Pivoting with Purpose: Kim and Randy Weinstein on Mastering Career Transitions in Poultry Recruitment

Embarking on a new career journey? Let Kim and Randy Weinstein of Scramble Staffing guide you with their personal stories of transformation within the poultry industry. This dynamic couple not only transitioned into poultry recruitment from diverse backgrounds but also created a niche in connecting talent with opportunity. Their shared expertise and entrepreneurial spirit will inspire those considering a leap into new professional realms, offering practical advice on everything from crafting a standout resume to navigating the interview process.

This episode isn't just about the job hunt; it's about the art of the career pivot. We explore how to communicate effectively with potential employers and the subtle cues that can make or break an interview. Plus, the Weinstens share their approach to the delicate matter of salary negotiation, ensuring you walk away with the tools to advocate for the compensation you deserve. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the game, their insights on personalized recruitment will help you see why a tailored touch makes all the difference in landing your dream role.

But it's not all business strategies and job market analytics. The conversation takes a warm turn as we discuss the power of relationships in the recruitment process and how they transcend beyond just securing a position. Join us as we celebrate the courage it takes to pivot careers, the value of community support, and the long-lasting impact of choosing the right recruiter. If your professional journey feels like it's at a crossroads, this episode could be your compass to the next big opportunity.

https://scramblestaffing.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/scramblestaffing/
Kim@scramblestaffing.com
Randy@scramblestaffing.com
(614) 843-8171

Sponsored by Prism Controls

Hosted by Brandon Mulnix - Director of Commercial Accounts - Prism Controls
The Poultry Leadership Podcast is only possible because of its sponsor, Prism Controls
Find out more about them at www.prismcontrols.com

Transcript

Brandon Mulnix: 0:09

Welcome. Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Brandon Mulnix, and today I have a question for you. Are you thinking about a career change today? Are you sitting in an office, just not happy, not content in what you're doing? Do you wish you had another job but really don't know where to start? Did you ever wish you'd go back and check a different box at career day? I know I did. I've had those moments in my life. But the good news is I've invited Kim and Randy Weinstein from Scramble Staffing today to help answer some of these questions and I'm super excited to have them here so they can help you along the next steps of your career journey.

Brandon Mulnix: 1:04

Welcome, Kim and Randy, Hello, Hello. Well, guys, I am super excited to have you here and you know, with having two of you on, this is our first time we've had two guests all on at the same time, so listeners be patient with us. We're figuring this out and I'm sure Kim and Randy, since they work together, they're used to communicating well. But let's start off with Kim. Kim, show the audience a little bit about where you're from and your background and kind of how you got to where you are today.

Kim Weinstein: 1:32

Sure. So I have been in recruitment for 25 years. I started out believe it or not in the medical industry and then went on to finance and ended up in poultry. I used to be the director of account acquisition with Rose Acre Farms and things changed and ended up starting my business on my own and basically wanted to focus on poultry, since I knew poultry so well. And that is what I do. I focus 100% on poultry.

Brandon Mulnix: 2:05

Wow, that's excellent. I mean you definitely have a lot of experience and I'm going to consider you the subject matter expert on recruiting. Even with the vast variety. I'm sure you're able to tie all that together, and now that you're able to focus just on poultry with your connections, it's got to be an easy job.

Kim Weinstein: 2:22

Not that easy.

Brandon Mulnix: 2:25

All right, Randy, with her expertise of the room. What's your journey like and how'd you get?

Randy Weinstein: 2:30

to where you are today. Yeah, my journey was quite different. I spent about 30 years in transportation and logistics and before I met Kim, I knew that I liked my eggs over easy and my chicken legs fried. That was about all I knew about poultry. So we bring kind of bring a little different view to the recruiting world. But it has been. It has been a wonderful journey since we started and we're loving what we do right now.

Brandon Mulnix: 2:57

That's awesome. So what is Scramble Staffing? I guess how long you've been around and tell me a little bit more.

Randy Weinstein: 3:03

Well, scramble started at the time. Kim had mentioned she was looking for an opportunity, she had moved on and we kind of discussed what some options were. And you know I can remember telling her you know so much about the industry, you know so many people, why don't you? You know, you have the experience in recruiting, why don't you? Let's start an LLC and we can get you going on your own. So after a couple of months of discussion she finally said yeah, let's do it, let's pull the trigger. So we started the LLC. She got up and running.

Randy Weinstein: 3:35

I was still working for a large logistics organization and she had. After about two months she came to me and she said I'm going to need some help. And I said, well, this is wonderful, we'll go find you some help. This is what you want Start a business and grow the business. And she goes no, you don't understand. I need you to quit your job and come do this with me. And I kind of looked at her and I said let's sleep on that for a minute. I've got a good job we're doing fine. Let's get this thing up and running. She goes no, no, no, we got to do this. So we slept on it and I woke up the next morning and resigned and I started to scramble staffing. We said what are we going to do? It was Kim Lopperman's recruiting, I think, when we first started, and it soon became Kim Weinstein, and then we came up with a name and it was just sitting around one day. You know what, what, what in the scrambled eggs.

Randy Weinstein: 4:25

And I said, how about scramble staffing? And she goes oh my gosh. And I said, wow, wouldn't that be, wouldn't that be cool if the name was? And I said, cause, that's all we're going to do. We're going to focus on poultry, we're not getting into anything else. I'm not going to go recruit for the transportation industry. I'm not going to go recruit for nurses, we're not going to go recruit for anything else. We're going to focus on what we know, and at the time it was what she knew. So I kind of took on the role of helping get everything set up behind the scenes and she took on the role of growing the business and the customers in Canada. And that was how Scramble Staffing came around. And we're into our fourth year and things have gone well. We have made some tremendous contacts and just wonderful people out there. Clients and candidates are truly enjoyable to work with.

Brandon Mulnix: 5:15

Kim, what was it like? I mean, what was your decision point to say, hey, randy, quit your job and come work with me. I mean that says a lot for him as a husband and now a partner in the business.

Kim Weinstein: 5:27

Yes, he took a giant leap of faith. I handled more of the recruitment end of it. I deal with candidates and clients as well, but the backend, business end of it coming from where he was at and knowing business in general, I needed someone to focus on that. I enjoyed dealing with the candidates and clients, not so much the other end of it, which he loves. So, together between the two of us, he handles that and I handle candidates and clients and it works wonderful.

Brandon Mulnix: 6:02

Well, I can say you do a great job from just the interactions that I've had with you over the last couple of years, as we've gotten to know and help work together to try to fill some of the positions that we've had. So you guys do a pretty good job. You're definitely the face of the business and he's doing a pretty good job running the business so good job, thank you.

Brandon Mulnix: 6:24

All right. Well, our listeners are at a point where you know they may be asking how do I do a career change? How do I even look into it? I mean it's, is there commitment, is there all these things? And I'm just probably scared. So what's my first step if I'm looking for a career change in the poultry industry?

Kim Weinstein: 6:44

First and foremost, do your research. If you're going to be making a career change, why do you want to make a career change? Is it for money? Is it for that you don't like what you're doing? Maybe you have a degree in poultry science and you've decided well, you know, I don't like working with the birds. Well, that's not a very good thing. But if you have a degree in poultry science, there are so many different opportunities within our industry that you can fall into. Whether it be quality assurance, compliance, sales, there's so many different things that you can do that don't necessarily have you working with the birds. So, first and foremost, the biggest thing you need to do is do your research to decide right pros and cons for every different type of job that you can think of that you would be interested in doing. That's my first advice to anyone who's looking for a career change. How?

Randy Weinstein: 7:44

about you, randy, use that word very broadly. It's not formal education, it's not necessarily college education, but it's educating yourself on the role that you're after. If it's advancement, then you have to put yourself out there and let it be known that you're interested in advancement, whatever that may be. If it's a total change in role and function, that's one of the hardest things to do in business. In a career is go into a role that you know very little or, in some cases, nothing about. I don't like going from tractor, trailers and trucks to recruiting. There's a challenge and you have to educate yourself. You have to learn about that industry. You have to learn about that role. It's not going to be handed to you. You're going to have to go out and do the legwork.

Brandon Mulnix: 8:35

Listeners, if you're sitting here listening, like me, we're stuck at that first question of what's my first step. I think Kim and Randy hit the nail on the head with why. First, I look back at my career and I remember, after 20 years of being a paramedic and that career just didn't seem like it had a good ending for me. And just that first step was figuring out why I ended up seeing a counselor and just going through and just diving into that. Why? Because the grass is always greener on the other side.

Brandon Mulnix: 9:10

But is it going to make you happy? Is it going to fulfill the needs that you're looking for, whether that's to make a better life for your family or more prestige, maybe a better lifestyle for you? Those are the questions that you have to really truly have an understanding for, because otherwise to me I think you're just career jumping and trying to figure and maybe, if you don't really understand why, you're going to keep missing the point of as to where you're going to go. So thank you, kim and Randy, that was really solid advice. So I remember going back and I had all the high school classes in the world and I was advanced English, but I couldn't even really fill out or make a resume. Is that common for you guys to be talking with folks and realize that the resume is probably one of the biggest things that they're struggling with right at the start of this?

Kim Weinstein: 10:01

Yes, absolutely Most of us. That's a very good question, and I say this all the time. That's a very good question and I say this all the time. I personally couldn't go in and take care of a computer system with chickens. That's not my forte, and a lot of times, people don't know how to put a resume together, which is what we do every day. Bottom line is keep it simple, and I think people forget about this.

Kim Weinstein: 10:34

The resume gets your foot in the door. It is not doing anything other than that and, that being said, you need to have pertinent information keywords. What are you doing? Are you working with PLC? Are you working with robotics? And I'm talking on the greater side? Are you doing different things along those lines? If you are dealing with the birds, what type of birds are you dealing with? How many birds have you dealt with? Are they caged or cage-free? Those are key words that you need to have on there. That's going to get your foot in the door to have an interview door to have an interview. Then, after that, it's up to you to go into more detail about what it is exactly that you do. Simplify it. That's the best advice I can do or give, excuse me is to simplify it and don't add unnecessary information. What do you mean?

Randy Weinstein: 11:27

Yeah, and you know the resume is. Resume is your first shot and sometimes it's it's your first and only shot to make an impression. I mean, over over my career I'd bet I've looked at over 20,000 resumes easily. And when you're looking at resume after resume after resume, you you're scanning, you're looking at them very quickly. So you you want to see the resumes that that stand out, that are easy to read, that are precise Bullet points, bullet points and have all the words spelled correctly. There's nothing that moves you into the yeah, no pile than a bunch of misspelled words or bad punctuation or sentence structure. Look in the mirror. If you're happy with what you see in the mirror, it's okay to go outside. Look at your resume. If you look at that resume and you see mistakes, that's what you're presenting to a potential employer is mistakes.

Brandon Mulnix: 12:22

And so now, in a world where there's job sites monstercom or even LinkedIn you can submit your resume, or you know, there's so many different. You know advertisements for jobs, you know what makes. You know let's talk about scramble staffing a little bit and how you guys bring value to the career navigation process. That's, you know, different than one of these job sites.

Randy Weinstein: 12:47

I'm going to let you handle that one, sure it's. It's the personal side, it's the. You know we will work with a candidate If we see a resume that catches our attention and realize a career builder or a monstercom, that's just a giant in basket for resumes. Somebody still has to go through those, vet them, look at them, read them, categorize them, see if they make sense and then start making contact with the candidate. And I think what we do well as an organization is we dig deep into that candidate. We try to peel the layers back, not just tell us why you want the job, but we'll ask three or four times. We'll ask why four or five times to find out what's really motivating that candidate. And then we'll help that candidate put that into a package that they can present to a potential client.

Randy Weinstein: 13:35

We want the candidate to present themselves at the best way they can. You know we want that candidate to come across as knowledgeable, confident, polished and ready to take on a challenge. So that's what you. You know you're not going to get that from career builders. Career builders are not going to give you one-on-one attention. And Jim and I do it together. You know Jim will talk to a client or a candidate, I'm sorry, jim will talk to a candidate about certain things in the industry and I may talk to them about their leaderships, and then we help give that candidate an outline of how to present themselves to a client.

Brandon Mulnix: 14:10

Very cool. I get my resume all wrapped up and it's all tied with a pretty bow, and how do I get it out to those folks? That gets me to that next step, that interview step.

Kim Weinstein: 14:21

That's where I step in. Call Cam Right, call me. We have quite a few clients throughout the United States and I deal with owners and upper you know CEOs, upper level employees, and so therefore, if I have a candidate, let's just say you, for example, I have a candidate that's looking for something. I will personally reach out to the various companies and say I've got this great candidate. This is what the skills that they have, would you be interested in someone like this?

Kim Weinstein: 15:00

And because things are very, very confidential, especially in our industry because it is it's a big industry but it's a very, very small industry I am very, very careful about not giving names out and I don't just send out resumes. I will reach out to a specific company and say, hey, I've got this candidate, would you be interested? And if they say yes, then I turn around and speak to the candidate and say I have this client of mine that would be interested in you. Is it all right if I send your resume and my interview notes to them? And if they say yes, then I do it. But again, it is very confidential. So, and the client knows as well that it's between the two of us. That's it. It doesn't go. You don't go speaking to the candidate's employer that, hey, they're looking for a job. Everything is very, very unconfidential.

Brandon Mulnix: 15:56

That's important. I know that if I was looking for a job or just playing the water, so to speak and the last thing I would probably want to do is upset the apple cart of where I'm at until the time was right, yeah, and hopefully I've dealt with the issues at my current place of employment first and figured out the why and what opportunities I have with my current employer before going to start to shop around. But the idea is there are people that are shopping around and looking for the opportunity to advance their career, so that confidentiality is really big, really, really important there. So help me prepare for an interview.

Randy Weinstein: 16:34

It's interesting that you brought up that a candidate is surfing. There have been many times where a candidate will contact us and say you know, I'm just not happy, something's not happening or something's supposed to happen that didn't and I really want to leave. Well, we dig a little deep into why do you want to leave and in some cases we've been able to turn that potential candidate around and say, look, you probably need to stay where you're at and let us give you some pointers on how you can go back and speak with your manager or with your coworker or with a peer and it's not always for us that sounds a little counterintuitive. Man, you just had somebody you could have placed somewhere. Now. I'd much rather help that individual. We would much rather help that individual be happy where they're at, happy in their career, than to just look at an opportunity to grab a potential candidate, because if we don't understand why they're unhappy in their current role, it's not going to help us if we place somebody in the next role.

Brandon Mulnix: 17:33

Well, that speaks volumes to your company's character as to you're willing to help somebody, because you guys are in the business of placing folks and that's how you get compensated. And so for somebody that sticks around, the value may come down the road when maybe they need somebody they're a hiring manager and they're looking for somebody or the fact that maybe it doesn't work out, but they trust you and they're immediately coming back after they've worked through those issues and you guys can help place them somewhere else. That speaks volumes to your guys' character.

Randy Weinstein: 18:07

And on the other side of that coin, we do it with our clients as well. I can't tell you how many. With our clients, we have said let us help you with retention so you don't have to spend as much on recruiting. You know, the more time you know we find, the more time companies spend on retaining their leads and finding ways to, you know, to create a better culture. That means you're going to spend a little on trying to replace employees.

Brandon Mulnix: 18:32

I'm happy to help replace employees, but ultimately I want our clients and our candidates to be satisfied with each other and to really have a good cultural fit, financial fit, style of life, value of life fit that is again solid on your character and provides you great opportunities in the future of hey Scramble Staffing helped us change the culture and help with retention, but we still are growing because of that positive change in our culture. Hey, can you guys help us now build those roles? So that's a great value to have as a company. Thank you for sharing that. That's hard to. A lot of folks probably wouldn't even know that companies like you exist. For that reason, so awesome. So part of the process is you know, as you're preparing me for that next role is interviews, or how would you help me prepare for that first?

Kim Weinstein: 19:24

It all boils down to just being yourself. I think a lot of times, people it's human nature you're nervous, but the reality is is you're just having a conversation with someone and if you've got to the interview stage, you obviously know your stuff. I mean, that's the best way to put it you know your stuff. So just talk about what you know and just be yourself. That's the best advice I can give you. Just be yourself, don't be afraid. And if you don't know the answer, don't pretend like you know the answer. Come out and say you know what I don't know or I'm willing to learn. That's a big one. I'm willing to learn. I don't know how to do that, but I am definitely interested in learning. Just don't pretend that you know it when you don't. That to do that, but I am definitely interested in learning. Just don't pretend that you know it when you don't. That's the worst possible thing you could do.

Brandon Mulnix: 20:17

That's great advice.

Randy Weinstein: 20:18

And I think, like Kim, it's echo, kim it's. Know your material, know what you're going, know what you're comfortable talking about. Practice it, practice, practice, practice Interviewing skills. You know they don't come naturally. You can't sit down and go. We've all been there, we've all been nervous, we've all broken out in a sweat. We only had thrown a curveball question and maybe we're sitting in a group of six people. We only expected to be sitting in a room of one, so our balance is thrown off.

Randy Weinstein: 20:43

Sometimes that's on purpose. They want to see how a person's going to react in a stressful situation. There's nothing wrong with saying I don't know the answer or I don't have experience with that type of issue. Know your material, practice your interview skills and if you think you need help, find a way to reach out to somebody, reach out to you. Know we offer that once we're engaged with a candidate, we'll run them through a mock interview. Right, but you know, to somebody that isn't working with a recruiter, find a peer, find a friend, find a parent that'll say, hey, put me through a mock interview real quick, I'm going for a new position and I have an interview. So practice and know you're mature In that preparation?

Brandon Mulnix: 21:27

do you find helping or guiding the interviewee with questions to ask the company he or she is applying to? I find, as the interviewer, a lot of times I don't get asked a lot of questions, and so is that part of the preparation.

Kim Weinstein: 21:43

You should always have questions. You should do your due diligence on the company just as they are doing it on you, your due diligence on the company, just as they are doing it on you. You need to know specific things about a company that you're interviewing with. Here's a question why did the previous employee leave? That's a big one. You want to know why they left. Maybe they decided to move on to bigger and better things, or there's a problem within the organization. You don't know, and hopefully the client will be candid with you on why they left. And then the other question that I always like the candidates to ask is what are you looking for from a potential employee? What is it that? If you could have three bullet points, the three most important things that you're looking for in a candidate, what are they? And hopefully they will answer them. You always wanna have questions to ask your interviewer.

Randy Weinstein: 22:44

Yeah, and I think I think, going to the question, can we help? Can we help candidates with some of those questions? Absolutely, you know, we understand one of the things. I think one of the benefits that we bring is we understand the industry, we understand the position. We have had our feet on the ground on farms and we have walked around and all of people in these positions on purpose. We want to get to know, we want to get to know the client, we want to get to know the culture, we want to get to know the personalities, we want to get to know the job demands so that when it comes time to working with that candidate, we can let them know. Here's what you're going to be faced with. You're going to have five barns to manage and there's a million birds per barn and that's a 24-hour operation. And here are some questions you may want to ask. You may want to ask how soon before they go cage-free or what challenges have you had in going cage? So certainly we can provide, and often provide, some direction with our candidates.

Brandon Mulnix: 23:41

It's interesting because I go back to my last interview and I remember the board interview, where there was a group of folks and I ended up asking all the questions to them. It was like I asked what was the vision for this position? Where do they see this position in the next five to 10 years and what are some of the biggest challenges the company's facing? And between those two questions, next thing I know is, hey, their time's taken and I moved on and thumbs up to me as the candidate.

Brandon Mulnix: 24:09

It is one of the things that I've as I meet with folks and encourage them to ask those type of questions that allow you to have vision down the road. And it's not just getting hired, but what does it look like in a few years and what are the challenges that I'm going to be solving when you bring me on, what are my biggest challenges to help you solve? I think it leaves a pretty good taste in the interviewer's mouth, so to speak, of you as a candidate Really good impression. Here's an opportunity for you guys to kind of share what some of the most common mistakes people make.

Kim Weinstein: 24:42

Resume. To me it's resume, like what we talked about earlier. That's a big one.

Randy Weinstein: 24:47

Resume and research. Right, yeah, know the company you're going to work for. Do something simple, it doesn't take too long. I mean, you name a company and I'll let them know. You know, within an hour. I'll tell you how many employees they have. I'll tell you where they started. I'll tell you how it's owned. I'll tell you whether it's a publicly traded company, what their stock price is, what you know there's so many ways to find out about a company that is a potential you know hiring company for you. So we find that, in our opinion, and maybe it just is a thing that they're just not prepared, not preparing yourself, you think you're going to show up to a simple interview where there's just going to be a few questions why did you leave your last job? What are you looking for? What do you want? What do you want in salary? And hiring companies are a lot more savvy than that. They want to see that you've taken the time to invest in your knowledge and then come prepared.

Kim Weinstein: 25:37

And communication. Communication is very important.

Randy Weinstein: 25:41

And that is much on the client side. Yes, we run into the same issue. This is not all candidate driven. We run into the same issues occasionally from clients. We want our clients to do their due diligence and we are there to help them in any way we can. But the reality is when somebody's looking for a job, most of the time they're looking for a job. If we drag our feet or if we take our time or if we don't communicate effectively on either end, then that opportunity is going to pass us, whether it be the client side or the candidate. Great.

Brandon Mulnix: 26:11

Yeah, that's being on the client side and trying to navigate as you're not having a good plan of, okay, when are we hiring, or how are we hiring, or what is our process for hiring.

Brandon Mulnix: 26:23

That can definitely discourage folks if you're making them jump through a bunch of hoops that you don't even really have a purposeful.

Brandon Mulnix: 26:29

That seems to happen at a lot of companies.

Brandon Mulnix: 26:31

I know we have a full day interview for a lot of our folks, but that's purposeful.

Brandon Mulnix: 26:35

We have very, very good plans and good reasons for that, based on the type of position they're in, and not every position has that same plan. They're forward facing, you know, where we expect them to be able to work on their own and do their own things. They're going to have to be able to present probably their ideas or what they've learned throughout the day back to a panel, just so we can know that they can think on their feet and adjust to those things. And that comes from my experience as well as some of our other folks that have come from outside jobs of kind of what worked for you know what we liked about different hiring processes that we've been through, and I think it's a good two-way interview One if they the more time they spend here. They're going to get to hear the scuttle you know and how you treat people and and they're going to interact with more people. Plus, you get that many more voices on okay is this person really fit our culture?

Kim Weinstein: 27:32

And I'm sure it's different based on the position that they're hiring for. I was waiting for you to say you know they show up in a tuxedo to a interview on a farm. Yeah, and that's. And that is where that is where my job comes in is that I always find you when you're talking about the culture of the company. Every company is a little bit different and, believe it or not, some, some of them, when you're going into corporate, they want you dressed a certain way. Obviously, if you're going into a farm, you're not going to be going with a suit and tie, but if you're going into corporate, you know it's business casual.

Kim Weinstein: 28:00

And here's this is a funny story and I can tell you one of the best advice I can give for someone when you're going to a face-to-face interview with a company clean your fingernails. I know that is so funny. I'm telling you the truth, especially in our industry, because we are dealing we're dealing with chickens and sometimes your hands get dirty. But when you're going into an interview, if your nails are not clean and cut it immediately, it doesn't matter how experienced you are, how good you are, it's off-putting and they're not interested anymore. I've had that happen. That's one of my fights.

Brandon Mulnix: 28:44

And it's such a nonverbal that they're never going to tell you we didn't hire you because you didn't cut your fingernail Right. But it's a fact that people make judgments.

Kim Weinstein: 28:54

They told me, people make judgments.

Brandon Mulnix: 28:58

Yeah, people make judgments based on how you look, how you dress, how you talk and it's all nonverbals. And you know, I'm glad that you're willing to sit and prepare folks for those interview processes because it doesn't seem natural you could be working at the same job for 10 to 15 years and the whole interview process changes in that time. And whether you got in the job, you know. You know, started at the farm where you went to the farm probably a family member of the farmer that started. You know that's how you got your job. But as the company grew, now you're dealing with HR from outside when you're trying to get that next role or hire into the next company. Absolutely Very important there. Okay, randy, I think you mentioned this and it's being prepared for the tough questions that you. But one of the questions that's always interesting is around compensation. What if I like the company and the initial offer they give me is not going to work for me? How do I handle that?

Kim Weinstein: 29:50

That's just something right now as far as we know.

Randy Weinstein: 29:53

Yeah, I think on the front end we take some of that away. We're not going to let you walk into an interview where there is a vast disconnect on compensation. We're going to find that out on the front end from both our candidate and our client. Our client obviously has a range that they're looking to stay within and our candidate has a range that they want to land in. There have been many times where we find out those two ranges are not compatible. They don't overlap.

Randy Weinstein: 30:20

There are some times when we have to take an overqualified candidate to a client and say, look, this is somebody you really need to look at, even though they're outside your desired pay rate. And there's been times when we have to talk to a candidate and say your expectation is a little unrealistic for this role. But let's talk about some of the other things that may come along with that compensation. And clients are getting very creative these days on things that they can offer their employees. You know different bonuses, different perks, company cards. You know different forms of time off more time off more family time.

Randy Weinstein: 30:53

So there's a lot of things that are being done that kind of get rolled all up into that whole compensation package. It's not simply the base salary If a person is in it. I would say if a person is not working with a recruiter, then they really need to do some homework on what the average pay band is for somebody with their amount of experience if they're looking for a position, If they're working with us, we're going to have that and we share that often with our clients. We share information. Here's what we're seeing on these positions we negotiate for them.

Kim Weinstein: 31:26

It's not like they're having to go back and forth with the client on what the salary is. That's our job and our client knows from the get-go what the expectations of the candidate is there's no surprises.

Randy Weinstein: 31:41

We don't want there to be a surprise when it comes to compensation at the time of an interview.

Brandon Mulnix: 31:47

Oh, that sounds very fair, because that is probably the toughest discussion I've ever had is around compensation, and it's the elephant in the room conversation, but it's absolutely important.

Brandon Mulnix: 32:01

The last two roles that I've had, I didn't have anybody negotiating for me, but I also learned you got to ask.

Brandon Mulnix: 32:07

I mean, you got to ask for what you want, otherwise you're going to, you might get that job and you still aren't happy. So even you know you have to be your best advocate and understand the compensation, as you mentioned and and I've seen it as we've worked with folks as understanding what their needs are and and how to compensate them accordingly, because if you don't compensate them, there probably is a good chance that somebody else out there will, and you don't want to invest all that time and money into them when all it was was just you might've been off just a little bit and that little bit would have made a big difference in keeping them satisfied as an employee and just help invest back into them, because that's what's fair. So great, great. Thank you for taking me down that journey and solving that problem for me. What am I missing? I mean what questions or what things that you really want to share with our listeners is just to help them in their journey.

Randy Weinstein: 32:55

I think it's kind of talking to two different audiences. We're talking to clients and we're talking to candidates. I'll take the client side. You take the candidates, the client side. You know when you partner with, when you partner with Scramble Staffing I'm not going to say when you partner with a recruiter, when you partner with Scramble Staffing. That's really how we look at the relationship. We're going to be partnered and we're going to let the client decide how much of a partner you want us to be in this process.

Randy Weinstein: 33:21

We're here to help streamline your process. We want to shorten the hiring cycle for you. We want to make sure we give you nothing but the best candidates that have been vetted, that we know they meet the needs of the position as you've spelled it out to us. Let's face it if you're a company looking to fill a position, you're paying every single day for that position to be vacant. There's a cost to some C2 plans. Somebody is having to do the role. The role is not being done. You know there's real dollars at stake for every day that goes by that you don't fill that role. Our job is to help shorten that time. We're experts at it. We know the industry, we know it left and right. We're going to find you the best people in the shortest amount of time.

Kim Weinstein: 34:07

And, from a candidate standpoint, I or we, I should say hold your hand from start to finish. We are there, making sure that everything from your resume to when you get to the face-to-face interview, we're there and negotiation and it's follow-up. We don't just pass off resumes and say, okay, now you're on your own, I'm there. I mean, we have people who are there to talk to you, to talk about different things, about the interview process.

Randy Weinstein: 34:42

And we circle back. We circle back with both the client and the candidate. 60, 90 days later we check with that client How's everything going? Is everything going well? And nothing makes us feel more successful than when a client goes. Wow, we couldn't be happier. And same with the candidate. And same with the candidate.

Kim Weinstein: 34:58

Yeah, and we have relationships with all of our candidates that we've placed. It's not like you get hired and then it's okay, goodbye, it's still keeping contact.

Randy Weinstein: 35:12

Even here it was like the never-ending yeah we have candidates that called us from three years ago and said, wow, I'm loving this job. Do you mind if I send you some book? I've got a brother-in-law. I have a best friend out in Iowa that wants to get to California. We take those relationships on both sides, client and client.

Brandon Mulnix: 35:32

Well, I didn't even know there were recruiters within this industry until I met you guys, and now I realize that I think you're still the only recruiter that I know in this industry.

Kim Weinstein: 35:42

Don't forget that.

Brandon Mulnix: 35:45

No, I've seen cards for some other ones out there at the trade shows and things, but you guys definitely have a personal touch. That's inspiring. Thank you, kim. I'll start with you. You've had your own journey to get where you are today. What's one of the biggest obstacles or challenges that you faced, and how did you overcome that?

Kim Weinstein: 36:06

From recruiting. I think it's changed so much over the years. Originally, when I first started in the industry, it was finding candidates. That's basically what it was cold calling. It's like the old sales thing you're cold calling. Now I don't do cold calling, but the biggest challenge now would be for me is to finding the fit between the candidate and the company. That's the biggest challenge, I would say, because every company is different and what a large company might want is not the same thing that the small company wants, and it's finding the match between both of them and that's what my biggest challenge, I would say, is as far as that goes.

Randy Weinstein: 37:02

Okay.

Brandon Mulnix: 37:03

And Randy.

Randy Weinstein: 37:04

Well, my biggest was making the switch. It was waking up that morning and saying I'm going to leave a career. I'm going to leave a 30-year career.

Kim Weinstein: 37:13

I'm getting into the chicken industry and I'm getting into the chicken business and to this day.

Randy Weinstein: 37:18

I still, you know, when I tell people, people go, what do you do? I say, well, we recruit for the poultry industry and they go chickens, yeah, chickens. But making that switch, I think you know, from being, you know, being an employee to owning a business was a giant step for me. It took a lot, I don't know, it took a year before I felt comfortable not going into an office every. You know, working from a whole different work setup was a challenge, but it's one that you know I'll never regret it.

Brandon Mulnix: 37:48

It's been worth every minute, and the fact that you get to work side by side with Kim. That can't be too bad, that's another podcast podcast Nice, nice, all right.

Brandon Mulnix: 38:00

Well, you know I appreciate your guys' time today. It really it means a lot watching the two of you work together to help others in this industry, help others navigate this, this scary place where they're making a big decision to change a career, and it's just super thankful for you guys and sharing your message with us today. Is there anything else that you want? You just can't get off this podcast without making sure that our listeners know.

Kim Weinstein: 38:30

Reach out to us. I mean, even if you're not ready now to you know, it's always a good idea, just to let. How do I want to say it?

Randy Weinstein: 38:46

I think it goes back to communication. You know we rely heavily on network and a lot of times our networking, we network with folks that one we will never place in a position and two we will never hire, but they're essential to our network. You know we spend a lot of time talking to people that we'll never be business with, but they're integral to our network. You know we spend a lot of time talking to people that we'll never be business with, but they're integral to our business. Yeah, like relationships, don't be afraid to reach out and say you know, I heard you guys on, I heard you guys on Brandon's podcast. Can you talk to me? Either one of us will jump the phone to be the first one to talk to you.

Kim Weinstein: 39:14

Yeah, I'm a recruiter. I like to talk.

Brandon Mulnix: 39:18

And how do they contact you?

Kim Weinstein: 39:20

Well, they can get Kim at LinkedIn. Linkedin LinkedIn, either one of our profiles. They can text me. Phone number is 614-843-8171. They can go to our website Website ScrambleStaffingcom.

Randy Weinstein: 39:36

Or just Randy at Scramble Staffing, kim at Scramble Staffing or Jamie at Scramble Staffing. We have added a person, j-a-m-i-e. Jamie at Scramble Staffing, pretty simple.

Brandon Mulnix: 39:47

I'll make sure that I have your contact information in the show notes so that our listeners can easily find you and reach out and connect with you and know that I'm not making a commission off this. I'm just going to be glad to know that I connected you with Kim and Randy. I've had the pleasure of referring someone to them and seeing that his career take off with a new company, and so I know that it works and I know that if I were to need to make a change or want to make a change, these guys would be the first persons I call Scramble Staffing, just because of the fact that they're connected in the industry. They know about jobs that you and I are not going to find on our own because of the networking that they have, and they also know the great companies that they would want to support and make sure that they match candidates too, because they know that they're good companies for the candidates. So thank you so much for your time today, guys.

Kim Weinstein: 40:42

Thank you, Brandon. Thank you, Brandon.

Brandon Mulnix: 40:44

Hey listeners, the next step is on you. I know that it's scary, but when you have folks like Kim and Randy in your corner, I believe you will be successful. I believe in you and welcome any of you to reach out to me directly if you have any questions about my journey. I'm on my second career in life and I've been in your shoes. I had to walk away from a 20-year career and get into a completely different industry and then, when that industry shut the doors, then I had to find another spot. If I can walk alongside you in any way, please don't hesitate to reach out. I'll definitely share Scramble, staffing and Kim and Randy with you. But, guys, this is a powerful episode and I hope you find it as enlightening as I did. If you can help your friends today by sharing this podcast with them, share it on your social media, because someone you know may be looking for career help.

Brandon Mulnix: 41:34

Our mission on the Poultry Leadership Podcast is to help you and your growth as a leader, as well as your friends and family. So don't be selfish. Don't keep this podcast to yourself. Please share it like it. It helps us get found by others. Just for this exact reason, I want to say thank you to Prism Controls, and today I'm going to mention one of Prism Controls core values is we are technical experts with a thirst for learning. What this means is they never stop learning, and that is why they support this podcast, because they believe in sharing all the learning with you. So please support them as a sponsor by going to prismcontrolscom, checking out their products, connecting with them. They're on the socials LinkedIn, Facebook. Reach out to them, get to know them. The product is valuable to the industry and, by the way, there are times that we are also are staffing ourselves, and so please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you about how this episode changed your life.