Southwestern Family of Companies

Summer Compass Meeting 2022

This past week, recruiters gathered in our Nashville office for the semi-annual Compass Meeting. As the name would suggest, Compass Meetings allow the entire ThinkingAhead team to come together to ensure we are pointed in the right direction and encourage one another.   The two-day gathering was full of bright spots, from celebrating multi-decade anniversaries, to unlimited hot dogs in our…

Diversity

Here at ThinkingAhead, we value diversity and are committed to continual growth and improvement. We believe teams achieve better results and are more effective when they include diverse members with uniquely rich experiences and perspectives. That is why ThinkingAhead is partnering with people3, a leading, national DEI consultant. We are actively working on becoming a more inclusive workplace and presenting…

Summer Compass Meeting

Connecting the right people at the right place at the right time! July is always an exciting month here at ThinkingAhead. Flights are arranged, hotels are booked, open cubicles are filled, and social activities are planned. ThinkingAhead recruiters from all over the country gather together at our headquarters in Nashville, TN for the three days of Summer Compass Meetings. Summer…

Turning Obstacles into Opportunity

It’s no secret that 2020 brought uncertainty and hardships. Any sense of normalcy went out the window.  Social distancing, ever-changing CDC guidelines, “unprecedented times”, and increasing unemployment proved to be persistent challenges. People rang in the New Year hopeful and eager to get back to business as usual. Though 2021 is proving to be an improvement from last year, the…

You’ve Been Wrong About These Four Aspects of Recruiting…

Since it originated in the early 1940’s, the recruitment industry has faced hundreds of misconceptions that have hindered trade growth and candidate participation. These misconceptions may, without proper research, inhibit job seekers from eliciting the help of an experienced recruiter and generate a false perception of the industry as a whole. When receiving a phone call or email from a…

Stephanie Maas: 20 Years of Service

With 20 years of recruiting experience with ThinkingAhead Executive Search and over 400 candidate placements, 2019 top performer Stephanie Maas sits at the peak of her career as she looks towards the new year. As a student at the University of North Carolina in 1996, Maas found herself engaged in the Southwestern Advantage sales internship, the world’s oldest entrepreneurial program…

Shayne Merrick: Doing Things That Matter

For Sales Division Leader Shayne Merrick, recruiting is anything but ordinary. In his 13th year with ThinkingAhead Executive Search, Merrick has successfully placed over 400 candidates worldwide and laid the foundation for innovative sales recruiting. Growing up in New Palestine, Indiana, Merrick’s competitive spirit was developed through a passion for soccer and in a round-about way led him to Purdue University.…