Kara Lindsey
Pleasant Hill,IA
Summary
Results-driven Talent Acquisition Manager leveraging people and best practices to create accountable performance. Change agent with history of driving continuous performance improvements. Develops and executes strategies to attract, develop, engage and retain strong and diverse talent.
Overview
26
26
years of professional experience
Work History
Talent Acquisition Manager
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
West Des Moines, IA
09.2023 - Current
- Maintained applicant tracking system database records.
- Consulted with hiring managers to further understand business requirements and inform pipeline development.
- Identified talent management priorities and goals and collaborated closely with human resource personnel.
- Kept abreast of industry best practices related to talent acquisition.
- Advised senior leadership on staffing strategies for current and future organizational needs.
- Analyzed trends in hiring processes and made recommendations for improvement.
- Designed and executed talent acquisition strategies to enhance organization visibility in key recruiting markets.
- Analyzed hiring and retention trends to inform organizational talent priorities.
- Collaborated with hiring managers to determine staffing needs and job requirements.
- Encouraged internal employee growth by focusing on talent within organization.
- Performed data analysis of metrics related to recruitment efforts.
- Negotiated contract terms with third-party vendors providing recruitment services.
- Participated in diversity initiatives within the organization.
- Ensured compliance with all applicable laws pertaining to employment practices.
- Conducted employee performance reviews and implemented corrective actions to increase productivity.
- Handled employee discipline and termination to address policy infractions.
Talent Acquisition Manager
RSM US LLP
Des Moines, IA
08.2018 - 09.2023
- Built robust pipeline and diverse pool of candidates to meet current or future hiring needs.
- Hired in all lines of business for the firm in audit, tax and consulting
- Managed 3 employees while holding a requisition load of over 100 requisitions
- Enterprise Employee Network Group Leader for Interfaith for 2 plus years
- Helped a sourcing team to gather market intel and increase sourcing/recruiting strategies
- Top of the recruiting matrix for all 8 years
- Managed 10 plus people being the National Leader for the Interfaith Employee Network Group
- Hired 80-150 people yearly for the last 8 years
- Analyzed hiring and retention trends to inform organizational talent priorities.
- Designed and executed talent acquisition strategies to enhance organization visibility in key recruiting markets.
- Conducted interviews, reference checks, background investigations, and other pre-employment activities.
- Encouraged internal employee growth by focusing on talent within organization.
- Collaborated with hiring managers to determine staffing needs and job requirements.
- Identified talent management priorities and goals and collaborated closely with human resource personnel.
- Ensured compliance with all applicable laws pertaining to employment practices.
- Negotiated between talent and various agencies for contractual arrangements.
- Controlled a budget while overseeing execution of strategic plan, business procedures and operational processes.
- Advised senior leadership on staffing strategies for current and future organizational needs.
- Consulted with hiring managers to further understand business requirements and inform pipeline development.
- Developed job postings to attract qualified talent.
- Created strategies for sourcing passive candidates through research and networking activities.
- Participated in diversity initiatives within the organization.
- Helped with employee transfers and referrals.
- Researched industry trends to inform compensation and performance strategies.
- Created staff teams based on employee strengths and made adjustments to promote overall productivity.
- Utilized applicant tracking systems to manage candidate pipelines efficiently while maintaining accurate records of all applicants.
- Sourced, screened and interviewed potential candidates using various methods such as job postings, referrals, recruiting databases.
- Monitored the effectiveness of recruiting efforts by tracking metrics such as time-to-fill rate, cost per hire.
- Recruited and screened potential candidates for open positions.
- Evaluated applicants' skills and qualifications against job requirements.
Senior Talent Acquisition Associate
RSM US LLP
12.2014 - 08.2018
- Sourcing, screening, tracking, and recommending qualified candidates
- Sourcing passive candidates through networking, cold calling, complex internet searches and research
- Sourcing active candidates from on-line databases, contact lists, internal databases, and employee referrals
- Executing sourcing strategies that produce a diverse slate of candidates - Developing extensive pipeline candidate pools to fill current and potential needs
- Searching social networking databases for active and passive candidates
- Communicating with candidates/new hires (phone and email) throughout entire hiring and orientation process
- Provided guidance to hiring managers throughout the entire recruitment process.
- Attended career fairs and job expos to promote employer brand and attract top talent.
- Advised management on effective strategies for attracting diverse talent pools.
- Developed and maintained relationships with hiring managers to ensure recruitment needs were met.
Recruiting Specialist/Recruiting Consultant
Nationwide
Des Moines, IA
05.2012 - 12.2014
- Maintained strong relationships with clients by providing excellent customer service.
- Volume recruiting for sales and retention
- Hired over 300 people in sales and retention
- Displayed strong telephone etiquette, effectively handling difficult calls.
- Identified needs of customers promptly and efficiently.
- Maintained positive working relationship with fellow staff and management.
- Set specific goals for projects to measure progress and evaluate end results.
- Worked with current clients to assess needs and develop improvement plans.
- Conducted initial phone screens with potential candidates to determine qualifications.
- Identified qualified candidates through sourcing techniques such as job boards, social media, and internal databases.
- Scheduled interviews between hiring managers and applicants.
- Managed candidate communication throughout the recruiting process via email or phone calls.
- Participated in career fairs to network with potential candidates.
Senior Recruitment Workforce Specialist
CDS Global
Des Moines, IA
04.2008 - 04.2012
- Recruit and employ (including job postings, interviewing at the exempt/nonexempt level
- Develops and maintains effective working relationships with placement agencies
- Conducts employment related training to managers and supervisors
- Works on projects as needed which may include some employee relations; job evaluations
- Provides management with professional consultation in prevention of legal risks
- Salary negotiations, job description reviews/updates, attending career fairs, department meetings.
- Conducted job interviews to assess prospective candidates' qualifications and abilities.
- Organized career fairs and open house events to attract potential applicants.
- Developed recruitment strategies, including sourcing methods, advertisement campaigns, referral programs and other initiatives.
- Established strong partnerships with key stakeholders across the organization.
- Collaborated with management teams to identify staffing needs and develop job descriptions.
- Provided guidance on compensation packages that are competitive within the industry.
- Reviewed applications for accuracy and completeness prior to extending offers of employment.
- Screened resumes, conducted phone screens and scheduled in-person interviews.
- Monitored hiring progress against established goals and objectives throughout the year.
- Maintained accurate records of all recruiting activities in Applicant Tracking System.
- Coached hiring managers on the recruitment process and best practices.
- Conducted exit interviews for departing employees to gain insights into improvement areas.
- Managed employee referrals program to increase quality of hire from internal sources.
- Participated in job fairs, campus visits and other events to build a pipeline of qualified candidates.
- Assisted with onboarding new hires by providing orientation information and training materials.
- Analyzed applicant data to identify trends in recruitment processes.
- Developed creative sourcing strategies such as social media campaigns and networking groups.
- Provided feedback to unsuccessful applicants regarding their qualifications and the hiring process.
- Reviewed resumes and selected qualified applicants for further evaluation.
Recruiting Supervisor
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
02.2001 - 04.2008
- Recruits for highly specialized positions, including an emphasis on leadership positions
- Retention of approximately 117 full-time employees
- Top 5% in company for hires per recruiter
- Top recruiter at University of Iowa in 2004
- Utilize and develop skills of interviewing, mock interviewing, classroom presentations, career fairs, strategy and coordination, delivered organizational formal presentations
- Oversee entire recruitment process for 51 rental branches across the states of Iowa/Illinois
- Partners with recruiting leadership and senior management to support strategic business
- Creates recruiting pipeline of specialized candidates, including a diverse pool, for their areas of recruiting
- Provides training and develops interview guides and other services for those involved in staffing
- Plans recruiting strategies to address workforce-planning needs for business units in partnership with HR
- Establishes procedures and methods for recruiting by studying the effect of market trends and conditions
- Coordinates recruiting process from sourcing to interviewing through offer stage
- Prepares and implements recruiting plans within budgetary guidelines
- Interviewed and assessed candidates
- Develops and maintains relationships with internal and external customers and business partners
- Leads and participates in special projects and task teams at the direction of leadership
- Resolved client issues by delivering excellent customer service and maintaining positive attitude.
- Managed the full cycle recruitment process from sourcing through onboarding of new employees.
- Organized training sessions for staff members on effective recruiting methods.
- Provided support during the offer negotiation process between applicants and hiring managers.
- Developed and implemented new recruiting strategies to attract talent.
- Analyzed applicant resumes against job requirements prior to scheduling an interview.
- Conducted phone interviews and face-to-face interviews with potential candidates.
- Advised management on strategies for improving recruitment efforts across the organization.
- Created reports on recruitment activities and metrics such as time-to-fill, cost per hire, source effectiveness.
- Ensured compliance with all federal, state and local regulations related to human resources activities.
- Responded promptly to inquiries from applicants regarding position availability or status.
- Maintained accurate records of employee referrals, recruitment sources, applicant tracking information and other pertinent data.
- Assisted in the development of job postings and job descriptions for open positions.
- Scheduled or conducted new employee orientations.
Management Trainee
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Des Moines, IA
05.1998 - 02.2001
- Attend national training meetings several times throughout each year
- Train branch managers, area managers and Group Rental Managers on interviewing
- Developed female focus group in Des Moines to help promotion and percentage of female hires
- Helped with exit interviews, employee opinion surveys and other HR projects
- Achieved company promotional goals at 8 months and 15 months
- Oversaw rental branch management including a sales and maintenance staff, all aspects of the business
- Achieved manager recognition for top 10% of company from 3 pillars.
- Resolved customer issues efficiently to build loyalty.
Education
B.A. - Journalism/ Mass Communications, Human Resource Management
Simpson College
05.1998
Skills
- Recruitment
- Building Partnerships
- Talent Management
- Verbal and Written Communication
- Executive Recruiting
- Improving Organizational Standards
- Staff Management
- Employee Referral Programs
- Relationship Building
- Recruitment and Hiring
- Recruiting and Interviewing
- Problem-Solving
- Performance Optimization
- Coaching and Mentoring
- Employee Development
- Management Support
- Social Media Recruiting
- Candidate Sourcing
Timeline
Talent Acquisition Manager
EquiTrust Life Insurance Company
09.2023 - Current
Talent Acquisition Manager
RSM US LLP
08.2018 - 09.2023
Senior Talent Acquisition Associate
RSM US LLP
12.2014 - 08.2018
Recruiting Specialist/Recruiting Consultant
Nationwide
05.2012 - 12.2014
Senior Recruitment Workforce Specialist
CDS Global
04.2008 - 04.2012
Recruiting Supervisor
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
02.2001 - 04.2008
Management Trainee
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
05.1998 - 02.2001
B.A. - Journalism/ Mass Communications, Human Resource Management
Simpson College
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