In this issue:

🔎 Exclusive Recruiter Insights: What’s the most important trait in a hire?

🎈 Just for Fun: Place or pass?

💡 Associate Spotlight: Christie Burgess

📌 Featured Career Opportunities

📰 Industry News

🔗 Connect With Your Recruiter

🔎 Exclusive Recruiter Insights

Evaluating candidates during the hiring process can be more subjective than you think. Take a look at this poll I shared with my LinkedIn followers this month.

If you could hire one person tomorrow, what would matter most?

My take: The split reveals the real problem

These results tell me something important: hiring managers don't actually agree on what they need. And when you dig deeper, it's because they're trying to solve different problems.

The "skills" voters are usually filling urgent, technical gaps. They need someone who can execute immediately: build the model, draft the trust document, manage the portfolio. They'll train the rest.

The "cultural fit" voters have been burned. They've hired the brilliant performer who couldn't collaborate, or the experienced candidate who clashed with leadership. They're protecting their teams.

The "experience" voters are typically at smaller firms or in niche practices where there's no time to ramp up. They need someone who's seen it before and knows what mistakes to avoid.

Here's what this means for you: if your own team can't agree on priorities, you're going to struggle in interviews. Candidates sense the confusion. Worse, you might pass on someone perfect for the role because half the team was evaluating the wrong things.

Before you start interviewing, get clear on what problem you're actually solving. Are you filling a skill gap, replacing a culture drain, or bringing in seasoned judgment? Once you know that, we can find you someone who checks your most important boxes.

Let's talk about what you really need - just connect with me on LinkedIn.

🎈 Just for Fun

Place or pass: Would you hire this candidate?

A Trust Officer candidate has 12 years of solid experience but spent the last 18 months as a full-time caregiver for an aging parent. They maintained their CTFA certification during the gap and did occasional estate planning consulting for family friends. They're ready to return full-time and acknowledge they're “a bit rusty on the latest regulatory changes but eager to get back in.”

Our take: Place. Caregiving builds exactly what trust work requires: patience, fiduciary thinking, and handling sensitive family situations. The consulting kept them connected, and 18 months isn't long enough to lose 12 years of expertise. Someone who honors family commitments will honor client commitments.