Renner Winston from Thomas Brooke International
In this episode, Renner Winston, Director of Talent Management at Thomas Brooke International, shares his journey from engineer to executive search specialist, focusing on niche roles in the chemical manufacturing industry. Renner discusses how his firm combines their chemical engineering knowledge and expertise with Honeit’s intelligent candidate screening and submission platform to enhance the engineering recruitment process, delivering deep insights and interactive candidate presentations to clients.
Renner highlights the importance of asking the right questions, blending AI with human expertise, and building strong relationships to find the perfect match between candidates and companies. Tune in to learn about the evolving trends in manufacturing, the power of data-driven recruitment, and how Thomas Brooke stays ahead in a competitive landscape. Renner has a knack for using fun and insightful analogies to shed light on the engineering recruitment process:
🌌 Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: Renner compares the importance of asking the right questions in recruitment to the quest for the ultimate question in life. Just like getting “42” as an answer isn’t helpful without the right question, in recruitment, we need to ask the right questions to find the perfect fit.
🎨 Paint and Coating Analogy: Renner brilliantly describes matching candidates to roles as ensuring the “paint” sticks to the right “wall.” It’s all about finding that perfect adherence between a candidate’s skills and the company’s needs.
🔠Telescopes for Talent Sourcing: Renner talks about using different “telescopes” to search for talent, highlighting the need to look beyond the obvious and explore various methods to discover hidden stars in the talent pool.
From Engineer to Executive Recruiter:
- Renner Winston transitioned from an engineering background to becoming an entrepreneur and eventually a recruiter, driven by an interest in connecting with people and solving unique challenges.
- Thomas Brooke International specializes in retained executive search for the chemical manufacturing industry, focusing on niche roles in paint, polymers, and coatings.
Chemical Engineering Recruitment:
- The firm’s unique niche in chemical manufacturing allows it to build deep expertise, tapping into a curated database of over 5,000 professionals in the paint and coatings industry.
- Their tailored approach focuses on quality over quantity, ensuring alignment between candidates’ technical expertise, cultural fit, and client needs.
AI-Assisted Recruitment Technology:
- Thomas Brooke leverages Honeit to enhance their interview and candidate evaluation processes, using features like structured interview summaries and recorded insights.
- The ability to store and search interview data has allowed the firm to re-engage exceptional candidates and market them to new clients, streamlining business development efforts.
- Renner highlighted the importance of asking the right questions during candidate interviews to uncover both technical and cultural alignment.
- AI plays a supportive role in sourcing, candidate screening, and interview follow-ups, but human oversight ensures personalized and high-quality results.
- The firm maintains control over the process by blending automation with tailored write-ups and candidate presentations, ensuring hiring managers receive actionable insights.
Manufacturing Industry Trends:
- Manufacturing jobs in the U.S. are experiencing a resurgence, with increased investment in North American facilities.
- The industry is evolving with automation and AI, but Renner emphasized these tools as enhancers rather than replacements for human roles.
The Power of Interview Intelligence:
- Capturing structured interview data has enabled Thomas Brooke to enhance sourcing capabilities and proactively market top candidates to other clients.
- Renner emphasized the shift from traditional resume-focused recruitment to relationship-driven approaches supported by searchable interview intelligence.
The Future of Talent Acquisition:
- Renner views adaptability as key to staying competitive in the evolving engineering recruiting landscape.
- Tools like Honeit provide a significant advantage by enabling recruiters to gather, store, and analyze comprehensive interview data.
- The focus remains on balancing automation with human connection to create a differentiated and high-touch recruitment process.
Client Impact:
- Clients frequently praise Thomas Brooke for their innovative use of Honeit and the quality of their candidate summaries, which provide deeper insights than traditional resumes or notes.
- Their approach positions them as a trusted partner for filling specialized technical roles, reinforcing their reputation in the niche chemical manufacturing industry.
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