Explaining the resilience of modern talent acquisition pros is Brandon Jeffs, the Director of People and Talent at TLDR – one of the largest newsletters in the world with daily summaries of the most interesting stories in startups, tech, and programming. Brandon’s career is focused on empowering the employee-employer relationship, and he walks us through the best practices for cultivating lasting relationships in the talent ecosystem. We discover why he started The Revol•TA Podcast and what he’s learned from the guests on his show before unpacking the doggedness of modern recruiters, how recruiters can improve their job security, whether it’s better to be a generalist or specialist, and what it takes to be an exceptional talent acquisition specialist. We also learn more about TLDR, Brandon’s protocol for making really fast hires, and the role of AI in the future of talent and recruiting.
Key Points From This Episode:
Brandon Jeffs explains what inspired him to start his show, The Revol•TA Podcast.
The best practices for forging meaningful relationships in the talent ecosystem.
What Brandon has learned from the guests who’ve appeared on his show.
Why recruiters are willing to do gritty and often thankless work.
Whether there’s a way for recruiters to be recession-proof in the likelihood of being laid off.
An age-old debate: Generalists versus specialists.
The characteristics of a great job offer
His protocol for understanding a candidate’s motivations, and why this matters.
Insight into the markings of a great recruiter.
Where preparation meets opportunity and the importance of timing.
The ins and outs of TLDR, with details on a particular serendipitous role fill.
Understanding Brandon’s method for making really fast hires.
How the future of talent acquisition is linked to the possibilities of large language models.
Quotes:
“The main driver for me is what can I give back to other people?” — Brandon Jeffs [04:50]
“The community is what brings us together. If you show up for other people, they will show up for you.” — Brandon Jeffs [11:52]
“If you have the fundamentals and the curiosity to learn new things, you can apply those to ways and roles that you may not think of.” — Brandon Jeffs [17:57]
“It’s really interesting to see how we position brand and prestige and pedigree in this larger game of capitalism.” — Brandon Jeffs [24:10]
“A great recruiter can fill roles on time but an exceptional one can create moments of serendipity.” — Brandon Jeffs [29:47]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
