High-touch Talent Matchmaking in Tulsa

Princess Austin, Talent Partner

How did you start your career?

I fell into recruiting though HR operations about seven years ago. Back then, I didn’t even know that recruiting was a profession. I got my feet wet recruiting IT professionals and fell in love with it. I enjoy the connections I make with candidates and helping them through the process while getting to know them. I make sure to discover who they are as people and what makes them unique. This allows me to present them the right way and increases their chance of landing the job.

What gets you excited to get up and go to work in the morning?

I am excited by knowing the work I do has such an impact on people from the perspective of the candidate and the company itself. People make organizations great. You can't have a great organization without great people. They are at the heart of it.

When you think about it, for most people, having a job is essential and tied to their ability to provide for themselves and their families. Hearing the excitement from candidates and clients gives me so much joy.

I recently placed someone with a company who was going through a rough time. She was in a toxic situation and feeling unfulfilled. As a result, her confidence took a hit. I helped her build it backup by coaching her, and she was able to land a job she is super excited about. The company has high praise for her and her work too.

What are your favorite parts of your job?

I like identifying potential beyond someone's resume. You can look at a resume, but the resume doesn't tell the whole story of a person. I enjoy uncovering who they are, their talents, strengths, and even pain points to help them build upon so that they can put their best foot forward—and watching them blossom.

Everybody deserves someone that believes in them. As a talent partner, I like to see myself as that person. My mom instilled the philosophy in me of always leaving people a little bit better than where they were before they met you. I take this work I do super seriously. It's like a ministry for me. That’s my favorite part.

What is it like to recruit for multiple companies?

All the companies that I work with are very different, but they are similar in that they're primarily startups. So, from a recruiting perspective, there's a lot of consulting and education. Some of the companies I work with have never hired, and it might be an international company's first US hire. There's a lot they don't know, and they look at me as the expert. It's not about only finding great talent, but understanding the culture, the needs of the company, and how I can make everything work together.

Some companies have hired before, but maybe they want to look at different ways of doing things because they don’t have established best practices. I create light bulb moments for them. When you're recruiting with Talent inTulsa, you're not just a recruiter. You're a consultant.

What are the most critical elements to consider when you're partnering with a candidate to help them land a job in Tulsa?

Number one. Are they ready to get another job? Sometimes they aren't, and a company is ready to hire now so it’s not a match. Number two. Do they have the skill set that's needed to get the job? And if they don't, what tools or resources can we provide to help to prepare them?

We have a lot of resources to offer them, and that makes us unique. We have people who can help them with job prep, creating, or revising a resume, amplifying their LinkedIn profile, and preparing for interviews. It's high touch and tailored to an individual.

What advice do you have for people who are early in their careers?

I would say network and put yourself out there. You must go for it. A lot of people early in their career have identified something they want to do and might be a little apprehensive or scared to go after it because they lack the experience, or they don't know how to get there.

Meet people on LinkedIn and if you see someone that's doing what you want to do, step outside of your comfort zone and reach out to them and ask to buy them a cup of coffee or if they can spare 15minutes to chat. Let them know you're interested in doing what they're doing in the future and ask them how they got there. You must be proactive. No one else is going to do it for you.  

What book are you currently reading, or would you recommend and why?

One book that I go back to all the time is the Four Agreements. I like it because it applies to how you handle things that happen personally. And it applies to how you respond to things professionally.

What do you love most about Tulsa?

It’s a lot different than Cincinnati, Ohio where I grew up. People in Tulsa are friendly. Even though I’m an introvert, it’s easy to make friends here. I love riding down Riverside Drive with my husband and other cyclists going in the opposite direction wave and say hello. It's just an easy place to live.

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