06Jun

Welcome to #WeAreGreenKey, where we shine a spotlight on our powerhouse recruiting team. 

We met up with Dustin Bernardi, Technical Recruiter on the Marketing Technology team at Green Key. He elaborated on the hottest roles in the market right now, as well as the challenges he expects his clients to face due to the economy in the next year.  

What are some hiring trends you’re seeing in MarTech right now? 

It started slowing down at the end of 2022. But a lot of smaller companies and agencies are hiring. It’s becoming more important for companies to focus on marketing technology and automation. They have a lot of opportunities in these fields to invest in. This next year it’s going to grow even more. In terms of the demand for certain roles, I’ve been seeing a lot of clients hiring product marketing managers, which is great because several candidates will come through with both product and marketing experience. 

Are there any challenges you see MarTech clients facing this year? 

It can be challenging for clients to keep good talent. With so many jobs being remote, candidates in our field have more jobs to choose from, so it can be hard to keep people in one spot. The way the economy is going, some companies might have to dial back on how much they’re spending on employees, while other companies can spend more. Recruitment agencies are helping a lot right now. Companies can’t always just put out a job description and find good candidates; agencies can help be that bridge. 

What steps would you suggest to a candidate looking to break into the industry? 

I definitely think it helps to work with an agency and build relationships. We, as recruiters, are interested in the wellbeing of the candidate, especially here at Green Key. We know the market really well and what companies need. This will allow candidates to hone in on certain skills and be aware of what the next biggest trend in the industry is. Even if you don’t find a job though an agency, being able to create that relationship can lead to future opportunities and connections. 

In terms of education, the experience I see is so much more spread out than you expect. It’s not just Marketing. I’ve seen candidates with Sociology and Psychology degrees. It’s a field where you can really learn and grow from the ground up. 

What are your professional goals in the MarTech recruiting space for 2023? 

By the end of the year, I want to start working on the business development side of things and creating a pipeline of clients. I see our team really thriving and expanding in 2023.  

What was your professional experience prior to recruiting for MarTech? 

I started my career in technical recruiting, where I recruited software developers and software engineers at a couple different companies. I held a non-recruiting job after that, but really wanted to get back into agency work because I felt like that was where I belonged. I came to Green Key in July 2022. 

#WeAreGreenKey: Spotlight on Samantha Desena 

Welcome back to #WeAreGreenKey, where we shine a spotlight on our powerhouse agency team.   

We met up with Samantha Desena, Recruiter at Green Key on the Accounting and Finance team. Samantha started her career at Green Key almost 2 years ago, when she transitioned to agency recruiting.  

How did you get started in recruiting?  

I started off my recruiting career as an internal recruiter within the finance field and I was solely recruiting for one job all the time. I loved interacting with people in that capacity and being able to help them find a new career but after a while I started feeling siloed and the day to day became very mundane. So, I started looking into agency recruiting, and I found out that it’s kind of this whole other world where there are different jobs that you’re working on at once and they could all be completely different. So that’s kind of how I fell into agency recruiting and joined Green Key. When I started here, they were opening the Morristown NJ office, so I jumped on that, and I got in contact with Pat Friel. This is my first agency experience and I love it. It’s ever changing, always interesting, never boring. I feel like every week is a different challenge. I’m really happy I found agency recruiting.  

What do you find the most rewarding about your work? 

The most rewarding thing about the work I do is interacting with people and just being able to take people where they’re at and help them get on a path to where they want to be. Whether they’re in public accounting or they’re in an industry role and really want to be a controller down the line or really want to get into a fund, we can be the career advisor that shows them what the path will need to look like to get to their end goal.  

2024 marks 20 years of Green Key, how would you describe your experience since starting your career with the team? 

It’s interesting to be on a team where everybody’s at a different point in their recruiting career and their time with Green Key. We have people who’ve been at Green Key for all of 20 years. We have people who have been at Green Key for 1-3 years and everyone comes from such different backgrounds. We have a ton of people on our team who started as accountants or CPA’s then you have people like me who are two years into the working world and have a communications degree. It is awesome to have the same opportunity regardless of my educational background. It’s a role that comes down to your drive and your personal goals. I think that’s super cool.  

Are there any challenges you foresee for candidates in the year ahead and what advice would you give to them to navigate the challenges?  

I would just tell them that if they were considering leaving their current job, they should reach out to us before putting in their notice so that way we can help them set up a game plan to find their next opportunity. It is hard to stay in a job that you are unhappy or mistreated in but it is even harder to find the job you really want when unemployed. We see really good candidates struggling with this and it can be discouraging for them. So, hold off and get in contact with a recruiter and talk about what your timeline is and we will help you find something new ASAP. 

What are you and your team’s goals for 2024? 

Our goals as recruiters are to bring in new business but also to continue building the relationships we have with our clients and candidates. And as a team in NJ, I think a goal we have is to grow our office. When I started, we were about 3 people in NJ and now we are 6! It would be cool for us to grow the office as big as some of our other offices like in Pittsburgh or NYC.