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Scott Harris, a Senior Recruiter at Oxford, uses his meticulous methodology to ensure that his day runs as smoothly as possible. As a result, his career has skyrocketed over the last five years. His relationships with his team and consultants have benefited from his belief that one should never stop learning.
Q: What is your professional background?
A: I earned a BA and BS in psychology with a history minor. From there, I received a master’s in industrial organization psychiatry. I originally wanted to be in learning and development, so when I interviewed for Oxford, I brought that to their attention. As a result, I have collaborated with L&D, leveraging my background in business psychology.
Q: How long have you been with Oxford?
A: Just shy of five years.
Q: What daily habits do you recommend for success?
A: Planning your day, taking the end or beginning of the day to plan, and catching up from the day before in the morning. Answer emails and add more of a flow. Don’t just focus on one task during the day. Instead, go through many different tasks – do traffic searching in the morning, and LinkedIn in the afternoon.
Utilize multiple monitors to react and be on top of everything.
It’s okay to take a five-minute break – move, do something else that will get you away from the task for a minute – it’ll help you focus and come back with a fresh set of eyes.
Q: What would you say contributes most to your success at Oxford?
A: The continuous training and the fact that the job is changing every day. I don’t feel this is a “boring” job – you have a lot going on. Being able to think on your feet helps.
Q: What is one of your greatest achievements to date?
A: Outside of my first year here, I have made it to our annual sales incentive trip each year.
Q: What attributes do you think are most important in a leader?
A: You need to know how to actively listen and be able to provide growth to your team. It is essential to be understanding and make sure you have a drive, and your team sees that. You should also understand when it’s important to have your door open and listen to your team.
Q: What do you do to keep up with business trends?
A: Review recent news articles, Reddit, stock news, look for companies going through M&As, downward trends, and audits. I use those news searches to my advantage to look for employees that might be laid off or companies that might be hiring in the future.
Q: What skills will be most in demand in 2023?
A: Within our life sciences branch, we will see a significant uptick in IoT. We should also be seeing more remediations popping up over time.
Q: What are the top three trends impacting your industry that you see?
A: Large changes in technology and growth – companies switching away from paper-based systems to electronic.
Because of this, organizations will experience strong validation needs and more companies will be switching from remote back to on-site.
Q: What trends are you seeing in talent and recruitment this year?
A: Everyone still wants to be remote – trying to reach a happy medium with the companies on a hybrid schedule.
Q: As technology continues to advance, how do you see that impacting the recruiting and staffing industry?
A: People need to understand how to do key commands and shortcuts in the technology. It’s important that they can utilize the available tools effectively. Other issues requiring expertise might include switching over to more and more vendor management systems or any hardship in speaking more directly to the manager and going through a system wall.
Q: How do you define customer care?
A: Treating the customer as if they are #1 and trying to be as transparent as possible in understanding each of our customers. Spell it out for each one and make them feel like we care about them and that they’re not just a number.
Q: What advice would you give to individuals interested in consulting?
A: Understand there will be many ups and downs, and it is a bit of a grind. You should stick with it for the long haul. It may take a while to get yourself on your feet. Once you’re up and running, you will be successful. Keep your personality, don’t fake who you are. Use who you are to your advantage. If you’re a schmoozer, schmooze. If you’re shy, be shy.
Q: How do you support driving change with your team or colleagues based on strategic business decisions?
A: When something happens, you have to roll with the punches. Whether you agree or disagree with the change, adapting is okay.
Q: What do you do to mentor the individuals on your team?
A: I train each of them individually. I train them on how I got from point a to point b. I explain the importance of understanding a skill, how we do something, and lessons on growth. I’ll gladly schedule one-on-one meetings to answer individual questions to help each team member grow within their role. I will do my best to help if they get stuck on a pain point. It depends on the individual – you must adapt to each person and determine what will work best for them.
Q: What do you like best about working with your consultants?
A: I have my own mini business at Oxford – I’m following the policies but helping my consultants grow or find the next job they’re excited about – I’m here to help them, and that’s what’s important.
Q: Why Oxford?
A: For clients, we undergo an intense screening process for each consultant we work with. For everything from references to custom cover letters to coaching and mentoring, we’re there every step to ensure you get the right consultant for your need. For consultants, we have a healthy number of jobs, and we take care of each consultant’s needs from location to competitive pay rates – ensuring we’re available to you throughout each step – and offer guidance and job coaching, doing everything we can to build a strong relationship with you. We have a solid training and mentorship program for internal employees that will help you get off the ground and see real progress and growth within your career. We also have a competitive salary and a solid ability to make uncapped commissions. I have a fantastic management team that has helped me grow in my career and personal development. I have been able to shine the way that I feel is best, and they have adapted to my style of doing business.
Q: Do you have any special talents or a favorite hobby?
A: I spend a lot of my time playing board games and Magic: The Gathering.
Q: How do you like to spend your free time?
A: I like to spend my time planning where to travel next.
Q: What would your superpower be?
A: Telekinesis
Q: How do you take your coffee/ What’s your Starbucks order?
A: It depends on the day. Some days it’s two shots of espresso over ice. On other days, it’s a caramel macchiato.
Q: What was your first job?
A: I was a cashier at a grocery store.
Q: What job did you want as a child?
A: I wanted to be a dentist.
Q: Who are you most inspired by?
A: Stan Lee.
Scott’s career with Oxford will inevitably continue to grow, and we are excited to see where he goes next!