My guest on today's episode is Michael "Fritz" Fritzius, the Owner & CTO of Arch DevOps in STL. Fritz is in the process of developing a program that will help both recruiters and job seekers alike.
Key topics we cover:
✔️ Not shotgun-blasting your resume all over the globe
✔️ Congratulations: you're in sales
✔️ Being respectful of everyone's time during the job hunting process-- including your own
✔️ The folly of the "easy apply" button (and why you shouldn't use it on everything you see)
✔️ Building your own personal brand regardless of the industry you're in
✔️ It's "Frih-choose," not Frit-zee-us. Or Michael Fritos.
You can find Michael online at: https://archdevops.com/
And on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fritzops/
My guest on today's episode is Michael "Fritz" Fritzius, the Owner & CTO of Arch DevOps in STL. Fritz is in the process of developing a program that will help both recruiters and job seekers alike.
Key topics we cover:
✔️ Not shotgun-blasting your resume all over the globe
✔️ Congratulations: you're in sales
✔️ Being respectful of everyone's time during the job hunting process-- including your own
✔️ The folly of the "easy apply" button (and why you shouldn't use it on everything you see)
✔️ Building your own personal brand regardless of the industry you're in
✔️ It's "Frih-choose," not Frit-zee-us. Or Michael Fritos.
You can find Michael online at: https://archdevops.com/
And on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fritzops/
Welcome to the Causey Consulting podcast. This is Sara Causey, your host as well as the owner of Causey Consulting LLC, which you can always find online at CauseyConsultingLLC.com. Today I would like to welcome Michael Fritzius ("Frih-Choose") the founder and CTO at Arch DevOps in St. Louis. Fritz and his co-founder use technology, social media, process efficiency and good old-fashioned elbow grease to solve the challenges that keep companies from making or saving more money. They assemble teams of experts to create websites, form social media strategies, automate back end processes, build custom software, define testing practices and foster efficiency everywhere they can and along with that,
Unknown Speaker :they use their skills to solve really sticky problems within certain sectors, which leads us to what we'll talk about today. But before we get into all the sugar and spice, first and foremost, I want to say to Fritz, thank you for joining me today.
Unknown Speaker :Well, thank you very much for having me. It's always a pleasure to talk with you. About You. So yeah, good things. Oh, I would say good things about you.
Unknown Speaker :Oh, awesome. Well, I will warn the audience that this is not Fritz and I's first rodeo and where the conversation may take us over the next, you know, 15 to 20 minutes is anyone's guess. But we'll, we'll have a lot of fun along the way. I could guarantee Yes, we always do. And it's beyond my guess. Even I don't know where we're gonna go today. So, adventure, rock and roll. Yes. Excellent. Well, I'm excited to know more about a project that you have in the works and I know it's not all all the i's have not been dotted, all the t's have not been crossed yet
Unknown Speaker :but because this is a world that I come from myself, I'm really curious to know. Tell the listeners more about this staffing and job seeker type project that you've got in the works.
Unknown Speaker :Well, sure thing. So, I mean, first and foremost, the reason why it even has to do with staffing and recruiting is because recruiting is near and dear to my heart. I think.
Unknown Speaker :If my career turned out differently, I probably could have been a recruiter. I have just as many people tell me that I could be an awesome recruiter as I do that. Like I could be an awesome stand up comedian. Oh, yes, definitely. Yeah, definitely. You should be a standard comic. I'm like, that's, that's a 17th time I've heard that.
Unknown Speaker :So maybe I'll try it on the side. But, you know, if it hadn't been for certain recruiters in my career, I wouldn't be where I am today, and you know, hadn't been in it for now, over 12 years. I've just noticed that there's a lot of overburden overwork, a lot of wasted energy and
Unknown Speaker :You know, being a technologist, it's like, well,
Unknown Speaker :I think there's a way to streamline some of these different processes and still allow for most of the time to be spent building and nurturing, maintaining, turning relationships, you know, finding new people to build relationships to. And so, over the years, I've kind of, I guess, whittle around the edges,
Unknown Speaker :some ideas that have come up and said, You know, I think the technology's there now where we can make that a reality. And so I've just been kind of kicking the tires around and say, Okay, well, what if it's the combination of automated follow up for different candidates or different,
Unknown Speaker :different people, companies that are hiring those candidates to kind of touch base and make sure Hey, how are things going, keep the relationship going. But also with social media, have something that it's really easy for them to get their own personal
Unknown Speaker :brand out there and connect with the right target audience and just broad brushing wish everything everyone a message, right? So it's all about being efficient. It's all about saving time saving energy, saving headache, and having a higher chance to get the right person in the right job at the right time.
Unknown Speaker :Mmhmm. Gosh, that's really well said and and there are a lot of candidates especially when you think about like the easy Apply button that still take the shotgun blast approach as many people as can see my resume as possible. It just has to work. The love of statistics, the law of averages says that, if I just blast my resume out to the four corners of the globe, somebody somewhere is going to want to hire me. Right? Right. Yeah. How do you how do you help the job seeker to establish a personal brand and to get away from that shotgun blast approach?
Unknown Speaker :Well, I think the biggest thing is
Unknown Speaker :doing away with fear. You know, there's all kinds of things that you can do steps, you can take methods you can apply, but it's like at its core, you have to not be afraid to try new things. And I get it. I've been out of work before and it sucks. I mean, yeah, not only do you feel like, Oh, I'm a failure, I can provide for my family. You know, whatever it is, and you got that societal pressure weighing down on you. But now you have to do everything you can to find work and the kind of results and a lot of frantic, you know, on emotion and stuff. And it's like, well, we'll take a step back. What do you really want? I know you want a job, but
Unknown Speaker :what is it that you do? Who is hiring to the kind of thing that you do? And how can you be the most efficient? And we get people into that state of mind where they're like, Alright, okay, I'm cool. Let's think it through the sixth step. Okay, great. Now, here's a strategy for that and then go through and say, all right, well, let's apply some strategies that
Unknown Speaker :Almost like things you do in sales, right? Like doing lead generation? Well, it's in generating leads you're generating people that are likely to hire you for what you do you solve a particular problem,
Unknown Speaker :who's likely to hire that sort of thing? Because that company, what kind of sector in the kind of markets, that kind of thing, ask those questions.
Unknown Speaker :And then from there, you know, it's just a matter of connecting with the right people building the right relationships, giving them the information that they're going to need in order to make the decision that would ultimately result in them hiring you. And what then ends up doing is, it will, first of all, it will distinguish you from everybody else that's just spraying and praying the resume, just work.
Unknown Speaker :But it's also really showing a huge respect for everybody's time. Everybody's got 24 hours in the day that everybody else is putting a burden of Well, there's been three hours a day on this pile of resumes with people that aren't actually a good fit and you come along and
Unknown Speaker :Like, it only took a few minutes for me to really dig in and look at this person and they're a pretty good fit. That's gonna make you stand out. And it's very respectful of their time. So, you know, that's really, anytime somebody comes to me and they're like, I'm out of I'm out of a job. I haven't job search for like 27 years working at Chrysler for you know, ever and I is close to retirement. Oh, my goodness, attention. Oh, right. And then you tell me, right, like,
Unknown Speaker :let's stop. Okay. And let's be strategic. But it starts with removing that fear. I think I answered the question. Okay.
Unknown Speaker :Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes, that becoming strategic is really, really important. And it's a great segue into something else that I wanted to ask you. If someone as you mentioned, you know, let's say that they have worked at a company for a long time. It's been a while since they've had the job hunt. Or maybe they just can't bridge the gap mentally between
Unknown Speaker :Here's the job that I do, let's say maybe they're an engineer, and they just cannot bridge the gap between Well, I'm an engineer, but you're telling me I have to treat this job hunt like I'm a salesperson, I have to have a personal brand. What are some of the strategies or suggestions that you have for helping the candidate to really understand? Even if you're not in sales, even if you don't come from that world, and you're not applying for a job to be a salesman? How do you help them to understand why it's so important?
Unknown Speaker :I wish you'd sent me this in an email. This is a good question. I don't have time to think about it. So I actually have an answer.
Unknown Speaker :So my answer to that is even if you're not in a sales role, we're really all salespeople when it comes down to it, yes. Yeah, we may not be selling like Hey, I got this fingers for 10 bucks you want to buy for 10 bucks or so you think is
Unknown Speaker :one of the
Unknown Speaker :One of the best examples I give is like, you know, I've got four kids, I got four girls, every one of them as a salesperson. And I tell people that they're like, What? Oh, yes. How did they all get their deals? Yeah. Kids sell stuff all the time, Sarah, and I know, you know that. They'll come to you. And they're gonna they're gonna make a proposal. Hey, Daddy, can I watch TV? I'll be like, yeah, or I'll say no. I mean, if I feel like they did their chores, and they did everything else, all the other obligations and Okay, I'll let them try.
Unknown Speaker :Sometimes I'll say no, and sometimes they will push back on the objection. Right? Well, you know, it's like, do that sales, that is sales, they are trying to get you to do something, okay? They they're trying to convince you to do something. And in this case, if you're a job seeker, it doesn't matter what sector you're in. You're trying to convince somebody really to spend money on you. You're selling a service your goods in this case are
Unknown Speaker :Your services, your time, your expertise, and you want to trade that for money, right? Your salesperson. So whether you realize it or not, during sales we all are.
Unknown Speaker :Yes, I'm a sales person and Sara so are you.
Unknown Speaker :Yes. Amen. Preach, preach it.
Unknown Speaker :One of the reasons you know that I wanted to bring that up is because not long ago, I was talking to a prospect and he said, Well, my my business is accounting and finance related. I don't really when you're talking to me about sales copy and sales copywriting, I don't really understand why I need to worry about that. And my jaw hit the floor and I thought, Yeah, I don't I don't even really know where to go from here. Because for someone to be a business owner and say, Well, I'm not really in sales is so unfathomable to me, but I think we have to distill it down, which you just did beautifully
Unknown Speaker :even to the individual level, I mean, if you are out there looking for a new job and you want someone to give you an interview and check you out and give you the opportunity to check them out. Congratulations, you're in sales. Exactly. You know, I think another thing that kind of furthers that is
Unknown Speaker :so many people treat sales like oh, it's the S word. Like, it gives this idea like sleazy car salesman, like they're just a you know, they're trying to sell you something that's a lemon. And it's like, no, like, there are some some really unethical, bad crappy salespeople out there. But that doesn't mean sales itself is unethical, bad, crappy, right? There are a few bad actors. So sales isn't a dirty word. I can I can see it. I'm sure you're not going to censor it. sales. Right.
Unknown Speaker :Beep beep Exactly.
Unknown Speaker :It's not a bad thing. And until we remove that stigma, and somebody says okay, yeah, I can see myself
Unknown Speaker :treating this like I am a salesperson, I sell I'm selling a toy, then you kind of overcome that obstacle, but the vast majority of people aren't gonna overcome that obstacle. So that's another way that you can further distinguish yourself from the market. If you go out there and act like, Hey, I am trying to sell my services and everybody else like almost salesperson, well, then they're gonna have this mental block to doing certain things. I've actually work for a job search.
Unknown Speaker :Something else that you mentioned that I think is so important, and that I think people forget about especially when they are taking that very desperate shotgun blast approach to a job search is the respect that you have for everyone's time. And, you know, I don't want to throw a molotov cocktail into the mix here. But as you know, from discussions that we've had before I get so frustrated when I see people posting on LinkedIn as though a recruiter's time, an HR
Unknown Speaker :manager's time, a company's time is totally inconsequential. You know, if the candidate wants to show up three hours late, covered in cat hair, and with a Bozo the Clown wig on well, that should be fine. But you know, to hell with everybody else's time. I want to ask you from your perspective as you are assisting these job seekers with setting a personal brand and being more intentional with what they go out there and look for what what kind of ways can you encourage them to make sure that they are spending their time wisely and that they're also being respectful of their potential employers time as well?
Unknown Speaker :Well, I think it really comes down to treating people how you want to be treated, right. So Golden Rule always comes into play here. And what I mean by that is
Unknown Speaker :every person who is in a hiring position whether it's a an actual hiring manager at a company or it's
Unknown Speaker :recruiter looking to hire people for that company? They really care about their bottom line, right? And if you as a job seeker can't help their position, then they're not likely to help you. Okay? The best recruiters I know the reason why they reach out to me, or they're asking me, Hey, are you ready for a full time position? I'm not by the way.
Unknown Speaker :Never surrender!
Unknown Speaker :And the reason why they do that is because, hey, there's a skill set that this person has that we need, and we need to get them plugged in, right.
Unknown Speaker :As long as you're constantly positioning yourself as a way to help someone, then you'll get what you need. You'll get the help in return, okay? So you get to put yourself in their shoes.
Unknown Speaker :If the actions and patterns that you're doing are actually a hindrance, then you're not going to get the kind of help you need. So there's a lawn mower behind me....
Unknown Speaker :You're heard it here, live TV folks.
Unknown Speaker :Well, I know that this is still in the basic stages. But if someone is listening to this podcast and they're thinking I could really benefit from this when it drops I want to be a part of it, how best should they go about connecting with you or getting in the loop on this?
Unknown Speaker :Probably email me. So my email is fritz at archdevops.com. And if you're a recruiter or you're a job seeker, you know, both. Both things are something that this platform can help. But, you know, in the meantime, it is your turn. If you just need some advice or some guidance. I'm more than happy to share what
Unknown Speaker :I don't have an expected drop date for this thing like when it's gonna go live. We're sort of trying to figure out some deals and get the word out and you know, make sure this is something that's going to address a real need that in the recruiting and staffing space, but yeah, the meantime, if you need some guidance or whatever, I'm happy to share what I know.
Unknown Speaker :Awesome, awesome. So to crystallize it down to the if someone's sitting here like TL;DR, or they're trying to write some quick notes out. I think it would be fair to summarize by saying, you have to overcome fear, if you're out there and you know that you need to find another job you need to be willing to overcome the fear. You don't take the shotgun blast approach of slinging your resume out to every Indeed easy apply that you can possibly find and you want to be strategic, respectful of everyone's time including your own and and willing to build your own personal brand.
Unknown Speaker :That's about sums it up. We should have done this at the beginning and then the whole podcast within a second. Why don't you respect my time Sara Causey?
Unknown Speaker :Well, you know, I like you, you're you're my friend. So any excuse that I can get to talk to you and just shoot the breeze, I'm gonna take it. Guilty as charged.
Unknown Speaker :I'm glad and I'm not gonna I'm not gonna charge you for that. You will charge me for calling up and talking about slaughtering hogs and stuff. I won't talk about stuff that you probably know better than me about anyway.
Unknown Speaker :Oh, you heard it here folks. He did tell me about a "field trip" of hog butchering. So when I said this conversation could go in a myriad of directions. I was not kidding.
Unknown Speaker :We were and it was messy, too. But yeah. Ccharacter building.
Unknown Speaker :Well, so this is about to get slapped with the iTunes explicit warning. So I'm just gonna go ahead and
Unknown Speaker :steer the car back onto the road. As always, Fritz, it's been a pleasure. If you're listening to this, you take Fritz up on his offer to send him an email to ask questions. Please connect with him on LinkedIn. He knows his stuff and always post good content. Fritz, thank you again for being my guest today. I really do appreciate it. I appreciate your time today. Thank you for having me. This one. Yes, my pleasure.
Unknown Speaker :Again, today's guest was Michael Fritzius (otherwise known as Fritz), the Founder & CTO at Arch DevOps in St. Louis. If you know anyone who could benefit from listening to this, please be sure to share it. And if you haven't already, subscribe to this podcast and leave a review for us on iTunes. Goodbye for now. Transcribed by https://otter.ai