Layoffs, Leads, and What Comes Next

If you've opened LinkedIn recently, you already know. Layoffs, restructures, familiar faces back on the market. So instead of scrolling past it, we decided to actually talk about it.

Josh Olgin, Managing Partner and Director of Robotics at Direct Recruiters, has spent 14 years inside the robotics and automation job market. He knows what's happening, why it's happening, and where things are quietly turning around.

We get into the real drivers behind today's uncertainty: post-COVID overhiring, the warehouse automation slowdown, and how a few big players pulling back creates ripple effects across the whole industry.

Then we get to what actually matters if you're in the market. Josh breaks down the roles seeing real demand right now, where integrators and OEMs are still hiring, and how to work the search smarter. We also get into realistic timelines, what a recruiter relationship actually gets you, and why proof beats buzzwords on every resume.

If you're hiring, exploring options, or trying to land on your feet after a layoff, this one is worth your time.

Transcript

Why A Zoom Check In

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Hi everyone, Mandy Dewite, host of Ross Goss, a podcast about automation and robotics. Also founder and CEO of Dewite and Company, sales and marketing for automation and robotics companies. This is a little bit of an interesting episode. It's something different than we normally do. I'm joined by my good friend Josh Olgin. He is a principal at uh Direct Recruiters. Um Josh is one of the very few recruiters that I talk to all the time, who I respect so much in the industry. So I asked Josh to come and join me today for a quick conversation with you, with us. Usually, you know, you see me, this is this is weird, me being on Zoom today. You know, you watch the podcast sometimes. It's me on an awkward park bench, or it's me, you know, uh with a colleague, you know, somewhere else on location. We almost never film on Zoom, you know, because we really like the person-to-person um, you know, feel of the podcast. But there's some interesting things going on in the industry that um Josh and I were chatting the other day. And, you know, there's some interesting transitions. There are some, you know, kind of unsettling, but also some positive things going on in the industry with layoffs, things like that. Um, and Josh and I thought that it's we can't wait to get together in person. We'll probably see each other at Modex in a couple of weeks, but you know, we can't wait to actually have this conversation. This is something that we have to have right now and just get this out there for for the audience, kind of really to help the industry. Um, so Josh and I were chatting. Um, every time I open LinkedIn, and you know, I'm on LinkedIn all the time, you know that, guys. But you know, every time I open LinkedIn, it's almost like, you know, lots of people looking for jobs. There's been layoffs in the industry, you know, people aren't growing. Um, maybe I'm just seeing the bad things. Maybe there are other things going on that are more positive. And, you know, I said to Josh, let's let's get on a call. And, you know, Josh and I chat every now and then anyway about these things. We figured we would record it. Um, you know, what really is going on in the industry? And hopefully give you know people looking for jobs some avenues of places to look, um, some hope, some things like that. Um, but that's kind of kind of the conversation that we're gonna have here today.

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Yeah. So, you know, am I wrong? Like, I don't know, like you're a recruiter, Josh. Like

LinkedIn Doom Scrolling Vs Reality

SPEAKER_01 2:45

you're at direct recruiters, you taught, and you're specifically in the robotics and automation space.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Right.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Am I missing something? Like I'm opening LinkedIn, I'm seeing mass layoffs. I'm not seeing a ton of people hiring for new positions. And am I getting that wrong?

SPEAKER_00 3:03

Um, I think sometimes, you know, on LinkedIn it kind of shows when a lot of bad things are happening, just like all social media, but it really doesn't show so much when a lot of good things are happening. Um, also, a lot of companies are very private about their hiring of what they're looking for. So one of the cool things is is what I do, it's it's not so much about so much what you know, it's who you know. So it's it's all about relationships that I have with hire managers and companies where they come to me as I'm a trusted resource for them. So it's not so much publicized as much, but it's kind of you know still out there.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:42

The marketplace is it's interesting. There's a lot of layoffs going on right now. There's a lot of companies that are scared, but there's also a lot of companies that are being advantageous in taking, you know, what the market is giving them right now as well.

SPEAKER_01 3:55

Yeah, absolutely. So I mean, what type of companies, like you mentioned that there are companies that are having some layoffs, like where are you seeing that the most? Because I mean you're trusting the industry, people are calling you, like um, you know, saying, hey, you know, can can you help Josh? Like, you know, what types of companies do you think are taking some of the hit right now?

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Um, obviously big warehouse automation, Amazon, you know, when Amazon loses uh a big percentage of people, that affects, you know, other companies that were working with them that were relying on them for their projects to go through. So it's kind of like a trickle down where it's waves that go through the industry. So there are companies out there that are like subsidiaries or companies that work with or that work on projects strictly for, and they're having layoffs. But also, you know, there's some other companies that just did so much hiring after COVID, you know, where they might have overhired.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:52

So we're seeing a lot of a lot of those

Where Layoffs Hit Hardest

SPEAKER_00 4:55

companies are thinning out a little bit as well.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Yeah. I mean, I've seen that in the past with industries, especially like, you know, with my background in robotics startups, right? Like at times there'll be totally a ton of engineering hires, right? Because, you know, we we sold uh the sales team, we sold a big project. So we need tons of engineers. You know, as that project is deployed and we need other resources, you know, those people sometimes get laid off, and now we're looking for customer success, or maybe we're looking for more salespeople, you know, to sell more projects so that we can hire more engineers that we laid off. You know what I mean? It's like a weird cycle.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

That is that is honestly like where we are right now. I would say over the past three weeks, the amount of job orders that I picked up that are engineers, whether they're applications or for pre-imposed sales or deployment engineers, deployment managers, uh, deployment director, robot programmer, project manager, product manager, all of those engineers and those titles are so huge right now because a lot of sales that were on hold last year because of tariffs have picked up in December and are being sold right now. And those engineers are needed drastically.

SPEAKER_01 6:10

So that's interesting. So that's where you're seeing the cycle is right now, is like if you're in project management, deployment, product, customer success, that's what you're seeing.

SPEAKER_00 6:21

Yes, because there's a lot of the companies that had those people that thinned them out last year because of the tariffs, and people were um, you know, more or less afraid of potential recession where companies thinned that out because they needed to have the sales to pay the people. Now that we have the sales that are going through, we need the people to come back, and they really need those people for deployments.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Oh, that's so interesting. Yeah, it's so crazy how that's that's cyclical like that, right? Like where now, I mean, I'm gonna ask a very selfish question because I'm I'm sales and marketing, as you know. Like, where, you know, is there a lot of demand right now for sales and marketing people?

SPEAKER_00 6:59

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 7:01

Good. That's I'm saying that for all my friends listening.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Yeah, well, I mean, we're seeing it um, especially in the past several weeks, we're seeing um director level roles come out for sales, whether it's on the mobility side for mobile robots or um food and beverage for six-axis articulated robotic arms or um the robot integrators. I mean, the good sign is seeing robot integrators that are needing to hire people, that means they're getting busy. And that's a good sign that the business is starting to trickle back in, which is exciting.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

Yeah, no, that that is good. That's hope. And that's really why I want to talk to you today. Like, you know, it you know, social media, like, you know, it does, it gives it gives doom scrolling, right? And it it shows you the bad news, as you mentioned. And that's really kind of what I wanted to talk about today, is like what hope. Um, you know, like let's say, you know, and and I've been in this position before, like I have been, you know, a part of layoffs, you know, twice, you know, in in my career in robotics, right? Just because exactly what you what you said, Josh. It's like kind of like the

The Cycle Behind Robotics Hiring

SPEAKER_01 8:05

cyclical, cyclical thing, right? Um, you know, what would you tell somebody right now, you know, because that's like the worst phone call to get. Like I think about it like the the time that time that you get laid off, and all of a sudden you have no email, you have nothing is working, and you're just kind of sitting there with yourself. And, you know, I had somebody say to me the other day, it's like, this is the first time in X amount of years that I haven't had a job to go to tomorrow. Like, what would you tell somebody like that that is kind of, okay, what's my what next, especially if you've been at a company for a long time.

SPEAKER_00 8:42

So one of the things that I try to do is half of my business is either placing people or the other half of my business is building relationships. So I'm a firm believer in talking to as many people along the way. So when we get to the point where they know they're either gonna get laid off or they don't feel good about their situation, I'll get the call and I'll be like, they're like, hey, listen, I'm a little worried about what's happening with my company. Can we start talking right now? And the best time to get a job is when you have a job.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

And in the as I'm progressing with my calls during the day, half of my calls are either recruiting calls or the half the other half of my calls are just relationship building goals. Hey, tell me a little bit about yourself, what you're looking for. That way, it's not so much that I have a bench of candidates that are ready to go, but I kind of know what everybody's looking for. So my job is to take the whole piece of the puzzle and make sure that all the pieces fit properly. So whether it's engineer or sales or director or president, you know, my job is to have continuing lines of communication with as many candidates as possible. So when I do find or they do reach out to me, I already have a good idea of what they're looking for.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Yeah, that's such a good point. I mean, that's that's interesting, right? Like the recruiters that I have a good relationship with, it's because they built the relationship. And, you know, we see each other out, we hang out, we we talk on the regular, kind of see what's going. Um, like I've had salespeople say to me, it's like, oh, a recruiter called me, but I didn't take the call. And, you know, and I always mentor them and say, hey, always have the conversation, even if you're not looking because you don't know, like a company, there's no loyalty anymore. And I think about this a lot with sports teams, right? Like I'm a huge Boston fan. I made Marcus Smart betrayed. I was like, oh my God, how could they do that? And the Celtics, right? Like a couple years ago, maybe I'm still not over it, maybe I am. But it's like, you know, he was shocked, you know, but it it's like that's a company, right? It's a business and you can't take it personally, but you have to have those relationships in place. That way, when

Roles Hiring Fast Right Now

SPEAKER_01 10:55

you're you are jolted like that, it's not a cold call to Josh Olden and saying, Hey, you know, I'm Mandy, you know, can you help me? And, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:05

I mean, that that's great because that's how it should start off. But it, you know, right when you get laid off and you call the recruiter and be like, hey, I just got laid off, I've been there for 10 years. What do I do? You know, that's the that's a tough situation that you it that you put somebody in, unless it's a very transactional um search where it's a contract or something where it's plug and play and you know what you're getting. Um, typically, the once I put a candidate in front of a client, it's roughly 45 days from beginning to middle to end. Because technically, you know, you need to do your interviews, whether it's a Teams call or a regular call. Then after that, it's either on site, and if everything is right and works right, offer will come, should be good. But then you've got to put your two weeks notice into your current company. Right. And I would always, always stress with everybody, you never want to burn a bridge because you're never gonna know when you might need to cross it again. So do everything the right way. And you know, it's typically 45 business days from beginning to middle to end, is what the process looks like.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

That's a good stat. I don't think I ever knew that. And I I think that's because it's, you know, like when I was there losing my job, oh my God, what am you know, how long is this gonna take, right? But I think 45 days is I I don't think I've anyone's ever told me that. So that's a good stat to know.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Yeah, I mean, it's it's just it's typical right now. I've done, you know, searches where uh I've had somebody where you go put a two week's notice in and they say thanks bye. And you know, you're cut off, and that's gonna shorten the length of the time, potentially by a week or or a couple days. But you know, the smart thing to do is always go on a top and do the right thing.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah, I I would agree. I mean, and this is another piece, right? This is a very small industry. You know, everybody knows each other. You know, we were joking before the call about Modex. We're all gonna see each other and we're we're all gonna, you know, hang out and all that. It's a very small industry. So always have those conversations. Um, and I think, you know, what I heard from from you, Josh, too, is it's about building the relationships. It's about always taking those calls and, you know, even being at events. And I mean, you go to a lot of events, a lot of recruiters go to events. Um, you know, it's a good time to meet in person

Sales And Marketing Demand Returns

SPEAKER_01 13:20

and build the relationship even stronger.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

I I think that's the most important part of my business is relationship building. And also you have to be able to do what you say and say what you do. You know, it's it's it hurts when I have to break up with a candidate and say, hey, listen, XYZ company, I know you went for your final, but for whatever reason they decided to move past you and choose somebody different. But my job is to be open and honest with everybody. So I would agree. I try to maintain transparency. Sometimes it hurts and people get a little upset with you, but it's not me making the decision.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Right. No, I I agree. And I honestly, like I think I'd rather have that candid feedback, you know, about why why I wasn't chosen as a candidate. And, you know, I think I think that that's good to know because the search continues, right? Um, so I need to know that for the next time.

SPEAKER_00 14:12

A hundred a hundred percent. I mean, if I can say, listen, for whatever reason, you know, you just didn't ask the right questions or you didn't answer the questions, or after the fact, you know, doing your due diligence, they didn't like one of the references and they decided to move to move to the next candidate. So it that's the worst part of my job is when I have to tell a candidate before down the line, hey, I'm so sorry, but they decided not to move forward with you.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

Yeah. No, though I mean, tough conversations, they're they're never fun, right? They're never fun, but you know, not putting them off, you know, just getting them done. I mean, that's that'll keep that candidate really um having the good relationship with you because you told them.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Well, I and that's what I have to do. I have to maintain a level level of trustworthiness, but but also honesty.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, this is this, so this is interesting, right? Resumes. And the whole resume thing has changed a little bit because everyone's like, oh, who's writing resumes anymore? Because Chat GPT or Claude is doing all of my resumes. Like, what are you seeing? Like, how good does that resume have to be? What needs to be on it? Can Claude write my resume? Like, what are the devils in the devil in the details there?

SPEAKER_00 15:30

So uh we talked about a little bit before, but like honesty. So if you're really gonna have somebody write your resume for you, make sure that the facts are the facts and it meets

What To Do After A Layoff

SPEAKER_00 15:40

everything you've done. Because I would hate to put somebody who says that they're an expert robot programmer in front of a hiring manager and they say, Okay, listen, we need you to program this robot like you said you can do in your resume, go do it. And they're like, uh I can't do that. So make sure you do what you say and say what you do, and you're able to really meet what the resume is saying that you can do.

SPEAKER_01 16:06

Yeah, I that, yeah, robot programmer, you can find out really quick if you're really quick. That's a good, yeah. I mean, yeah, that's an interesting one. Um, I mean, does so as far as resumes go, you know, are people also looking at your LinkedIn more than the resume, the same amount as the resume? Like what what's more important?

SPEAKER_00 16:32

So when I send um a candidate to a hiring manager, I make sure that I take the resume and I highlight it on the front page of what I'm sending. Okay. I'm gonna send it to a hiring manager. It's gonna say about the candidate what their degree is, what they're currently doing, what their current, what their salary expectations is, first this is sales, like where what their territory was when they started, what they grew it to, you know, what the evidence was, you know, if they're selling on margin, or I like to highlight you know, eight to ten bullet points about that person. So when the hiring manager sees it, because typically hiring managers don't read resumes. Yeah, they they do what they don't, they want to see if it matches everything, and then they'll go to LinkedIn to see if it matches as well. But my job is to highlight that up front because that's really when the hiring managers are gonna call me back and they're gonna be like, Josh, please tell me about John Smith. Um, I I really need to talk and find out about him. Is it all true?

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Yeah, that's yeah, that's interesting. Um, as far as like, you know, let's say somebody gets laid off, they're looking for a job. Should they hurry up, go to LinkedIn and be like, I need to clean up this page right now? Should they proactively do it? Like, you know, how are you thinking about that?

SPEAKER_00 17:52

Um that's a good question. So if your LinkedIn is a mess, you know, I would say clean it up on a weekly basis. Um uh I I don't know how much people are doing LinkedIn management right now, but typically you just write it and you leave it, but they don't add to it. But if you did your LinkedIn profile right now, what would you change about it? Is your LinkedIn profile do you have it to for notoriety so people understand what you do, or you're constantly doing posts and people are able to go back to it, you're you're doing that. But if you're a robot programmer or you're a salesperson,

The 45 Day Hiring Timeline

SPEAKER_00 18:35

maybe you want to go into your LinkedIn and be like, I just sold a $10 million project to XYZ company and maybe get a testimonial from the person you sold it to.

SPEAKER_01 18:48

Yeah, that's a good point. Like things that kind of make you stand out, like a testimonial that makes you stand out.

SPEAKER_00 18:53

Testimonials are the best.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Huh, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Yeah, I mean that's proof in the pudding because if if somebody says, or you know, hey, I worked with Mandy Dwight and she did X, Y, and Z, and they write that on your LinkedIn, I mean, it just looks that much better.

SPEAKER_01 19:10

Yeah, I never thought about that, but there is a whole section on the bottom that asks asks for referrals.

SPEAKER_00 19:16

Yeah, I ask for testimonials at least five times a year, and I put them, I put them at the bottom of my LinkedIn page.

SPEAKER_01 19:24

That's a good idea. Um Yeah, that's a really good idea. I mean, thinking about it, like um opportunities right now, you know, that are out there. So we talked about companies that are hiring, like roles that they're hiring. Do these look like systems integrators? Do these look like robotics companies? If so, what kinds of robotics companies? Like what, like who's which companies are really looking for a lot of people right now?

SPEAKER_00 19:50

Um, robot OEMs are always looking for people. So, I mean, you have the you have obviously there's Fanacuka, ABB, Moto Man, then then you have um like Universal Robots and some other companies on the peripheral that are, you know, maybe on the collaborative robotic side, but then you've got the standard bots and you've got other companies that are starting to really scale right now. Yeah. Um, you know, the startup world that was going crazy right after COVID, you know, that went down a little bit, but there's a lot of new companies out there that are hiring like crazy and they're all looking for really good people.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

Yeah. I mean, thinking about hiring managers, and so you know, part of your relationship as part of your business, as you mentioned, is you have good um relationships with candidates, you have good relationships with hiring managers. Um, how do you go out there and find the hiring managers?

SPEAKER_00 20:43

So that's a great question. And

AI Resumes And Staying Honest

SPEAKER_00 20:45

one of the things that I've done in the past is I've gotten a lot of referrals from from people that refer me to people. And there's not a great, there's nothing better for me when a hiring manager calls me and says, Hey Josh, we referred to you from John Smith. He's worked with you in the past. He said you did a great job. Can you help us? That's part of it. But also it's prospecting. It's when you go to trade shows, it's when you're out and about in the community and you're walking in and you're talking, you know, all I want to do is hand somebody my business card, be like, if I can ever help you, please let me know.

SPEAKER_01 21:20

Yeah, no, absolutely. And what do you think? Like, if I think of ideal candidates, and I guess every hiring manager is different, but what are the things that they're really looking for in a candidate other than skill, do you think?

SPEAKER_00 21:35

For sales or for engineering? Either or so for sales, we want to know that this person is going to be able to fit in our company culture because that's huge. Because if you bring somebody in and they wanna, if they're the leader or they're part of the sales team, or however that may fit, the puzzle piece just has to fit. Because if they're if they're a very large large voice or a large personality in a company that wants to interview them doesn't doesn't really deal with that it's not going to really work.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:11

So it's you know the hire manager would call me and be like, hey Josh, listen, this person is really, really good. They're very strong, but you know, they don't fit our culture. They're too they're too loud of a voice for what we're trying to do. So it's important that that the like I said the the puzzle piece fits.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

And I think I think that's true, right? Like I think, you know, thinking about culture situations, um, especially as companies are you know working together to solve solve really hard problems, not only in engineering and sales, but that culture piece is so important.

SPEAKER_00 22:45

It it is. But there are also other companies that come out when you put the person in front of them be like this is exactly who we're looking for. We need somebody who's going to be a trailblazer, you know, burn everything to the ground and do it their own way. But we need to know that they can do this.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Right. Right. Now on engineering, you know, are they just looking for skill for engineering?

SPEAKER_00 23:07

So engineers from my understanding and I'm

LinkedIn Fixes That Stand Out

SPEAKER_00 23:10

learning every day, there are two types of engineers. The it there's the engineer where you push the pizza box under the door and they push it back when they're done or that's so well said and they say would you like to have a piece of pizza with me?

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:26

So there's so there's two kinds. So a lot of companies right now are looking for engineers that are that have skill sets where they're extroverts where they can talk to people where they they're not just going to work in their cube because everything is on social media and we do a hundred video calls per day. You know, I need you to be the face of our organization but you also need to understand how to get get the complex problems done.

SPEAKER_01 23:50

Oh interesting and I like the pizza box um comparison that is analogy I whatever it is like that's well said. I I will borrow that and I will credit you with that. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

It's just very cool because you get engineers that can talk and engineers that just don't want to have anything to do with any sort of communication.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Yeah I've worked with both. I I mean I I love working with engineers and you're right it's different skill sets. You know it's like and I think about it in terms of you know being a sales leader who is a customer facing engineer that I can bring into a call for that you know kind of um credibility of our of our system and they can speak well with the the end user. So I think about it in terms of that or also who can be behind the scenes but that person is like the Swiss Army knife of robotics can can solve every problem behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_00 24:40

Absolutely and they also have to be comfortable in the fact of the matter that they're not tip of the spear they're more behind it.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

Yeah and some people I I think a lot of people love that.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

I would agree I I think a lot of people love it because they don't feel that their name's out there front that they're just brought in to solve the problem.

SPEAKER_01 24:58

Yeah exactly and you know pivoting a little bit to talking about candidates right so what do you think you know and you've you've worked with a lot of people and we talked about the difficult conversation of hey you know this they're not going to move forward what do you think a candidate does like I guess what what hurts their chances of getting placed that that's a that's a hard question.

SPEAKER_00 25:24

So sometimes it's it's for it's the hiring manager is looking to see if they can work with this person. Got it so so if if if there's when you go into an injured interview I always tell people the same thing I really need you to be confident. I don't need you to be cocky because there's a difference. If you walk in and I'm talking to a salesperson and the salesperson you know they always have to walk in and beat their chest and they walk in and they're cocky I could do this anything

Who Is Hiring In Robotics

SPEAKER_00 25:55

anything you put in front of me I can knock down hiring managers don't want to see that hiring managers want you to be confident listen this is what I've done this is what I'm going to do and this is what I'm going to do to help you. I feel like my skill set's 100% right on for what you're looking for. What are next steps? And there's so many different ways to say that and frame that where you could just come out and be cocky not confident.

SPEAKER_01 26:19

Yeah that's well said and and you're right like you need to confidence I think is everything like I can come in here and make a positive difference in your your numbers in your pipeline in your closed one. And I think for engineering like I can make a positive difference in you know the the deployments that you're doing or you know um the land and expand plans that you have at the end of a palletizing line. Like you know it's it's all kinds of different things.

SPEAKER_00 26:48

It is in engineering it's more credibility you know because you're going to want to know a hundred percent you know can you do what you say and say what you do because I need you to be able to come in here and do what you're saying you're going to do because we've got all this business.

SPEAKER_01 27:02

Yeah yeah I mean talking about like in and we started this call talking about how there's been a little bit of you know uncertainty in the industry but also the best time to find a new job is when you already have a job, you know, is it the time right now to make a bold move and to take a new job or is it safe is it safer to stay where you are?

SPEAKER_00 27:26

So that's a great question. So it all depends on how much you want people like to have or handle the word change. So if you're used to your daily routine and your daily routine starts off getting a cup of coffee and then going to the gym and then going to your job but your job changes you know are you able does does the change fit into your routine into your daily life so a lot of people don't like change but again the best time to get a job is when you have a job. And it's always good like the the the famous line in friend sales is always be closing. So I don't wouldn't necessarily say we're always closing but it's always building relationships and coming up with new candidates that way I kind of have a Rolodex of really good people that I could go to. Where when I call them out of the blue it's not so much a call out of the blue it's just a follow-up call and I might call you on a day where you're doing

Culture Fit And Engineer Communication

SPEAKER_00 28:25

really good and I say listen I've got that opportunity we spoke about six weeks ago do you want to talk about it? And now your mind starts thinking well I just had this really big sale you know am I should I really should I really make a move right now when's the right time you know any good salesperson leaves money on the table when they leave it just happen.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

Yeah that's true. But but also you know if there's something better in the long run yeah it's tough. I mean I always tell people they're like well what should I do I mean I had a phone call the other day with a a friend of mine that you know is in a safe position was looking at something a little bit riskier and I said you got to sit down you make got to make your your pros and cons column. And I do that before I make every single decision whether it's uh you know buying something large or or moving jobs you know even starting my own company right like what are the pros what are the cons and you know make your decision from there.

SPEAKER_00 29:22

That's that's that's a great that's great advice. You know and when I'm talking to candidates I always ask them listen I know you just interviewed for the third time and I asked you the same questions do you still got those warm and fuzzies in your belly and I'm like do you understand what that means do you have that that that feeling where it feels really good where you're ready to make a move yeah I don't know and if it's back and forth I can't push them I can just say listen this opportunity is way better than what you're doing right now the travel is lower the opportunity for growth is higher yeah I can't make the decision I can frame it for them to make their own decision but I can't make them make the decision.

SPEAKER_01 30:03

I think fear sometimes like the fear of the unknown the fear of the risk you know I I think that's definitely in in the negative column I think for some people it is it's you know the devil you know and the devil you don't yeah yeah and you know we're we're about to close off here but you know just to leave on a positive note right so if you if there's anyone out there that is searching for jobs you know I talked to somebody the other day that is not not in our industry they're in like a um a med device um type of scenario but has applied for a hundred jobs and just kind of you know has a job looking you know what advice would you give to somebody I mean that's discouraging right you're you're I reminds me when I graduated college and my mother was like no apply for all these jobs and I sat there for a whole summer and did that to get her off my back right but like what would you what advice would you give to somebody that maybe is feeling discouraged

Confidence, Change, And Getting Help

SPEAKER_01 31:05

maybe has gotten a couple no we're not moving forwards you know somebody that's not seeing a lot out there you know what advice would you give them find a a a a recruiter in their field that they're looking to get hired in and reach out to them and you know that when when I'm talking to a hiring manager compared to a thousand resumes that just come into their system you know they're gonna take my call because I'm trusted.

SPEAKER_00 31:34

Yeah when people are just sending blind resumes I mean I get probably 30 or 40 blind resumes a week you know I try to talk to as many people as I possibly can but when I put somebody in front of a hiring manager nine and a half out of 10 times the hiring manager is going to call me back and he's gonna be like Josh tell me about this person or why are you sending me this person? Why did why did you feel that they're right for what we're looking for and I would go back to my notes and be like you said you wanted somebody with this you said if I have somebody that has this this and this and they're in the location you're looking for what did I miss? Yeah yeah and the quicker that I could get to know the quicker is better for everybody because it's my second favorite answer. Obviously yes is my favorite answer.

SPEAKER_01 32:20

Exactly and I think that's good. I mean looking for jobs like you know when you're working with a recruiter you feel like somebody kind of has has your back and you have somebody kind of you know steering you in different directions and somebody can bounce things off of I think that's good, you know so so I think that is really good advice.

SPEAKER_00 32:38

Absolutely and again I try my best I'm not the the best for everybody but I'm you know we do our absolute best for everybody.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Yeah and there are there are some really good recruiters in this space you know and and honestly if if I talk to people and they're like oh I'm talking to this recruiter and I'm like well do they know robotics and automation? Because I think there's very select people in this industry you know you're one of them Josh that know the industry and I say don't look anywhere except the people that know it.

SPEAKER_00 33:07

Yeah and one of the things that I will promise everybody all the time is I will never tell you anything I don't know and I'm always learning every day.

SPEAKER_01 33:16

Yeah, aren't we all try to exactly well that's a good way to close and and it is Friday and and uh Josh thank you so much for for taking the time to to talk with me today. I know normally we would be on site but I thought this was just something important that we needed to talk about and kind of get something out there to to talk about the state of the industry for anybody that maybe is looking right now maybe is in a position that maybe they're not happy about they're looking around you know just kind of put something out there for those people I would agree wholeheartedly this was great. Oh John thank you so much Josh Olgen

Closing And Where To Connect

SPEAKER_01 33:55

is over at Direct Recruiters so he he's on LinkedIn he's like me he's on LinkedIn every single moment of the day so you know start building the relationship if you haven't already um you know me but I'm Mandy Dwight um you know founder and CEO of Dwight and company um Josh and I have known each other through many robotics companies over the years. But yeah um thank you so much for tuning in everyone and uh we will see you soon