Kelley Shoemaker is the Director of Recruiting at Minneapolis based Ryan Companies US, Inc., and is my guest on Episode 20 of Big Fish in the Talent Pool, the Podcast for Talent Leaders. Kelley is a ground-breaker, an over-comer, and an encourager extraordinaire. She is known for the inspirational sayings she often posts on Linked In, to the delight of her many followers. They reflect what she has cultivated over many years in business: emotional intelligence. We talked a lot about the value this brings to her role, especially during a global pandemic, racial unrest in her home town, and employee anxiety at an all-time high.
As a “conception to completion and beyond” commercial real estate firm, Ryan’s unique people-centered and diverse culture calls on Kelley’s team hire a wide variety of roles at all levels, in all functions. We talked in particular about the shortage of skilled workers and the importance of encouraging people (especially those not yet in high school) to consider training and apprenticing for a career in the trades such as welding, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC, which are always in high-demand and pay well. Mike Rowe’s foundation, mikeroweworks.org got a shout out in that regard – check out his website if you’re interested in helping young people find their calling in the trades!
Interestingly, Kelley wasn’t always in Talent Acquisition. With previous experience in finance, operations, and advertising, she brings a unique perspective to her Recruiting leadership, and built a diverse team to reflect it. This shows up in their candidate experience, employment branding, and hiring manager satisfaction. Humility is her hallmark, allowing her to be always learning. If she makes a mistake, or someone on her team could have done better, her perspective is, ” You have to be okay with admitting you’re wrong, and in order to do that, you have to get out of your own way.”
We invite you to listen to my entire conversation with Kelley. Her positivity and unique, other-centered perspective is the encouragement we all need now and into the uncertain future!
We hope you enjoy the fast-paced chat on Big Fish in the Talent Pool – the podcast for Talent Leaders. If you do, please be sure to rate and review us. We’d love your feedback and it will help others find us.
Erin McDermott Peterson is a Partner with PeopleResults, helping clients with global recruiting interim leadership, RPO advisory, and ensuring a great candidate experience. Follow her on Twitter @ErinMcPeterson, connect via linkedin.com/in/erinpeterson or email at epeterson@people-results.com and listen to her Podcast for Talent Leaders: Big Fish in the Talent Pool on iTunes and SoundCloud, or wherever you access podcasts.
