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Our values have always been transparency and authenticity. We’re homegrown — founder Adam was a recruiter for 20 years before starting Great Recruiters — and so, we wanted to highlight some of the wonderful recruiters we’ve met.
Today, Adam sits down with star recruiter, Joe Cassidy of Bartech Staffing. Joe’s been recruiting for six years — with a 4.7-star Great Recruiters rating, he consistently hits the top of the leaderboards.
Adam digs into Joe’s secret sauce — hard work and authenticity.
Here’s the transcript.
Adam
I have Joe Cassidy here, from Bartech Staffing. Joe, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today.
Joe
Hey, my pleasure.
Adam
Joe’s one of our clients, and what really impressed me with Joe is his genuine nature and the approach he takes recruiting. I started digging through his reviews and reading what people had to say about him and it definitely supported what I felt about him.
Joe has a 4.7-star rating. He’s got over 60 reviews, and a 44% response rate, which is amazing. It just shows that people want to share their experiences working with Joe.
So, I want to take a chance today to learn a little bit more about you and talk a little bit about how Great Recruiters have helped you be successful.
Joe
Sounds like a plan. I’m approaching my 6th year in recruiting. And I love it.
Adam
That’s awesome! I started my career in recruiting, oh man, 20 years ago. And, you know, when I was growing up, I certainly wasn’t having dreams of being a recruiter. And I kind of fell into it and ended up falling in love with it.
I’d love to hear how you got into the recruiting station. Is it something you dreamed of being when you were a young boy?
Joe
Yeah, I’m kind of with you on that. That definitely wasn’t what I thought I would end up being. I started out in sales. I transitioned over to mortgages, went to finance from there, and then from finance, ended up in recruiting.
Much like you, I fell in love with it as soon as I started. To be able to help somebody better their life and get into a new opportunity is awesome. It’s a great feeling.
Adam
I know it. It sounds like you’ve been in the services industry for a long time. Working with people is kind of second nature to you. So why do you love what you’re doing?
Joe
So, it’s what I was touching on earlier — just being able to help somebody better their life and step into a new role. A new job or a new career can be life-changing. So, I like being the orchestrator behind that and presenting people with new opportunities from the stage of them interviewing, all the way through to an offer letter. It’s just so gratifying.
And, then keeping in touch with people after they’ve gotten the position and hearing how much, hopefully, they do enjoy it.
Adam
That’s great! And I hate to say it, but there are these bad perceptions of recruiters, right? How do you overcome some of those perceptions that might exist, and what do you do differently to ensure that you don’t fall under some of those stereotypes of what people might think of recruiters?
Joe
You know, that’s something we have to overcome and fight to overcome every day. One of the big things I’ve done to kind of set myself apart from other recruiters is making myself the subject matter expert. Being the expert puts candidates at ease.
I specialize mainly in engineering recruiting, so from the get-go, I’m trying to build rapport, and let them know that I’ve done my homework. I consider myself a subject expert on a lot of the positions I recruit. So, I think that’s the first step in really developing rapport and the trust that’s needed to go through this process.
Adam
Yeah, definitely. I know many recruiters lead with, “I had this awesome job — are you interested?” — instead of getting to know the candidate first.
And I always thought, it’s putting my agenda as a recruiter ahead of the candidates I’m working with. What’s your approach when you’re engaging with new talent out there on the market place that might not know who you are?
Joe
Well, you know, first just introducing myself, and having the confidence when you speak to somebody, building rapport at first, instead of going right into salary or, as you said, “I have this awesome position.”
It’s about hearing what they’re looking for. People might be looking to travel lots or spend more time with their kids. Finding really what they’re looking for, and developing positions that can make that happen is key.
Adam
It’s tough to say I have the best job available if you don’t know anything about that individual. So, really getting to know them as a person and understand those wants and needs are a forefront of that conversation.
Joe
For sure.
Adam
Awesome. And, help me understand, as far as the types of roles that you recruit for– there are folks listening to this, hearing this out there and they’re thinking, “I’m looking for a career change.” Can you give us a little insight into the types of roles that you work on and locations that you support?
Joe
I’ve been very fortunate in being able to recruit for all sorts of different industries. As I said in my specialty, I consider myself an expert in engineering recruiting.
But, I’ve been all across the board, from clerical to more hands-on maintenance positions. So, if I haven’t worked on something, I always kinda take a look at it, and definitely want to increase my experience with it, and get better at things that I haven’t.
Joe
What geographic locations do most of your roles fall within?
Joe
One of my big clients is John Deere, and their hub is like Moline, Illinois. In that area, we do a lot of work in Waterloo, Iowa, Dubuque, Iowa. We have some roles in Horicon, Wisconsin…kinda all around.
And that’s really helped us branch out all the way around the United States. Another one of my candidates, clients is Phillips 66 of Houston. They also had a plant in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
So, really, all over the United States and then some local stuff around here too with some automotive and some non-automotive clients around here. So, I spread myself around for sure.
Adam
So, you guys have been using Great Recruiters for about 10 months, and, just curious…what was your experience or thoughts when you were first introduced to Great Recruiters?
Joe
Honestly, at first, I was very apprehensive, just because in our industry you can’t keep everyone happy. There’s going to be some people that you don’t get the job, and they might hold a certain amount of bitterness.
But I’ve had awesome people leave me very, very great reviews. And, I think that one of the best things about the company that you started is it really lets you see where you stand. It lets you be introspective into how you’re coming across and I’ve learned some things.
There have been a couple of reviews that might have been a little lower than I thought. So, I thought maybe I can really work hard to get those reviews up. I definitely would suggest any firm to take a look at using it, because, as I said, it shows you where you stand.
You might think you know where you stand with candidates, but to find out the truth really blows you away.
Adam
Right, right. It really is. It’s trading transparency in an industry that does not have a lot in transparency, right? I know, for myself, if I wasn’t trading that experience that I had intended…I’d wanna know. And, if you’re not asking, you really don’t know where you stand, so, it’s great to hear that you embrace the fact that feedbacks coming in.
And, it’s always easy to get the great reviews, right? It always makes you feel good. It validates what you’re doing.
But, help me understand, how do you handle receiving those negative reviews? What do you do to kind of follow up when you get that negative feedback?
Joe
Yeah, so, fortunately, I haven’t had many — but I’ve had a couple. I make sure I call the person and say, “Hey, sounds like I missed the mark a little bit on this. What can I do?”
One of the two people ended up just hitting the wrong button, which…and then asking me if they could go back. You know, they apologized, and they said, “Oh no, I didn’t mean to do that. Can I go back?” So you just never know.
The other individual that I talked to just wanted more consistent feedback. And, in my opinion, I thought I was kind of providing it, but with some people, they wanna be checked in with every day…and that’s completely fine. I mean, we’re here, we’re performing a service for somebody. And, as I said, we’re trying to become life changers and subject experts. So, if that’s what it takes for some candidates, then I definitely can do that.
Adam
Yeah. It’s part of that upfront conversation of understanding. How do you want to be communicated with? What’s the best method of communication? How long between those updates?
How do you think Great Recruiters helped you to continue to be a successful recruiter out there? What has it done for you to gain more success?
Joe
Like I said, just a matter of shortening up some of the categories that might not be as high as I want to be and really working on following up with people on a regular basis. I actually set calendars invites for myself now, so I’m following up with the people that needed to be checked in with me a little bit more.
As far as referrals, I’ve received, the last time I checked, I think, 5 or 6 referrals from people. I haven’t had been lucky enough to get these people jobs yet, but I do have people that I’m considering for jobs.
And these are people that we didn’t have in our systems. Sometimes candidates can’t come up with a referral on the spot, so Great Recruiters is also a great tool, because when the person goes back to do their review on me…”Oh, maybe they remember that person that they worked with in the past.” So, I’m going to go ahead and list that person.
Adam
Good.
That’s the other thing — if you get those positive reviews…it’s a great opportunity to thank those individuals and ask for a referral.
Any other success stories that you can share with us as a result of using Great Recruiters…anything that comes to mind that was just kinda like an “uh huh” moment for ya?
Joe
I helped a gentleman out in Houston. His review started out..”I consider Joe an angel,” and then went on to praise me. It really helped me feel good about somebody…like actually changing or helping them enough that they felt that strongly about me.
It really gives you an opportunity to know where you stand. Sometimes you get done with a phone call and you think in the back of your mind, “Man, that was great.” And, maybe 20 minutes later, you get that review and you’re like, “Oh dang, there’s things I can go back and analyze and make it better for next time.”
So, it’s a great tool to let you know where you stand.
Adam
Right. And how do you think this differentiates you as a recruiter? Not many recruiters are asking for feedback and being as transparent as our clients are. So, what do you that does for the candidates that you’re engaging with when they get that review request, and they say, “Hey, Joe actually wants my feedback.” What kind of impact do you think it has on them and yourself as a recruiter?
Joe
I think anyone respects somebody that tries to be the best and the top in their industry. But, afterward, I wanna know how I did. In their mind, I know that they should be thinking, “Man, this guy’s trying to do better for his candidates…trying to make himself better on a daily basis.” So, if anything, I’m sure they’re impressed with that.
Adam
Awesome. Well, hey Joe, I really appreciate your time today and taking time out of your busy day.
Joe
And, right back at you Adam. I really appreciate you, you know, setting this up. It’s been my pleasure, and feel free to reach out if you need anything else from me, okay?
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Interested in how our customers are using Great Recruiters? Check out this case study with veteran staffing firm, PeopleLink.
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