BEST OF: Going Beyond Local: How to Attract Out-of-State Talent

Your next great hire might not live in Ohio yet, and that doesn’t have to be a dead end. In this best of episode we sit down with Alex Connolly, director of Find Your Ohio at JobsOhio, to unpack a practical talent attraction strategy built for employers who have exhausted the local candidate pool, especially in technology, engineering, healthcare, and other STEM-heavy roles.

We get specific about how Find Your Ohio works: candidates come to the site to learn about working and living here, then submit one simple application that feeds a large resume database employers can search. Alex also explains the two paths for employers, self-service searching or hands-on help from her team to match candidates to your openings, which can be a game-changer when HR teams are strapped and the recruiting process feels like shouting into the void.

Then we dig into the message that helps Ohio compete nationally. It’s not only about a job. It’s about quality of life, cost of living, and how far a salary can go compared with high-cost markets. You’ll hear real outcomes, including match and interview rates, plus a story where an employer liked a candidate enough to create a new role. We also talk about common employer concerns, relocation realities, and why veteran and transitioning military talent can be a strong fit.

If you’re trying to grow a team in Findlay, Hancock County, or anywhere in Ohio, hit subscribe, share this with a hiring manager, and leave a review so more employers can find the tools that make hiring easier.

Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Transcript

Best-Of Context And Talent Crunch

Doug Jenkins 0:00

Hey everybody, before we get started with this week's episode, want to let you know it's a best of this week. Kind of a crazy week for scheduling. It always gets a little nuts this time of year with things around the Chamber of Commerce calendar, with our farmershare breakfast rally in the alley coming up and things like that. But this is a pertinent episode. I was just down at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce last week and a lot of discussion about uh what's going on to recruit talent to Ohio and keep talent in Ohio. And it got me to thinking about an interview that we did not too long ago, actually. In August of last year, we talked about Find Your Ohio with Alex Connley of Jobs Ohio to talk about the efforts that they're undertaking to bring people back to the state. The numbers when it comes to Ohio residents and the decline in residents kind of staggering when you look at them. Uh but we know with the jobs available here, that's an opportunity to get people to come back to the area. So we're going back to last August to revisit that episode and talk about the different things that Find Your Ohio does and how you can use them for your business to help staff up in some key market industries. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you again next week.

What Chamber Amplified Delivers

Doug Jenkins 1:25

Hello and welcome to the show. I'm Doug Jenkins from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. On each episode of Chamber Amplified, we're examining issues that impact the local business community. It can be really anything IT issues, employee recruitment, retention, marketing, you name it, we're covering it, all in an effort to build a stronger business community in Findlay and Hancock County. Our goal is to give the local business community tips each week on at least one way they can improve operations and thrive in the current business environment. We're talking about talent attraction this episode of Chamber Amplified. We talk a lot about that employee recruitment element here. This is kind of a different take on it. What do you do when you just can't find the people you need locally? Is there help? Well, yes. Alex Conley from Find Your Ohio will join us to talk about how Jobs Ohio is working to attract talent from out of state and how it's already helped businesses all around Ohio, including here in Hancock County. This is especially true in STEM-related fields and for larger hiring projects, but we're going to get into all the nuts and bolts of that throughout the show. So be sure to stay tuned for that. Again, if you enjoy what you hear here on Chamber Amplify, be sure to rate and review the podcast. I think you can do that on Apple Podcasts for sure. Maybe even Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts were available. And if you can review us there, that is a big help. Now let's get into it.

Alex Connolly And Find Your Ohio

Doug Jenkins 2:47

Joined on the podcast now by Alex Connolly. She is the director of Find Your Ohio for Jobs, Ohio. Alex, thanks for joining us today.

Alex Connolly 2:55

Thanks for having me. Excited to be here.

Doug Jenkins 2:57

So we'll get into all things Find Your Ohio in a second and how that can benefit area businesses looking for employees. But it's funny, I think I saw you talk, I don't know, was it last October, September, somewhere in that range? And then I was like, man, that'd be a great podcast topic. Then I didn't hear anything. All right, maybe it's not a good podcast topic. And uh no, you were quite busy in the interim. Uh congratulations on becoming a new mother.

Alex Connolly 3:23

Thank you. Yes, I know I felt so bad. I was, I think, very pregnant when you saw me last year. Um, I have since had a baby and she's doing great and come back. And, you know, we um it's been a big year for Find Your Ohio. So back at it.

Doug Jenkins 3:40

Yeah, absolutely. Well, again, congratulations. And uh, it does mean we appreciate this time uh all the much more, knowing everything that goes into work and life balance and everything in that time of life. So let's talk about Find Your Ohio.

One Application To Reach Employers

Doug Jenkins 3:54

Uh, this is a great tool for businesses to find employees and not necessarily drawing from the local area, but encouraging people to come to Ohio. How does the program work?

Alex Connolly 4:05

Sure. So, you know, as you mentioned, it is a national talent attraction program. So we are focused on proactively driving talent from across the country and then helping match them with Ohio organizations. And so, really, this was developed where we were we were seeing talent shortages in some areas of critical disciplines, um, specifically in the STEM areas, where there was a need, we're either not producing enough talent in that space, or there was just a need to go outside of the state to get additional talent to fill the needs of the employers. Um, and so really our focus has been primarily tech, engineering. Um, we launched healthcare last year. Um, and so what our goal is, is to take this out-of-state talent. Um, we drive them to the Find Your Ohio site where they can learn more about working and living in Ohio. Uh, from there, they submit one application. We try to make it as easy as possible. Um, once they submit that application, it is in our database, which is accessible by all of our employers. And then on the back end, we work with employers to get them set up on the program and they can access candidates one of two ways. So the first is um through self-service search. So we have a resume database. We have over 35,000 or yes, 35,000 active candidates right now. Yes, this year alone we've driven over 18,000 new candidates. So we have quite a robust database. Um, companies can conduct their own self-service search, they're provided a login, they can, you know, find candidates with keyword search, use our various tools to find individuals that match their openings. So that's the first way. Um the second way is we know that there is an added step when a candidate is applying to a general job application and then matching it to an employer-specific role. So we really help to bridge that gap, and my team will help match those candidates to those openings and refer candidates to those teams. Um, so we try to take some of the work. We know a lot of HR teams are strapped. Um, you know, it's it's been a tough year for recruitment. So we try to make it as easy as possible for companies. Um, and then we we make that connection and take a step back. So we let um the candidates and the employers kind of move through the typical interview process. And then we're there for support along the way if either you know the candidate and the employer need anything. Um and then we hope, you know, if all goes well, they they make a hire. And you know, I think one thing that is especially valuable with the this program is you know, anyone, especially nowadays if you're applying for a job, you might apply to 50 jobs. You are one of, you know, thousands of applicants, and you're just sending your resume into the board. You're like, is anyone seeing this? Am I putting in the right keywords in my resume? Like, I don't know what's going on. Um, and what's nice is we really try, especially if candidates have like they see a company in our site and they're like, wow, I'd really love to work for you know this company. We really get their resume to the top of the pile. You know, we are pushing them over and saying, like, hey, we have this candidate, they're interested. So they can rest assured that a person's actually seeing it, and um, we are trying to make those connections for them.

Doug Jenkins 7:22

That is a big part of the puzzle right there. There's a a lot of ground to cover. One of the things I like about it is it seems kind of like the flip side of the coin of we're trying to develop as many Steam majors and Steam people who people are trained in that, those disciplines as we can, but that's filling the pipeline. We have employers who need people right

Why Ohio Wins On Quality

Doug Jenkins 7:40

now, and this is a a big component of that. When it comes to the draw to Ohio, what are the things when you go out and it's like you said, you're advertising this and all across the nation, what are the things that you promote that say, hey, not only is there a good job here for you, but you want to be in Ohio, this is why.

Alex Connolly 7:58

Yeah, sure. And I will say too that, you know, we don't turn anyone away. So if there are Ohio candidates that make it into our database, we are helping them find a job as well. So we we certainly want to make sure we're helping everyone. But um, for those out-of-state candidates, really our strategy um when we've been going out in marketing is we've been looking at areas of the country where we see um an influx of those target roles, where there's you know a large group of, let's say, software developers, but maybe a much higher cost of living. And I think that's really where the Ohio value proposition is strongest, where you know, you can find a great opportunity here. We have companies doing such amazing work and really innovative things. Um, so you can build this great career, have all this opportunity. And hey, you can also, you know, have a great quality of life. You can afford to, you know, start a family, buy a home, um, which especially when we're looking at the coast, it's it's wild how much things cost. Um, and I'm not from Ohio, and you know, I just started a family here, so clearly I found my Ohio.

Doug Jenkins 9:05

You're practicing what you preach right there. Uh well, I mean, just like thinking from a software engineer standpoint, what does a software engineer's salary, how far does that go in Silicon Valley versus a Columbus or even a Findlay for that matter, where the cost of living is even a little bit lower. So that makes uh that makes a lot of sense

Match Rates And A Role Created

Doug Jenkins 9:23

there. Uh in terms of success stories uh in the businesses that you've been working with, where have you seen some big successes?

Alex Connolly 9:31

Yeah, so um, you know, we there there's so many candidates coming in. We obviously can't we can't unfortunately find jobs for every single person. We try our hardest, but you know, we were really proud in 2024. We ended the year, we sent over 1,200 candidate matches out to companies. Um, and 29% of those matches received interviews, and then 14% of those interviews led to actual offers. So, you know, we are seeing we're seeing the engagement from candidates, we're seeing the engagement from employers, which we're really excited about. Um I would also say, you know, something that a recent success story that comes to mind is we had a candidate, um, he was in San Antonio, we met him at an event, and he really wanted to get back to Ohio. And there's a company he was specifically interested in. They didn't have an open role that kind of matched his his background, but we were like, we were able to sell this guy, we're like, he's great. Like, look at his background, I think he'd be a great fit. We were able to get him an interview and they created a position for him. Um, and he's leading a team now and and able to transition back. So, you know, there's certainly, I think there's there's all these different tools now and automations, but there's also something to be said about, you know, why we have a very sophisticated tool that's doing AI matching and making your searches easier. You also have a team with Find Your Ohio who is like directly it is people calling people as well.

Doug Jenkins 11:02

That's yeah, that's kind of the point that I I wanted to reiterate is you know, we do everything online these days, and a lot of times it's more convenient to do it, but that person doing the work for you that can be a big advantage. When you talk to area companies uh who hop on board with this, what are their concerns when they first get started with the program and and how do you kind of walk them through that setup process?

Employer Concerns Time And Relocation

Alex Connolly 11:29

What are their concerns? That's a great question. Um, you know, I think some initial well, everyone's everyone's very skeptical until they find out that it's free. That's always a good they always like that. Um I think that there's so many different tools out there that I think sometimes, especially teams that are you know strapped and have so much on their plates, it's like, oh, one other one other tool I need to use and log into. And you know, we try to we try to make it as easy as possible. Employers don't need to post jobs, um, which saves them some time. I know that's come up before where it's like, well, I don't have time to post jobs another place and like screen the candidates that come in. So candidates just come through a general application, so there's no posting of jobs. Um, so there's you know, we can eliminate that concern. Um, you know, we do ask employers to like log into the database and and do their own searches. We encourage that. But teams that don't have time for that, you know, with if they opt in to receive support from our team, we can make it easier by sending them candidates if they give us the criteria. So I think the concerns are mainly just around bandwidth. Um and you know, I think some other things that come up too are around, well, I'm interested in out of state talent, but my company doesn't offer a relocation incentive or a relocation package. Um can we still use it? And what I tell them is yes. Obviously, it'll be easier for you, right, to stand out if you offer a relocation incentive, a relocation package. Um, but you know, I don't think that's an expectation of the candidates, and we don't tell them every company offers that. Uh companies have also gotten pretty creative with um, you know, sign-on bonuses or or other things to kind of help candidates with that move. Um and I know a big poll of the program, so we have a special emphasis on um attracting transitioning military members and veterans as well. Okay. And so uh for those interested in interested in that kind of population, the the veteran population, um, the first move out of the military is paid for by the military. So uh transitioning military members often, you know, they they're already getting that paid. So that kind of lessens the burden on employers too, if they're concerned about that relocation package or incentive.

Doug Jenkins 13:54

I didn't realize that was a uh um thing that they offered, but that's that's great to hear. Yeah, it does seem like that's something where uh maybe the company can't offer that relocation package. But speaking from a broader statewide standpoint, I think if a company works with their area economic development office or chamber of commerce or something like that, they they may not have a package available, but they might have incentives available at the local level to help move. Uh, for instance, in in Findlay and Hancock County, we have Findlay first. So if uh people are recruiting talent from out of the area, they can come in, we give them the tour of the town, very, very specific to what they're what their interests are and what's important to them. And while it, you know, it doesn't necessarily cover the cost of of the move, it probably makes that move a little less foreboding for anybody who's making looking to make that big of a jump. So I guess the piece of advice to anybody listening to the podcast is try and pair this with a local resource. And again, everybody has all the bandwidth taken that they they can right now or use that they can, but there's there's a I think a way to make that work by pairing up what you're doing with what some local agencies are doing too. So that's always uh I I think there's some some opportunities for people there. Uh so the first step, if uh if I have a company and I'm looking, I just I want to get in, maybe I'm not hiring right now. Uh, what do I need to do?

How To Join And Who Fits

Alex Connolly 15:14

So I always recommend um companies start with their local, their regional um uh our one of our regional network partners. So RDP uh in this region would be a great start just to make sure they have such a great to your point, local resources, regional resources. They have a full view into all of the different talent supports available just to make sure that there's nothing that's missed. And then if they feel like it's a fit for Find Your Ohio, they will refer you in. So right now it's all referral-based. Um we start with an introduction call just to kind of explain the program, um, answer any questions, and then again, just assess fit. Um companies that I would say are a good fit for the program right now are obviously open to out-of-state talent. Um, hiring professionals, STEM level roles. Um, I would say skilled trade and hourly positions are not a great fit since it is harder to relocate individuals for those types of positions. Um and then a focus on engineering, healthcare, or technology talent is also great. We don't turn anyone away, so we all have different types of talent, but I would say those are kind of the ideal. Um, so we have that introduction call, and then from there, we would set up, if we're we've all agreed to move forward, we'd set up an onboarding call to actually show them how to use the system. So get their login, walk them through how to do the candidate searches, um, and then they're good to go. So it's we try to make it as simple as possible. Typically, from that introduction call to actually getting their log into the system. I mean, we can get companies in within like a week.

Doug Jenkins 16:51

Oh wow.

Alex Connolly 16:52

Typically depending on schedules. So we try to make it very uh readily available and easy.

Doug Jenkins 16:57

Uh and then the last thing for it is obviously there are certain skill sets that are more amenable to the program, they're not like you illustrated. But as far as company size, seeing that it's a free program for area, I would imagine you work with companies of all sizes from mom and pop who needs an engineer all the way up to some of the bigger businesses in Ohio.

Alex Connolly 17:18

We do. It you know, companies of all different sizes, we work with really small organizations that might just have like one or two open roles at a time, two organizations hiring like hundreds of you know engineers. So it really runs the gamut. What I would say is um I think companies that see the most value are those that have um multiple openings for for one role. So for example, let's say they're hiring 10 electrical engineers instead of one. And the reason I say that is a lot of time if you have a single opening, you most likely are able to find somebody from your local talent pool to fit that opening, um, someone locally. And it might not make sense financially for you to go out of state and relocate someone. So I think where the program makes um the most sense for individuals or is the most beneficial, the companies that we're seeing the most benefit are the ones that are, you know, have like 10 and they're like, I've exhausted my local pool and I really need to look outward. Um I think that would probably be where we see the biggest benefit.

Doug Jenkins 18:26

All right, Alex, I appreciate your time today. It's a great benefit for employers all across the state. And uh hopefully we get some people from Findlay and Hancock County involved in that as well. Uh thanks for taking time out of your day. We'll talk to you later.

Alex Connolly 18:40

Of course. Thanks so much for having me, Doug. It's been great.

Doug Jenkins 18:43

One

Local Pipeline Plus Find Your Ohio

Doug Jenkins 18:44

key point that I want to go back to is while this is one tool to get employees, the idea is not to discourage local STEM candidates if that's what you're hiring for. Certainly, we want to hire as many locally people we can. But if you can't find people locally, this is a great resource. It's kind of two sides of the same coin. We're developing that pipeline of STEM candidates uh through our local schools and colleges, and they'll be coming into the workforce. But the way that things grow, you may not be able to fill completely locally, and this is just another example of how you can use a resource to help get those candidates to help your business. Well, that'll do it for this week's episode. Chamber Amplified is a free podcast for the community, thanks to the investment in members of the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. Because of our robust membership, we're able to focus on providing timely information to the Findla and Hancock County business community, run leadership programs for adults and teenagers, and be an advocate for the area. That's all while providing tools to help local businesses succeed. And if that sounds like something you'd like to be a part of, just let me know and we can talk about how an investment in the chamber helps strengthen the community. If you have any ideas for topics you'd like to hear covered on future episodes, just send me an email, D Jenkins at Findlay Hancock Chamber.com. Thanks again for listening, and we'll see you next time on Chamber Amplified from the Findlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce.