Recruiting, sourcing, interviewing, HR, hiring–when you combine these powerhouse functions into one, you’ve got Talent Acquisition: the organizational task of, quite simply, finding the right person for the job.
Meet our Vice President of Talent Acquisition: Jenny Trotta. In her leadership role, Jenny manages to stay sharp and acquire some of the best talents in IT. But what exactly makes her such a rockstar?
First and foremost, she is a ‘people person.’ Jenny excels at cultivating and maintaining relationships, especially across various skill sets and personality types. She is very good at thinking about the bigger picture, knows how to prioritize many tasks, and how to fulfill the most important ones quickly and efficiently. She works well under pressure and knows how to sell winning jobs to promising candidates. Perhaps most importantly, Jenny maintains a “high-touch” recruiting experience, communicating consistently by phone, text, or email. She updates candidates on their status at every stage of the process–almost at the very moment it’s happening!
When she started working for M&A, it wasn’t the large clients that enticed her.
“I like the family environment that [they] foster. M&A does not view their employees as just another number; they really care about their consultants and staff as individuals. [M&A has worked tirelessly to build this business from the ground up] and it’s evident as to why they’re so successful; ‘Once a Miller, always a Miller.'”
The ups and downs of a career in recruiting are inevitable, but what’s the best part of Jenny’s job? The impact she has on both clients and consultants. She is actively “bridging the gap between a client’s needs and a consultant’s career. It’s such a great feeling when you can equally get the client and consultant excited about a partnership between them.”
She also mentions, “I have had several consultants send me ‘thank you gifts from different countries; it was really touching.” Those acts of kindness make the job worth it, but to stay motivated all the time, Jenny has a winning mindset. “I want to win, but more importantly, I greatly enjoy helping people. I [keep the momentum] by knowing that I am helping someone with their career aspirations and growth.”
With years of experience, Jenny explained the long road it took her to get to this point in her career.
“I started ten years ago as a recruiter on very competitive government contracts (300+ vendors competing for one open requirement!). There was a significant amount of work involved for a very low win rate. It was not rewarding because you really want to help the candidate, but you know that the odds are against them. You have to put in the work in to learn this business [all the way] through and work your way up. I wouldn’t change the learning process for anything.”
She continued, “Now, I work on client accounts where I have direct relationships with the client hiring managers so [I’m able to connect] the client and talent at a much higher rate. This is a demanding career, but at the same time, very rewarding when you’re able to help others.”
Jenny began her professional career as a paralegal. She says, “I was recruited out of a law firm to an IT consulting firm to be their contracts/vendor manager, but within the first month, they quickly added recruiting to my role. They saw a talent in me that I didn’t see in myself. I went on to learn full lifecycle recruiting, client/vendor/employee management, and all facets of the IT consulting industry. It has been a wild but fun ride.”
In life, one’s path is not straight, but that makes everyone’s journey unique and rewarding.
When Jenny’s not working, you will likely find her outdoors. “I am always pushing myself in the mountains, rock climbing, backpacking, and mountaineering. In the winter, I change from rock climbing to ice climbing where I scale frozen waterfalls. I find that if you have a sport you can enjoy in every season, you will welcome each season happily (many folks dread the winter, it’s my favorite).”
“I wake up every day at 4:15 AM and I leave my house to go to the gym. I like getting in a workout before work, it sets the tone for the day. I also try to get out of the house for lunch, twenty minutes each day. A slight change in [scenery] can really influence positive work productivity.”
It is easy to see why Jenny is such an asset to M&A and an absolute inspiration for us all.