FPC Riverwood Podcast
Summary
John and Ben, two distribution and warehouse professionals, discuss the current state of the industry and the importance of networking and staying connected with other professionals. John shares his experience as a recruiter and how he builds relationships with potential candidates and clients. He talks about the necessity of bringing quality candidates and the risk of damaging his company's reputation if they don't meet expectations. The two also talk about the changing landscape of technology and talent in the industry.In this video, Chris Barnes interviews a staffing expert about the job market and hiring in the supply chain and logistics industry. They discuss how the job market has been impacted by COVID-19, the importance of networking and building relationships, and how candidates can make their resumes and social media profiles stand out to hiring managers. They also touch on the importance of education and advanced degrees for career growth in the industry. The leadership recruiting industry is constantly evolving and seeking new skills and qualifications in candidates. Certifications such as Lean Six Sigma green belt or MBA degrees can give candidates a competitive edge, but they are not always required. Some of the hardest roles to fill are off-shift or overnight positions, while the easiest searches are for director and C-suite positions. To increase chances of being noticed, candidates should have a strong online presence, specifically on LinkedIn, and be able to articulate their accomplishments and their impact in previous Edgar Hadley, the most pleasant gentleman I have ever competed with in business. He and I have had great conversations over the years and are aligned on important business core beliefs. The below shownotes are unedited: Topic: Warehouse Talent and Industry Outlook Riverwood founded in 2011 to help the millennial generation regain meaningful employment in the wake of changes in the economy and shifts in technology. John himself entered the manufacturing logistics recruitment industry having zero background in transportation, an MMBA, and: It was an honor to chat with John Rank, a UPS guy and recruiter for FC Riverwood, on the Warehouse Underground podcast. We discussed his career, the challenges of recruiting in a warehouse environment, and his tips for job seekers. He also shared some information about FC Riverwood's unique recruiting strategy, which involves reaching out to potential candidates through LinkedIn. We encouraged listeners to join the community, and I reminded them to check out our other podcast, the Tiger Team Show. We ended the episode
Transcription
Ben Hopkins
[00.00.01]
Hey everyone. Thanks for tuning in tonight for a special episode at the Warehouse Underground podcast. We are inside the community tonight. I'm joined with a special guest, John Renck. He is a owner operator of an executive search firm focused on identifying top talent and warehousing and transportation FPC Riverwood. But he also has an Ops background himself, which is very interesting, very unique amongst recruiters. And he has a little bit of a military background. He's a West Point grad on the Air Force Academy grad, so we share some of those similarities. So I thought it would be a cool event to bring him on to talk about both sides of the fence, both what it's like from the ops side and now what he's seeing on the talent acquisition side. What are companies expecting to see? How is he going to source talent? What recommendations does he have? What are organizations looking for when they hire warehousing and distribution professionals? So it should be a really cool event. So John is already there I see him up on my screen. So John man thanks for joining us tonight. How are you sir.
John Reinke
[00.01.08]
Doing well sir. Thank you so much for having me.
Ben Hopkins
[00.01.11]
Yeah, you got it, man. So I've been wanting to do this show for a while because I, I've been I follow you on LinkedIn. I follow a lot of people on LinkedIn. You post on LinkedIn a lot about this type of stuff, which is how I kind of first found out about you. So before we jump too much into the show, you know, we're both in the industry. We're both familiar with the industry. What are your overall thoughts from where you sit, what your viewpoint like, what's your thought, what's your thoughts about that and the distribution industry right now? And maybe kind of how have you seen it change over the years?
John Reinke
[00.01.51]
Yeah, it's definitely, uh, an interesting time and distribution of transportation, a lot of evolution going on with technology to to talent to say the very, very least. Couple in, you know, the potential over hiring that happened after Covid. A lot of companies, small, medium and large are currently going through seasons of right sizing and being very selective in the leaders that they bring on their teams, and rightfully so. Yeah.
Ben Hopkins
[00.02.21]
Yeah. I mean, I think I think it's a, I think it's like a fast moving ball game. You know, I mean, and that's one of the reasons why I think it's important for people to be out there online. Like be present on LinkedIn, be present and all these things because the market change is so fast. And I think the trap that a lot of warehouse leaders fall into and distribution center leaders fall into. And and I want to know your opinion on this is they they tend to be very focused inside their four walls and rightfully so. That's where their job is. That's what they're trying to do. They're they're trying to do the best, but sometimes at the expense of their network, you know, networking, understanding what's happening in the industry as a whole, what's happening in other companies, like what's happening with recruiters. And so sometimes I feel like that can put them at a little bit of a disadvantage. I mean, what do you think about that? I mean, how did people how should people kind of balance both performing well in my job? Yes. But also having an eye out and an ear out to what might be happening out there in the industry at large.
John Reinke
[00.03.28]
No, that's a terrific question. You know, admittedly, I was guilty of the same when I was leading operations in yesteryear myself, where I had a relatively small LinkedIn, um, you know, community that I was a part of, which is obviously grown exponentially over the years. But, you know, for free, they never hurt anybody. So reconnecting with old colleagues and friends in industry, having networking conversations with friendly competitors to even us recruiters. You know, a lot of us have no expectations or strings attached to a networking, an intro type chat. So yeah, you know, what's the harm in making a new acquaintance? And, uh, you know, expanding your network where, if nothing else, you know, when you do have a periodic conversation, you might be able to glean just a little bit more on what's happening at the broader scale, because, yes, the four walls of your operation, they're very, very important. But, you know, oftentimes, you know, we lose sight of the bigger picture. And, you know, sometimes that's just to say two and three steps ahead of it all by gaining a little bit of market intelligence.
Ben Hopkins
[00.04.36]
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely I think so. And some people sometimes feel oh well that's that's showing disloyalty to my current employer. I don't want it to get back to them that I'm scoping out other opportunities or scoping out other things. And I don't really see it that way because other people that are in your operation are doing that. So if you're if you're not, you're at a little bit of a disadvantage. And I don't think I think that just like if I, if I had somebody that I was supervising that was doing that, it's just that's
John Reinke
[00.05.10]
just smart. I mean, I think that's just a smart, wise thing to do and is not showing disloyalty. If anything, I really think it's showing that this person is engaged. They care about their career, they care about doing well. They care about what's going on out there. So if you're listening out there and you feel like apprehensive about kind of doing that, and I kind of did when I was younger, and I know some of the younger guys out there might do that to like it's a it's okay. Like it's just it's just it accepted that that's what you're going to do. And you know, you don't want to oh you want to advertise it everybody and all that. But I think it's okay to to do that. You can, you know, you can be loyal to your wife. Right. Loyal to your spouse. But it's okay to date around a little bit on the job to see what. Just see what's going on out there. So all
Ben Hopkins
[00.05.56]
right. So cool. So you you're you're at your firm at PC Riverwood. Mm. Walk us through how you work. I mean, do do do companies come to you? Do they come to you? And they say we need person X, Y, and Z that has this type of credentials, that has this type of ability. Do you go to them? You go to the company and say, hey, you know, I've got this big bank of candidates that I built up, you know, what about this person? What about this person? Like, how does that happen? I mean, what's the day in the life like for you? I mean, is your phone ringing off the hook or are you. Are you sourcing, like, what? You know what? What? How do you go about your your business? It kind of serve both sides of the, of the coin there.
John Reinke
[00.06.38]
I appreciate you asking, Ben. So, uh, you know, being a former scout myself, you know, I'm not a salesman by trade. So in the spirit of that, you know, I look at operations talent to a slightly different lens. Having been a director of general manager in yesteryear. Um, what I'm always doing is building relationships for fundraising, if you will, and really focusing on meeting people where they are today. Uh, manager, today might be a potential candidate next year if their company goes to change. Or a candidate today may potentially be a client two and three years down the road. So any and all fresh conversations that I engage in, there are no strings attached. There are no expectations. This is me putting myself out there to try and say hello beyond social media, and open myself up as a potential network. Yeah.
Ben Hopkins
[00.07.33]
Yeah. Now do you.
John Reinke
[00.07.35]
Um. Do you.
Ben Hopkins
[00.07.37]
Oh. Sorry. John. I'm sorry. Do you build, uh, do you build a bank of candidates? I mean, do you do you find people on LinkedIn and say, you know, hey, you're very interesting if something comes up like. I mean, how does that work? I mean, do you do you do that because I think, like, if I'm in your shoes, I don't want to be flat footed. I mean, if a company comes to me and they and they have this request, I would think it might be helpful if you've already got four or 5 or 6 leads that you're already aware of versus kind of start from scratch. I mean, how's that? How's that? How's that work? No,
John Reinke
[00.08.11]
absolutely. So I do start a research first and foremost with who do I already know out there that could benefit from learning about this opportunity? Okay. And then, uh, you know, on. And that search assignment comes from somebody that I've been acquainted with for 2 or 3, four years where it's been nothing, but really until when they actually have a challenge on their team, a, uh, real life two life stories that at the beginning of the year, a team that I with for two years actually reached out to me unexpectedly saying, John, we're going to need help with a general manager search here in the next couple of weeks, and I proactively I will. And daily commuting distance. I'll let the town know that we might be on the leading edge of an opportunity. This is what it might look like. Which? Near the pool? Down to six. We qualify the search, vetted it down to the top four of six, and we ended up having a successful outcome within three weeks. So again, it goes to show the strength of relationships on both sides of the equation. Already well connected and acquainted with the talent out there that might be open to hearing about an opportunity. And then you've also been networking with the hiring company that has at least some degree of know, like and trust on what FTSE Riverwood can do and probably to other firms as well.
Ben Hopkins
[00.09.39]
Yeah. I mean do do the. So how important is it for you that you're bringing quality. I mean you got to bring quality candidates I think because otherwise you risk kind of tarnishing your, your, your brand of, of your company, I would think I mean, what makes a bad candidate, I mean, do you worry about people getting a job for a very short time and then they leave? Do you worry about hey, they they they didn't they lied right on their qualifications or are you at the level where, hey, at the caliber of person that I deal with is not really is not really doing these type things like that's that's not really a thing that, that, that I see at this level.
John Reinke
[00.10.21]
That's that's a great question. So, you know, as much as it pains me to say it, at the end of the day, people do. People at all levels, from frontline team members all the way up to and including executives. Right. But, uh, you know, with that in mind, having been a former hiring manager myself, you know, I do put every candidate that I intend on submitting to one of my clients who a pretty thorough interview myself. Yeah. To make sure everything matches up with the resume and really focus on the value that they could, you know, bring to that organization since I was the hiring manager, if it's not somebody that I would actually want to interview myself, then I'm not going to move them forward. Because as you mentioned, that's my name, the company's name or reputation on the line. And you know, you're not going to bat a thousand, but we do your very best just so that you're only putting the A players out there for consideration.
Ben Hopkins
[00.11.20]
Yeah. Now let's talk about some of the things that candidates traditionally do or have like resumes, cover letters, you know, all these types. So you know, how critical is a resume, how critical the resume against their LinkedIn profile. I mean, I feel like LinkedIn is, is emerging to be right up there with a resume, in fact, maybe even has has gone in front of it, I don't know. And then other just like other social media presence, whether it's TikTok, Facebook, things like that. So, you know, what do people need to think about putting all of their package together and like what matters and what does not matter in the eyes of a hiring manager?
John Reinke
[00.12.06]
So I would say, first and foremost, make sure that your resume and your LinkedIn profile match with places of employment, title, so on and so forth. Um, you know, we'll start with the resume where I think that's the most important piece. You know, you're really looking for a document that is no longer than 2 to 2 and a half pages, tops. You really want it to be heavily quantified. I know that a lot of buzzwords get thrown around out there in distribution, but the proof is is. Are you really looking for quantifiable achievements that you can highlight and broadcast in each respective section of the resume? Most impactful. Least impactful? Any bullet points that don't have a number associated? They're still great for context. Just keep it at the bottom of each respective section. And then you know, again, making sure that your LinkedIn profile corresponds to said resume. Make sure you have a presentable, professional looking picture there for the world to see, because a lot of hiring managers will do that research on you and extend that into social media. So whether it be LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, so on and so forth. You know, don't put anything out there that your mother might wish if she came across it. Because a hiring manager. Very well may, um, you know, a lot of talk about cover letters and the like as well. They may be required if you're direct applying for a position when you're partnered up with a search firm, typically it's not going to be required. Uh, you know, I always end up drafting up a executive summary for each candidate that's moving forward to a client. That is really the somewhat beyond the resume, tailored specific towards that role. So, you know, may very well be important for those online applications. But, you know, I don't see those too often these days.
Ben Hopkins
[00.14.08]
Yeah. Well, and um.
John Reinke
[00.14.11]
Like now as part of the Warehouse Underground. I network with a lot of people in the industry on LinkedIn. I mean, I've, you know, I've grown a following and I've kind of built a following. And so I've seen so many different. And so I feel like a little bit like I have the seat that a recruiter might have. And, and what you see over time of doing this, just looking through people and profile people and profile people and profile, you can see how a recruiter would be quick to write some like no, no photo on there or an an unprofessional photo. You're out because the recruiter is just going through like hundreds, hundreds and hundreds of these. And they're just they're human and they're just they're just going to do that long before they take a look to go through all of your numbers and everything. And people get upset by that. And I understand it. But that's just the way that the game is played. And that's the advice that I always tell young managers or anybody who's in this game is you're right. Like you must it's a little bit like dating. It's not dating. Okay. I don't want to put it out there, but it is a little bit like that and you don't have your stuff up there. They're just not going to take you serious because and and I and I've always thought about this too, like the company put yourself in the hiring managers shoes. They are kind of putting their neck out there. Their judgment is being gauged by whoever their boss is of, you know, what type of person they're bringing in and they're interviewing and all that. And so they have a level of risk mitigation to do they not? I mean, I like. Uh, here. Here are our five incredible candidates. They're all vetted. Their LinkedIn profile is professional. Every suit and tie, the whole thing.
Ben Hopkins
[00.15.56]
It's easier to. And I hate to say this, but it's easier to, like, have an out if it turns bad, if it turns sour in the end to go, I did everything I could, right? Like I vetted everything versus you put somebody in there who has a half ass profile, they don't have a picture and everything, and they turn bad. Then now you're now you're kind of your judgment is is on the line too. So I think just put yourself in the eyes of that person and say, this person is, is putting their neck out on the line and they want to have some level of risk mitigation. So am I just I mean, am I making all this up or is there some kernel of truth to to that? I think that people need
John Reinke
[00.16.39]
to know you're spot on. You know, a first impressions, a lasting impression. How we present ourselves to the universe is, you know, how we're going to be received. So you might as well have that professional picture there doesn't mean that you can't like hiking or boating or fishing or hunting or whatever else you may be involved in, but that doesn't need to be the profile picture, you know? Let your personality shine through after you've secured the first and the second. Yeah.
Ben Hopkins
[00.17.09]
All right. So. Well, let me ask this question to you because in the, in this industry and, and this is probably a little bit less common now, but at one point this there are some warehouse leaders out there. There are some ops leaders out there that don't have college degrees, or they don't have a college degree from a four year university. You know, like that, that type of thing. So now sometimes those people can be fantastic, but they're when they think about their next career step, they're very insecure about the fact that they do not have a college degree. And they want to know, hey, I'm I'm an incredible performer. Everybody at my place knows who I am. But if I get outside into the big ocean, how important is it for me to get a college degree? Like, must I do that or is it enough to have resources or. Sorry, references and a track history and ability to interview? Like what do you what do you think about college? Because because there are some good people in this industry that, that that don't really have that they're they're not cookie cutter. You know, they kind of came up the ranks. They were a temp, they were warehouse employee. And they and they just came up. What's your advice to people about that? Absolutely. So I'm going to start by saying the absolute best, most effective leader I've had the privilege of working under in my civilian career did not have a four year degree. Yeah. Now, the reason I say that is it's always good to continue to strive for more and continue learning. Right. But especially as I see it in three PL, there are a lot of senior leaders, especially with small to mid market businesses that do not have four year or advanced degrees. And that's okay. They're strong performers. Oftentimes what they've done instead is they've leaned into formal certifications. Think like Lean and Sigma and um.
John Reinke
[00.19.04]
Big impact. So, you know, if somebody's considering continuing their education, you know, absolutely more power to you. The the question that I would reflect on is, what are my personal and professional ambitions? And does going back for that degree serve them?
Ben Hopkins
[00.19.23]
Yeah. Well what about MBA? I mean, what about BA for for senior level? If I want to be like, I don't have an MBA and I'm a regional director in my day job that I do on the side outside the. But you know, what do you think about that? I mean, how important is that if you want to be a VP, that type level. Is it different? Is it different at that level? Is that is that something that people should try to do or or. No,
John Reinke
[00.19.49]
no. Nor do I have an MBA either. Right. Um, I will tell you, if you're looking at the big mega corporations out there, especially the the fortune five hundreds, you know, you're probably going to need an MBA or other advanced degree if you want to get into the director and above level ranks. Yeah. Um, for the small to medium sized businesses, which is 80% of the companies that, you know, I do support, um, some of those senior leaders at the VP level and above, they do have those advanced degrees. Oftentimes they're pretty specific in nature. But, you know, by and large, you know, most of them have a four year degree at that level. But, you know, if you're really looking at the corporate ladder with big companies, it's probably going to do you well. If you're looking to be a senior leader with a small to mid market company, you know, again, I'm not trying to say don't continue your education but may not be as necessary. Yeah.
Ben Hopkins
[00.20.47]
Yeah. I got you. And I think that that one. That thing has been changed in a little bit over the years, too. There was a time, I think, where everybody recommended that everyone have an MBA type thing. And it's. I still think it's valuable. Right. Like I think, but in this particular industry, though, I've noticed a little bit of a feedback from people that it's less important now than what it may have been assessed in the years. But I, I'm no expert in that. I mean, I could be wrong and ultimately it's it's in the eye of the beholder. Whoever you know, whoever you're talking with or whoever's in your organization may place more importance on it than others. So I think it's very variable in that way. But, you know, I, I agree. So you mentioned something. Um, you know, certifications inside the industry, green belt, black belt, things like that are those are those are those nice to haves or are they deal breakers if people don't have them. Because because you sit in here and you go back to that, uh, story where, hey, I've got to risk mitigation. If I put these people forward. So is it easier for me to say, no, I'm just going to put the people forward. I'm going to put five black belts forward. And if this person doesn't have a black belt, I'm not going to put them forward. Like are they are they deal breakers. Right. Or are they sprinkles on top like nice to have for uh, for people if they want to move up.
John Reinke
[00.22.08]
Gotcha. I didn't mean to step on me there, I apologize. Okay. Yeah, I actually asked that question every time I qualify a new leadership search. And more often than not, it's a nice to have. Not a must have. But I'm always looking for it if I have two nearly identical candidates. In. Just an absolute personality gap compared to the non certified individual. That formally certified leader will oftentimes win the day. But yeah again when I qualify the search typically it's a nice to have not a must have or in a few examples. Yeah yeah. No I think that's kind of how I see that too. And those, those uh
Ben Hopkins
[00.23.00]
certifications have direct impacts I think on
John Reinke
[00.23.04]
ops, when you're talking about lean six Sigma green belt, black belt, those type things help you directly in that role. And MBA, I think, will, you know, collectively help you in your career and everything. But it's not necessarily a direct benefit from the ops that you are trying to run. Whereas that type of thinking and that methodology and that strategy directly impacts kind of the efficiency of, of ops. So
Ben Hopkins
[00.23.30]
um, cool on that. So. In um, in the industry there are lots of different types of roles, right? So you have, um, you know, manager leads, transportation, logistics, inventory control, you know. So what are the types of roles that you see that are harder to place? You know, because I, because I've heard like inventory control is on the rise, more people want to have people in that quality control, you know, ops those types things or like specialists versus just a general, hey, I'm a I'm a floor manager or I'm an obsolete like that. If I've got, you know, a specific inventory control background that's harder to fill. What what what do you see on that? What are the hardest roles for you to fill and what what are some of the easiest
John Reinke
[00.24.19]
ones? Yeah. So, uh, I, I'm grateful for every search that we are engaged. I'll start that right. Um, with that in mind, I'm most qualified to serve those that I used to be. So the types of searches that we typically execute against are going to be site personnel holder and above. So yeah, warehouse general manager, trucking terminal manager director and so on and so forth. But uh, with that in mind, if I have served with an individual in an adjacent capacity, like an inventory manager, for example, when I was in industry. I'm comfortable working on those searches as well. There's just a little bit more of a opportunity type assignment as capacity allows. Um, so understanding that we typically work at that site PNL holder level and above on occasion. In addition to those adjacent function type searches, we'll also do like a number two, an assistant GM or a department head. Um, the most difficult searches, honestly, for me, over the last seven and a half years have been off shift. First leadership that's running the operation. It takes a special breed to run the warehouse at 2 a.m.. Right? Yep. But, uh, you know, on the other side of the equation, you ask, what are the easiest searches to, uh, to pursue? And honestly, they're the director through C-suite type assignments. And the reason for it is, to your point earlier, there's nothing disloyal about network and leaders at that level understand the strength and relationships. They understand that you need to have networking conversations and continue to expand your base, and they're more prone to take the phone call to learn about an opportunity. They're honestly the easiest ones to, uh, line up a very deep bench of talent.
Ben Hopkins
[00.26.22]
Yeah, I would think. I think I would agree with you on that. Uh, and they, they are very they're, they're typically very networked in with other people. They know how the game gets played and sometimes they've been burned, you know, and I mean, I hate I hate to say that, but when you get to that level in your career, sometimes you've been burned a couple of times. And so now you you think, hmm, that's not going to happen again, right? I'm not going to get caught flat footed. I'm going to be offensive, and I'm going to be offensive and go and seek out and find these things and strike while the iron's hot, you know, while they have them. And so I think they're, they're already they've got the credentials, they've got the qualifications. Boom. Job postings up there in there right away. You know, uh, and so yeah, I mean, I, I could totally see how people at that level would be an easier search for you because it sounds like they're more ready to go, you know, they're they're primed and ready to go, but you know, any any, you know, uh, directors wanting to work at three, three in the morning and night shifts out there. You get that roll
John Reinke
[00.27.28]
up. Yeah. You are in those positions, right? Yeah, yeah. So
Ben Hopkins
[00.27.39]
what, uh, and and you probably get asked this from people. What can I do? I mean, if I am a candidate, how what can I do to best increase my chances of being attractive to companies, of being attractive to a a search firm or a recruiter? Like what type of bait do I need to be putting out there in the water to get the most kind of bites on it? Um, if I if I was looking to do
John Reinke
[00.28.05]
that. Absolutely. So there's obviously the existing network where recruiters get acquainted with talent, and we always start there. But in parallel to that, we're always out there looking at who else to this be a benefit for, who else could be attractive for the opportunity and the best way to gain visibility? There is going to be, again, having that strong LinkedIn profile, professional picture, making sure it's current, maybe having a couple of bullet points on select accomplishments for each respective section and, uh, you know, being open to having the conversation, even if it's thank you, but no thank you. You never know where that conversation may lead down the road. Uh, real life, true life story. Um, was actually networking with another Air Force Academy grad for about five years, and, uh, I thought he was still in Savannah, Georgia. Knew he wanted to get home to East Tennessee. We loosely stayed in touch. He kept his LinkedIn profile current. Uh, he obviously had a very strong resume. He was with an industry leader in the trucking industry, but it took a full five years for the stars to align. And he had moved home to East Tennessee. I qualified a new search, did a quick Google map search to see how far point A to point B was 20 minutes doorstep to doorstep. So, uh, the long and short of it is, you never know how, when, where or why the stars will align. But, you know, again, having that strong online presence, um, you know, only putting good things out there for others to consume and being able to back it up with the quantifiable achievements. And, uh, you know, as much as I hate to say it, I, I, I know we're inundated with data and all kinds of competing demands these days, but it literally takes ten minutes to update your LinkedIn profile whenever you make a career move. Right? Yeah. Well invested. Yeah. And I think it's important for people to understand that when you're talking about that data, you need to be able to articulate how that is impactful, how it was impactful to your operation or your organization. Because a lot of like, if you go if you go look on people's LinkedIn, just the data is everywhere. You know, I, you know, 10% improvement, this, uh, 5% reduction in that like but to hiring manager. You don't know like is 10% amazing at their site or is people other people doing 30 and 40, you know, like there's just no way for you to know because all the different sites are completely different. I mean, a 5% reduction at 1st May be nothing. You know what I mean? So, like, I think it's not just about the like the data matters to you inside the four walls where you work, but you got to be able to quantify that and kind of translate it into something where somebody can go, ah, like like I see how that could,
Ben Hopkins
[00.31.03]
you know, transition to where we are. I see the impact that that brings, that type of thing. It's not just, oh, well, you know, if you just throw out numbers out there, it's just going to be like, you know, the the peanuts teacher to the hiring managers. But you gotta quantify the impact, right? And make sure that they understand what that means. You know, like what. You know how big of a lift that was or how big of a success story that was for the environment that you were, that you were in because they're hearing that from everybody, I think.
John Reinke
[00.31.31]
Well, absolutely. And to that very point, whether it be the resume or the LinkedIn profile, that's why you want to cascade from most impactful the least and then leave the bullets without numbers associated for the bottom, because, as you mentioned, you know, 5% could mean, you know, peanuts or yeah, that could mean 100 folks. Yeah, exactly. Like dollars dollars a month and cost of bullets, 1.2 million per year. You never know unless you give this. So what? So be as specific as.
Ben Hopkins
[00.32.03]
Yeah, I agree with you on that. So now what about um, and we talked a little bit about this before we went live. But what about interviews themselves. Do you, do you do you coach candidates up on that? How deep do you go when you do that? Is it is it very surface level? Do you coat I mean to depend on them, the caliber of them. And then what kind of feedback do you hear from? I mean, do companies give you feedback after they interview a candidate? And like, what was the good, the bad and the ugly coming back from them after that? Absolutely. So I'll start by saying I coach and prep candidates, regardless of level of seniority, for any and all interviews. And, you know, I put it out there upfront that I'm not trying to insult your intelligence. I'm just trying to ensure that you were teed up for success. And, uh, before we even have that prep call, I'll share some material on the company, the key leaders, you know, the copy of the job description. Just so it's all packaged up nice and neat for them, so they can do the requisite homework to go in for a well-informed conversation. But, you know, when I take them through the prep call, I talk to them about personalities. I talk to them about best practices. You know, how to open the star method, how to close, and, uh, you know, at the end of that protocol, they are ready for the test. It doesn't take an inordinate amount of time to have that conversation, and then it's really on them to execute from that point going forward. After any and all interviews, first I debrief with the candidate to see how they think it went. See what was covered. Assess their level of interest. Tentative next steps, if any, were shared during the call. And then I re-engaged with the hiring company and do the exact same thing. And I've had some clients, you know, kind of notice some trends where they all started the same way, and they asked the same thing at the end of the the question, are you prepping that? Yes, I am, but that's just because I want to ensure that you are receiving the best talent possible. That's going into this conversation as well informed and prepared as possible. And typically I'll get a smile and say, you know, that makes sense. I have never had any negative feedback in that regard. How dare you do
John Reinke
[00.34.25]
that? How dare
Ben Hopkins
[00.34.27]
you prepare them to do well in an interview?
John Reinke
[00.34.30]
Exactly, exactly.
Ben Hopkins
[00.34.33]
I got a lot. So yeah, I mean, I, I, I've always appreciated that because one of the advantages I felt like, that you had as a kind of being in the middle was, you know, them, you, you've talked with them, you know, their personality. They've talked to you in a non interview format situation. So they've probably revealed to you some of what matters to them. Some of what, what doesn't. Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. So I felt like, I will take all the coaching that I can get from the recruiter, because they might be giving me some of the keys to the Corvette. You know, they may not not always. Right, but I mean, they they may give you a little bit of a nugget of, of something that you would not have known that then you could use to your advantage. I think when you go into the interview, fair statement or
John Reinke
[00.35.20]
not. Oh, absolutely. And, you know, I never divulge anybody's personal details. But, you know, oftentimes my clients, we have well-established networking relationships. And if I know Jim Bob as an avid golfer outside of work, and I qualify a candidate where it comes up in happenstance in a conversation that he enjoys where she enjoys golfing on the weekends, I'll tell him, hey, if it comes up organically, a point of commonality is you both enjoy. Golf might not be a bad thing to, you know, subtly weave that in because at the end of the day, you know, people do want to work with folks that, you know, they share some sort of thread with because it creates that know, like and trust.
Ben Hopkins
[00.36.00]
Yep. Now and and here's the thing and I. And maybe I'm going out on a limb when I say this. There are big companies have hiring practices, right, that they must follow and they get trained on it. You cannot have biases and all these things, right? Like there are laws around how what you can ask, what you cannot ask, what you should bring and what you should not bring in an interview. That's true.
John Reinke
[00.36.28]
But you're right. I mean, when you're talking about building a rapport with someone, whether you have a common ground with them, common thread, you know, it's not like you're brown nosing in an interview. You've just learned a little bit about that person and you, and you might look at it and take that information and go, well, I'm nothing like this person. They're completely different from me. And so, you know, maybe this is right. So I think people just there's the there's the black and the white and then there's sort of the gray area of what sometimes can seep in the reality. I think people just need to be aware of that, you know. Is it is it a silver bullet? No. Should you start the interview with like, hey, let me talk. Let me talk to you about my my five iron that I can hit. No, because you're probably not going to get it then either. But if you know a little bit about it, it's just it's at the end of the day, people hire who they think can do the job, but
Ben Hopkins
[00.37.20]
they hire who is going to be a fit in their culture. And and that is that that is a big part of it. If you could do the job, but you are a terrible culture fit for them.
John Reinke
[00.37.31]
You're
Ben Hopkins
[00.37.31]
probably not going to be hired. That's just the way it might be.
John Reinke
[00.37.34]
Absolutely. And, you know, that's where if it comes up organically, that's a point to softly put out there. But, uh, that's something to bet your interview on, right?
Ben Hopkins
[00.37.46]
No, I can't believe it. I went over my my new putting technique and he did. No. Yeah. No. So. And that's that type of stuff is like on the walk to the car, you know, at the end as you're walking out the building. Not when you're sitting down at the, at the table. So now let me ask a kind of a technical question and kind of get your opinion on this. One of the things, one of the hot topics in the warehousing and distribution center industry is, uh, automation, robotics, these type of things. You go to a big trade show, robots and automation is everywhere. I mean, it's really growing AI obviously in there too. But have you seen there be any shift in the hiring? Right. Is there like a decline in demand or is there a rise in demand? Is there a change in the types of skills that people are looking for as robots and automation rise, or is not that not kind of made it down to to your level yet? Like what? What do you see in that in that area? That realm?
John Reinke
[00.38.45]
So this goes back to, uh, it's definitely an evolving landscape. I have not directly seen a decrease in demand because of automation, robotics, or AI. Yet, um, what I have seen is more select but higher urgency, therefore higher quality searches over the last year and a half. And the reason I say that is last year was tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. And a lot of companies went into a little bit of a more protective type posture trying to understand the landscape. And you know, coming into the new year, we saw the return to normal volume and velocity for early year searches. And then the conflict in Iran actually put a lot of them into holding patterns. One month became two. Two became evaporated opportunities in some cases, unfortunately. So, you know, I've seen more ups and downs with the demand because of external factors, more on a global stage. But I do not profess to have a crystal ball. I would say over the next five and ten years, certainly I would anticipate that a lot of the, you know, warehouse leadership type positions, maybe a little bit more tech facing or tech savvy, where maybe they're looking more of an engineering type bias. So maybe, you know, that next generation of general managers have a degree and ended up in industrial engineering. Or maybe they started out as an industrial engineer degree or not. Right. And, uh, the reason I say that is because. More machinery is going to go into these distribution centers with time. At the end of the day. You know, it's the man or the woman, not the equipment that's going to get the job done, even if it is tending to preventative maintenance. Right. There's still going to be a place for humans in a in a warehouse. Yeah.
Ben Hopkins
[00.40.50]
Yeah. You know, I'm always curious about people's opinion on that because I get asked that sometimes. What about robots? What about automation? Is it. You know, they say that it's not replacing jobs and it's not reducing headcount. And but, you know, I don't necessarily know if I believe that, you know, all sorts of stuff. So always interested to get everybody's opinion on what they think about that coming down the pipe. And I think I think you're right. I think I think probably the, the demand for people will still say the same because you, you know, there's still a lot of people, there's still a lot of leadership involved. There always will be in this industry. But you're right, maybe it will shift a little bit to more engineering and that type of thing. And so, you know, the dusty warehouse vibe is, is, is dying out. And now it's high tech distribution centers, high tech fulfillment centers, that type of thing. So. Yeah. That's cool. That's cool. Yeah. Where I've seen the most demand for has actually been in e-com fulfillment, though. But yeah, it's the conveyance that's been the biggest bucket where that's definitely on the short list of nice to haves or must have requirements for a successful candidate. Yeah, I got you. Cool, man. Well, dude, thanks for, uh, thanks for coming into the community tonight. This is like, like, just a little chat. Like, I feel like we just had a little a little, uh, a little chat. Just a couple of friends about about warehouse and everything, so. Well, where can people find out more about you and what? You know, what do you have on the horizon for 2026 and and beyond? FTC
John Reinke
[00.42.19]
yeah, well, you know, I appreciate you asking. Uh, you can find me on LinkedIn, John Rank at PC Riverwood. I'm the bald guy out of Augusta, Georgia. Not hard to find there. Or you could do a quick Google search of FTC. Riverwood will come up at the top of your search right underneath my franchise or FTC National. Um, you know, as far as the remainder of 2026, you know, staying in the fight with everybody else, doing what we can to help and serve others, solve problems. And, you know, if nothing else, Armond, look, a little bit of data, if they're going through a bit of a decision making cycle, um, you know, just immensely grateful for the opportunities to help and serve others and, you know, be part of the FTC enterprise, which is 60 and independently owned and operated offices across the country that specialize in a whole range of different industries. Yeah.
Ben Hopkins
[00.43.11]
Awesome, man, I love it. Well, that was good chatting with you. Like you're a great guy to follow on LinkedIn. People should definitely do that. And you're putting out some good wisdom, some good nuggets of knowledge out there. And like I said and enjoyed chatting with you and thanks for, uh, thanks for signing up, joining the community and and being a part of it. Man, I appreciate it. Thanks again.
John Reinke
[00.43.30]
I sincerely appreciate the opportunity, Ben. And I hope one of the, uh, the listeners out there is able to take, you know, at least one of these nuggets with them, and it adds some value.
Ben Hopkins
[00.43.40]
Me too. Me too. All right, take care, man. I'll see you around,
John Reinke
[00.43.43]
John. I look forward to it.
Ben Hopkins
[00.43.51]
Thanks again. John Rank of FC Riverwood, for joining me in the community tonight at the Warehouse Underground Comm. It's really cool.
John Reinke
[00.44.00]
It's like just a little chat between UPS guy and recruiter. Yeah, it's cool. It's cool to be a part of. So thanks again John I appreciate it. As the warehouse underground goes, if you are listening to this and you want to sign up for the community, you should. It's a free community. We have message boards, networking, live events like the one that we just did and more plan in the future. Do it. It's free at the warehouse underground comm. Sign up today and, uh, and check it out. Become part of that growing community. Over 300 people, uh, so far. Also, if you are listening and you are so inclined, check out the other podcasts that I do, which is called the Tiger Team Show. I do that show with my co-host Jordan. It's like life in warehouses, DCS and
Ben Hopkins
[00.44.46]
FCS, but we bring in a lot of wit, humor and sarcasm to the show, so it's definitely some light hearted relief if you work in this industry. Check it out today. As this podcast goes, or as this community goes, I will see you guys next week next week for another podcast episode.
