Insights
Notes from the work.
Short essays on hiring, leadership, and the parts of search that get less attention than they should. First posted to LinkedIn.
May 2026
You didn’t get the job.
You didn’t get the job. Maybe they told you why. Maybe they told you nothing at all. And if they did give you feedback, there’s a decent chance it was abstract nonsense.
Read essay →May 2026
Nobody writes this in a LinkedIn announcement.
Nobody writes this in a LinkedIn announcement: “Thrilled to accept a role that sounds impressive, pays well, and slowly turns me into someone my family avoids between 6 and 8 p.m.” A lot of people are living it.
Read essay →May 2026
Am I staying because this is still right, or because I have gotten too good at explaining why it is not wrong?
Am I staying because this is still right, or because I have gotten too good at explaining why it is not wrong? You know the answer before you admit it.
Read essay →May 2026
I named Hawthorne Recruitment after the street I live on.
Before I launched, I’d walk around Banook Lake most days at lunch, working through the business. Some of it was big thinking. What’s broken in this industry. How I’d do it differently.
Read essay →May 2026
Stop overcorrecting.
When people tell me why they’re leaving, I don’t believe the first answer. Usually not the second one either. Because it’s almost never one thing.
Read essay →April 2026
The biggest driver of retention isn’t compensation. It’s trust.
I’ve had hundreds of conversations with candidates who would be a strong fit for an opportunity. Better title. Better compensation. Real upside. They say no. Politely.
Read essay →April 2026
Care less.
This is one of the most annoying pieces of career advice I give to high performers. Someone is frustrated with leadership. Or misaligned with their boss. And I’ll say: care less.
Read essay →March 2026
The strongest leaders share one trait. Accountability.
The strongest leaders I’ve worked with share one trait consistently. Accountability. It’s also the thing I’ve most often seen break them.
Read essay →March 2026
The most important work I do doesn’t happen in a search.
Some of the most important work I do doesn’t happen in a search. It happens in a conversation with someone who has forgotten who they are.
Read essay →March 2026
Job boards create depression.
I’ve watched thousands of people pour themselves into applications on these platforms only to meet silence. No feedback. No clarity. Just a void where answers should be.
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