Proven Recruiting

21 questions to determine your candidate's past track record, present mindset, and future aspirations - all while uncovering whether they have what it takes to join your team.

What's the difference between a job that fills your cup, and one that fills you with dread? The people? The work? The salary? The culture? We don't have the exact formula down. What we do know is this - solving difficult problems alongside genuinely good people makes the challenges feel less daunting. Add in some much-needed humor and regular get-togethers, and you're onto something. Last week we did exactly that, gathering Provenites from across the country for our Annual Awards Party. Congratulations to our big winners: Top Consulting & Overall Performer Fiona McEvoy, Top Search Performer Mi Ly, Consulting Rookie of the Year Jennie Farmer, and Search Rookie of the Year Elizabeth Powe Hillard! Special shoutout to Christine Hummell and Vanessa Nguyen, whose drive to meet every challenge head-on and inspiring community service earned them the highly-coveted Employee of the Year and Jason Collins Founders' Award respectively! And finally, the Team of the Year Award always sparks fierce competition. This year was no different. Congratulations to...our San Diego Finance & Accounting Search group, led by Mike Chiv! Here's to another year of many highs and occasional lows alongside our team of wonderfully weird, often hilarious, incredibly resilient people. P.S. If your job fills you with dread, you don't have to settle. We're hiring! Get in touch at hello@provenrecruiting.com if you're itching to join a team that rewards success, prizes authenticity, and uplifts our community.

Seems like as good a time as any to resurface this doc, especially with so many of you reaching out about leveling-up your careers in the new year. Job searching is mentally draining, time consuming, and at times demoralizing - but so is staying in a job you don't enjoy. These interview questions will help you edge out the competition and, with a little luck, land a job that sparks joy (plus, you know, a bump in pay wouldn't hurt either). Here's to better things in 2025!

10 ways to advance your career in 2025: - Do 4 hours of deep focus work daily - Keep track of your achievements in a dedicated doc - Learn one new skill - Join or start a club - Read 10 pages/day - Eat lunch, always, preferably with a coworker - Go for a daily walk, invite friends/colleagues - Max out your 401K - Sleep 8 hours per night - Send thank you notes We're keeping it simple, building good habits and investing in our people. How do you plan to make sure 2025 isn't just a repeat of 2024?

To hop or not? Serial job hoppers have long been warned that employers won't look kindly on their resumes. But conventional wisdom isn't always correct, especially when the pros of job hopping are so well documented; higher pay, quicker promotions, more varied experience, and a larger professional network. So which one is it - should you remain loyal and climb the corporate ladder incrementally, or jump around and piece together a resume of varied roles? What has worked for you? And would you feel comfortable hiring a job hopper?

This hasn’t been our best year. To be fair, it hasn’t been our worst year - that ominous title goes to 2013, when we had to shut down multiple offices and let down a lot of good people. What’s a little hardship in comparison? Maybe 2024 hasn't been your "best year ever" either - you had high hopes of purchasing a new house! A big raise! More time with family! - yet there's still so much to feel grateful for. Health, family, a daily sunrise, a brisk walk, a delicious dinner, a goofy dog, a misbehaving but endearing child. All that to say - happy Thanksgiving, friends. Whether it's been a tough year for you, or one of your best (fingers crossed!), we're wishing you a table overflowing with delicious food, good company, and a well-deserved rest.

For anyone already dreading end-of-year promotion discussions - these simple negotiation tools, specifically targeted toward people who hate confrontation, are our go-to strategies: - Arm yourself with data. Try Glassdoor’s Salary Calculator (https://lnkd.in/erbqB54) and/or Salary.com to get a better sense of your market worth. Print documents from both websites and bring them with you to support your claim. - Track your accomplishments in writing. As the end of the year approaches, send a breakdown of your 2024 milestones to your manager as a springboard for further discussion. - Be honest with yourself about your worth. Consider: "How indispensable am I to the company?" and "How much would it cost to replace me?" Your answers should inform your negotiation strategy. - Consult a recruiter. Yes, hello, we have a vested interest in this step - but that doesn't undermine its value. No one knows more about the evolving job market, competitive compensation packages, and negotiation strategies than recruiters. - Speak with your peers. If you can, find out how often your colleagues are getting raises, whether they're getting bonuses, and what's a typical promotion timeline. - Prepare for the internal equity conversation. A good response is: "I understand. I did some research on similar roles at similarly sized local companies, and by these estimates my pay is about 10% below average. I’ve done some of my best work this year, and you know I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else, so I’d like to come to a better arrangement for us both." - Remember that a negotiation isn't an argument; it's a conversation. And if all else fails, find a workplace that will value your contributions and offer competitive compensation. There are plenty more fish in the sea!

Leaving a job where you're comfortable requires incredible courage. Everyone talks about "smooth transitions," but in reality most big life changes are anything but smooth. Sweaty palms, self doubt, embarrassing missteps, and unexpected challenges are the norm. Faced alone, career transitions are overwhelming. If you're looking for a partner - someone to offer career guidance, brainstorm challenges, and generally offer moral/professional support - we'd be happy to help reduce your stress. Reach out!

Looks like our corporate team enjoying a well-earned post-work drink, right? Nope, it's a pumpkin. Congrats to Proven's 2024 Pumpkin Challenge Winners, showcasing the next-level creativity of our back office team! They're the epitome of "work hard, play hard" (if playing hard means buying large quantities of craft supplies and getting blue paint on every surface).

Employees don’t quit their jobs “out of the blue.” They leave because they feel consistently neglected in one or more of these problem areas: - Poor social connections - Soul-sucking or boring work - Lack of growth - Feeling undervalued - Rocky manager relationship - Unmet salary expectations Ironically and counter to popular belief, “unmet salary expectations” is often the least important factor. Just think of your most-loved job - was it the job where you made the most money, or the job where you made the most friends? This is both good and bad news for employers. On the one hand, you don’t need to max out your budget to keep your best people! What a relief! Yet fixing a dysfunctional workplace can be far more challenging. Next time your best employee leaves, reflect on your own experience. Do YOU find your work meaningful? Do YOU have strong social connections with your colleagues and manager? If not, it’s no surprise your employees are looking for greener pastures. P.S. In case you were curious, losing a valuable employee will likely cost you 6-9 months of their salary (Harvard Business Review).