THE ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION INDUSTRY |
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What is Seen and What is Not Seen? |
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This is one of my favorite, although potentially apocryphal story. It goes something like this: Picasso was having a drink in a restaurant – probably a traditional French pavement cafe. A woman recognized him and exclaimed “Oh my goodness, are you Pablo Picasso?” the painter nodded modestly, and she went on to ask the famous painter to sign her napkin.
Picasso was happy to oblige and didn’t seem to mind the interruption at all, in fact, he went one step further and added a small sketch. But as he handed over the drawing he asked for 500,000 Francs. She exclaimed, "what? That took you 30 seconds to draw." Picasso leaned over, carefully took the napkin back, and said “No, dear lady, that took me a lifetime.”
It's one of those stories told me to very early in my career by Ted Konnerth, who at that time had all of the industry credibility you could ask for. I did not, but 23 years later, I feel I've finally established myself as a quasi-Picasso in recruiting. As an example, a distributor contracted with me to find someone in switchgear quotes who had an extensive background in Square D and who was willing to move into their very urban market. As I do with every search, I pulled up every single gear person in my database. I then moved on to review notes and cross reference Linked In for 690 candidates, to make sure they weren't working for a client, and brought that list down further, then knocking out those who won't relocate no matter what and it leaves me with a list of almost 300.
Because I am constantly working to master my craft, twice a year I do a deep dive on just about every social media platform to identify new gear candidates and to update changes because I need this to ultimately be a quick, clean search. By the time a client reaches out to me and agrees to pay my fee, they've already worked every angle they can on their own, so my goal is to solve their problem as quickly as possible. Over the last 23 years, my average time to present the person that is ultimately hired has hovered around 8 days give or take. In this case, I found the person they ultimately hired the same day! This doesn't happen often, but it does absolutely happen. I expected the client to say WOW, that's amazing, high fives all around, I'll tell all of my contacts that you killed this search. In reality...not so much. I was met with a very manager who literally said to me "why in the world would I pay you $30,000 for something that took less than a day to do?" And for the very first time in my career, I was able to manifest my inner Picasso and reply, "no, it took me a lifetime"
Prudence
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Logistics, Facilities and Regional Warehouse Operations Director
Currently in the Midwest responsible for a 10-branch, very successful independent electrical distributor. Responsible for establishing the company's first distribution center converting all branches to cross-dock facilities, supply chain management, IT, inventory management, and all-around operations superstar. Open to relocation, depending on location, and compensation needs will be determined by the area of the country.
Purchasing Manager
Highly skilled purchasing professional with 20 years of progressive purchasing and inventory management, Eclipse superstar supporting the procurement efforts for electrical distributors ranging from 96 branches to four. Excellent leader, mentor, and coach, open to relocation, and compensation needs will be determined by the area of the country.
Commercial Lighting Project Manager
Ambitious, Northern CA-based lighting pro experienced in a variety of markets; schools, retail, hospital, and office buildings on both coasts. Currently looking for a lighting project management role in N CA or working remotely, compensation is open based on onsite versus remote and total compensation opportunities.
For more information on any of these candidates, or to talk about any specific hiring needs you may have, reach out to me at pt@egretconsulting.com or give me a call at 847-571-7080
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Distribution Career Opportunities |
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Executive Recruiter
Prudence Thompson has over 20 years of experience recruiting exclusively for electrical distributors and offers a unique insight into the issues and trends facing today’s wholesale distributor.
847.307.7126
pt@egretconsulting.com
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Ana Thompson joined Egret Consulting as a full time Executive Recruiter in August. She had been working part-time as a research assistant in Electrical Distribution.
847.305.3146
at@egretconsulting.com
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VP Sales
Inside Sales
Switchgear Quotations
Switchgear Project Manager
Purchasing Manager
Pricing Manager
District Sales Manager
Automation Specialist
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Outside Sales
Lighting Project Manager
National Account Manager
Operations Director
Lighting Quotations
Branch Manager
Lighting Specialist
Regional Sales Manager
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