Top Candidates for Hire — Week 5
We have reached our fifth edition of Top Candidates for Hire! Thank you to all of you who have continued to introduce me — and in turn, my connections — to these wonderful people. Moving forward, now that I’ve begun to showcase companies as well as candidates, (and as there are only so many hours in the day,) I’ll be featuring 4 people each week rather than 5. Please do continue to nominate folks within the tech space who are now on the job hunt as a direct result of COVID-19 layoffs.
As a reminder of how this works, people who are now unexpectedly on the job hunt will be spotlighted in each post. Everyone I write about has been nominated by someone else, and I select who I feature based on whether their prior experience aligns with the people in my network who are hiring.
Below are abbreviated synopses of who is featured so that you can quickly find the people relevant for your open roles. Feel free to “Command + F” names to jump directly to those spotlights.
Mo Ahmed —
- Senior Technical Recruiter @ Beeswax
Considering roles in: Greater NYC Area or remote positions
Preferred Role: Senior or Lead Tech Recruiter
Amy Hauck —
- Director of Finance Operations @ Knotel
Considering roles in: Greater NYC Area or remote positions
Preferred Role: Strategic Operations and/or Financial Operations Leadership
James Donovan —
- Director of Talent @ Cherre
Considering roles in: Preferably the Greater NYC Area, but open to Seattle and San Francisco
Preferred Role: People Strategy
Carli Arena —
- Sales Development Representative then Account Executive @ Fundera
Considering roles in: Greater NYC Area
Preferred Role: Sales/Business Development Representative
To save everyone time and energy, I’ve outlined for each profile many of the things that hiring managers and recruiters dig into on a very first call. See someone below who is aligned with a role you’re hiring or recruiting for? Reach out directly. Contact preference and information is provided. Here it goes!
Mo’s preferred method of outreach: LinkedIn, personal email (consultmonyc@gmail.com) or phone (646–643–0300)
What were some of your most notable accomplishments in your past role?
I successfully built out Beeswax’s Infrastructure and Distributed Systems Computing teams. This was a particularly challenging team to hire for because in order to have success within these roles at Beeswax, candidates must have prior coding and operations experience: a combination often only gained working at one of the Top 4.
To best position Beeswax as a top caliber company, I oversaw and implemented our recruitment events strategy. We sponsored and I helped to host NYC Python Meetups, Dev Ops and Containers Meetups, PyLadies, PyGotham and Women Impact Tech events. Creating allies within the tech ecosystem and identifying ways to be more diverse in our sourcing and recruitment was a necessary and meaningful long-term approach. The team was bought in as well, and many of our engineers volunteered time to mentor students who were trying to break into the field.
I also got the wheels in motion for our yet-to-be-published Engineering blog. Partnering with a champion within the engineering team, we were able to identify the people who would be most keen to contribute. I provided the writers with subjects and guidelines around the length and content requirements, and would then edit the posts in tandem with our VP of Engineering and VP of People. This blog has yet to be published but everything is ready to push.
What about achievements within your career thus far?
My biggest achievements in life are having my first kid and a very supportive wife and family. I’m not a person who can sit still and when I get excited about things, I get going. I run a nonprofit in Bangladesh working with impoverished villages, helping them get the food they need to survive on a monthly basis. Separately, after having worked with farmers in East Africa, I co-founded a coffee company with a few friends to help educate people on specialty coffee and also improve the livelihoods of these farmers. Everything I do is tied to helping others and as cliche as it might sound, I want to leave this world knowing I did something to improve it.
From a recruitment standpoint, I’ve had the opportunity to work with some great and smart people within our space. The biggest achievement for me here has been learning from them and utilizing their feedback to become better day in and day out.
Tell me about the type of position you’re looking to move into next / the responsibilities you hope to take on.
I’m keen to remain in the recruitment space, ideally within a Senior Lead capacity and at a very product-focused company with technical co-founders. I have led small teams in the past and mentoring them was incredibly rewarding. I take pride in teaching recruiters how we can be human-first in the recruitment process, even when meeting challenging hiring goals.
It’s important to me that my responsibilities go beyond just straight sourcing and calls. I have enjoyed creating recruitment marketing and event-specific collateral at Beeswax, and that’s a value I can bring wherever I go next. Additionally, as I want to eventually segue into a Director of Talent Acquisition role, I would like to work closely with — and gain a better understanding of — People Operations and HR.
What are you prioritizing in the next company you join?
Ideally, I’d like to join a small to mid-stage company where my impact within the recruitment team can be diverse. Working with transparent leadership is also important to me: our leaders at Beeswax provided thorough insight into the business, always from both a positive and negative lens. The people are a core component, of course. I want to work with people who are smarter than me, who I can learn from, and with colleagues who enjoy spending time with one another outside work.
If your coworker were to share with me the unique addition you made to your team, what would they say?
I reached out to a peer of mine from the recruitment team at Beeswax and she said, “Not only is Mo a skilled and knowledgeable recruiter, but he is also passionate and genuine about everything he does. I was constantly impressed by his commitment to a positive candidate experience — going above and beyond to give helpful feedback and act as an employment resource. He is also incredibly well-versed in online and social media — skills that helped bring our employer branding to the next level.”
Manager Reference: “What separates Mo from the pack is his unique ability to not only understand the role but to understand the technical acumen required to get the job done. His ability to relate to candidates and put them at ease through challenging times was one of his superpowers. He’s a master of sourcing and crafts some of the best outreach that I’ve had the pleasure of reading.” — Charlie Keinath, Head of Recruiting at Beeswax
Amy’s preferred method of outreach: LinkedIn or personal email (amyclhauck@gmail.com)
What were some of your most notable accomplishments in your past role?
In just over a year, I grew our supply chain team from approximately 5 to 16 people, scaling out our purchasing, sourcing, logistics, warehouse, and strategy management functions. Before I joined, the team approach had been NYC-specific and reactive. I evolved it into a strategic global unit that effectively integrated across company departments and markets: building processes, ensuring cohesion and driving results. The team created 15mm+ in initial savings per year, more than tripled usable asset life, and minimized lead times by 50%, directly impacting client satisfaction as well as revenue timelines.
I’m particularly proud of the processes we implemented. A key example was creating North American and European Furnitures, Fixtures and Equipment catalogs. Initially, Knotel designers had ordered from wherever they pleased. It allowed for the variety we needed but didn’t allow for speed, bulk savings, and future re-use which the business model relied on. By crafting a catalog, we maintained choice and optionality while still allowing for a scalable model. It also perfected the internal handoff process, ensuring that my team’s metrics aligned with client turnaround needs.
What about achievements within your career thus far?
I’ve been proud of my ability to not only scale successful teams, but also retain existing teams in the process. I’ve demonstrated the ability to identify key strengths of existing team-members, repurposing their skills when necessary, and only then hiring additional members of the team who fill remaining gaps and maximize the strengths of those initial members. This allows for cohesion within the team but also provides necessary support for the teams we work closest with.
Additionally, I have supported the successful sales of two startups in the Tech and Media space, prior to supporting a Real Estate company in going global. I have been able to successfully balance the need for immediate action and long term strategy/planning in every stage of a startup.
Tell me about the type of position you’re looking to move into next / the responsibilities you hope to take on.
I am looking to continue my path in a finance ops and or operations role, within a leadership capacity. I am comfortable with job ambiguity in that I specialize in — and enjoy — both strategic improvement of systems and processes, as well as the tactical work required to bring that to fruition. I understand that certain tactical changes, be them the crafting of monthly close processes or a company wide expense system, ensure the team’s ability to make long-term changes that impact the efficiencies of the company as a whole. I’ve balanced responsibility for identifying the changes that need to be made, getting manager buy-in, and making those changes myself, be it personally or via delegation to my team.
What are you prioritizing in the next company you join?
I thrive in scaling startups. I am looking to utilize my strategic leadership and management experience in a company that is experiencing high growth. Ideally this is a company with a strong and cohesive leadership team that has a clear perception of the company’s value and positioning. As someone who specializes in creating efficiencies, a clarity of vision is particularly essential. Even if the positioning changes to adapt to the industry or buyer, it’s important to me that the leaders translate that internally and externally. This will enable both the company’s growth as well as my own.
If your coworker were to share with me the unique addition you made to your team, what would they say?
I reached out to a couple colleagues of mine and their consistent feedback was that they value my ability to align goals across departments and leaders, developing a strategy and executing plans that support the company vision. They also highlighted my ability to performance manage teams, guiding them with cohesive goals, development and maximizing individual strengths.
Manager Reference: “I worked with Amy for over two years at Knotel. During that time, she became a trusted partner and played a leading role in building the company’s financial and operational infrastructure. She first joined as Controller, but as the company grew, she smoothly transitioned to Head of Supply Chain. In this role, Amy applied her talent as an operational leader, built a high performing team and put in place the processes and tools that enabled the company to scale rapidly
Amy has a unique combination of technical and soft skills, which allows her to solve different kinds of problems and wear different hats. She is a consummate team player and a strong contributor to maintaining team cohesion.
Amy would be an asset to any team. She was instrumental in Knotel’s path to becoming a global leader.” — Ricardo Sotelo, previously VP/Head of Finance at Knotel
James’ preferred method of outreach: LinkedIn, personal email (jtkdonovan@gmail.com) or text (203–583–1569)
What were some of your most notable accomplishments in your past role?
I built from scratch a recruiting pipeline that reviewed over 3,200 candidates and hired more than 40 team members over seven departments in a year and a half period. By focusing on employer branding and candidate experience, we were able to increase outreach response rates from 19% to 42%, inbound applications from 20 to 50 a month, and our offer acceptance rate from 62% to 76%.
I also reworked and integrated company cultural values in the recruiting process which contributed to better employer branding as well as team member satisfaction across the whole company.
What about achievements within your career thus far?
Before kicking off my talent acquisition career at Cherre, my passion had been rowing. As an athlete, I was a two time All American with four national titles, went to two world events with the US national team, and trained at the olympic training camp for the 2012 olympics. As a coach, I taught a range of programs including nationally competitive junior and masters teams, winning medals at every experience level and major regatta.
Tell me about the type of position you’re looking to move into next / the responsibilities you hope to take on.
My ideal position would allow me to work closely with team managers to help them build and grow teams. This would of course be through a Talent Acquisition capacity, but also operationally and with a focus on cultural evolution. Whether through hands-on recruiting, building and refining processes, or enacting cultural experiences that enhance the culture and further emphasize our values, I have always enjoyed being part of bringing a team together and supporting them to achieve amazing things. I’ve seen how an emphasis on culture directly impacts the ability and efficiency to attract candidates, but also the core of a company’s success.
What are you prioritizing in the next company you join?
I am looking to become a part of a company that understands the importance of a people-first mindset and uses metrics and feedback to refine their processes and achieve their goals. For instance, at Cherre, hiring managers and recruiters trusted data to determine how to address drop-off rates and in which instances extra effort up front actually resulted in an all-around more efficient process.
Teams work at their best when they are well organized and supported. A company that thinks about its people first is going to be successful because it has happier and more productive employees. To get there, an agile process that is improved through feedback and metrics is essential. Working for a company that encourages that growth and responds to the data would be exciting and ideal.
If your coworker were to share with me the unique addition you made to your team, what would they say?
They would probably say that I was unrelentingly positive. Reminders to submit feedback or interview notes always came with a funny meme, and I enjoyed sparking conversation with team members whenever there was down time. It is my way of keeping the pulse of the culture and encouraging greater connection.
Manager Reference: “Most of all, James took to heart the idea of creating a certain culture at Cherre, and worked hard to achieve it. The results are obvious, in that our employees are reporting that they are satisfied with working at Cherre.” — Ben Hizak, Co-founder at Cherre
Carli’s preferred method of outreach: LinkedIn or personal email (carli.arena2113@gmail.com)
What were some of your most notable accomplishments in your past role?
My time at Fundera was a rewarding experience as I learned to excel in a fast-paced environment that required me to meet or exceed daily and monthly sales metrics on a continual basis.
I am so proud to be able to say that I consistently hit or exceeded quota, maintaining the top performing SDR (Sales Development Representative) spot for 3 straight months. On top of this, I had the highest conversion rate on the team which ultimately led to my promotion.
I attained this consistency by developing reports within Salesforce that identified the highest quality leads and prospects which I then used to collaborate with Fundera sales management, ensuring alignment on qualified priority prospects.
Flexibility and the ability to be adaptive were other traits that I strengthened while at Fundera, as my responsibilities changed several times during my tenure. For example, initially I worked closely with our Account Executives to upsell within their existing books of business. Eventually our focus transitioned to pulling prospects back into the funnel who had previously visited the site, but who hadn’t chosen to partner with us. To re-engage these prospects required me to contact them with compelling, tailored messages.
What about achievements within your career thus far?
I’m extremely proud to have earned a spot within the Business School at Penn State, particularly because I was originally denied from the program. Despite my college counselor encouraging me to not re-apply — based on having seen so many students damage their GPAs by failing the mandatory accounting course — I took the required classes as an “undecided” major, passed with the necessary grades, re-applied and was accepted my sophomore year.
Additionally, as an intern at TJX, I assisted the Infant and Toddler Department, but also worked with four other interns in the Kids Department on a summer long project where we were faced with the objective to grow this department’s market share. After 12 weeks of collaborating together, we presented our solution to all levels of management in the Kids Department. One of the aspects of our project was so well liked that it was implemented in TJX stores for the Fall Season! I was excited by this achievement to see the business plan implemented in the TJX stores.
Tell me about the type of position you’re looking to move into next / the responsibilities you hope to take on.
I thoroughly enjoyed speaking with business owners about partnering with Fundera. Now I’m looking to take things to the next level that will have me further develop my sales skill set. For that reason, I would enjoy being in a position of strategic outreach, facilitating a longer sales cycle. I want to be in a role where I’ll be able to continue collaborating with AE’s on a regular basis, with a clear path to again becoming an AE myself.
What are you prioritizing in the next company you join?
The people at Fundera were exceptional. I enjoyed showing up to work everyday and working alongside people who I was constantly challenged by. Everyone was comfortable asking one another for assistance despite each having their own quotas and responsibilities. People shared best practices to help one another achieve their goals and to become industry experts.
In my next company I hope to join a similar culture, a place with a track record of encouraging internal professional development. Another important aspect to me is selling a product or working in an industry that I feel certain makes a difference in my client’s day to day lives.
If your coworker were to share with me the unique addition you made to your team, what would they say?
They would mention that I bring positive energy to the team — consistently being a team player, helping other teammates to create catered outreach on a weekly basis. They’d point to my competitiveness as well, always striving to be the top player on the team. In summary, I would believe they would say that I was an asset to them and to the company.
Manager Reference: “Carli was an incredible member of our team. From day one she showed an unmatched desire to learn and continuously develop in her role. Carli has a remarkable combination of work ethic, go-getter mentality, customer empathy, and positive mindset. Because of those characteristics, I don’t believe Carli has a ceiling, and I’m excited to see all that she will accomplish.” — Andrea Garcia, Sales Manager at Fundera
If you know someone within the tech space who is now on the job hunt as a direct result of COVID-19 layoffs, and they’re someone you would personally vouch for, please nominate them to be featured within this Google Form. I’ll reach out to nominees directly and nobody will ever be featured without their consent.
If you yourself are a candidate looking for new opportunities, please feel free to fill out this intake form. It’s being shared directly with Talent Leaders, Hiring Managers and VCs. If you have questions around the form, email <seekingopportunities@tobuildit.com>.
