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Introduction 0:02
Welcome to the #PirateBroadcast™, where we interview #interestingpeople doing #interestingthings. Where you can expand your connections, your community, #kindnessiscool and #smilesarefree. Let’s get this party started.

Russ Johns 0:20
It's a beautiful day for a beautiful day. And yet another pirate in the house. Lee, good morning, how are you doing?

Lee Andrese 0:27
I am fabulous. Thank you. And thank you for having me, Russ.

Russ Johns 0:31
it's an amazing opportunity to have a great conversation with somebody that's in the space of talent management and transformational recruiting, which I have to undergo. So just for those that are not familiar with you, Lee, tell us what that actually encompasses in the 2020 vernacular.

Lee Andrese 0:53
The long and short of it is that individuals, you know, people who are looking for work, and those recruiters who are hiring, the hiring managers, the process that is involved in finding great talent, retaining those talent has all changed, especially over the past, I'm gonna say five years. This year, it became more prominent because of the pandemic. So communication strategies have to change. And so recruiters are often reviewed as salespeople. But now you've got to add that hat of marketing, you've got to add that hat of having business acumen, you have to have some subject matter expertise as a recruiter, and candidates have to figure out where they want to work and how they want to work. And so there's strategy that has to happen on both sides for the candidate and the organization. And that's where the magic happens is when you start to really think about this versus be so reactive about it.

Russ Johns 1:53
Yeah, I think really now, there's so much transformation going on in 2020. And a lot of people have an opportunity to sit back and say, Well, what do I really want to do with my time? What do I want to do with my day? What do I want to do with my career? And so I'm sure that there's been a lot of change in the business in the way business has been approaching remote workers. How do I need to manage these things? What do I need to have in place and everything that goes along with it?

Lee Andrese 2:26
Yeah. And with that comes fear. So you've got the big thing this year was all about the remote workforce. Well, I've been working remotely and managing remote teams for over 20 years, so to hear that this is just new and shocking and zoom was like this new coolest thing was shocking to me. Wasn't really shocking. This is how far behind we are. And when I say leaders in industry have kept people and how people have not pushed the envelope for companies to move forward in understanding how to work remotely, and how to manage remotely because you can get so much more done. And now you've opened your organization up to millions of people all over the world, not just within a 20-30 mile radius. I mean, this, to me is so transformative and the technology that's happening, we need to find that balance is not doing the job for us, or is it helping us do our job better. And I think that that's another part of that transformational process. So when a person is looking for a job, they're not just looking for what they're doing. They're also evaluating what kind of company they want in their portfolio, based on how their skills and portfolio is going to grow.

Russ Johns 3:48
Do you see that it's also a personal challenge for some individuals that like community, like going to the office, they like being somewhere or going someplace to be able to work in order to feel like it's separated from their home life versus their work life?

Lee Andrese 4:11
Yeah, there have been tons of surveys that have been happening this year. And of course, in previous years. But the bottom line is, is that you've got to find that solution that's right for the organization to get the work done. And you've got to be flexible enough to accommodate the individual. So some kind of a hybrid solution is often ideal, to the best of all worlds. Again, transformation starts in the mind. If the company I'm working with a company right now, who is just hell bent on having everybody in the office post COVID while their production numbers are through the roof with a remote workforce. So it just doesn't make sense to me. So if I can't and here's some hard words. I mean, I've turned away business simply because I said I can't help you. If you're not willing to change your thinking, which is where transformation begins truly, then anything I present to you is just for the sake of checking off a box, and that doesn't help my portfolio. I wish more employees would think that way, don't take that job. And that's transformational thinking on their part. Yeah, you are not just an employee, you are a product of yourself. You've got your own personal brand and your portfolio to think about learn how to say no, and when to say no.

Russ Johns 5:29
We are the accumulation of our decisions.

Lee Andrese 5:32
We really are. Yeah.

Russ Johns 5:37
I really think that there's probably a lot of change going on. And you've probably seen as much as anybody. What's the one thing that really kind of surprised you in the last year, as far as the workforce, the choices, the decisions and the opportunities?

Lee Andrese 5:56
I would say still, the very first thing that I'm surprised about is that people had never used them before. I am still shocked at how far behind so many people are and even of younger generations, that they are still afraid to use technology. It's a trust factor. It's a comfort level factor. And so that was like the not so good surprise, the pleasant surprise is how many people rushed to adopt new ways of working remotely, maybe your hand was forced. But they finally realized that there is an upside to having that peace and quiet of working at home and pinging people when you need them versus rushing by people's desks, right. And then the whole, I really think that the diversity has really been a really good push this year. I think that diversity inclusion, because we have now found a way, because again, our hand was forced that you have to work from home, the cats out of the bag, there's no putting the lid on whether or not we can work with remote people. So you cannot go back and say you must be on site, you know, every day, and somebody who's who can't be on site every day, maybe they've got you know, dialysis treatments twice a week. And you know, they can work from home after but really, they really shouldn't. So that cat's out of the bag, that's that's just not gonna, yeah, that cat's not going back in.

Russ Johns 7:41
And I think realistically, there's, you know, January 1, this thing is not going to magically end and things are going to get back to normal, whatever that means. And I think a lot of especially employees are saying, you know, I'm much more productive, I'm much more effective and much more efficient here. And if you don't want to allow me to work from home, at least part of my time, then I may have to look for some other employer that's willing to do that. And just look at the changes in that, like you said, there's companies out there that are actually increasing business as a result of working from home.

Lee Andrese 8:21
Quite a few, quite a few, especially in the health care, health care, some manufacturing, really well. And I would also say that it is in my mind, it has always been a challenge market, even when the economy has sunk so low, you know, your superior talent or talent who have been a big part of a company success, they will always be in demand. The question now is how flexible are companies going to be? Which means how flexible do they want to be? How much of an entrepreneurial mindset has this pandemic created in everybody, in that organization, if everybody doesn't start thinking like a part business owner, inside their company, which is what you would consider an A player in the company, people who take level of initiative and drive. If people don't continue to think in that 911 mode like we have this year, we're gonna go back to old ways and in no time, so companies that are taking advantage of what's happening this year, and who continued to take advantage of that will attract and retain the best candidates.

Russ Johns 9:39
It's amazing because I can see that play out in so many ways. The other thing that I think I want to touch on is that you mentioned it briefly is in the medical and healthcare arena, because although there's a lot of people, and thank you health workers for being there on the front lines, there's also a lot of remote medical initiatives going on, where, you know, you call up your doctor instead of going in and seeing your doctor. And that has been pushed to the front of the line where years of not very long ago, like two years ago, doctors were saying, no, you got to come into the office to see me to get an appointment or to get a prescription or anything done. So remote medicine and that field is, is opened up the doors to, to more flexibility, which I applaud. And it's really amazing to see the kind of talent and shift in in the way that people are managing information, too. And, you know, because there's, you know, security, and there's different ways that things need to take place. And I see, like you said, I think it's really about the talent. It's like, if I want to take my talent to a company that works and fits my model of life, I want to live my life in a way that is productive. And I want to transform into this individual that has little joy in their world and doesn't have to sit in traffic for an hour just to get to the office.

Lee Andrese 11:16
Yeah, yeah. So the question always is, you know, that there's the saying, do you buy the dress to fit you? Or do you change your body to fit in the dress? And I say the same thing for people's careers. So if you're going to, if you have a career strategy, which really everyone should have, at some point, you need to understand, you need to figure out where you want to go, even if that changes. It's okay. But I have an idea of somewhere you want to go, how you want to get there, who you want to play with, what brand you want to represent. If you've got that idea of a strategy in mind, you can then start moving the pieces to whatever happens in the economy. Because you're already ahead of the game, you already know where you want to go. And what you want to do. Just keeping up with what's going on in the market helps that employee stop acting so much like an employee, which is at the whim of an employer, but act more as a service provider. That is, that is the number one biggest shift that I try to sink into the heads of the consultant, the clients that I consult with, the individuals, not thinking like an employee, start thinking like a service provider, you want to provide those companies with your services, or don't you?

Russ Johns 12:32
And I think that's probably as a result of the explosion in contract workers. The gig economy as they call it, right?

Lee Andrese 12:43
Oh, yeah.

Russ Johns 12:44
There's so many of us that are out there. I've been doing that for years and it's a choice I made, you know, the last Exodus, the last exit of corporate

Lee Andrese 12:55
And it was forced, wasn't it, Russ? You know, my cousin started her own marketing consulting firm after she lost her like fifth or sixth job as a marketing person and an agency. So she's like, no more, I'm going to work with two clients a year. And that's it. That's not for everybody. So that's another conversation that I have with clients is that you've got to decide what's right for you. So you're outgoing, and you have the gift of communication. You have the fearlessness. Not everybody has that. They want that comfort of knowing where they're going every day, know what they're doing, have that quarterly accountability to somebody else. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Russ Johns 13:38
There's nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

Lee Andrese 13:40
But we but you need to understand as the owner of your own capabilities, what those capabilities and interests are and how they actually play out. That's some tough, hard talking to have. Right? Those are tough conversations.

Russ Johns 13:56
Critical conversations. I just want to give a shout out to some of the individuals that are in the in the room. A few more pirates here. Nick Gemmell up in Canada. I hope you're doing well. Staying dry and warm. Nick. Hiett Ives is in from Houston. Good morning pirates. Sheri Lally. We are our best advocates when applied. Absolutely, positively. I love that Sheri. Gabriel is good morning everyone. Gabriel is another individual that's an amazing podcaster or broadcaster. Live streamer. Eileen is in the house. Good morning. How are you doing? I'm excited to see you soon. And Sheri says the first 10 minutes of recent zoom calls are locating the mic. True story.

Lee Andrese 14:56
That's sad. That's just sad.

Russ Johns 14:58
Yeah. And Hiett comes back and says distance makes the heart grow fonder. And can also increase your productivity.

Lee Andrese 15:09
Possibly. Possilby, yeah.

Russ Johns 15:11
I wanted, I kind of want to shift gears because there's a lot of people that are still, you know, may be struggling with finding a job and finding employment or finding their rhythm in what they want to accomplish. And I have to believe that there's probably some suggestions or recommendations that you provide some employees out of work, resources that you might want to get their mindset, in alignment with current conditions. So what are some things that you could recommend to someone that's out searching for work right now? What would you want to share with him?

Lee Andrese 15:55
Yeah, and I think that we need to start, you hit the nail on the head, it's the mindset. So we need to start with a clear thought of where you're at right now emotionally, and we need to make sure... I know it's sad, it's very sad. But I have worked with too many people who are in the throes of depression, because of what's going on here. So it's really hard to get somebody past that point and looking for a job if they're stuck in that place. So that's the first place that we start to have that conversation. If you are having chronic issues with depression, I highly encourage them to seek professional help. That is not what I or any of the other folks that I work with in this arena of consulting, job seekers are capable of doing. Once they have the the willingness and the desire, sometimes it's they get so frustrated, that the willingness and the desire ends, they just can't send another resume, they just can't do that, then it's a matter of showing them evidence that if they make a couple of changes, and how they represent themselves, and how they apply what they apply, when they apply, there's all kinds of strategies out there. You met Lauren Greiff. She is one of the people that I partner with, and Sonam Ball. Now they're both amazing women. And Alison Farber, there's a couple of others that I work with closely, that I will refer people to based on their needs, where their thoughts are, where their head is at, at that certain time, when they're actually ready to move forward. So first, we need to get their mind in the right place. That's number one. And number two, you need a professional coach for that or counselor. The second part of that is making sure that your marketing and your content is all together. So for that, you definitely want some some professional help with that. You don't even think about going that one alone. That's like saying, you know, you broke your arm, and you're gonna go ahead and set it.

Russ Johns 18:01
There's a tank out in the front yard, go learn to drive it.

Lee Andrese 18:04
Yeah. It's not fair to you, it's just not fair to you. And then the third part is representing yourself. So you either have to find somebody to represent you, or you have to learn how to represent yourself, you should be doing them in tandem, right? So at the root of everything that I am, I am a talent agent, I can take a person and represent the heck out of them. I can't do what they do, but I am really good at representing them. And so that help, the resources that are available are online, I mean you can go anywhere, go to Lauren's you know, website, go to our LinkedIn profile, go to Sondal's profile. I mean, there's tons of things to get you started with, those are the three steps that you need to think about, first and foremost, before you do anything. Does that make sense?

Russ Johns 18:52
Yeah, absolutely. Makes sense. And one of the things that I want to hone in on is that, I have to believe that social media has played a huge impact on the talent pool, and the marketing of the talent in the market. So is your LinkedIn profile. You know, people used to think LinkedIn, well, some people still think LinkedIn is just a resume. However, it's so much more than that. Social media has been a conduit for a lot of conversations. And I can't think of a resume that actually got me employed. It was a lot of around relationships and conversations that took place over a period of time. And it's a lot of who I know and who I met and what I've done and you know, being proactive and being out there and producing content that actually gets noticed is a lot of what has taken a front seat for my work and my ability to get more work. And so how does that fit into the employee that just wants to be an employee and is not quite fearless in putting themselves out there? How do you encourage them to take steps in that direction?

Lee Andrese 20:16
So what you're talking about is part of the marketing and the representational process. First, there's selves. So I look at it in three stages, first theirself, then there's the marketing, and then there's the representation. So when you look at the marketing part, and if I know that somebody is really shy on network connections, or they are not somebody to go out there and you know, facilitate their own conversations, create their own content, reach out, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So they're going to automatically resort to the let me apply online and see what happens. Can I tell you that a lot of people I know are getting jobs by applying online, there is nothing wrong with going online. You've got to do a whole host of things. And applying online is one of those things. So what I do to help them with the social media piece, is to just simply ask them, let's take a look. So we'll go in LinkedIn together. And I'll say you've already got first level connections, second level connections in these companies. Where are you getting stuck? Where is the fear? Now I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Why people don't reach out? Why do you think they don't make that connection?

Russ Johns 20:36
They're afraid.

Lee Andrese 21:34
Fear of failure, fear of rejection? That's it. What if they don't respond? I said, well, here's the way that we want to look at that. If you're not involved, or you have a disdain or dislike for social media, that just isn't your thing. Imagine this. Imagine if somebody you could have helped, somebody you found out down the road that they were struggling and they didn't reach out to you because they were afraid that you would say no. But you found out later on that something tragic happened to them? How would you feel at that point, knowing that you could have helped, but they didn't reach out? Because, you know, that was it. That's how people feel about you. Most people want to help other people. So once you get that, again, this is part of transformational job hunting. You've got to think to yourself. Other people genuinely care. I think, for the most part, I think we're, yeah, I think that people really do want to be of help. It helps their ego, it makes them feel good. When we do something good for somebody...

Russ Johns 22:41
You stand up taller.

Lee Andrese 22:43
Absolutely. So, why would you do that person a disservice and not ask them for help? Now I'm just as guilty of that as the next person. You can ask Debbie, Debbie Lovett. I don't know if you know, do you know Debbie Lovett?

Russ Johns 22:56
I'm not sure that I do.

Lee Andrese 22:57
Oh my gosh, she's brilliant. In the space of....

Russ Johns 23:01
She should be a pirate.

Lee Andrese 23:02
Yeah, she really should be a pirate. And I will tell you, when I was starting my own business, I'm so guilty of this. And I did not want to go to her to ask her to help me with my website. I'm like, I don't want to tap into her. She's got other high paying clients, bla bla bla, bla bla, doesn't she get on the phone with me and she says, I'm really upset that you haven't asked me to help you with your website.

Russ Johns 23:27
Yeah. Bam. The truth bomb comes out.

Lee Andrese 23:35
I'm just as guilty as everybody else. All these things that I teach. The reason that I'm good at teaching them is because I've already made all the mistakes. So a good teacher has already lived all of this so that we try to present that other people from having to go through it.

Russ Johns 23:51
Call it experience.

Lee Andrese 23:53
Yeah, that's what it sure is. It's yours. But you can get experience at any stage of the game. Right now. I started my first job at 15 and a half years old, I was an executive secretary. So at that, when they used to call them secretary. So I learned I got inundated with knowledge very, very young in the workplace. So when you are looking for work, if you are struggling, and I'm talking to people who are listening to this, if you are in an emotionally hard place like you cannot send out your next resume, I want you to think about the people that you are doing a disservice to that you could. That's what your resume is all about. That's what you are all about. How are you going to be of service in your next job? And if that comes through in your resume, your cover letters, if you still use them, or the emails or your outreach, then what a shame.

Russ Johns 24:49
Yeah. You know, I believe everyone has a gift and everyone has an opportunity to share that gift with people that need it and I always tell people, you don't have to be everything to everyone. And just like the people that stand in line for whatever service happens to go, there's a person in front of you, and there's a person behind you. And it's always the case in life, there's going to be someone ahead of you that can help you. And there's someone behind you that you can help. So you just have to understand that the value you hold, is right where you are, and you have value right where you are. There's nothing wrong with the value that you have, you just have to find the person that's looking for that value.

Lee Andrese 25:36
And that thinking in and of itself, for us is transformational. So when people talk to you about how do you transform recruiting, and how do you transform talent management, I say start with the people. Start with the people first. And then I look at the processes and then I look at the technology. When the story is all about the people that we service, you are going to see transformation. Why is that? Because hiring is usually a reactive function within an organization. It is very rarely is it thoughtful and strategic beyond a spreadsheet. How many people were in need for this position? How many? No, it's not just that. You've got to understand your audience, the market, the available talent pool, where they're learning what they're learning what they bring, how they can elevate an organization, that information that goes way beyond the technology,

Russ Johns 26:34
And that's gold, and that is gold. We have a couple of great comments here. Russ Hedge says, social media is so powerful in building relationships, and connections. Russ just launched a book, we've been on shows together, a lot of great connections there. Hiett, says, what's the worst thing that can happen when you reach out? And they say no or no, thanks. The best is, where have you been? Yes. Julius says, good morning, from Kenya. Glad to be here. and ready to connect. Thank you for being here. Julius all over the world, pirates from all over the world. And we're talking about transformational transformation, and talent management with Lee today. A new pirate. Thank you for being here, Lee.

Lee Andrese 27:28
Thank you.

Russ Johns 27:30
So what are the last, like legacy nuggets of knowledge that you could leave us with today that for people that are struggling? Or maybe you know, they've sent out 100 resumes or applied for jobs or whatever it happens to be, what advice would you share with them today?

Lee Andrese 27:49
I would say just sit down and stop for a second. Stop. Stop your thoughts in your tracks. Figure out what is holding you back. Is is it your own biases? Is it your own fears? Is it your own frustrations right?

Russ Johns 28:04
Yeah

Lee Andrese 28:05
if you are not getting the results that you're looking for, get help. Do not try to figure this out by yourself, get some what I call adult supervision. When I get stuck in my own mud, there is no getting out until somebody pulls me out. And I've got to put away my ego. I've got to put away my fear. I've got to put away all those things that tell me I can do it on my own. And get that help and invest in that help. If you're going to go to the doctor to try to make yourself feel better. If you're sick. Look at coaches and other resources in the same manner. They're going to help pull you out of whatever part of this process you're stuck in. Be open. That's number one, assess where you are. And do you need help? Number two, be open to change your results. I am all about results. So one of the things that I'm well known for is getting people a lot more money than they originally set out to get. The last one was 12% higher. The one before that was 30% higher. These are placements that I've made. So how I do that is assessing their value, assessing the outcomes and the results. Do the same thing of your job search. If you're sending out a boatload of resumes and not getting anything in return, you need to figure out what's in the content, what's in the messaging and change things up. Again, seek outside help. So that's number two. And number three, and most importantly, know where the hell you want to go. Yeah, and you are just not throwing darts at jobs, that you are not throwing spaghetti against the wall that you have a purpose and a mission that you need to fulfill in the next job that you take. Because it's your time. You are valuable and you have a purpose to fulfill. Figure that out. And that may require some, you know, adult supervision as well. Once you've got all that stuff then you can create your plan. Until then, there's no spaghetti coming out of this.

Russ Johns 30:03
I love that Lee, it's been a pleasure, I love the fact that we can go out, we can create some content, 30 minutes of content that can help someone move forward. And sometimes we just need a new perspective in our life. Some, like you said, adult supervision that can actually understand what they see, and the value that they imagine that you can deliver to someone else. So it's really important to know your value and understand that you have a gift and you have a message. And you have the talent to go do something amazing. Call up Lee, and Lee, how's the best place and the best way to get ahold of you? What, how do you like to be contacted?

Lee Andrese 30:50
You can reach me on LinkedIn, I accept all requests. So I'm happy to connect with anybody, anytime, anywhere. I have LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Lee Andrese, or you can email me at lee@akathame.com. And that, by the way, stands for directed energy. It's made up of two words Academy and atheme.

Russ Johns 31:15
I love it. I love it. And, and just let her know that you're a pirate and you want to connect so she knows where he is. And we have an amazing community, Lee, so I look forward to having conversations and connections and collaborations in the future. So thank you so much.

Lee Andrese 31:35
Thank you so very much. I appreciate it. Good luck to everybody who's watching.

Russ Johns 31:40
Absolutely. And thank you and everyone as you know, I would love to encourage you to go subscribe to the YouTube channel and you'll get notified when a new episode comes out. Go Facebook, Twitter, wherever you love to hang out and also the posts and the podcasts and all the transcription and everything is always found at RussJohns.com. So, you know, #kindnessiscool, #smilesarefree, so you #enjoytheday. Thank you, everyone.

Exit 32:15
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