My name is Andy Clinkman and I’m the VP of Technical and Creative Recruitment for an interactive recruitment agency in NYC. I’m incredibly lucky to have found staffing and I definitely have a sprouted love of the craft. The talent world is more than a career – it’s a hobby and something I absolutely enjoy doing. I’m very fortunate to be engaged to a beautiful woman that supports this habit even when it cuts into our time together.
A longer story…
I’m originally from central Massachusetts and grew up in a “suburb” (using that loosely) of Boston, Worcester, and Providence. Growing up in central Mass, my activities were limited so I was an active Boy Scout (Eagle Scout), sang and played saxophone, played soccer, participated in student government, and generally focused on staying as busy as possible. I received my undergraduate degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY and studied Public Relations. I studied abroad in Rabat, Morocco, because it sounded like the most exotic option and Arabic always fascinated me. After college, I struggled to find a job but found a great first job at a Boston PR agency, where I worked for just over 2 years.
My introduction to recruitment came while I was working at this agency. My client, an executive recruitment firm, recruited C-Suite executives for tech firms around the country and used media outreach as a new business and branding strategy. PR wasn’t a natural skillset for me, but recruitment captured my attention.
In 2013, I left Public Relations and moved into staffing. Initially, each day was a struggle as I questioned my motives, actions, and reasons for working within recruitment. I staffed (rather, attempted to staff) medical and administrative roles that would pay less than $15/hr. I couldn’t stomach the idea of negotiating someone’s hourly rate down $1-2/hr to bring in more revenue. I struggled. Was I perpetuating lower wages? Would I want a phlebotomist making $12/hr jabbing needles into my arm? I had no passion for my work.
A year later, I was introduced to recruitment for media, advertising, and tech. I started to notice that most people, regardless of age and experience, lacked the knowledge of how to accurately represent themselves for different career opportunities. People started asking me for advice and I threw sweat equity into familiarizing and learning recruitment as much as possible.
I joined my current company, Synergy Interactive, in 2016, and continued focusing my recruitment efforts within tech and creative for digitally focused organizations around the country. When you’re focused on specific skillsets, you see patterns emerge for those who receive the positions and those who are quickly bypassed. Yet, no one says anything about it.
While there are undoubtedly many more experienced recruiters out there, I struggle to find those that share their knowledge without expecting financial benefit. Interestingly, it is when I provide value without expectation that I feel the most fulfilled.
I truly believe that I will become a better recruiter by sharing my knowledge.
My goals:
• Provide strategies and insight for job seekers to represent themselves without needing recruiters or resume writers.
• Disrupt the traditional client-centric recruiting model while pushing towards a candidate-centric approach.
• Demystify the recruitment world and recruiting practices.
• Rebrand recruitment into an ethically driven career while weeding out those that drive questionable practices forward.