American Exchange Group

I didn’t become a recruiter until my mid-30s. Before that, I spent about 15 years in fashion and beauty across buying, product development, production, planning and sales. That experience has shaped how I approach Talent Acquisition today.

A major recruiting challenge is being given a job description and expected to find the right person without truly understanding the role. My industry experience gives me deeper insight into the positions I recruit for. I understand the differences between buying and product development, what production requires, how salespeople are measured and what distinguishes a strong designer beyond a good portfolio.

That knowledge allows me to have more meaningful conversations with both hiring managers and candidates.

Learning the Business before Learning the Candidate

I started my recruiting career on the agency side, where a wonderful mentor taught me a tremendous amount about recruiting. After eight years, I moved into corporate Talent Acquisition at Designer Brands, learning about compensation, retention, career development and building long-term employee relationships.

At American Exchange Group, I became the company’s first dedicated talent acquisition executive. I built a proactive recruiting function to complement agencies, referrals and job postings.

That experience reinforced something I had learned throughout my career: talent acquisition works best when you understand the business first, because effective recruiting begins with understanding the people, roles and needs that drive the organization

One Company Doesn't Necessarily Mean One Recruiting Strategy

At American Exchange Group, I recruit across eight different legal entities and a broad portfolio of businesses, each with its own culture, leadership style, and way of operating. Some areas are highly structured, while others operate more like startups, which means my recruiting approach needs to be flexible depending on the business and the role.

That means there is no one-size-fits-all recruiting strategy. I need to understand the leader, team, business and what success looks like before deciding how to recruit.

I also tailor how I assess talent to each role. For design, I focus on portfolio, creative perspective, technical skills and execution. For product development and merchandising, I look at product lifecycle knowledge, trends, costing, sourcing and commercial thinking. Production requires attention to timelines, vendors, quality, costing and execution, while sales require customer relationships, business development, negotiation, category expertise and measurable results.

The goal is to understand what drives success in each function and assess candidates against those specific requirements rather than using the same approach for every role.

Specialized Talent Requires a Different Approach

Fashion, beauty and consumer products can have very specialized talent requirements. Sometimes there may only be a small number of people in a particular market who have exactly the experience a role requires.

“The better you understand the work, the better you can understand the people who do it.”

When that happens, traditional recruiting methods aren’t always enough. I maintain lists of competitors and target companies, ask our internal associates for referrals and keep strong candidates in mind even when there isn’t an immediate fit.

Someone who isn’t right for one position may be exactly right for another six months or a year later.

Recruiting is about Listening, Not Just Selling

Recruiting certainly requires some sales skills, but I think being a good listener is even more important.

When I speak with a candidate, I want to understand why they are looking and what matters most in their next opportunity-compensation, title, responsibility, career development, leadership or work-life balance.

Once I understand that, I can have a more meaningful conversation about the opportunity and ensure the right topics are addressed throughout the process.

It becomes less about “selling” a job and more about determining whether the opportunity and candidate are genuinely a good match

From Shy Kid to Professional Interviewer

There’s a funny personal side to my career path: I was extremely shy as a child. I never imagined I’d spend my career interviewing people, building relationships and having countless conversations. Recruiting pushed me beyond my comfort zone, teaching me to ask better questions, listen carefully and connect with people from all backgrounds.

Candidate Experience is about Communication

One of the simplest things a recruiter can do is communicate.

Candidates are human. They have jobs, families, schedules and other opportunities. They are also often waiting and wondering what is happening behind the scenes.

I believe candidates should be kept informed throughout the process, even when there isn’t an update. And when the decision is not to move forward, they deserve to hear that as well.

You don’t always have good news to deliver, but you can always communicate respectfully and professionally.

Building the Employee Experience Starts before Day One

When I joined American Exchange Group, there was no formal onboarding process. I helped implement an HRIS for digital offer letters and onboarding packets, along with manager communications outlining onboarding expectations.

It reinforced my belief that the candidate experience doesn’t end when an offer is accepted. The transition to employee is equally important.

The Candidate has Changed and So has the Conversation

Candidates today have access to more information than ever before. They are researching companies on platforms like Glassdoor, talking to people in their networks and looking closely at the employee experience before accepting an offer.

The questions I hear today are often about work-life balance, hybrid or remote work, benefits and especially the cost of health insurance.

Compensation is still important, of course, but candidates are evaluating the entire employment experience. Companies need to be prepared to have an honest conversation about what they offer and what it is actually like to work there.

Talent Acquisition is a Business Function

Ultimately, talent aquisition is about much more than filling positions. You have to understand the business, the role, the hiring manager and what motivates the candidate, then bring those pieces together.

My career across fashion and beauty, buying, product development, production, planning, sales, agency recruiting and corporate talent acquisition has shaped how I recruit today.

Perhaps the biggest lesson is simple: the better you understand the work, the better you can understand the people who do it.