In this episode of Recruiting Trailblazers, host Marcus Edwardes interviews Stacey Stratton, the president and CEO of True Talent Group. The conversation delves into Stacey’s journey of founding her niche staffing agency in her basement in 2008, her passion for matching top marketing, creative, and digital talent with opportunities, and her approach to building meaningful relationships with clients and candidates. They discuss the importance of candidate experience, the challenges of scaling a boutique agency while maintaining quality, and the evolving dynamics of recruitment in a post-COVID world. Stacey shares anecdotes on overcoming initial hurdles, the value of meeting candidates and clients face-to-face, and offers insights on building a candidate-centric recruitment process. The episode underscores the significant impact of relationship-building in the recruitment industry.

00:00 Introduction to Recruiting Trailblazers
00:25 Meet Stacey Stratton: CEO of True Talent Group
02:11 Stacey’s Journey: From Basement Startup to Success
07:19 Navigating Challenges and Growth
10:27 The Importance of Face-to-Face Interaction in Recruitment
15:41 Building and Nurturing Relationships in Recruitment
24:19 The Changing Landscape of Recruitment
24:47 Building Long-Term Relationships with Candidates
25:26 Challenges in Winning New Clients
27:59 The Importance of Industry Expertise
30:44 Understanding Client and Candidate Needs
33:25 Scaling a Boutique Agency
36:01 Enhancing Candidate Experience
35:02 The Role of Candidate Experience
38:57 Nurturing Your Candidate Community
46:37 The Hard Truths of Recruitment
48:39 Balancing Personal Strategy with Scale
49:07 Final Thoughts and Farewell