future. 70% is such a large impacted group of people. That is crazy to me.

Sarah Englade [00:14:58]:
Wild.

Kortney Harmon [00:14:58]:
I know. Okay, with all the things that you just told me, obviously you’ve told me that accounting is right now your bread and butter. How have you pivoted from the impacts that you just talked about for these changes? Like, what have you done differently? A lot of the time we heard 2024, like, well, I have to sell. I haven’t had to sell in the past three years. It’s going back to selling. Or maybe I have to be more strategic in my sourcing efforts. Just did a consulting appointment with a local parks and recreation, and they’re like, we can’t find rangers. We can’t find police officers.

Kortney Harmon [00:15:32]:
How do we meet these people differently or meet them where they are so they’re having to change their sourcing strategy. What have you had to change in Monarch’s Talent Solutions based on all the things that you just told me.

Sarah Englade [00:15:43]:
I mean, selling is a big part of it, but for me. So I hate bd. I really am not good at it. I’m trying to get better at it. I hate saying that, but the truth is, like, I’m a strong recruiter, and all of my positions that I held before I started my company, I did recruiting, I didn’t do bd. So I’m really strong on the recruiting piece. So I’ve really had to make selling a thing this year and push myself outside of my comfort zone. I’ve gone to tons of networking events, but specifically in, you know, the HR space and even the accounting space, energy and oil and gas networking events, too, to just get yourself out there.

Sarah Englade [00:16:16]:
I think the biggest thing that, you know, in down markets, a lot of people will get discouraged and they’ll just say, well, I’m just gonna wait. You know, I’ll just wait it out. I’m just wait it out. I’ll just wait it out. Well, unless you actually are willing to continuously put yourself out there and try leveling up, trying new technologies, you know, AI is, you know, the thing in 2024 that everyone’s talking about and that everyone, I think a lot of people are scared about. So if you don’t start, like, embracing a lot of the new technology, pushing yourself outside of a comfort zone, trying new things. And for me, trying new things is networking like crazy. Creating content regularly, specific to the buyers.

Sarah Englade [00:16:51]:
And I have not stopped recruiting so recruiting for me has always been when I first started my company, I had no book of business, zero clients because I was recruiting. So I had to build a book of business during a time where a lot of people were furloughed and laid off and those people really needed help. So I needed help too. And so we kind of like, you know, for me, what ended up taking my company from zero to hero, I don’t sounds crazy, is people will never forget how you made them feel. And so I spent a lot of time recruiting, even though I had no positions to place them in, helping people with optimizing LinkedIn, fixing their resumes, interview prepping with them, helping them with negotiating offers. So when those people did find jobs which weren’t through me because I had nowhere to place them, but when they landed on their feet and they needed to build out their teams, who did they call? Me. And that was on accident, but it was what made my company grow so fast when people were finally hiring. So I went back to that.

Sarah Englade [00:17:44]:
This year I’ve been strictly really focusing on the recruiting piece and really building my pipeline because when the market does go like this, I’m going to have the candidates, I’m going to have the inventory, because I have not stopped recruiting candidates even though I have nowhere to place them. So I think that’s the biggest thing I think a lot of people forget. There’s so much value in that. When you’re recruiting, you’re picking up leads, you’re talking to candidates, where have you interviewed, who has called you, what other firms have called you for positions. Oh, and then you pick up these leads and you see, okay, these companies already see the value in using agencies, they just need to start using me. So it’s just paying attention a lot. But the recruiting piece, you can’t just pump the brake on that because there’s nowhere to place candidates. You still need to do your job and help and be a resource for those folks.

Kortney Harmon [00:18:28]:
It’s funny you mentioned AI and everybody gets fixated on AI and the idea of I need all these tools. But it’s almost like first off, I want to know how you’re using AI. I’ll come back to that. But you’re taking a step back. AI may be a part of your process, but you are ingrained in your network and the engagement of the people that you’re working with. And that truly is making you a differentiator. And I feel like we get so reactive in our day to day. We come in, it’s like, oh, we had A no show.

Kortney Harmon [00:18:57]:
Oh, we had this. It’s like dumpster fire. Yeah, I’m fine, I’m fine. But you’re not putting that first and foremost. You’re putting the people, which is probably why you got into this industry to begin with. Most of us do. So okay, first off, how are you using AI and all of this wonderful process? And I love that you’re really doing things outside of the box to bring everything full circle to you. Those are the offices that I see doing wonders.

Kortney Harmon [00:19:21]:
Whenever we come out of this lull and we start going up the roller coaster again, they’re the ones that kill it. So props to you. I can’t wait to see what the next year brings for you. But let’s talk AI and really how has technology impacted or AI impacted your processes that you’re doing today for your business?

Sarah Englade [00:19:39]:
So I got a coach earlier in the year and this coach said something to me and this was before I adopted anything. Like my tech stack is very basic. I’m a basic girl. And so, you know, talking with my executive coach who’s in the recruiting space, she had said something to me. She’s like, Sarah, if you don’t start adopting technology, people that have 10 times less talent than you have are going to outwork you. And so I’m like, that’s what I needed to hear. And the way she said it, it did kind of like invoke some fear inside of me. Like I don’t want to be outworked by someone less talented than me.

Sarah Englade [00:20:12]:
Like, no way. So, you know, we did start having to really embrace technology. I’ve tried a lot of different ones this year. Right now we’re using is, we’re using Dripify. We did get some automation going that I never had before. People are like, how have you not had automation? I just haven’t. I’m a task girl. I have a CRM, I use bullhorn.

Sarah Englade [00:20:30]:
So I know who I need to reach out to and I’m very disciplined in this. But automation, you just really want to keep yourself top of mind. But Dripify has been huge for me. I just actually really started using that. And I started using it because so many recruiters when I was joining these different summits and talking on panels, when I’m hearing people that are specialized in BD talk about the value of that particular product, I’m like, okay, let’s go ahead and do it. You know, I’m still using to chat GPT or Claude and it’s helping me with write ups and trying to like Level up my write up. I’m using a software and I can’t think of the name of it right now, but like a recording software. So when I’m talking to a candidate, I’m like, you know, a note person and that’s what I do.

Sarah Englade [00:21:11]:
I put notes everywhere and like, I mean, you would just die if you saw my desk. Maybe you’d probably be familiar with this and not be so overwhelmed because I mean, I’ve got notes everywhere and I know my candidates, but this software is, it’s so bad. But that’s how I’m normally working. But this is like it’s been a game changer because now everything just gets shot over to, you know, my CRM. I can throw it into clot if I want to and make it look a little bit prettier and all the good things. But you have to be able to really embrace these technologies because they’re not all bad. I think people think it’s taking away people’s jobs, but this is streamlining the process for us. I’m a solopreneur, so I’ve got to work fast and time kills all deals.

Sarah Englade [00:21:46]:
But I’ve got to be efficient and I’ve got to be good at this. So if I need to lean on a recording software or dripify to be able to make sure that I’m at the top of my game, I’m doing it. So you have to really kind of put yourself out there. And a lot of these people that have been recruiting for decades and have more experience than myself are struggling with this. They’re struggling with how things have evolved because they still think it’s just about the human connection, which it is. But you have to be able to connect with more humans because there’s more of this technology and people that are using it and they’re being able to connect with the people you need to connect with faster than you would have been, you know, just doing it manually. So embrace it, try new things. A lot of these things are month to month basis.

Sarah Englade [00:22:25]:
If you don’t like it, cancel it, try something different. We’re just all in like that kind of like exploratory discovery phase right now of AI and recruiting.

Kortney Harmon [00:22:31]:
So you talked about that, about the human touch and I love that you said it just gets you there faster. And it’s so true. In your world as a solopreneur, how do you maintain that human touch? Like as they’re coming in faster, how’s there enough hours in a day? It’s a balancing act. Let’s face it, talk to me about that.

Sarah Englade [00:22:48]:
So I never liked time blocking because in recruiting, I actually don’t think it really works. But because this year has been a little bit more quiet, I’ve actually really mastered that. So I spend a lot of time, like every single day, I kind of do the same thing. Everyone gets into LinkedIn. I’m on LinkedIn, like, bright and early, and I start responding back to people that are in my DMs or people that accepted my request to connect with them that I don’t have. Like in a campaign on dripify. I’ll say, you know, say thank you so much for accepting my request to connect with you. You know, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.

Sarah Englade [00:23:17]:
Blah, blah, blah. Get them set up on another one or get them into a campaign. But you have to really be very disciplined. I did get a virtual assistant, so I’m new to this space. I’m teaching her a little bit in coaching her to be able to really speak like Sarah. Because, you know, when we get these virtual assistants, you’re giving them kind of access to your world. And when you’ve built something, and I built this for four years, I don’t want people screwing it up and I don’t want people messing up the name and not sounding like me. The great thing about recruiting is everything is fixable.

Sarah Englade [00:23:46]:
So I think that’s a lot of thing too, with that, everything is figureoutable. You can fix anything, you can make anything better. You really can, with good intention. So you have to, you know, for me, being a solopreneur, you have to have people help you. And so I’ve got a virtual assistant and she’s going in there, making sure I’m not missing any responses, like, via the website, via LinkedIn, on, like, the company LinkedIn. So we have to make sure, like, that’s the biggest thing. Everybody knows that everyone’s tired of recruiters ghosting them. But then what’s the definition of ghosting? You know, we can go on a rabbit hole with that too.

Sarah Englade [00:24:16]:
But, like, I think that the biggest thing is, like, you have to stay disciplined. You have to have a plan and you have to execute the plan. You can’t get lazy on the plan. Especially right now when so many people are out of jobs and so many people are reaching out. It’s exceptionally overwhelming.

Kortney Harmon [00:24:29]:
Absolutely.

Sarah Englade [00:24:33]:
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Sarah Englade [00:25:17]:
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Kortney Harmon [00:25:37]:
Well, look into 2025. I know you don’t have like this wonderful like crystal ball. If you do, I’m coming to your house. What trends do you see dominating our recruiting industry as we head into 2025? Do you think anything stands out?

Sarah Englade [00:25:50]:
You know, I think that there’s a lot of people that have started their own companies this year and there’s a lot of folks in recruiting that are finally doing what I’ve been doing for four years and a couple of us I’ve been doing too, which is building a personal brand and really doing marketing and doing good marketing. Like marketing that looks good, it’s well crafted. So I think we’re going to start seeing a lot more people evolve in that space which is going to help all of us level up that have been doing it. So I do see a lot of that actually trending where people are going to start leaning into like even like the video messaging and to DMS and you know, to clients and all of that good stuff too. So I do see that because I think a lot of people are noticing that there’s a lot of people not doing it. And how do you stand out? So you have to stand out by people never forgetting what your name is, your company name, what you look like, all the things. So when the market starts to go like this, your top of mind for them to reach out to. So I think that there’s going to be still a lot of like the influencer space in recruiting.

Sarah Englade [00:26:42]:
So I do see that. I think that there’s going to be also and this is just me, I want to say in the most polite way, but I think we’re going to see a lot of people drop out of recruiting. I do, I think that people that have probably like one year to maybe like five or six years of experience, maybe somewhere in that window. And maybe some people that have been doing it for a long time are just tired of this. But with all the new technology and things like that, I think that we’re going to see a lot of people that have struggled throughout this entire year to remain sane. I think they’re going to leave. I think they’re going to leave the industry.

Kortney Harmon [00:27:14]:
That’s interesting. That’s the first time I’ve heard that, but I got it. It is a roller coaster, and things aren’t like they used to be. So roller coasters maybe are a little more extreme. Sometimes it’s this straight up, straight down. So I love that. I want to go back to something you said earlier, and based on your career, as you kind of went, you’re like, I wasn’t a BD person. I hear that a lot from my side.

Kortney Harmon [00:27:35]:
So I want to talk about that journey. How do you get to that point? Because honestly, being someone that runs an organization, you want to be like, well, I need business. So talk to me about the things that you talk about discipline. You talked about doing the right things. How did you get yourself in the mindset of, okay, I need to get into bd? What strategies did you implement? How did you get clients? And how do you continue to get clients, obviously, outside of the ones you already have? Because it’s not a muscle that you’ve had to flex in the past, but you’re like, hey, I’m going to build this thing.

Sarah Englade [00:28:03]:
Yeah, Well, I mean, I can’t go back to working for someone else, so I’ve got to do the things that I don’t want to do. And I started my own company. So you know what? Like, I had to learn how to do bd. I had to learn it. And so what I did was I actually really took advantage of a lot of free courses, sales courses that were offered on LinkedIn when I first started my company. There was so many of those back then, because that world was upside down. People were trying to figure out, like, how to get back into the swing of things. And a lot of people started their own company.

Sarah Englade [00:28:31]:
So I really leaned into a lot of free trainings, read a lot of books on branding, a lot of books on prospecting, and I listened to everyone. So you have to surround yourself with people that in recruiting that have been doing it longer than you and they’re better than you. And I am a sponge. So that’s how I really became good in the very beginning, when I didn’t have any recruiting experience and had my first recruiting opportunity. I was surrounded by people that had been doing it longer than me. And I listened to their word tracks, I listened to them how they overcame objectives and like, objections. And so I was able to really pick up a lot of things from that. But I don’t have that anymore.

Sarah Englade [00:29:04]:
I’m a solopreneur. So I mean, I have to really surround myself with kind of like the village of really strong recruiters that I’ve met via LinkedIn. So I think for me, you know, I’ll hear things and then I implement them, I execute them. So I do believe in metrics and KPIs. And so I have metrics. I have metrics for ad calls, I have metrics for client visits. I have metrics for MPC emails or MPC voicemails. So I hit these.

Sarah Englade [00:29:28]:
And so I think that’s been the biggest thing, is that, you know, you constantly do have to be selling, but you have to constantly keep in mind that seven to nine touch points is what I was taught to reach out to people. And so I keep track of all of those touch points. But now I guess it’s 11. I don’t know if you’ve heard different.

Kortney Harmon [00:29:45]:
11 to 15 now, like, it’s crazy. It’s just been 10 years, five years, but it’s everything.

Sarah Englade [00:29:52]:
I said this to my executive coach. I’m like, isn’t like 11 times reaching out to somebody super annoying? Like, I feel like if someone’s reached out to me seven times, I’m like, I need to block them. They might be stalking me at this point. Like, that’s how much I was like, I’m iced by sales and I’m in a sales role. So you have to kind of really overcome those things. And when you lead by not trying to constantly sell, and that’s the biggest thing I think people screw up in sales. They’re constantly selling. It’s icky, it’s uncomfortable.

Sarah Englade [00:30:17]:
It’s like for me, I’m always offering up solutions, you know, with ad calls. I love ad calls. Ad calls are probably like my one thing that I’m really successful at is because you see the job posted, you know what they’re looking for. Because like I said, I expect expressed already that I’m heavy in recruiting. So I have inventory, I have candidates. So that right there is very, very quick for me to be able to sell on an ad call. So I love those. Something I tried last year, huge return on investment was actually like a handwritten note.

Sarah Englade [00:30:46]:
So I do mail outs Like, a lot of people don’t do them. And I have multiple coaches and my business coach does these. So I went to a print shop, had some really good marketing material. I’ve created, made, printed, and we do mail outs and I’ll do handwritten letters. And last year, swear to God, I probably sent out maybe 10 to 12. I think I made like 180 grand on fees from sending out 10 to 12 letters. So sometimes you just have to think outside the box and do the things that other people aren’t doing. And when we have so much technology, sometimes, again, going back to the human touch, going back to basics, going back to like a handwritten letter, it’s more personalized, can touch people and get their attention quicker than an automated email.

Kortney Harmon [00:31:27]:
I love that whenever I ran a desk, I used to send thank you notes, post interviews for everyone that was a part of the interview process. And they’re like, oh my gosh, this is unheard of. And it’s like, I want you to remember me when you go to the next company and you’re hiring, I want you to remember me. If the person that reached out to me for the job isn’t there, I need to stand out some way, shape or form. It was a long play for me, but it was so crazy that people were like, people don’t send handwritten notes anymore. And I probably selfishly have gotten away from that too. It’s just so easy sometimes not to. But I love that that was a differentiator for you and you have the ROI to prove that.

Kortney Harmon [00:31:59]:
So that’s amazing. If you had someone that’s like, okay, what are the top three things I need to do in BD today? Because it needs to be a refocus for me. What would be the top three things that you would tell them?

Sarah Englade [00:32:09]:
I would say Dripify 100%. Get Dripify going on LinkedIn to help with your BD there and help with generating leads. Probably with the MPC. Stick to basics. And I really think you need to start adding video. If you can do some video content and video messaging with your NPCs along with Dripify, you’ll stand out.

Kortney Harmon [00:32:26]:
I love that. What good advice you talked about, really, whenever you got into this, you’re like taking classes, staying on top of things. How do you stay up to date with latest trends, developments in our industry? It’s ever evolving. The foundation’s pretty much the same. It hasn’t gotten crazy. But how do you stay up to date with all that stuff?

Sarah Englade [00:32:44]:
Well, I think I’ve just Gotten lucky with really making LinkedIn my focus for four years. Like I’m a consistent poster and creating content and that’s attracted a lot of other really strong recruiters. And so I’ve been able to really build a network. And so I feel like it’s with those people that I’m able to really keep up with a lot of trends because it is hard. Everything’s always changing. There’s always some new AI software that’s freaking someone out or freaking out. The job seekers thinking that now AI is just canceling out their application and it’s all this like, what’s the news? Is it real news, fake news? Is it like all the things. So for me, you know, I do try to make sure that I’m staying up to date, but I get a lot of my information on this stuff from LinkedIn and from people posting and sharing and being able to speak on summits and listen to the other speakers and then also too from my candidates.

Sarah Englade [00:33:34]:
I’m not going to lie, like a lot of candidates will once in a while share something new that a recruiting company is doing or did or whatever they’re seeing or hearing. And I look into it. So it’s really just being aware and paying attention. But there’s just a lot out there. It’s hard to keep up with everything. It’s just with everything else, I mean, I’ve got a full time job of trying to fill positions and get new business and then I’ve got to stay on top of what new techn. It’s just, it is a lot.

Kortney Harmon [00:33:57]:
And you have a job of a professional stalker now. So I mean that takes time too.

Sarah Englade [00:34:01]:
A polite professional stalker.

Kortney Harmon [00:34:03]:
Polite professional stalker. I think to go into recruiting you have to have some form of FBI or stalking experience.

Sarah Englade [00:34:09]:
So yeah, 100%.

Kortney Harmon [00:34:11]:
You were talking about KPIs. I want to go back. We were talking about human touch being different. You talked about not a lot of people are just in their space and you live where you recruit. You said you have a KPI of office visits. I think that’s something that people like. It’s a thing of the past. So I can pick up the phone or I can do a teams meeting.

Kortney Harmon [00:34:30]:
Talk to me about your expectation for yourself, for these in person visits and have they produced for you? Because honestly people push the easy button, be like, I’ll just call them. So talk to me about your in person visits with your clients.

Sarah Englade [00:34:43]:
So I honestly used to be probably like everyone else, especially when I first started the company. I mean it was in A pandemic, too. We weren’t going anywhere at that time, so it was easy to just go behind teams or zoom and have like a coffee. I don’t like that anymore. I work out of my house. I want to get out of my house. So for me, like, I’m cool with going to a client visit. I do two client visits a week, and they’re typically like lunch visits.

Sarah Englade [00:35:03]:
So they’re great because again, I mentioned HR is really down right now. So, like, I already had a lunch visit on. Okay, so Friday I had one. So I have two. I have one tomorrow and one on Friday. And I’m spending a lot of time right now with the HR CHROs, the VPs and the directors, and they do pay off the return is there. I mean, it’s about your conversation again. Like, I don’t want to sell.

Sarah Englade [00:35:27]:
When I’m around these folks, I look at these people like they could potentially be my friend. I mean, I know that sounds, like, silly and maybe a little bit strange, but that’s what works for me. And so I go into these meetings and you go in, like, knowing that you can spend an hour and a half to two hours this with these folks. If they want to leave in an hour, that’s cool. But really listening to them, getting to know them and being interested in them, people like that, I do less talking and I talk a lot. I know it’s conversational, but I’m trying to learn about them too, and so I can remember everything about them. So for me, yeah, I feel like even just three weeks ago, I went and had a client lunch in downtown Houston with an individual that’s been following me on LinkedIn for two years. We’ve talked back and forth.

Sarah Englade [00:36:08]:
He’s a VP controller. Met him in downtown at this cute little place. We had lunch for two and a half hours. I have two open roles with him right now, and I have interviews going for second rounds for these two positions this week. So does it pay off? Yes. And honestly, it’s not even just about getting the job order, like, in that moment and getting it right away. It’s about just making that connection. If that person leaves the company, they’re going to remember that lunch.

Sarah Englade [00:36:30]:
They’re going to remember. Like, this person’s texting me now. He went on vacation. He sent me a picture of, like, him with, like, the northern lights when it was on, like, when they were up in the sky when he was in Tennessee. And I’m like, this is crazy. Like, you know, I don’t know. I Think that there is something about just again, like, being able to partner with companies, being able to partner with individuals for them to feel comfortable with you, that you’re not just trying to sell and take their money, that you really are trying to be a solution provider for them. So is there a return? Always.

Sarah Englade [00:36:56]:
Always a return. Sometimes I’ll go on these visits and it’s only once in a while, honestly, Kortney, that I’ll go and I’ll be like, oh, my God, that was like the worst hour of my life. That hardly ever happens. I normally can connect with people and it’s a good time. So do I think that people should do it? Yeah. Like, I’m going on Monday, the chro that I’m really looking forward to meeting in person. She’s like, you want to go to a wine bar? And I’m like, on a Monday, like at 11:30? She’s like, yeah. I’m like, yes, because you do.

Sarah Englade [00:37:22]:
So. I mean, it can be fun, too. So I just say, like, take advantage of these moments and go schedule the visit. Don’t be a weirdo. Have fun and have a conversation. And you don’t have to sell. You don’t have to sell anything while you’re there. Just give the person your attention and it will pay off.

Kortney Harmon [00:37:37]:
This is probably going to play into your answer. I already can see how you’re going to answer, or not that I’m putting words in your mouth, but obviously there’s a pressure of meeting client expectations in this competitive market. How do you handle that? Pressure of being what they need, who they need at the time that they need, whenever there’s anybody in their brother. I mean, there’s no certificate and there’s certifications, but you don’t have to pass a test, like a realtor test or anything else to become a recruiter. You can literally go change your LinkedIn profile, say, I’m a recruiter, and magically you’re there. So there’s a lot of noise in our industry of other competitors. How are you handling that pressure?

Sarah Englade [00:38:13]:
I don’t think. I don’t feel the pressure of that. You know, for me, I feel very confident in my ability to recruit. I’m really good at this. I know I’m really good at this. I’ve been working in my space in Houston for 12 years. I know this market like the back of my hand, which is, again, why I feel like people need to. If you’re going to break into recruiting, pick a market, pick a region, pick a skill set that you’re going to be the master of and master that skill set.

Sarah Englade [00:38:37]:
You know, for me, I love pressure. I work really, really well under pressure. And because I’m a small firm, you know, the people and the companies that partner with me, they have the exclusive with me because I need to close these positions. So they’ve got my full on attention and they know it because I make them feel that way. I follow up with them multiple times a week. I’ve got them on text, I’m texting, I’m doing this, I’m doing that. So for them, I can honestly say, like the companies that partner with me, I typically do get the exclusive with them. I will only partner with a company if, unless, you know, I have the exclusive if they’re working with one other firm.

Sarah Englade [00:39:11]:
A lot of the time right now, in the landscape that we have been in for recruiting, a lot of companies are partnering with multiple firms. Right now in Houston, it’s crazy because a senior reporting accountant will be posted like a new position for a company, but through a firm. And then five other large firms in Houston will also have the exact same position. I am not partnering with that company. If they reach out to me and they do, I’m like, what is the point? It doesn’t even make any sense. Advertising with five agencies in Houston, Texas for the same role completely devalues your position. It makes you look desperate and it really turns passive candidates off when they’re hit up by five different recruiters for the exact same role. And every recruiter reaches out to them with a different budget like it’s wild.

Sarah Englade [00:39:53]:
So for me, you know, I feel like because I’ve spent so much time with the folks that do partner with me, they do feel like I’m an extension of their company. I’m able to sell their company very well because I act as though I’m employed by them in a lot of ways without obviously saying that I am. They know I’m with Monarch, but I believe in these companies. So it’s easy for me to sell the perks or sell the career dream for them years down the road as candidates. So I just feel like my track record really does speak for itself. And you have to be mindful of that too. Like, even in a big city like Houston, Texas, reputation is everything. So you really do have to be very mindful of that in recruiting specifically to treat people very well all the time.

Kortney Harmon [00:40:30]:
I love that. And there’s a lot of people in our industry, whether they’re from a big company or a small company, they’re like, well, I’m going to take that job just because I need it. And I love that. The value that you hold because you know the value you provide, it’s not, you’re telling your clients, your clients see that versus just taking it for lip service. So you have to tell people too.

Sarah Englade [00:40:52]:
Like, and I think that’s one big thing, if anybody can take anything away from this conversation is when you’re starting out your own company or maybe your company is still really small, but we’re in a market and like this that we’re in, you have to be able to say no to the wrong business. To say yes to the right clients. You have to, you have to say yes to the clients that align with your value system that you know can see the value in you and all the hard work that we’re going to be doing for them. You know, if you’re just partnering with any body, it will honestly start chipping away at you and how you value yourself and then it starts to change how they value you too. So really kind of know the difference between something that’s worth it long term or is it just for that one simple transaction and if it’s just for the transaction that one off, if you can, if you have the ability like I do to say no, say no, to focus on the right business that’s going to be long term, a long term client for years and years and years.

Kortney Harmon [00:41:44]:
I love that. What great advice. I only have a couple more questions for you. My next question is how do you see the role of the recruiter evolving over the next five years?

Sarah Englade [00:41:53]:
I think honestly a lot of people have been asking me this question and I guess because I just love recruiting so much, I just don’t really see it evolving to tube differently. I think we’re going to really have to start getting very good and savvy at these new AI software so that we can all work faster and more efficiently. But I think it’s going to be the same. I don’t think that robots are going to be taking our job. I don’t think that it’s going to be anything like that. I think that, you know, if you’re really good at this and you are solving companies problems by finding them top talent quickly, you’re going to be okay. But you really do need to be at the top of your game and you really can’t be like, you know how the more seasoned recruiters have been able to be for a long time kind of sitting back, laid back, they have their client book, they don’t really need to focus on new business. Like, we don’t know what the economy is going to do.

Sarah Englade [00:42:36]:
We don’t know what the world’s going to do. So I think you always have to just be mindful of that. But I don’t really see it evolving into like, I’ve been doing this for 12 years. Recruiting is recruiting. It hasn’t changed that much.

Kortney Harmon [00:42:45]:
So even from the day I did a podcast with someone that used to be at MRI Network and he’s like, I remember when the long distance dial but came into play, he’s like, quote, ironically, it’s still no difference. It’s still about the speed to the higher. It’s just we’re getting faster. Like the accelerator is pushed down on our vehicle, but the foundational blocks are still the same. It’s still getting engaged.

Sarah Englade [00:43:09]:
Yep. I don’t really see it changing that much. I think if we can just remain consistent in what recruiting really is and stay grounded in that and master speed, because time kills all deals. By leaning on these softwares that are there to help us, we’ll be okay.

Kortney Harmon [00:43:24]:
I agree. So I guess my only final question is, what is your goals for Monarch Talent Solutions in the upcoming year? As you look into 2025, what are the things that you’re focusing on? How are you pivoting and where are.

Sarah Englade [00:43:36]:
You putting your attention in 2025? I hope that we’re still doing what we’re doing right now and making an impact and putting humanity back into hiring where it needs to be, where it should never leave. Hiring is so personal, and it’s personal for both sides, and it’s personal for the job seeker and for the client and then even for the recruiter, the middleman. Right. So I think that for me, I just want to remain very consistent in being able to be that best value system for all and everyone that partners with me to make an impact with them. I do want to grow the company. What that’s going to look like, I don’t know. I think that I’m a little bit different. I think that I have a lot of peers in my life that can tell you that they want to grow and have the largest, biggest recruiting firm in their entire city.

Sarah Englade [00:44:14]:
I don’t really see that. For me, I really want to stay small and boutique in size because I think that’s my superpower. It’s been proven to be because I can actually spend a lot of attention on just one or two clients at a time and be very impactful in that way. So I want to grow it, but do I want to grow it at the scale of some of these other folks? No. I’m working on a couple of projects right now that I don’t want to talk about, but I am going to be releasing some cool things in 2025, which I’m proud of. And so we just really want to spread the word and make a big impact every way that we can with helping people really navigate the market and come out the other end of it very successful. So that’s the goal.

Kortney Harmon [00:44:52]:
I love it. I’m excited. I’ll keep my eyes open for 2025 to see all kinds of goodies to share with our audience. Sarah, thank you so much for taking the time. Your insights are incredible. Your experience with us today, it’s been wonderful to hear about the strategies you’re implementing. It’s almost like a back to basics. It’s not even back to basics.

Kortney Harmon [00:45:10]:
We never got away from the basics to begin with, but how impactful those things are to your organization. So I love it. Thank you so much for joining us today. It was a breath of pressure.

Sarah Englade [00:45:22]:
Thank you for having me. It was fun.

Kortney Harmon [00:45:24]:
Absolutely. For our listeners. If you want to learn more about Sarah and her work, we’ll be sure to put her LinkedIn profile in the notes and you can check out Monarch Talent Solutions and keep an eye on Sarah for her latest greatest things that are coming in 2025. Hope you found today’s discussion enlightening just as much as I did. Stay tuned for more episodes of the Full Desk Experience Industry Spotlight, like what we did today, where we continue to bring you the best insights from industry leaders. Until next time, keep striving for excellence and put the humanity. What did you say? What is your line?

Sarah Englade [00:45:58]:
But we’re putting humanity back into hiring.

Kortney Harmon [00:46:01]:
That’s what it is. Put humanity back into hiring. I love that you said that for our listeners. Have a wonderful day. Until next time. I’m Kortney Harmon with crelate. Thanks for joining us for this episode of Industry Spotlight, a new series from the Full Desk Experience. New episodes will be dropping monthly.

Kortney Harmon [00:46:21]:
Be sure you’re subscribed to our podcast so you can catch the next Industry Spotlight episode and all episodes of the Full Desk Experience here or wherever you listen.