bonus

Talent Trade Tidbit - Key Questions To Ask Yourself

Published on: 11th June, 2026

Making a hire for your team? Considering a move yourself? Here are the dead simple, but critical questions you need to be asking first...

Discover what sets ThinkingAhead apart, hear stories from recruiters, and browse opportunities by clicking here.

Transcript
Speaker:

Hi, this is Stephanie Maas, and today I wanna talk to you about two key questions, and these questions are one for each.

Speaker:

Number one, if you're in a situation where you're gonna consider a potential job change, or two, if you're in a situation where you're gonna consider a possible hire for your team.

Speaker:

So let's take the first one first.

Speaker:

You're thinking about a potential move this year.

Speaker:

Let me ask you to ask yourself one key question.

Speaker:

It will keep your search and your process logical, principle-based, and you will make a good decision.

Speaker:

The question is this: If you were to make a move, what would you be looking for that you don't have in your current situation?

Speaker:

It sounds very simple, and it is, but if you really sit down, and especially if you put pen to paper on this, you may look at what you have is a Fantasy Island wish list.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

Yeah, I would love to make 100 grand more.

Speaker:

I'd love to have a 10-minute commute.

Speaker:

I'd lo- okay, that's never gonna happen.

Speaker:

You're just on Fantasy Island.

Speaker:

You're not making a move.

Speaker:

Or you may have a list that says, "Hey, sure, I'd love to make more money, but I don't really care because right now I've got a commute that's an hour and 15 minutes, and we're getting ready to have our third child, and if I could get that down to 30 minutes, that would really change my quality of life."

Speaker:

Or, "I'm currently with an organization that's credit box has gotten so tight I feel like I can't even be successful at my job. If I could just go to an organization that really wanted to lend, that would be a game-changer." Those things are very realistic.

Speaker:

Now, let's say you're in a hiring capacity and you're looking to add, whether it be a replacement or growth for whatever reason, doesn't matter, but let's say you're looking to add to your team this year.

Speaker:

What you need to be asking yourself is, again, the one key question for you is, what am I looking for in terms of talent that I don't have on the team right now?

Speaker:

Again, you may come up with a wish list.

Speaker:

Well, gosh, I, I would love to have a $50 million a year producer who only costs 125,000 and is formerly credit trained.

Speaker:

Okay.

Speaker:

Woo-hoo, Fantasy Island.

Speaker:

Not gonna happen.

Speaker:

And please don't call a recruiter asking for that.

Speaker:

There are some yahoos that will say, "Oh yeah, I'll find you that," and you're gonna get crap.

Speaker:

You call me, I'm gonna say, "Yeah, purple unicorn.

Speaker:

Doesn't exist." But if you find yourself writing down, "Hey, we've got two or three team members that are really strong in credit, not as good in business development.

Speaker:

If I could find somebody really strong in BD, it would be okay if they were a little bit lighter on credit." We can find that person. "Hey, I've got two people specializing in this vertical.

Speaker:

If I could have someone that specialized in this other vertical, that might round out the team a little bit."

Speaker:

Absolutely, we can deliver that.

Speaker:

Either way, those questions are gonna be super beneficial in helping you make a good

Speaker:

decision.

All Episodes Previous Episode

Support The Talent Trade

A huge thank you to our supporters, it means a lot that you support our podcast.

If you like the podcast and want to support it, too, you can leave us a tip using the button below. We really appreciate it and it only takes a moment!
Support The Talent Trade
A
We haven’t had any Tips yet :( Maybe you could be the first!
Show artwork for The Talent Trade

About the Podcast

The Talent Trade
Presented by ThinkingAhead Executive Search
The Talent Trade is all about finding the right person, for the right opportunity, at the right time. But how exactly do you do that the "right" way? Executive Search Partner and Top Biller Stephanie Maas shares more than 25 years of experience about what it takes to be a top recruiter in today's "talent trade" market, using ThinkingAhead’s four-prong system focused on recruiting, business development, planning, and managing your mindset. It’s real, honest information about how to build your desk, perfect your niche, and stand out among the crowd in your search career.



Southwestern/Great American, Inc., dba Southwestern Family of Companies, for itself and its related entities and their assigns, reserves and retains all rights to their copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in this podcast.
Support This Show