Southwestern Family of Companies

How To Spot An Ethical Recruiter

Elise Gay just received the 2023 Ralph Mosley Award, ThinkingAhead’s highest honor given to one recruiter who truly exemplifies integrity (check out our core values for how we define integrity in recruiting). A 6-year veteran in our Life Sciences Practice, Elise represents our shared commitment to the highest standard of ethics in recruiting.   But as a jobseeker or hirer, how…

AI And The Human Touch In Life Sciences Recruiting

The Life Sciences industry witnessed a tumultuous year in 2023, marked by mergers, acquisitions, and financial setbacks. This upheaval resulted in over 9000 professionals finding themselves unexpectedly in the job market, navigating a landscape shaped by automation and AI-driven hiring processes. As AI embeds itself deeper into the hiring landscape, both job seekers and hirers alike are experimenting with cutting…

Equipment Finance and Leasing – A Recruiter’s Perspective

JW Heflin is an Equipment Finance and Leasing Recruiter of 8 years, leading the Equipment Finance and Leasing practice at ThinkingAhead Executive Search. Like many other areas of banking and commercial finance, JW’s niche faced uncertainty in 2023, causing him to reflect on the true keys to success in his role and the roles he services. JW likes to say…

6 Ways To Make Your LinkedIn Profile Stand Out To A Recruiter

As recruiters, we comb through thousands of LinkedIn profiles. With so many people moving across our screen, we look for “green flags,” or commonalities in the profiles of our strongest candidates. Here are some profile elements that the best candidates do not miss:  A Quality Photo of Yourself: Your profile photo is the first impression of your LinkedIn profile. Missing…

What Is Resume Spamming and How to Avoid an Unethical Recruiter

Not all recruiters do it right. Many take a high-volume approach, capitalizing on unsure job markets, an urgent need for employment or workers, or unknowing talent.   Our legal recruiters have seen a rise in what they call “resume spamming:” A recruiter will find a resume and then hand it out to as many law firms as possible without notifying or…

Beauty, Hope, and the Necessity of Art

The COVID-19 pandemic rocked so many different industries in 2020, but some were hit harder than others. Hospitality, for example, (i.e. restaurants and hotels) experienced deep losses. In the world of nonprofits, arts organizations were affected disproportionately with 54% reporting revenue losses in 2020. It’s not hard to imagine why. The revenue model for a performing arts organization (and for…

Recruiting an Expert Team

Our Life Sciences Practice is well-versed in team builds. As Pharma companies expand their sales force or put greater emphasis on Market Access and Medical Affairs, they’ve worked with us to effectively recruit those highly specialized positions.   Why do team builds happen?  Team builds happen when an organization needs to hire multiple people within a short period of time or…