Chris Edward Consulting

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How do I attract top talent? One of the biggest myths in recruiting is that passive candidates can be sold. They can't. The best candidates aren't looking for a perfect company. They're looking for an honest one. When I'm recruiting passive talent, the conversation usually isn't about compensation first. It's questions like: What does your growth path look like? Why did the last person leave? What's your attrition rate? What does your product roadmap look like? What separates you from your competitors? What tools or tech are they using right now? What does this company do differently from their competitors? Notice something... None of those questions can be answered with a bigger paycheck. Here's where I see companies lose great talent. A candidate asks about a challenge. Leadership dances around it. They sugarcoat it. Or worse... They pretend it doesn't exist. Top performers see right through that. They're not asking because they're looking for a reason to say no. They're asking because they're trying to decide if they're the person who can help solve it. There's a huge difference. In fact, some of the best placements we've ever made happened because a company was brutally honest. They said: "We are having challenges on delivery." "The way we have been doing things needs to change." "Our processes are broken." "We need someone to help us fix it." The right candidate didn't run from those conversations. They leaned into them. Because builders don't look for perfect situations. They look for meaningful problems to solve. If your biggest challenge is scaring candidates away... Maybe the goal shouldn't be hiding the problem. Maybe the goal should be fixing it. And if the truth pushes someone away... They probably weren't the right fit for your environment anyway. One resource that has helped clients in our space to update date with the times is our compensation guide. Download it here. It’s free. https://lnkd.in/gPaEK4xU

If your business grew 30% over the next six months... could your current team keep up? Think about the three or four people everyone relies on. Now imagine one of them gives notice tomorrow because the business is running a little too lean. What breaks first?

There was a candidate I'll never forget. Smart talent. Great resume. Solid experience. Every interview ended the same way. "We decided to move in another direction." After the fourth rejection, she texted me, "Can we talk when you get a minute?" She wanted to know what every candidate wants to know. "What am I doing wrong?" I told her the truth. "I don't know yet." As we started digging in, we talked through interviews she'd had over the years. The questions she remembered. The feedback she'd dismissed. The moments that didn't sit right. Then a pattern showed up. Every time someone challenged one of her ideas, she got defensive. She didn't think she was. In her mind, she was simply explaining himself. The hiring managers saw something different. They saw someone who struggled with feedback. The crazy part? She had no idea he was doing it. Recently, she had an interview Same experience. Same technical questions. This time, when someone pushed back on one of her answers, she paused. She smiled. And said, "That's a fair point. Here's another way I'd think about it." She got the job. It wasn't because she became smarter in recent weeks. It was because she became more self-aware. One thing I've learned after recruiting for years is that rejection makes it easy to assume everyone else is the problem, and sometimes they are. But a lot of times, it's the blind spots you don't know you have. The people who grow the fastest aren't the ones who think they're the best. They're the ones who are willing to ask themselves one uncomfortable question. "What are they seeing that I'm not?"

Great news from the Chris Edward Consulting community! Our partners at AVDG - GC Pro/Custom House have appointed Sean Jordan as their newest Event Tech. Sean has a strong background in Live Events & broadcast, working with partners and global companies on how to shape the experience into very diverse environments. He has a proven track record of delivering for clients worldwide. As AVDG continues to scale, Sean represents a key addition to the delivery Team. Congrats to Sean and the AVDG leadership team, Curtis Heath (President), Mike Clarke (National Service Manager), Brendan Harada (Regional Service Supervisor), Camber Zamperini (VP of Operations) ~ from all of us at Chris Edward Consulting! https://lnkd.in/g8jhRyxv

If you want to grow and hit your targets in today's market, talent matters. At InfoComm 2026, we spent time reconnecting with many of the professionals we've placed and the operators we support across the industry. The message was consistent: Quality over quantity when it comes to hiring. Companies are becoming more selective, more intentional, and more focused on finding people who can truly move the business forward.

Literally still have the text saved from the CRO: “Is so and so still available? We have a situation I need to connect with you on ASAP.” One of the biggest mistakes companies make Only interviewing when they have an opening. I saw this firsthand with two clients, and I’m sharing this story to help other companies avoid these basic mistakes. This all happened within the last couple of years. The reason for sharing it now is that we recently heard from one of our clients about how the talent we helped them hire added $32M to an account. We had come across a very talented seller who recently had a comp plan change (which also happens more than it should), and they were starting to explore other opportunities. I put this individual in touch with the CRO and basically said over text: “You are going to want to speak with this person from one of your competitors.” They talked and had a great conversation. The CRO called me and said: “I like them a lot. Going to get with our CEO and circle back.” He came back and said they couldn’t move on the person right now, but if something changed, they would definitely circle back. The CRO followed up with the candidate, explained the situation, and left things on a positive note. About two months later, one of their sellers left for a competitor, and it was threatening the loss of one of their biggest Fortune 500 customers. There was an immediate void. the CRO text me: “Is so and so still available? We have a situation I need to connect with you on ASAP.” I said yes. They did a few more interviews, but what had once been a nice-to-have conversation was now an urgent business problem. They were staring down the potential loss of roughly $20M in revenue and needed an answer fast. Within two weeks, the role was filled. The only reason they were able to move that quickly was that the CRO understood something most leaders miss: Great talent is hard to find, and it rarely shows up on your timeline. We can't predict where the next problem is coming from, but we all know challenges are part of running a business. Today, that account has expanded by $32M, and they ended up with someone even better than the person who was previously in the role. All because this client understood that the best talent rarely shows up when you have a need.