Sally Thornton is the Founder and CEO of Forshay, a firm that offers executive recruiting, interim consulting, and diversity and inclusion consulting. The company was awarded #290 on the Inc. 5000 “Fastest-Growing Private Companies” list for 2015. Before founding Forshay, Sally was the Co-founder and CEO of Flexperience, which — under her leadership — grew into a nationally-acclaimed firm and was awarded the “Top 100 Fastest-Growing Companies” in 2010 by the San Francisco Business Times.
She is a frequent keynote speaker on various topics, including the future of work, women in leadership, diversity and inclusion, the science of work-life balance, and talent recruitment and engagement strategies. Sally has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, BBC, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, and Huffington Post, among numerous other publications.
Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:
- Sally Thornton’s personal and career background and how she founded Forshay
- COVID’s impact on employees’ workplace demands
- How employers can develop innovative work styles suitable for their company’s needs
- The importance of adapting to change as a leader
- What do hiring managers and candidates look for in the job market?
- Technology’s role in the recruiting process
- Common mistakes candidates make during the interview process and advice for a successful interview
In this episode…
With the transition to remote work, the hiring process has also shifted to virtual, with many organizations utilizing video technology to conduct interviews. So, what are employers looking for in a candidate, and how can you prepare for an online interview?
According to recruitment specialist Sally Thornton, hiring managers seek demonstrated performance and role progressions from previous positions. These employers also want candidates who can adapt to remote, hybrid, and innovative work styles. When participating in a video-conducted interview, it’s beneficial to display your skills through a personal story that exemplifies your ability to perform and adapt effectively. Sally asserts the importance of thoroughly preparing for an interview to mitigate possible distractions that may occur during a video call.
Tune in to this episode of What The Teck? as Rolando Rosas and Dave Kelly talk with Sally Thornton, Founder and CEO of Forshay, about acclimating to changes in the job market. Sally discusses COVID’s impact on employees’ workplace demands, the importance of adapting to change as a leader, and technology’s role in the recruiting process.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
- Rolando Rosas on LinkedIn
- Dave Kelly on LinkedIn
- Global Teck Worldwide
- Circuit Loops
- Sally Thornton on LinkedIn
- Forshay
- “Re-imagining the Future of Work” with Sally Thornton on TEDx Talks
- “Hire Like a Rocket Scientist” with Sally Thornton on TEDx Talks
Sponsor for this episode…
This episode is brought to you by Global Teck Worldwide.
We are a full-service online retailer of professional headsets, webcams, and speaker phones from top manufacturers.
Since 2002, Global Teck Worldwide has provided affordable, high-quality communications equipment and customized telecommunications services to organizations of all sizes.
Our specialists have invested hundreds of hours in technical training, certifications, and seminars to assist customers with purchasing decisions.
We have served thousands of customers in a variety of industries with value-added services, including ergonomics, employee work accommodations, and hearing-impaired services.
If you are a government agency, small business, or Fortune 500 company, contact us at https://circuitloops.com/contact-us/ to discover a solution that fits your communication needs.
Episode Transcript
Intro 0:00
Welcome to the What The Teck? podcast where we talk about business and Office Technology, and put our 20 years of expertise to discussing trends and issues impacting the workplace.
Rolando Rosas 0:16
And welcome to What The Teck? I’m your host, Rolando Rosas and on today’s episode, we’re talking about the job all about the job, and how you can stand out on that next interview, and be a great candidate rather than a good job candidate. And for those that are joining us for the first time, What The Teck? is the podcast, designed to help you sound and look your best. And we talk about topics dealing with it. gear for the office, as well as the hot trends in the workplace. And joining me and coming along for the ride. Fresh out of Fenway Park, my co-host Dave Kelly.
Dave Kelly 1:02
Rolando. I knew I knew going to a game on Sunday was going to spark was going to spark some controversy where I went on Sunday to Fenway Listen, it was a it was a great day to be back at the park. I haven’t been in over a year
Rolando Rosas 1:16
over it was was it was a packed was a sold out.
Dave Kelly 1:19
It was probably 80% capacity. You know, there was a few quiet sections, but the energy was high. The game was awesome. You know, we had one of everything. Really fun. There’s even a there was a couple sitting next to us that had it was the first time they were from out of town. They had never been to the park before. And all they were doing was Instagramming and getting pictures of themselves out there. And then yeah, they were out of there in like three or four innings. It was almost like they checked it off their list of things to do in life and got out
Rolando Rosas 1:52
of a bucket list thing. So did the Red Sox win? That’s the question.
Dave Kelly 1:57
Yeah, the Red Sox win. One JD Martinez was clutch. And, you know, we’re still in the hunt for first. So
Rolando Rosas 2:05
a lot of baseball left. We’ll have to see. And the Yankees make up some ground?
Dave Kelly 2:10
I’m sure they will. Right now. We got our eyes on Tampa. So we want to jump into our trivia question right now. Let’s see what our producer has for us has in store for us today. Oh, nice and easy. Rolando. I like a good true or false. It’s not black or white. Yeah,
Rolando Rosas 2:26
you want me to do or you want to
Dave Kelly 2:28
throw it out there. So the job interview as we know it was invented by Thomas Edison in 1921. Oh, we’ll have to find out later. I’ve never even thought about that kind of a strange question.
Rolando Rosas 2:42
It is a strange question. Huh? You got to ask yourself. Mm hmm.
Dave Kelly 2:51
Like someone and someone invented the job interview. Hmm. All right Ori. Well, you said it was easy and straightforward. And I think you lied again.
Rolando Rosas 3:01
Okay, there you go. Hmm. Just a second. I’m looking for something in my notes, and they’re blank. So I’m gonna go I’m gonna freestyle it here a little bit. So we’re gonna go we’re gonna do the intro to Sally, right. Yep. So. All right. So let me tell you about who we’ve got on today. So if you’re joining us, for the first time, you’re in for a treat. You came to the right place. We’ve got Sally Thornton, founder and CEO of Forshay. She is an exec. She is more than just an executive. She helps companies find terrific talent. And he’s been doing this for quite some time. So she’s an expert in this field. We wanted to get her on the podcast for quite some time now. And let’s welcome out of the greenroom. Sally Thorton.
Sally Thornton 3:59
Nice to see you. Thanks for having me.
Rolando Rosas 4:04
Where are you joining us from today?
Sally Thorton 4:07
Thank you. Oh, Sonoma, California.
Rolando Rosas 4:10
Sonoma beautiful, beautiful wine country like in your backyard?
Sally Thornton 4:13
Yeah, I’ve only been here three months to so I’m living like a tourist, which is
Rolando Rosas 4:18
Awesome. Awesome. Yeah. Well, I can’t wait to you. Send us an email on what the best places to go, where to eat and all that good stuff. Absolutely. All right. Wonderful. Well, Sally, thank you for joining us today. We look forward to a lively spirited discussion here with with Dave and I, we definitely want to probe you on on several things that are in your wheelhouse. You know, with this new normal, the job market is changed. It’s a whole new ballgame. And we want you to give us some of those insights. But before we get into all the insights, I want to remind folks, if you’re watching us today, that you want us to show us your law love and support. Don’t forget to like and subscribe, hit all the bells and whistles. There you go, Dave, that one works for you. And so you can get in on what’s happening because we can release several other nuggets throughout the week, the only way to know you’re subscribed and notified. All right, we’ve got that out of the way. What I want to do now is, before we get into all the action with Sally, I just want Sally to tell us a little bit about yourself to folks get to really know who you are, what you do. And you know what you’re passionate about.
Sally Thornton 5:33
Hey, I grew up in Minnesota. And once I graduated college wanted to get the heck
Rolando Rosas 5:40
understood. Yeah, exactly.
Sally Thornton 5:43
Although I will say I didn’t go to a better like environment in terms of leather or went to New York. But it was a fun environment to start my career that I learned how to talk fast and walk fast. And you know, Minneapolis is called the Minneapolis so it was fun to kind of go to the Big Apple. The real one. Yeah, exactly. And then I moved out to California in 99, my husband went to business school out here. And we said, oh, we’ll just do a few years in California, and then we’ll go back. And now it’s been 22 years.
Rolando Rosas 6:11
You never went back.
Sally Thornton 6:12
Yeah, I still have my 917 cell phone number from there
Rolando Rosas 6:16
you don’t give up that number.
Sally Thornton 6:18
Right. It’s like Sex in the City, you don’t give up. And you know, for me, it was about, I started my career actually in compensation consulting, thinking that if we just designed the perfect compensation plan, people would act rationally. And this was for behavioral economics was a thing. And so it was fascinating, because it was a way of using math, right in the field of HR, which tends to be more human centric. And somehow that seems to be opposed to like math. So I was a little bit of a weird duck in that in that field. But when I came out here, I had to join a tech company because being a consultant, I was working with Ernst and Young, it just wasn’t cool. In the Bay Area, you have
Rolando Rosas 7:01
to Tech Tech. It’s like being in DC and not being in some kind of government job.
Sally Thornton 7:06
Nailed it. So I joined a voice over IP company and DSL company back in the day, and was designing compensation plans again, you know, that the stock and trying to get everyone to do the right thing. And then I was pregnant and trying to navigate this, like, how am I going to have a baby in Tech because you work 80 hours a week, at least in the Bay Area. And frankly, New York too, was very much a an American thing, right? Just work hard. Keep your head down. But my, my mom had a birthday 60th Birthday in Minnesota. And so my, my sister and brother said, Come fly out. I’m like, Well, I’m six months pregnant. So like, you know, I don’t want this is the best time to surprise her. And also I have all this important work to do. I was delivering compensation reports to the board. And I felt honestly, I felt kind of important in my job because like, everyone wants to talk about equity and stock and, and my husband was working McKinsey. And we were both working all the time, we had this definite American work ethic of like, work all the time. And so I didn’t think I could do it. But my brother who had survived leukemia when he was I was in seventh grade. They’re in this like, fancy carpe diem. And so I said, get on the plane. propidium. So I got on the plane, went to my mom’s party, it was great. And I came back. And two months later, my dad called and said, sit down. And I was like, what, and you said, your brother’s been killed for plane crash. And I was 31 he was 37. I’m eight months pregnant and just overwhelmed. Like, because I almost didn’t see him. I I was so dedicated to my job being a hard worker, that I had no idea that that would be the last time I saw him. I mean, it kind of put me into a, like a spin. You know, how do I how did I almost make the worst mistake of my life. And then the joke in the Bay Area is like when you have a mental breakdown, like start a company. That’s how you solve it. It’s a cruel joke. So I did. So I dove into the data around work, you know, why? Why do we have this work ethic? Why we know it’s good, but how can it be extreme? Right? And so So I spent time at Stanford, researching the future of work and and I really learned that the way in which we work is a little bit broken, that the Always On mentality, it was too much.
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