Abbey Saddler

Talent Executive

Zack Slovina

James Sullinger

Senior Account Executive

Katherine Ortiz

Jen Antill

Senior Talent Executive

Maria LaTour

Marketing Manager

Susie Isphording

Strategic Talent Executive

Ryan Van Echo

Chief Operating Officer

Ryan Smith

Managing Director

Olivia Skaates

Strategic Account Executive, Emerging Markets

Morgan Toney

Account Coordinator

Lauren McCuen

People Operations Coordinator

Kyle Benton

Managing Director, South

Angela Wayner

Strategic Account Executive

Ariel Smith

Deborah Andrews

Director of People Operations

Deborah Day

Tony Haislar

Alan Kutasy

CEO + Founder

Rob Moyer

President + Co-Founder

Whether you're in school and seeking your first job in the real world or looking to embark on a new career path, attending a career or job fair is a smart step for marketing yourself to potential employers. On top of the unavoidable anxiety that comes with job seeking, how can you stand out among other attendees and make a memorable first impression with potential employers? Follow these 5 tips to make the most of your next career fair.

Before going into a career fair, it’s incredibly beneficial to know what companies you plan to connect with to optimize your time (after all, you’re likely attending to get face time with company reps). Once you determine which companies you’d like to network with, review their websites to understand what they do, their core values, community involvement, and any social media channels to understand their culture. Ultimately, can you see yourself working with this company? 

After researching the companies, you can craft a more tailored and personal introduction. This is the perfect opportunity to: 

Hi, I’m John Smith, and I’m currently interning as a social media marketing intern at ABC Marketing here in Columbus. I noticed that your team recently completed a massive project with a healthcare client and increased organic traffic by 20% YoY by implementing the right mix of media, awareness building, and acquisition. One of my passions is connecting data to creative content and testing out messaging based on desired target audiences to drive conversions. I’d love to hear more about your team’s project and what you do at ABC!

Approaching the company booths with intention and understanding who they are and what they do will help set you apart from other attendees – it’s a win-win! 

While it may feel “out of date,” bringing hard copies of your resume to a career fair shows your interest, drive, and professionalism. Make sure your resume is up to date 

Don’t have a printer at home? No sweat. Your local library is an excellent resource for more than just books, and they can help you print copies for less than $0.50 per copy. We recommend researching how many company booths you’d like to visit (see #1 above), then double that number for how many copies to bring with you.  

This is simply an answer you give to the most asked “So… tell me about yourself?” question. This is your chance to show off who you are and your accomplishments in 30-seconds or less. Our Talent Executive, 

 or, in this case, as an intro to a potential employer. 

Like after a job interview, follow up with the individuals at the company booths you networked with and are interested in pursuing a career. While at the career fair, jot down notes such as big takeaways from your time with the organizations. This will help keep you organized once you leave the career fair. 

We recommend adding the individuals you networked with on 

 and sending them a quick note about your time with them. This will help you stand out among all the attendees they talked with and leave a great impression! If you discussed a specific role with the company, you can use this as an opportunity to ask about next steps. 

Along with networking with the companies, take advantage of other benefits of attending a career fair. For example, the organizers may offer attendees professional headshots or a resume review station. 

Who doesn’t want a free professional headshot to update their LinkedIn or Handshake profiles when job seeking? 

This information will be included on the career fair’s webpage if it’s being offered. 

These ad-hoc opportunities can help build your professionalism and help you understand how you can best stand out among the crowd! 

 with you to the career fair! This is what shines through when you meet people (aka potential employers), and the above will help build that key confidence. These tips will undoubtedly set you up for personal and professional success when preparing to attend a career fair – you got this! 

So, you’re getting ready to attend a career fair 

“How much weight can a horse carry? In my experience, a horse can carry an infinite amount. They carry physical, mental, and emotional handicaps. 

They carry hopes and dreams, and they will carry the stress from your day when you can't carry it anymore. 

They will carry you to success when all you have felt is a failure. They will carry you, never knowing the weight of your burdens and triumphs. 

If you let them, they will carry you through life, and life is hard, life is heavy. But a horse will make you feel weightless under it all.” Author Unknown 

I don’t remember a time when horses weren’t a part of my life. They have always been my passion and my escape. I have learned so much about myself from caring for horses. I am still alive because of them. 

Many years ago, I reached a breaking point where my depression and anxiety were so bad, I no longer felt my life mattered. I believed that the world and those I loved would be better off without me. I was working long hours in an environment that was not positively impacting my mental wellbeing.  In that terribly difficult time, my horses gave me purpose, a reason to carry on.  Looking back, I realize that my life has meaning, and I’ve worked hard over the years to continue to grow, set goals for myself, and surround myself with positive influences. And luckily, I found an amazing company that allows me to help others find their passion and purpose, while also giving me opportunities to find mine. 

Talking about my struggles with depression and anxiety hasn’t come easy. I hope that by opening myself up others will feel empowered to do the same. 

If we can take one thing away from 2020, it’s that this year has made many of us face uncomfortable truths about the world we’ve been living in. We’ve all been juggling work remotely, taking care of ourselves and our family, and I think I can speak for most of us when I say, it has been a struggle. So, I think it’s important that we address mental health awareness in the workplace. 

Mental health in the workplace and why it matters

According to Google, “the average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over their lifetime”, which means you spend roughly 1/3rd of your life spent at work. I don’t know if there is a more significant point I can make about why mental health in the workplace is something we need to be talking about and addressing. 

According to WHO “Globally, an estimated 264 million people suffer from depression, one of the leading causes of disability, with many of these people also suffering from symptoms of anxiety. A recent WHO-led study estimates that depression and anxiety disorders cost the global economy $ 1 trillion each year in lost productivity.” 

Poor mental health and stress can negatively affect employees

Leading causes of poor mental health in the workplace

Mental and physical stress leading to burnout is something that plagues the modern workforce. Especially now, when we are sharing a work and home space for many of us, it can be hard to separate it all. Below are just a few of the typical daily stressors that negatively impact an employee’s wellbeing. 

Offering health and well-being benefits to employees to encourage exercise, healthy eating, and leisure actives. It’s important to remind employees that building good health habits can improve both physical and mental health. 

High-performing teams can sometimes isolate coworkers who may be feeling depressed or anxious. Finding ways to reduce the stigma around mental health and talking about concerns, stress management and self-care openly can help employees feel more comfortable and less alone. 

Offering free or subsidized clinical screenings, or health insurance with no or low out-of-pocket costs for mental health counseling. To allow employees to seek professional help where needed without the added stress of financial burden 

Change doesn’t happen overnight, it’s something we must chip away at consistently over time. I encourage you to check in with family and friends, coworkers, and employees. “Are you okay?” and  “How can I help?” can go a long way in opening the lines of communication with someone who requires support. 

Not everyone has a horse to carry their “weight” but I’d love for you to share a comment, or better yet a picture, of your hobby or whatever gives you purpose and helps you recharge. 

*Statistics, quotes, and ways to get involved came from WHO, the CDC website, and Google. Unfortunately, the horse quote came from Facebook, and unfortunately, I have not been able to track down the original author. 

How much weight can a horse carry?

How Much Weight Can a Horse Carry?

Six years ago, I was in the middle of a career transition, where I was moving out of the retail management space and targeting roles that were more involved in training and interviewing. During that time, I applied for several jobs I felt my background was an excellent fit. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t hear back until a couple of months later, when I received an auto-generated email response from the company’s HR department that another candidate was selected for the role. Fast forward several years later, I found my home in the staffing industry and heard from numerous candidates that they were applying to positions with companies, and I never heard back.

One thing I have learned about the hiring process is that when larger companies post their open positions on their websites, they’re getting several hundred applicants for one open role (sometimes as many as 500-600 applicants). If you’re applying with 500+ other applicants, the challenge becomes whether your profile stands out against the crowd or, even worse – if it is ever reviewed or seen by the internal team. This is why people get auto-generated rejection emails for roles that match their backgrounds.  

So why work with a recruiter or staffing agency instead of applying directly to these company websites? 

Most companies work with a select number of staffing agencies and limit the number of candidates these staffing companies can submit for an open position. This means you will have better odds of having your resume reviewed by their hiring manager. You may be one of 10-20 candidates submitted, as opposed to several hundred. 

I often hear people don’t want to work with a staffing agency or go into a company contract-to-hire because they “need something full-time.” This is when I must ask what they mean by “full-time”? The responses usually include stability, benefits, PTO/Paid Holidays, etc. It’s important to remember, especially in an at-will employment state, that being “full-time” doesn’t necessarily mean more stability. Companies go through layoffs, and the reality is that both contractors and FTE employees can be affected by that. While not as common, some staffing companies (cough, cough - Agility Partners) that offer “full-time” benefits like PTO/Paid Holidays, 401k plans, and health insurance make the contract-to-hire process as seamless as possible. 

Outside of increasing your odds of landing an interview, here are four additional benefits of working with a staffing agency: 

 is currently supporting start-ups and Fortune 500 companies across Ohio and Charlotte, NC, and specializes in direct-hire and contract-to-hire openings (

). To schedule a time to connect for a call, email me at 

Why work with recruiters and staffing agencies?

In the face of the COVID-19 crisis, I’ve thrown my entire sales playbook out the window. 

All the traditional tactics for calling on prospects either felt aggressive or uncomfortable. And I found myself, like so many other sales professionals, needing to develop an entirely new approach to earning new business. 

At first, establishing a new way of selling seemed like a daunting task. But then I realized since so many people are craving connection right now, there’s just one simple question sales professionals need to ask themselves, “How can I find unique ways to connect that feel natural to me and authentic to my customers?” 

To begin crafting my new approach, I spent some quiet time looking inward and identifying how I could tap into my interpersonal strengths to create genuine connections. As an avid 

enthusiast, I decided to start there. I used what I know about myself to begin to rebuild my sales technique. I am a 2 on the Enneagram scale, which is known as “The Helper”. My core values include kindness, altruism, empathy, and most importantly, togetherness. From there, I began to craft my approach around that one concept – 

Keeping this one idea in mind helped me navigate those situations more confidently. I began reaching out to customers with a very simple phrase, “How can I help?” 

I started making honest connections by offering my time and energy to create a sense of community and togetherness. And I created a shortlist of tangible services to offer my clients and candidates: 

Oftentimes when companies lay off staff they cut employees with the highest salaries - people who have been with the company for years. If you haven’t written a resume in 10+ years it can feel like an overwhelming task. 

 As a career recruiter, I’m closely tied to the corporate community. You might be wondering who is hiring, which industries have been the least impacted, or where you should be looking for new opportunities. 

 Having an experienced support system as you enter the job market as a new candidate can be crucial to your success. 

My new approach has been well received and the best part is, it FEELS RIGHT. It feels authentic. And it has become a differentiator for me. By sending a note about togetherness, kindness, and support with no strings attached – you can build lasting relationships. And in the end, that’s the most important sales tool you’ll ever need. 

I challenge you to spend some time learning about your interpersonal strengths and how you can best utilize them during this challenging time to create success for yourself. Here is a list of free personality tests that might help you dive deeper into the inner workings of your personality. 

https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/dotest

https://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-personality-test-new

https://high5test.com/strengthsfinder-free/

Comment below with what you’ve learned about yourself and how you plan to use your strengths to create honest, authentic connections!

How to shift your sales approach in the midst of a crisis

I listen to a lot of podcasts ranging from true crime, current events, arts and leisure to comedy; just to name a few. Recently I’ve been drawn to interviews with entrepreneurs and particularly, strong females.

Over the weekend, I listened to one featuring Oprah Winfrey. It wasn’t just an interview with Oprah, it was the most “Oprah interview” I have ever heard in my life. And I can’t stop thinking about it.

It was an episode of “We are Supported By,” which is the offspring of Dax Shepard’s podcast, “Armchair Expert.” His co-hosts, Monica Padman and Kristen Bell, speak with influential women across multiple fields to discover how they became successful and have paved the way for others to do the same. It would be impossible to have this format and not interview Oprah, one of the most successful media moguls in the world.

I have consumed a lot of Oprah's content over the years, from watching her talk show with my mother, buying her 20th anniversary DVD collection in college, and even listening to her own podcast, “Super Soul Conversations.” But this interview came with the heat. She quoted Maya Angelou, gave us some Gayle insights, even slipped in a little “teach people how to treat you” quote when she had the chance. To borrow a phrase, she understood the assignment.

As the end of the episode drew near, the conversation shifted toward trusting yourself. This is where we hit “Level 10 Oprah.” She speaks of asking yourself what you want and in order to do that, you must find the stillness. Then, she tells us a story... One night, Oprah is asleep on the night of a full moon. The moon was so bright that it glistened off of the ocean and illuminated her bedroom, which wakes her up. She walks out onto her ocean-facing balcony and stares out at the moon, the stars, and the ocean. A rooster even crows because it thinks it’s morning. A tear rolls down her cheek and there is nothing but STILLNESS. She actually whispers this. “COMPLETE STILLNESS.” And then she says, and I quote, “I am that stillness and that stillness… is me.”

To do this clip justice, it’s best if you just 

What a moment. It’s a moment that only seems achievable by Oprah herself. The ocean-facing balcony. The light glistening off the ocean, illuminating the tears rolling down her cheek. The rooster crowing. It’s as unimaginable as it is unattainable. I nearly laughed as I heard this story, but I stopped when I recognized that my reaction was coming from jealousy. “Why can’t I be the stillness, too?”

As a full-time working, single mom, there is no stillness--- there is only chaos. At work, there are meetings, decisions, coaching, fire extinguishing, and a series of tasks that I’ll have to put off until tomorrow. At home, it is an endless conveyor belt of responsibilities, parenting, cleaning and by the end of the day, it looks like 

Lucy and Ethel working at the chocolate factory

The downtime is not still. The downtime is disassociation in front of the TV and scrolling on my phone until I force myself to go to bed. There is no time for a soul-searching session on a balcony to be still and hear myself.

I’m currently in the middle of a very stressful season of my life where

it’s easier to solicit feedback and advice from others rather than listen to my own voice. It’s easier to blame a busy schedule than be accountable for not prioritizing my own needs and wants. How many times have you caught yourself doing the same?

For me, listening to the soothing whisper of Oprah’s voice was the wake-up call I needed. Stillness is what I needed.

Now to practice stillness, I try to wake up earlier than my children and reflect on what I need to get out of the day. What are the things I need to do? What are the things I want to do? How can I best serve myself today? What am I saying to myself when I am absolutely still? And while I can’t have those moments on a moonlit balcony facing the ocean (yet), the quietness of my bedroom is exactly what I need.

What will you do to find the stillness today?

Still-Busy

When you work in the staffing industry, you end up meeting a lot of people. Networking events and happy hours are a standard part of the workweek, and your wallet or purse becomes a treasure trove of business cards. If we’ve met, you’d assume that these events are where I shine. I’m pretty personable, engaging in conversation, and usually have a joke or two ready to tell. You might think that this is my favorite part of my job. 

I’m what is known as an “extroverted introvert.” This means that while being around, some people can recharge me, but of the time, it drains me. I’m also a high-functioning individual, so while I might be exhausted by networking, I do it all with a smile. Being in a room full of strangers without a peer by my side makes me feel incredibly insecure and awkward. I am not the type to “work the room” or start a conversation with someone I don’t know. Even writing about this scenario is giving me slight anxiety. 

So, you can imagine how I was feeling when I attended the Bullhorn Engage conference all by myself. While I was excited to learn from industry experts and explore new features of the Applicant Tracking System, I was also wholly dreading the various networking events sprinkled throughout the schedule. 

Hang out by the food and help clean up if you don’t have anyone to talk to.

Suddenly, my nightmare scenario was happening. I was at a Happy Hour event all by myself, drink in hand, the purse around my shoulders, just wandering aimlessly through a room full of people who all seemed to know each other. 

That’s when I caught eyes with a stranger. He was an older gentleman with an English accent and was waving me over to a group of people. 

? I responded. He probably thinks I’m a cocktail waitress. 

“Yes! Come over here!” I hesitantly walked over to him and a couple of female coworkers. “Are you here with anyone?” 

“No, actually, I came to Engage by myself,” I said timidly. 

“Well, you’re not by yourself anymore. You’re with us now! My name is Simon. This is Courtney and Sadie.” We exchanged pleasantries, and just before Simon walked away, he said, “I couldn’t help it. I saw you standing there by yourself, and at first, I thought you were waiting for someone, and then I realized that you had come here all by yourself. That’s a powerful thing to do! You’re welcome to hang out with us as much as you want.” 

This small act of kindness made a significant impact on me. First, I had an absolute blast with my new friends, who were gracious enough to include me in all their conversations and introduce me to more professionals. Second, I could tell that Simon was a successful person from his ability to read people. It turns out he is! I later found out that he is the CEO at 

. His colleagues confirmed that he had an excellent eye for talent. Third, it reminded me how powerful it is when you make someone feel SEEN. Being at a conference without any companions or coworkers made me feel invisible at times. The kind gesture of inclusion was empowering and recharged me. The rest of the weekend, I felt focused, eager to learn, and ready to bring back all this knowledge to my AP Team. This last revelation, however, was bittersweet. It made me realize that there were probably so many other people there by themselves, feeling insecure and not having anyone to talk to. I didn’t do anything to include those people because I was in my head about my own insecurities. I know better now. 

Big things can come from feeling included. It made me feel comfortable enough to let loose and play the absolute best round of Skee Ball of my LIFE (take that, Charles Levesque!), and it also created a great relationship with CloudCall. Once our company grows and it makes sense for our business to integrate a unified communications tool, they’ll be the first company I call. 

So, what will I take from this experience? While I at least have the appearance of an extrovert, many introverts don’t have that luxury. They look as uncomfortable as they feel. 

 Introverts have a lot to offer and rarely a platform to express themselves. Sometimes, we need a little nudge to join a group. I know I did. 

Engaging with the introvert

Agility Partners' President + Co-founder, Rob Moyer, was invited to be on the nationally syndicated podcast, The Shrimp Tank which is produced here in Columbus, OH. We had a great time on the show and gave lots of tidbits and nuggets to all of the listeners on our homegrown job referral platform, 

, how to become better business owners, and the current taco scene in Columbus. 

Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the dos and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful businesses.

How much weight can a horse carry?

Why work with recruiters and staffing agencies?

How to shift your sales approach in the midst of a crisis

Still-Busy

Engaging with the introvert

Cold calling doesn't cut it anymore