Recruiting- CEO

Jeff Ross

Jeff Ross has been a recruiter and recruiting leader since 1995 and is really good at two things - rehabilitating recruiting processes and the people that run them so the act of recruiting has the intended effect - helping clients hire top talent. He's also reasonably good at helping people understand they should expect something more from their jobs beyond a pay stub. It's that other thing that makes work meaningful and worthy of their time. He graduated from the University of Arizona and majored in Marketing and HR. He worked for a large consulting company for 9 years before starting his own company in 2005. His company works primarily with hospitals to help them with all things related to their IT departments. He has a son and daughter that both attend MCMS.

Background

Recruiter for hospitals' IT Departments

Founded his own company (Net Gain) in 2005 (most momentous act of his entire career)

Started in this field by working for a company with which he interned
Spends time on filling open job opportunities and business development (cold calling)

Some organizations are not good at developing job descriptions, interviewing candidates, or other parts of the recruiting process, so they'll hire Mr. Ross.

His focus is often on what makes someone successful, how to get better at interviewing, how to articulate your past successes

Education

Attended the University of WI for his freshman year and then transferred to University of Arizona where he graduated in 1994

Undergraduate degree in Marketing and Human Resources. Mr. Ross is using the degree and majors he pursued in his field now.

In College, Mr. Ross went to the U of A Career Center to seek out summer jobs and work experience/internships during the school year.

He realized that he didn't like the retail field after an internship for a large retailer.
He found his ADP internship to be interesting work, but it wasn't quite the right fit.
It's valuable to realize what won't work in addition to what will work for you.
Worked at Ross Perot's company focused on IT app support and outsourcing of IT for hospitals

Important Qualifications/Considerations to Become a Business Owner

Have a broad knowledge of business (sales, operations, customer service, etc.)
Keep in mind that it may be overwhelming at first and rewarding later
You need to figure out how to survive and the tools needed to get the job done
Expect financial challenges during the first few years
Mr. Ross is his own business owner, but has a lot of partners and clients (typically hiring managers within hospitals).

He will refer business to others if he can't place a particular person.

What a Typical Morning for Mr. Ross is Like:

Candidate follow-up by having conversations with interviewees, managers, and others.

Mr. Ross will help his clients figure out what they want the person in a particular role to do.

Business development work: connecting with people with whom he hasn't had any communication before or no recent communication

Business Development (cold calling) is the biggest challenge of Mr. Ross's job

What a Typical Afternoon for Mr. Ross is Like:

Speaking with candidates, talking about their resumes, upcoming interview
Placing a candidate in an open position is what's most rewarding. Feels great and "pay day" since Mr. Ross's compensation is 100% commission-based (not salary-based).

What Mr. Ross has Learned Along The Way:

Stick-to-it-ness
Assertiveness (without being overly aggressive)
Following up with people is key
Helpful to have a liberal arts education (some exposure to accounting, finance, humanities) since you're using some of this knowledge at some point

You'll pick up skills that will be applicable to what you're doing
You'll make valuable connections and will build important relationships over the years

Instead of looking at starting his own business as a significant risk (like jumping off a cliff), he looked at it as taking the next step in his career

Advice

Advice regarding Employees, Internships, and Clients:

Mr. Ross would love to have more full-time people working with him (once the pandemic is over)

"1 person show" now and no internships are available at his company.
Alumni Engagement and networking are key, so make as many contacts as you can

Extraordinarily important to have internships in college (and in high school, if at all possible) so you gain insights about jobs and industries

Favorite clients are those who pay on time.
I like most of the people with whom I work.
As a business owner, you can tell a problem client why you don't want to work with that person.

Mr. Ross works with other recruiters, such as one in Orange County, more on an informal basis

Advice for Someone Starting Their Own Business:

Get some work experience first. Someone at age 22 (right after graduating from college) is probably not ready to start a business--unless it's a family business in which you've been actively involved.

Be sure you know what you want to do
Be comfortable with the pros and cons of the job (every job has a downside)
Be prepared for learning rushing in
For some things you need to know, you'll learn them at a particular moment (such as learning from stubbing your toe in the middle of the night)

Career Advice for High School Students:

Be assertive
Expect that you're going to hear "No" often and keep trying
Keep contacting people
Don't be afraid to reach out to people in your network or someone you've never met before

Talk to a company that has never had an internship before. You may be able to help that company start an intern program.

Work with an organization with good leadership.
Trust your gut/instincts
Be satisfied with getting 75% of what you want. Getting 100% of what you want may be unrealistic