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Today we are talking with Collin Lashway about his role as a Recruiter.
Collin and I worked together when we both worked at adidas. Collin has since moved over to Nike and I have started my own business, but I am so glad we have kept in touch even through career changes. Collin has worked with candidates in many areas of the recruiting process. From coordinating new candidate travel to recruiting interns and now to making offers on the Footwear Product Creation team, Collin has done it all! The thing that stands out the most to me about Collin is his love for people. Working in recruiting is a job that he doesn't take lightly. He understands the impact an offer letter can have on someone and he loves being a part of that process. I am so excited to share all about Collin today so you can hear the inside scoop on all things recruiting!
Now let's learn more about Collin...
Name: Collin Lashway
Current Position:
Recruiter - Footwear Product Creation at Nike
Time in Current Position: 1 Year
Where Can You Connect with Collin?
Connect on LinkedIn!
What does a day in the life of a Recruiter look like?
A day in my current position looks like meetings with my talent acquisition team,
meetings with my hiring managers across Nike, and interviewing candidates. We also
have some projects or events thrown in throughout the year.
What roles did you have prior to your current role?
Prior to this role at Nike, I spent the previous 7 years working at adidas. I started in the
retail space, which led to a summer internship on the leadership development team at the end of my senior year at the University of Portland. That experience ultimately led to my first corporate role starting in talent acquisition (TA) back in October 2017.
I spent a few years as a Talent Acquisition Coordinator supporting multiple areas of the brand before making my last jump into a recruiting role on the University team. I did that role for the better part of a year, before making the transition to my current role here at Nike supporting all of the Footwear Product Creation teams across the company. My scope of work supports Development and Engineering roles at Nike, outside of Innovation and Design. I love my current role and connecting with really creative and innovative teams that make amazing products!
How did your experience in previous roles help you succeed in your current position?
My previous roles taught me a lot about how to manage a busy schedule, how to
prioritize my work, as well as how to work with a lot of different teams across brands.
TA is such a cross-functional team and getting to learn how to work outside of my direct team was a really valuable experience.
During my time as a Coordinator, I got visibility into the Footwear Development space and was able to work really closely with some teams over there. This sparked my interest in how Footwear Product Creation works. Now I get to hire amazing teams that do work I’m really interested in – so it’s the best of both worlds!
Is there an area of expertise needed to succeed in your current role?
The funny thing about Recruiting is a lot of us really don’t go to school to become
recruiters or have specific training for it. A lot of what we do falls back on what we
love to do, which is to help people. Some skills you do need to have in this field are a high level of empathy for others and an understanding of how to read team needs and situations. Most of all you want to provide an authentic experience for candidates.
How do you think your job will change in the next 5 years?
I think in the next 5 years my job will change in how we represent our business partners
and how we’re able to connect with candidates. I think there will be an emphasis on connecting with candidates and hiring in a more authentic and unique way. Recruiting has the opportunity to evolve into more than just a historically transactional process. It’s important to build real networks with people, take time to get to know candidates and be extra attentive to everyone’s needs in a hiring process. I think the next few years will show that Recruiting can really elevate how we can provide a great experience for candidates!
What skills make you successful in your career field?
Being able to be really organized is key. Everything moves at a different pace because
every role we work on is unique. You have to be able to manage a lot of competing priorities to be successful.
You also need to be able to communicate clearly with many different teams. Each team has its own set of needs and expectations coming into the hiring process. It’s important to provide a clear picture of what to expect from the recruiting side, while still listening and understanding the context behind how teams operate.
What parts of your job do you find most rewarding?
I enjoy providing a very authentic and real experience for people. I don’t try to be formal or too distant in the hiring process. Regardless of whether you’re a hiring manager or candidate, I want you to feel like we have a real rapport with one another.
I also want people to know that a brand like Nike is full of amazing people and breaking down those intimidating barriers within the application process is a big goal of mine. I want to meet people where they’re at, literally and metaphorically speaking. It's rewarding when people can have honest conversations with me. And of course, I love when a process ends with an offer. Getting to help someone achieve a goal like a new job is really rewarding!
What parts of your job do you find most challenging?
Unfortunately, a lot of my job as a Recruiter is having tough conversations with people. We are the people behind the phone who decline candidates for roles they were really hopeful about. We have to turn down a ton of absolutely amazing candidates throughout the process. It's challenging to find the balance as you go through the process. You want to get to know people, hope for the best for them, be a safe and trusted voice in the process, and provide a great experience. But at the end of the day, you know that only one person will get the role. It's hard to connect to such amazing people and then know they may not get the final offer. I try to remember that I can impact someone even if I don't end up giving an offer. Career journeys are tough and knowing that I can still be there for someone through the process makes it worth it.
Want to learn more about Collin??
Feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn. There is a direct link at the top of the blog!
If you would like to be featured in the Talent Spotlight Series, please contact me here!
I would love to share your career journey!
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