DREAMBIGINTRO-SERDULA
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Donna Serdula: [00:00:00] Welcome to dream big with big dreamers conversations for career growth, inspiration, and insight. It's time to dream big.

Tia. Thank you so much for joining me today. Thank you for for deciding to be on this podcast.

Tia Kleckner: Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here and, share my story and what we're trying to achieve. Oh, 

Donna Serdula: Thank you. Thank you. Tell me more. Tell me about link tech. Let's like, let's just start what, tell me more about this company that you've co founded. 

Tia Kleckner: Yeah, absolutely. So link tech, newer company.

We are a talent acquisition agency or recruiting. We really try to build cognitively diverse workforces and our big specialty is. Diversity. We are all about diversity hiring and we just have a unique approach to it and really want to get back to adding the value back to human 

capital. 

Donna Serdula: I love that.

I also love how you said [00:01:00] cognitive because it's it's it starts to give a person an idea that maybe you mean something a little bit more than just skin deep. 

Tia Kleckner: I do. I really do. So there is so much more to a person just than what and those typical metrics, race, gender, ethnicity, it goes beyond that.

And it really gets into who a person is, the thought process and their perspective they're going to bring into a role. And so we really try to dig deeper to match that with what a company needs. It's not about the color. Yes, there may be, a diversity, Portion of it, but it goes deeper than that.

And that's what we're trying to get into. 

Donna Serdula: So what inspired you to start thinking like this and start moving down this path? 

Tia Kleckner: Great question. I have been in the Seattle area for 10 years, but I grew up in Montana. I have a mixed family. So my mom's side of the family is white. We are the Montanans, North Dakota, and my dad's side of the family is black.

He has roots [00:02:00] in, The South and Chicago and LA. So I really grew up with this diverse perspective, this diverse outlook. My grandpa's in particularly, they were vastly different yet equally as fascinating and influential. My maternal grandpa, he was the farmer from North Dakota. He never finished school.

And he just really taught me, resilience and a strong work ethic. Whereas my paternal grandpa, he was born in Shaw, Mississippi in the late thirties, which really was a difficult time for black men. And he taught me perseverance. He overcame, some of these difficulties he had and he became a celebrated icon in the music world.

He worked with earth, wind and fire Phil Collins. He just, really made a name for himself. And so this contrasting background I have, and really being a black female growing up in Montana, which was really not diverse at the [00:03:00] time. It shaped who I am and it gave me my identity. Outlook on life, my perspective, it's my story and that's the value I bring to the table.

And it's really what has influenced the work we are trying to do at link tech, those stories of people. 

Donna Serdula: Yeah it definitely starts to dig deep and say, who makes you, who you are. And it's more than just something, artificial, but it's your family and it's the experiences that you've had and all of that.

Coupled together. What are you finding in terms of, this idea of diversity and boxed you mentioned that on your website, you mentioned that on your LinkedIn company page, how, what is, what does it mean first and foremost, but also how does it differ from. What we typically think about when we think of DEI.

Tia Kleckner: So with recruiting in general it's just so transactional, which is sad because we're talking about [00:04:00] people and not just, anybody we're talking about people who are ultimately going to be the driving force behind your business. And so with diversity hiring in particular, companies have a quota.

It could be to hire X amount of African Americans, X amount of females, X amount of Asians, whatever it may be, and they hire these individuals and put them all into the same box, thinking we are the same, and thinking that we are going to have the same perspective to fill this role, but As you can see from what I just do my story and my perspective is vastly different than the other black candidates who might be in that box with me.

I being again that black Montana and female is going to be completely different my view then. That black female who grew up in, California or New York. So my team, we came up with Diversity Unboxed, which goes beyond that race, gender, [00:05:00] ethnicity, and we delve into the unique stories and perspective of candidates to, again, match them with, specific cognitive diversity that our clients or these companies need.

And we really. Want to send a story instead of just a resume and it also helps match a candidate for the role better. And when that happens, everybody wins. Our candidates win and our clients win. 

Donna Serdula: I can definitely see how really doing that and digging in, I'm seeing that there's probably a lot of benefits, especially in terms of just the innovation aspect and as well as the company culture.

How do you navigate that with companies and how are you able to say, what is it that you're really looking for? What is that perspective? How are you doing that?

Tia Kleckner: A lot of companies these recruiting agencies they hear about the role you have and then they go find people. And what we do is really work hand in hand with our clients. And we sit down and we just dig a [00:06:00] little deeper. It doesn't take more time. It doesn't take more effort. It's just more questions.

You know what. Is your goals. What do you need from this person coming into the role? What is their value going to be? What do aspire for them to do for your company as far as innovation goes? And then we can take that information, the what and the why, and roll with it. We go back and we then ask again, more questions to our candidates to really pinpoint how this is going to work together, how they're going to gel.

And is this perspective, is this client. Going to match what our clients need. 

Donna Serdula: You know what I love about this is it also, it aligns so much with what my company does in terms of, the LinkedIn profile and saying, this isn't a place to just copy and paste a dull resume. This is a place where we can really tell your story.

And articulate who you are and what makes you and what you bring to the table and what you [00:07:00] represent, what you stand for, it's and we're doing it more in terms of just let's look at everybody in that manner to say, what is that? What is that depth?

What is it that you're bringing forth to these companies? I, what you're saying really resonates with me. Do you find that the workers themselves, those potential employees, do you find that they push back that they're almost surprised that you're digging in so deep to learn more about their story?

Tia Kleckner: Don't because when you go into a new role, you want to feel valued, right? You want to feel like you belong there. And right now, one of the issues we see specifically with diversity hiring is again, they're there to hit a quota. So they go into this role and they don't have that sense of belonging. They don't feel like they're valued.

So then they become disengaged. They may even leave the job, which lowers, retention. So we've found that They actually are so happy with being heard, with getting to tell their story. Because again, like you just said. [00:08:00] These resumes could be the exact same. Everybody has a resume, right? So how do you tell them apart?

And then how do you celebrate that? A lot of, jobs, we, we just do a terrible job at celebrating who people are. Again, it's so transactional. And so our candidates really do feel valued. Yeah. With these questions. 

Donna Serdula: What I like about it is it's also pushing back on this huge wave of AI that that almost, it's like, all right, figure out how you align perfectly for this job.

Let's generally talk about those things that work. Let's. Let's fill it with fluff and you'll be fine. You'll be chosen. You'll pop up through these algorithms. What you're suggesting, what you're doing is distinctly human. And what you're doing is also looking at the humanity of the people.

Tia Kleckner: That's exactly it. That's exactly it. 

Donna Serdula: I love it. I love it. What let's talk a little bit about job [00:09:00] seekers in this market right now, which is a kind of dicey market. What would you suggest for people to stand out and be noticed and get found right now? 

Tia Kleckner: So that, that is a huge issue right now.

So many layoffs that have happened over the last couple of years, there are a crazy amount of job seekers out there. And like I said, everybody, Has a resume and a lot of things on a resume can look the same. So it is finding those, differentiators of your skill set. It may not be just your roles you have had, but those transferable skills as well.

And so I highly encourage people to take a look at what they have done in the past and how that could transfer to a new role and really highlight that. I think candidates also need to really do their homework and. Again, figure out read between the lines of these roles that they're seeing on again.

What can. [00:10:00] My transferable sales say to this role, how can I speak to this role differently than someone else's? Cause everybody's got a resume.

Donna Serdula: What do you find in terms of when a job seekers talk to you about AI and they talk to you about the algorithm and they talk to you about the applicant tracking system, I would love your perspective because it is truly human. And it's saying let's look at the human behind all of this. So what advice would you say? Like, how does a person marry, the human aspect and the technology aspect and how can they best put themselves out there? So they do get found. 

Tia Kleckner: I think that it is, like you said, it's a marriage.

It's a balance. You really need to lighten your load. You can use that AI, add the tips, but you just have to be personable. So much of what we see is very computerized, very monotone. And so it's really coming back to who you [00:11:00] are, that celebration of your story and not hiding that. A lot of diversity hiring is.

These candidates side is masking who they are. But when you celebrate who you are, that's, what's going to set you apart. So I think it's using AI to. To help you in the right direction, but really come back to who you are and speak from your voice, not from AI and the computer's voice. Cause it is a lot different.

Donna Serdula: It is. And, but it also goes back to your old, the idea of the diversity unboxed, right? It's it's, you're not just this, one check Mark, you're more than that. It's tell that story, shine, let people see who you are. I love that. I love that. What has been. The most rewarding part of your journey with link tech so far

Tia Kleckner: a couple of things. So on both sides, I think of, my clients and my candidates for my candidates. It's [00:12:00] when we tell them what we're doing, the light in their eye that they feel heard. Like we are appreciating them. They're seen. That's what's been. So valuable to me this spark, they light up and on the opposite side, it's similar with our clients.

It's like a shock, like a dumbfounded face. Oh, why didn't I think of that? And I think the same thing all the time. When we came up, my husband and I, when we sat down and thought of this, we're like, why is no one thinking of this? Because it makes sense, it makes sense to not just look at skin color, race, sexual orientation, whatever it may be.

It makes sense to look at perspectives and thoughts and the thought process. So it's just really, people's reaction has been quite fascinating to me and really fun. 

Donna Serdula: What how do you diagnose, like how do you, how would a company know? That one that you're here, but that they're the perfect candidate.

Like what, like if a person's listening, what [00:13:00] should they be saying to themselves that say, we've got to, we got to work with link tech. 

Tia Kleckner: There's a couple of things. I think on kind of the bigger notes is just, if you have a problem with culture, your company engagement or excuse me, your employee engagement, your attention.

I think those are big standout things that Something's going wrong with your culture. Something's going wrong with the people you are bringing in or how you are looking at those people. Again, it could be, on the matching side with matching the candidate for the role. That could just be a wrong fit.

But it could be something deeper. So I think those are some of the biggest things you can notice, but. One kind of gray area. There's a lot of pushback with diversity hiring. There's companies who. I think they need to do it, but don't want to do it. They do it because they're told to do it, but they don't really believe in it.

So I also think those are the type of people who I love to talk to because I [00:14:00] like to give them this different perspective, this different, method of going about it. And it does make them more aware that it is a positive thing versus what they had in mind. 

Donna Serdula: Yeah, no, absolutely. Absolutely.

If you could go back. So let's, we're going to wind this up now. So if you could go back to the beginning of your career, and, knowing what, now what advice would you give yourself? Just starting out in your career. 

Tia Kleckner: I would tell myself to be yourself. I think that I was one of those people who was masking who I was, which is so interesting because my mom did such a good job of making me feel unique in a good way, not different, but unique.

And so I did always grow up feeling special, but I had a career in the yoga industry for many years and I was like a bull in a China shop. That was just not my [00:15:00] realm. And yeah. I just felt so out of place, I grew with that company and, help them expand and open multiple locations. I really helped build the culture to make it what it is today.

And so I look back and I could have done a lot more in a faster amount of time if I would have just been who I am. So I would just say, be who you are and celebrate it. 

Donna Serdula: I love it. Tia, thank you so much. I really appreciate you being on this podcast. 

Tia Kleckner: Thank you, Donna. I'm happy to be here. 

Donna Serdula: And before we go, how can people learn more about link tech?

Where can they go to find you? 

Tia Kleckner: I personally am on LinkedIn, so you can find me. The company has a business page there but also just our website, www. thelinktech. com. 

Donna Serdula: Fabulous. Thank you so much. 

Tia Kleckner: Thank you, Donna.