Time-Tested Principles Of Technical Recruiting: Insights From Marty Katz

Tech Recruiter Feature: Marty Katz

In our next "Day in The Life of a BWB Recruiter" series, we are highlighting Marty Katz, Principal Technical Recruiter at BWB. Katz’s longevity with BWB and in the industry are tough to beat, as he has been recruiting and working with candidates for over 32 years.

Having met our CEO, Dave Bacon, while working for RSA many years ago, Katz worked for a number of staffing firms before making the leap to BWB in the summer of 2011. Nearing his 12^th anniversary with BWB next quarter, we wanted to pick his brain on how recruiting has changed over the years and also, how it hasn’t.

Tell us more about your professional background and how you got into tech recruiting for BWB?

My first real job was with the federal government with the Social Security Officer (Office) as a Claims Representative and Operations Supervisor. [The work] was not very challenging or interesting, but in doing that, I gained a lot of experience in interviewing people, and that experience came in handy later in the recruiting arena.

I got a job with RSA shortly thereafter as an entry level researcher, and after a few months, they saw my value and I was promoted to recruiter. I was there for 12 years and it is also where I met Dave, about halfway through my tenure there. Soon after that, Dave was having success here with BWBacon and he asked me to join the team, and the rest is history.

What is one thing that has stayed true about recruiting over the years? What are the constants?

Establishing an initial connection with someone in the first minute or two on the phone, that has not changed. It’s about somehow getting their attention by having a job they are excited about or by having a personal connection with them.

Ultimately, recruiting is about relationships, relationship building, and being able to have a conversation off-the-go with someone you don’t know. You have to be fearless."

Before I started this career, in this world, I would have never thought I would call people for a living, basically selling them on roles they may be interested in. When I started recruiting in the old days, it was a lot harder because you were just trying to find anybody to call; it was all cold-calling people where they really had no idea who you were.

Are you saying that recruiting is more expected now in a way, that people understand the process?

Yes, but that makes it a little harder in a way because with all the resources we have to identify people now, [candidates] get contacted a ton. Back then you were going through books, articles, looking at user groups and making lists of people to try and call. You would actually have to call to the companies they were employed by to try and get to them on the phone, which was really hard as well.

That’s wild! What is the biggest advantage of how recruiting now, would you say it's better than what it used to be or just different?

It's different; easier in some ways and less easy at the same time because there's more competition. Now, you can readily identify groups of people to contact, there are better tools to stay in touch with those people, and better tools for the operations of recruiting in general, rather than faxing something like back in the day. When I started, we were regularly snail-mailing contracts.

What BWBacon value do you feel best represents you and your approach to recruiting?

Openness, honesty, and integrity. I’m a gut guy, almost all my recruiting is gut. I judge how good of a candidate someone will be based on how they communicate, what their qualifications are, and what my gut tells me, which is based on knowledge and experience of knowing how to read resumes and profiles. I also love that we don’t try and pull the wool over anybody's eyes or do anything unethical. Ethics are important to me as well.

Personally, it's who I am. I take being upfront and honest, sometimes to a fault, very seriously, and candidates appreciate being a part of the process from start to finish. One of the reasons candidates do not want to work with recruiters, and many of them come to the table with that approach, is because there are plenty of recruiters out there that do not operate with integrity.

Once they have your resume, they are going to fire it off all over the place without even asking you, or try to use your resume to get a new client. A lot happens in recruiting, and I think all of us fairly regularly have our candidates tell us that we are one of the best recruiting firms that they have worked with because we handle things in a really clear, upfront way. And that we follow up too. We hear about recruiting companies that do not follow up with candidates when they do not get the job and leave them sitting out there.

What should technical candidates know about the advantages of working with recruiter in your opinion?

The biggest one that I point out to people is that we can ensure that their information is going to be seen if we send it to a client."

If you are not working with a recruiter, you have no idea if anyone is even looking at your application or your resume. We have relationships with people at these companies in advance, plus a little inside information as to what they are really looking for, so if we send somebody over, we can assure that they will get looked at and be considered fairly.

Also, throughout the process, we can help with all kinds of things. Most people are not comfortable negotiating with salary and other aspects of the role, some are, but we can help with that. We can also help with interview coaching and overcoming objections, which can be a very important part of the process that would be more difficult to achieve without the support of a recruiter who has that relationship with the client.

What’s It Like To Work With Marty? Hear From Candidates He’s Worked With…

It's been a pleasure working with Marty! He's been super responsive and extremely helpful.

-Lucas

Marty Katz and team did an excellent job finding a role for me that has turned into a permanent position. And they continued to check on my satisfaction while I was under contract.

-Matt 

I've worked with many different consulting agencies in my years as a Software Developer. BWBacon is easily one of the best I've ever worked with for their attention to detail, their personal connections they make and maintain, and their excellent communication. I really appreciated all of Marty’s help throughout the process.

-Alan

Wrapping It Up

As the most tenured Recruiter at BWB, Marty holds down the fort in many ways. His consistency and process are unmatched, and he will never leave you without a follow up response. Marty goes to bat for his candidates, from helping them get the best offer package as possible to be ready to fire back with objections if someone he believes is qualified gets rejected. If you are in the market looking for your next role, you can expect a high level of expertise and guidance from Marty Katz.

Here at BWBacon Group, we know and live what you are experiencing as an employer or job seeker in Denver, Boulder, Dallas, San Francisco, New York City or any of the other cities we work in. We believe great recruiting starts and ends with understanding people.

If you have any questions about living, working or playing any of the areas we serve, please contact us. We are happy to help. Seize the day, every day, that’s what we say!