Blake Hardgrave
Plano
Summary
Results-driven Talent Acquisition Manager with proven ability to lead teams to success. Strong focus on team collaboration, operational efficiency, and achieving measurable outcomes. Adept at strategic planning, process improvement, and fostering culture of accountability and excellence. Known for adaptability and consistently meeting changing organizational needs.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Manager of Recruiting, Compensation and Corporate Communications
ATW
Addison, TX
06.2020 - Current
- Manage, lead, and develop the Recruiting team
- Provide full cycle recruiting for senior management and executive level positions
- Guide and direct Plant level HR on staffing best practices and the standardization of staffing procedures
- Responsible for implementation and rollout the new company-wide Applicant Tracking System
- Manage and create company-wide corporate communications displayed via, company intranet and ScreenCloud
- Concept leader for all staffing policies, procedures, and directives
- Manage all staffing resources and vendors, including the recruiting budget
- Consult with senior leadership to identify staffing needs, workforce planning strategies, and search options
- Develop and maintain strong working relationships with department heads, community organizations, and other team members to create a partnership that yields success, predictable results, and credibility
- Develop and maintain a network of contacts to help identify and source qualified leaders
- Responsible for extending verbal and formal offers to include offer negotiations
- Participate in the development of ongoing creative and cost-effective sourcing strategies
- Responsible for working with HR leadership on quarterly market benchmarking studies to ensure salary competitiveness
- Built and manage the supplemental bonus report that tracks and maintains, retention, sign-on and relocation bonuses for new and existing employees
- Help lead internal equity processes to ensure consistency in pay across the organization
Manager, Corporate Recruiting
Tuesday Morning
Dallas, TX
01.2019 - 05.2020
- Managed the Corporate Recruiting team
- Managed the talent acquisition process from start to finish, including posting jobs, sourcing candidates, screening, assisting in interview set-up, reference checks, salary recommendations, offer letter generation and offer extension
- Partnered with hiring managers to evaluate and clarify talent needs to establish a firm understanding of position descriptions, candidate profiles and required timeframes; stay abreast of future hiring needs
- Developed, implemented, and evaluated innovative, proactive, and responsive sourcing strategies to attract high quality candidates; pursue passive candidates via identified sources
- Evaluated all resumes received and selected candidates who are appropriate to enter the interview process
- Effectively screened and interviewed potential candidates for functional compliance, applicable background, relevant skills, individual goals, and overall fit within the company
- Ensured both regular and timely communication with candidates and hiring managers to ensure updated information on the interview process status
- Assisted hiring managers in selection decision; initiate and drive job offer process and secure acceptance
- Created and maintained a pipeline of high caliber talent
- Researched and stayed abreast of recruiting trends, candidate sourcing including social media, best practices
- Managed all external recruiting agency partnerships
- Participated in Culture Committee helping to create and facilitate all corporate engagement events
Talent Acquisition Manager
Boy Scouts of America
Irving, TX
09.2016 - 12.2018
- Sourced a broad range of candidates, including internal employees, for the organization to staff individual contributors, managerial positions and executive level positions
- Built relationships and partnered with management to understand position requirements and staffing needs to target recruitment efforts. Develop talent acquisition and recruitment objectives
- Created job postings and managed web content for vacancies
- Formulated screening criteria and compared resumes and candidates against management requirements
- Conducted screening interviews to evaluate a candidate’s skills and experience.
- Facilitated multiple types of interviews (round robin, phone screening, video, panel, etc.) as required to evaluate candidates
- Communicated with candidates from initial contact point to offer and ensure timely coordination of candidate movement through interview and selection process
- Collaborated with management to develop offers of employment and extended verbal offer
- Oversaw preparation of written offers of employment and follow-ups to ensure acceptance or closure
- Provide leadership to senior managers to negotiate compensation packages
- Conducted and compiled data analysis from multiple sources to evaluate strategic sourcing and recruiting practices. Identified talent gaps and offered recommendations for alternative methods to source and deliver a high caliber pipeline
- Supported the local council application process for entry level council executive candidates as needed
Associate Director of Talent Acquisition
Trimont Real Estate Advisors (Formerly FirstCity Financial)
Dallas, TX
06.2015 - 08.2016
- Worked closely with hiring managers to fully understand business needs, offer strategic recruitment guidance, and provide recommendations for identifying top talent
- Developed and executed sourcing strategies (including social media strategies) to attract and recruit both active and passive candidates
- Crafted and executed strategies to source candidates through direct networking, industry networking, leveraging online recruiting tools and managing search agencies to fill positions
- Managed the recruiting process to meet hiring goals using effective resource management and use of Taleo (ATS)
- Proven success with proactive, multi-channel sourcing across all candidate levels
- Full-cycle recruiting: sourcing, screening, scheduling, interviewing, following-up with candidates, presenting job offers and managing the candidate pipeline
- Assessed qualifications and culture fit through behavioral interview questions
- Provided regular status updates, reporting, and analytics to hiring managers
- Assisted in writing job descriptions that create a compelling employment brand to attract top talent
- Demonstrated commitment to continuous improvement using measurement tools, scorecards, and recruitment analytics
- Created and developed recruiting process and function to better provide standardized staffing procedures company-wide
- Provided recruiting support and guidance for four different offices located in multiple states
Senior Corporate Recruiter, Talent Acquisition
Borden Dairy Company
Dallas, TX
01.2014 - 04.2015
- Managed the full cycle recruiting process for Borden Dairy’s corporate office
- Responsible for identifying top talent for openings across multiple departments
- Helped create processes and lead roll-out of company-wide New Hire Process
- Worked with recruiting team to train area managers on new ATS format
Management Recruiter
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
Plano, TX
08.2012 - 12.2013
- Responsible for the full cycle recruiting of managers for existing and future restaurants throughout multiple states
- Actively recruiting candidates through college recruiting, career fairs, direct sourcing, and all available recruiting sources to hire top restaurant talent
- Created and implemented the College Recruiting Strategy for the company
Divisional Recruiter
Rent-A-Center
Plano, TX
04.2007 - 08.2012
- Responsible for the full cycle recruiting of Customer Account Representatives, Assistant Managers and Managers in Training for over 400 stores throughout the U.S
- Actively recruited candidates by cold calling, direct sourcing and using all available recruiting tools to identify top talent averaging 30 interviews a week and 12 hires
- Excelled at presenting the Rent-A-Center positions to candidates and closing them on the benefits.
- Well versed on all recruiting tools such as Applicant Tracking Systems, social media, and Resume Databases to be able to effectively identify talent
- Served as a subject matter expert on interviewing techniques and conducted several training sessions for district and store managers
- Maintained a broad understanding of all aspects of human resources as first contact for field management
- Identified over 16 other recruiters as a trainer for all new recruiters
- Assisted in training the international recruiters for Canada and Mexico
- May 2010 promoted from Staffing Specialist to Divisional Recruiter and was given the responsibility to help supervise the Division’s other Staffing Specialist
- Consistently received above average scores on all Hiring Manager Surveys. Finished 2011 with the top overall average for all recruiters
- Rent-A-Center Coworker of the Month - May 2011
Education
Bachelor of Science - Psychology
Texas A&M University
College Station, TXSkills
- Onboarding process
- Remote hiring
- Recruiter training
- Data-driven decision making
- Recruitment marketing
- Social media recruiting
- Candidate sourcing
- Executive search
- Applicant tracking systems
- Campus recruitment
- Talent acquisition strategy
- Interviewing skills
- Recruitment strategies
- Recruitment planning
- Contract negotiation skills
- Applicant tracking management
- Problem-solving abilities
- Excellent communication
- Organizational skills
- Team collaboration
- Employee engagement strategies
- Goal setting
Timeline
Manager of Recruiting, Compensation and Corporate Communications
ATW
06.2020 - Current
Manager, Corporate Recruiting
Tuesday Morning
01.2019 - 05.2020
Talent Acquisition Manager
Boy Scouts of America
09.2016 - 12.2018
Associate Director of Talent Acquisition
Trimont Real Estate Advisors (Formerly FirstCity Financial)
06.2015 - 08.2016
Senior Corporate Recruiter, Talent Acquisition
Borden Dairy Company
01.2014 - 04.2015
Management Recruiter
Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers
08.2012 - 12.2013
Divisional Recruiter
Rent-A-Center
04.2007 - 08.2012
Bachelor of Science - Psychology
Texas A&M University