Recruiter turned Career Strategist: Insider Secrets to Getting Hired in Today’s AI Job Market

Transcription:
Second Act Success Podcast
Season 1 - Recruiter turned Career Strategist: Insider Secrets to Getting Hired in Today’s AI Job Market | #243
Episode - #243
Host: Shannon Russell
Guest: Sindy Thomas

Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)
[00:00:00]
Shannon Russell: If you are pondering a career change, you might have wondered, how do I get my resume seen? How do I get in front of the hiring manager, the person who is going to give me that brand new job opportunity. Today on the podcast, I am chatting with Sindy Thomas.
She went from working years and years as a recruiter to now being an independent career strategist. We are gonna talk about what it's like on the inside of hiring so that you can get the tools to learn about what you wanna do in your next career and how you can get seen and hired.
I am Shannon Russell, the host of the second Act Success Career podcast, a business coach for women and the author of Start Your Second Act.
Let's dive in.

Shannon Russell: Cindy, welcome to Second Act Success.
Sindy Thomas: thank you Shannon for having me. I'm looking forward to our conversation.
Shannon Russell: Let's start from the beginning.
Where did your career first begin?
Sindy Thomas: I went to school to be a teacher I [00:01:00] started teaching at the high school level when I was in a junior in college. I got the opportunity to teach at my old high school. Wow. Because I stayed in contact with my, favorite teacher who was,, she was over the PE department and, I'd go, check in with her and let her know what I was doing and stuff. And, uh, she said, you know, we don't have a dance program. And at that time, , I originally started, studying for my degree in pe but I got very interested in dancing. I had an emphasis on dance.
When she realized, , how enthusiastic I was about dancing, she said, well, why don't you come teach a dance class? So I did for. The first year I taught just a dance class. , And then the next year I taught the dance class and a bunch of other things like speech because, , speech drama was my minor.
And so that was my foyer into teaching. Also with the Oakland Parks and Recreation Department, teaching dance all over the [00:02:00] city. it was a lot of fun.
Shannon Russell: What a way to start your career as a young girl outside of college and you're getting to dance and work with kids that weren't that much younger than you at the time.
Probably,
Sindy Thomas: Yeah, probably about five, six years difference.
Shannon Russell: They probably really looked up to you
Sindy Thomas: Yeah, they did. They really related because I was so close to their age, I was probably the youngest teacher there.
I was doing a dual master's., Working on a, a master's in, to be a principal. But also working on a master's in dance it got hard financially 'cause you're doing all this stuff and I, I got a, a full-time job for the summer. That was a regular full-time job. I was gonna quit it when, September rolled around, but I ended up staying.
And then from that point on, I, I just kept working. So my first job,, it was a just a clerk job in an advertising department with a newspaper. Then from there I went to, , to work in a bakery. So I worked in a manufacturing environment for about seven years and I [00:03:00] always credit that job as a job that I grew up on because I had to deal with the, adults that would get in your face when they didn't like what you did.
'cause I was a scheduler. It was a union environment and I just learned a lot there I went off to UPS , I was the office manager. Eventually I, , stopped working for a while due to illness.
During that time I kind of figured out what I wanted to do for next steps. And at that time I went back to school. I learned computers because I, they were just, I hate to date myself, but they were just starting. So I went back to learn how to use computers and I've been using it ever since and it's was a godsend. But at that time I ended up working as a facilitator, and what I did was I taught inner city youth between the ages of 17, oh God.
And 21, how to find work.
Because it was inner city youth and a lot of them, the [00:04:00] examples of their lives was not really seeing working parents.
Shannon Russell: Mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: Or not working parents in an office environment.
I taught them about the simple, basic things that you. learn growing up in a household of parents that work. I taught them how to interview. We worked on their resumes, all of those things.
And then at the end of the program, , my cohort, she found them work. And it was really fulfilling.
Shannon Russell: When you were in college and starting out teaching dance classes, now you're using your teaching and all of your work experience from over the years mm-hmm.
Into really helping them. That's like bringing everything full circle in a sense. It,
Sindy Thomas: it was, and it was a lot of fun.
Shannon Russell: Mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: And I would find these great speakers to come in and talk to the kids and talk to them about their, , and I hadn't thought about this, I'm just seeing the connection now with my podcasting.
But, , I would bring these people in to give them examples of individuals who are successful. A lot of young, black, [00:05:00] successful people to speak to them, it was a wide variety of people, but I like to find people that look like them
Shannon Russell: mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: To, , inspire them and, it was great.
I was working for a not-for-profit. I worked for , a couple of agencies, employment agencies.
And then from there I went in-house to be a recruiter in-house. And from there I've stayed there 'cause I really loved it. Worked in talent acquisition for over 25 years.
Shannon Russell: So you're doing recruiting and you're again, bringing in all of your past experience into being able to help these people find their perfect jobs and really partner companies with the perfect employees.
, In 25 years, I can't imagine everything that you've learned over.
Sindy Thomas: Oh my God, yeah. I've worked across multiple industries.. Information technology actually on both sides of the house, doing hardware recruiting, hardware engineers.
Hiring software engineers.
It was a [00:06:00] very interesting time in the job market.
And I stayed in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries for the last 13 years of my working career working in different industries as a recruiter, when you're working on positions, the manager and their team is suffering because you aren't getting them the right people that they need. So that was a fascinating aspect to me because as a teacher, you're always doing research, you're always learning stuff. And I had that same aspect, right? And so it really made me happy and being able to, help people.
Which is what teaching is. You're helping them learn, helping individuals find a job, helping the manager and the team find a new,, coworker and colleague, and then helping the company succeed because you are,. Finding the right people that are gonna come in and stay and contribute. When you look at your career from that perspective, , it's fantastic.
So I really loved what I [00:07:00] did and I excelled at it because I loved it., And that's what happens when people love what they do, good things happen.
Shannon Russell: You ended your working career there, but then you weren't finished. You weren't ready to retire and just ride off into the sunset. You decided to keep working and create kind of a business of your own
Sindy Thomas: I knew I was getting close to, I'm on the back end of my career.
I'm not on the front end of it. Right. So I'm not an individual that can sit still for very long. You gotta do something. I've been thinking about this and praying about it for years, and the answers that I received was, , do something along the lines that I'm doing. Teach people, help them understand how to find jobs, help coach them so they understand how to be successful.
Teach them what you know and what you have learned throughout the years. , And that's. Pretty much the basis of the podcast that I do, I shed light on diverse careers that [00:08:00] allow listeners to see and hear what different careers look like, and then they can take that information and go learn more if they're interested and really hear how, , those particular careers majoring in, in, in this particular area.
There are multiple avenues that you can go into. Just like teaching. You can teach philosophy, you can teach
Shannon Russell: mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: Pe you can teach dance, you can teach, science. I mean, there's all kinds of things from one area, , overall lapping. Profession of being a teacher, a professor, or instructor.
And the same is true for engineers, for nurses, I mean, for so many different careers. It's not just I do this and this is what I'm doing. There are many ways for individuals to grow, and I want the listener to hear that and to hear how people reached the conclusion that that was the right career for them.
Because a lot of [00:09:00] them didn't start off doing that. Just like I didn't start off doing what I was doing. I love talking to people. I love interviewing them and hearing, , their life story and how they got there and where they grew up and, all of that. Trying to make it as interesting as possible.
Shannon Russell: It is inspiring. This is what my podcast is about too the reason I started Second Act Success, the podcast, is to share those stories so people can listen and say, Ooh, if she can go from that to this, then I can too. Mm.
Sindy Thomas: Mm-hmm.
Shannon Russell: And yours is so.
Similar in actually, people can listen and learn about different careers and what is involved and take that information, decide where they wanna go. , And you also work as a career strategist now with individual clients, is that right? Mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: And you help them And coaching.
Shannon Russell: And coaching and so you can help them figure out, what they wanna do next.
I find that. We're in a very different world right now where the industry, oh my goodness. Every industry is just changing and there's massive layoffs happening everywhere. Mm-hmm. So how do you work with clients now? How are you [00:10:00] finding your work now to be so different than when you were recruiting for these companies?
Luckily you have the background. So much experience to help your clients now.
Sindy Thomas: Very true. And, when you like what you do, , you stay in tune with what's going on. Or at least I try to.
I do a lot of reading. I'm, I'm checking out, so many different websites. So many different newsletters. So many different articles,
To keep up with what's going on and. I think especially for young people, they don't realize how quickly this job market has changed., When I look at the course of my career and what changed, since the pandemic and the onset of ai, the pandemic was a drastic, , disruptor with regard to change, with regard to work.
You really had to change the way that you thought about managing people and, , finding ways to hold them accountable.
Even hiring.
It's [00:11:00] just gonna continue to happen and continue to happen. And, my advice to anyone who is working.
To anyone who is trying to get into the workforce or anyone that's trying to find a job again, is that you really have to not just find a job. , You can find someplace to work. You can have a, maybe you are a professional person and I hope that you are, but if you are not. You're gonna need to go back to school to be retrained in something and before you invest your time and your money doing that, you really need to take a look at where the jobs are going to be.
Because it's changing. There are not going to be these quote, entry level jobs that used to be, , the clerks, the . Administrative assistants, even executive assistants, those are going away.
Because, savvy directors, vice presidents, even, CEOs and [00:12:00] C-Suite people, they do a lot of that themselves.
I have a question because I have heard this from many clients, many women that I speak to, that as they are thinking about changing careers, looking for work, that AI is blocking a lot of their progress because they're finding that there's not someone on the other end of the line like you were too.
Shannon Russell: Sort through these resumes and applications. Now it's a bot and I'm always getting asked, what can I do with my resume or cover letter to get it seen by a human? So it surpasses the bot. Are you having a lot of clients that you coach having running into the same problems?
Sindy Thomas: Individuals can apply online and.
With the onset of being able to, , press a button and apply to a thousand positions, , I would recommend not doing that. Yes, you can apply because employers need you to apply online. You need to circumvent the system and [00:13:00] you need to use your network to do that.
You should have a developed network. If not, start working on it now. But go into LinkedIn because that is the, , standard of finding work these days.
But it's also the standard of networking. And you can find people in LinkedIn that are working for the company that you. Want to work for, you can find an HR person.
You can find somebody in that department.
Shannon Russell: Mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: Or you can find a friend that you know, and it may be a friend of a friend. Of a friend, but you can reach out to them and, see if you can send them your resume and see if they can pass it along to the right individual for you. And I know we would hate it when we get the resumes coming the other end.
, Because then you have to act, but. Yes, there are these bots and , [00:14:00] systems that are blocking people. I also understand that there's a lot of bias in those systems.
, But you've gotta find a different way. There are still networking events that happen that are live.
, You can join on LinkedIn. I, , am part of Network After work, you can join these different groups . And find. People in the groups that you can, network with and see if they can help you.
Now the other thing, when I say find people to help you, you have to be willing to help them.
Shannon Russell: Oh, yeah.
Sindy Thomas: And so networking is a two-way process. And you don't just take you, , you may not be able to help that person now. But you can make sure that they understand that when you are able to help them, when they have a request that you're gonna follow through.
Shannon Russell: , You have to be more proactive in these days.
Sindy Thomas: Mm-hmm.
Shannon Russell: And in reaching out and making those connections and then nourishing those, not just, it's great. Great to meet you. Not gonna [00:15:00] talk to you again until I need
Sindy Thomas: you. Yeah.
Shannon Russell: You know, it's,
Sindy Thomas: do some coffee meetings, do some, you know.
Can we have a virtual coffee or if they're actually amenable to it, , meet them face to face in the Starbucks or
Shannon Russell: a piece,
Sindy Thomas: you know? So yeah, do that and just get active in the process. Process. You don't know who you will meet,
, You stay in contact with them.
Shannon Russell: I always urge people, if they're not on LinkedIn, that's where you need to be spending your time instead of scrolling on Instagram or Facebook.
It really is LinkedIn to just. Comment, I always say 15 minutes a day, throw out some comments, do a post about something, share an article. You never know who's going to see that. And the more you engage, the more the algorithm shows you other people and the more you Exactly. Just keep, yeah. You can just keep accepting.
Yeah. And, and know that it's almost like karma, right? If someone asks you for a favor or an introduction, do it because you never know how that can come back to you. Mm-hmm. , Yes, it makes it a lot harder than just. Submitting and hitting that click [00:16:00] button to submit your resume. It's just not the world we're living in anymore.
Sindy Thomas: Yeah, and you're taking the care that take it one step further, which shows you are truly interested in finding that career. Connecting with somebody there. But it's also the standpoint of. Don't just apply to so many jobs that you don't even remember what you applied to.
Yeah. One, keep a record and two, only apply to those jobs you really want. , When you find a job, do a little research before you click that button. Take a look and find out what that company is truly about. Look at their products and services. Is that something that's gonna align with you and your moral, , standards?
If it's not, don't work there because if you get a job, you're not gonna be happy and you're gonna end up moving on and having to do the whole process again. The more time you spend in your job search paying attention to the types of employers that you are working with, and not just look at the [00:17:00] jobs, look at the people that are running the company.
Look at where they've been, see what you can find out about them. Do that research, look at their finances. , All those things are important because , 'cause you can't always find out everything, right?
Shannon Russell: Mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: But, you know, you can. Work for a company that's, , not financially sound, especially if you're, going to work in smaller environments like startups.
Shannon Russell: Mm-hmm.
Sindy Thomas: You have to look and see where, they are with their funding, what round it is. How close they are to, , developing whatever it is they're developing and, find out what you can about whatever that particular product or service is. , You really have to do your research.
You have to be smart.
You really do have to pay attention. And if you wanna have a good career, you're continually learning and staying in touch with the job market. What's going on? What are the market trends? Just what's [00:18:00] happening with technology and how it's affecting business.
There's just so much, narrow it down to your particular industry , and then look beyond.
I realized that I didn't wanna go back to do that anymore., I didn't even look for work.
It became a podcast and then became,, expanding into coaching. And I do like that. I think. Then I can bring so much to clients because of my in-house experience of knowing exactly how it works. Because I was a recruiter. I was the one interfacing with managers and doing the offers, and preparing the offers and extending it.
Then I can share with them exactly how that process works. So, I like what I'm doing now.
Shannon Russell: Tell me about the podcast and all the ways that people can connect with you. If my listeners are listening and say, I need to work with Cindy.
Sindy Thomas: For the first four years I did all audio podcasts and they are on, YouTube, they're on all the major places like Amazon [00:19:00] and Apple
, You can also find my podcast on my website.
The Insider Career Club podcast.
www insiders. Career club.com. And if you can't remember that 'cause it's kind of long, they can go to Google and they can put in my name and that is spelled differently because it's S-I-N-D-Y, Thomas with an H and it will come up.
You'll be able to find me that way. Connect with me on LinkedIn, connect with me on Insta. Um, Cindy, the Insider on Instagram, you find me on Facebook.
Shannon Russell: I'll link to everything in the show notes as well so everyone can find it easily. And thank you so much Cindy. Thank you for talking us through your career path and all the good you put out in the world through recruiting and now through your coaching and podcast.
[00:20:00]