In Her Own Words

Christine

I have had a long career in recruiting. I've had the pleasure of working from an agency all the way up through the ranks, becoming a director and senior director of multiple startups. My sweet spot is the seed level all the way up to late-stage startups (Series C), or those exiting by acquisition or IPO. Typically, I recruit for executive-level positions, but I have also had the pleasure of starting in inside sales and business development groups. I have recruited both strategically and tactically for over 15 years.

Christine

It goes back to when I predated the internet, quite honestly. I started when people were faxing resumes and didn't have LinkedIn for sourcing. I saw AI as the next step—a way to automate, optimize, and utilize our talents to the fullest by using data to identify top talent. I also saw it as a way to engage candidates and cultivate relationships that resonate with them. I viewed it as a manifold increase in productivity for recruiters. Not only could you recruit through data and analytics, but you could also build a strong top-of-funnel through strategic searches and vetting criteria. It optimizes your time; research that used to take me four or five hours can now be done in 30 minutes, sometimes even 15. This allows for a better candidate experience by capitalizing on the market both now and in the future.

Christine

It's interesting you say that because I was thinking about it last night. I have used everything from Bullhorn to Workday, Lever, and Jobvite—even systems that are no longer around. What separates you from the competition is that you're not just a repository. You are a full system that allows for strategic sourcing and mapping. I can map an area and determine if the talent I need is in San Francisco or Ohio, and then find out what I need to attract them, such as specific benefits or higher equity. This allows me to strategically plan with my team before I begin sourcing. Once I start, I can "set it and forget it," but the system reminds me daily of my progress. It's like AB testing; I'm acting like a marketing specialist, seeing what resonates with candidates and readjusting as needed. It handles the daily minutia, like scheduling interviews, walking me through the entire process. It's like having a partner or another "mini-me" doing my job, making it much easier and faster.

Christine

I was thinking about this recently while doing an implementation for a client using Ashby, which is a phenomenal system. The difference between what you do and other ATS systems is the strength of your sourcing—it's second to none. Your team made an effort to learn how recruiters and hiring managers think and what skill sets are necessary. You taught your AI to look for those skills and make accurate, educated decisions. If you provide feedback, it learns immediately and brings in the right talent pools. This "top-of-funnel" sourcing is often hard for recruiters to manage alongside daily tasks like scheduling. It is a full system from start to finish, covering funneling, scheduling, and feedback. Finally, my teams love the executive summaries. The system explains why a person is relevant, drawing conclusions—like why a transition from Series A to Series B is significant—to highlight relevant skills. It is skill-based recruiting rather than just resume-driven.

Christine

Your team is spectacular. I am part of multiple recruiting and HR groups, like SHRM, and I always tout your customer support—from the CEO down. If I had a question late at night, customer support would get back to me immediately. I feel like my ideas are heard and taken into account, even if everything can't be implemented. When I saw things that could be tweaked, the team would try them out. There was a lot of listening, understanding, compassion, and empathy from the group.

Christine

It was spectacular. It was fun to meet everyone and connect with like-minded individuals, as well as those who challenged the role of AI. We discussed whether we might lose the human side of recruiting. Those strategic conversations helped alleviate fears and raised awareness about necessary guardrails. The main takeaways were the speed of adoption and the necessity of maintaining the human aspect in recruiting. Since this is a people business, it is important to brand your company and systems as "human-first" and maintain that empathetic side.

Christine

It works. I've worked with multiple startups at various stages, and people often ask what I'm doing differently because my candidates are "right on the money." For example, I had a client looking for six senior sales directors in the SOC security space. They had been looking for months. I hired two right off the bat because I could vet candidates quickly and use data to show the executive team where the talent was located. We were able to fill those positions quickly and accurately, and those individuals are still there, proving they were quality long-term hires.

Christine

He is compassionate and truly loves his company. He wants to do the right thing for the recruiting industry and its people. He isn't looking to replace the human touch; he always says this is an addition to make our jobs easier. I often tell my clients that recruiters and HR teams don't always get cutting-edge technology, so your team bringing this to us is an impactful change for which I am very thankful.

Christine

There are so many places we can go with it. We are currently looking at ways to use it for branding and the candidate experience, ensuring candidates feel appreciated and kept in mind, even if they are passive. We are also focused on scalability and developing processes for it. AI can help us dig into what we truly need; sometimes hiring managers think they need a replacement for what they had before, but the team has evolved. The system can look at our current talent and help us uplevel them, offering everyone a better career path.

Christine

You too.

Christine

Thank you.