Here at Normine Lombard we get a great deal of questions from candidates and clients alike trying to get a better understanding of what we do and what it’s like for our team members here. What a better way to show everyone about us then to give some “behind the scenes” access with our team members! Today we highlight our Senior Recruiter, William McCartney, with a Q&A session so that you can learn more about him and what being a recruiter is like for him. Be on the lookout as we highlight other members of our team over the next few months!
Normine Lombard: Hey William! Thanks for joining us and taking the time to tell the world about you. Tell us a little about you! Who are you? What do you love doing on your spare time? Just paint the best picture of you that you can!
William: Happy to be talking to you today. The first thing you need to know about me is that I am a big outdoors man. You can find me spending my free time either going on long hikes in the many different beautiful areas of the west coast or sitting around a campfire with friends. Living in Oregon, we do get a lot of rain, so when the weather does everything it can to keep me inside, you can find me painting, drawing, or driving fast in video games. I also have a strong belief, if you are going to do anything, you put 100% into it. There is no excuse otherwise.
Normine Lombard: Thanks for the great insight on you! What is your favorite part about this job and being a recruiter?
William: My favorite part of being a recruiter, believe it or not, is not working with candidates initially. Instead, it is chatting with them months down the line again and hearing about what they have been doing in their new positions and hearing about how much they enjoy it.
Normine Lombard: That is great way to look at it. Talk to me about what it’s like working in the consumer goods industry?
William: Working within the consumer good industry has been great to get to meet a lot of different personalities and a lot of people with different life values. In addition to making sure the candidate has the right experience for the role, we also have to dive into their personal values to make sure it will meld well with the company values. Employees always do a better job in a position if their values are the same as the companies.
Normine Lombard: Have you built any relationships with any of your clients? Do they keep coming back as repeat customers? If so, what do you think the reason is?
William: Over the last few years working here, we have done repeat work with several different clients. I feel that the reason our clients come back for business is because of the same thing I just mentioned above. I really do take the extra step to not only bring qualified candidates to my clients, but also that those candidates’ lifestyle will aligns with the companies goals that they want to achieve. Working with a company and watching them grow, especially through repeat business, is very rewarding.
Normine Lombard: Consumer Goods is such a broad term. Can you explain to me a little bit about what consumer goods is?
William: Since consumer goods refers to anything a consumer would use rather than a business, the term is quite broad. I have worked with companies in the footwear, natural health and wellness, food, beverage and many others. Because of this you meet a lot of people that have the same experience, but utilize it very differently. With that, I have developed a very wide rolodex of many different types of career experts in many fields.
Normine Lombard: If you could give any person a piece of advice for their LinkedIn, what would it be?
William: As a recruiter, I utilize LinkedIn quite often. I have come across very well put together pages, and some absolutely atrocious ones as well. If I was going to give one piece of advice to people who have a LinkedIn page, it would be to treat it as a resume. Your LinkedIn should be a reflection of your resume. All dates should be lined up correctly, and each role should have a detailed description of what you did within the role. If there was any growth or movement in the company that was your doing, don’t be afraid to toot your own horn!
Normine Lombard: What does your day to day look like?
William: My day to day is always busy, but I always say, if you’re not busy, what are you doing? That’s not how we get things done! I like to start my day with putting together a to-do list to make sure I complete everything that needs to be done. This include a wide variety of things including, chatting with candidates about roles I’m working on to see if they might be a fit, setting interviews, debriefing candidates to see how the interview process is going, attending zooms with clients to dial in what experience they are looking for, cold calling, as well as working with both sides when we do get to the offer stage.
Normine Lombard: If you could only give one piece of advice to candidates, what would it be?
William: If I was going to give one piece of advice to any candidate going through or into an interview process, it would be to not only be confident in yourself, but also in your work. Be sure that you have examples of things you have done in your career that brought the company to the next level and be sure to evaluate what you bring to the table before going into the interview. You can prepare yourself for an interview by examining the job description and be ready to explain why you have the experience that they are needing and how it will apply. By doing this, you will have better success in landing the role.
Normine Lombard: I know that some people say a resume isn’t necessary, while others say it’s vital. How important is a resume really? Also, how can I make mine stand out?
William: If someone tells you that a resume isn’t necessary, they honestly do not know what they are talking about. While I know you should not judge a book by its cover, don’t you think that a well put together cover would get more attention then a dull blank cover? The answer is obviously yes. The first thing an employer will look at is your resume, and following that the employer may either pass on you as a candidate because they have several great resumes in front of them, or they may have a bad first impression your resume isn’t up to par. A well put together resume that is highly detailed (and not an eyesore) will always get you further than not putting in the effort.
Normine Lombard: Well we really appreciate you taking the time to speak with us today and giving some great insight and see the behind-the-scenes on you! It’s always a pleasure putting a face to the name.
William: Yes and thank you so much for having me!