We spend a lot of time here trying to keep everyone entertained with all the things to do and places to eat and drink around town. Thing is it’s really hard to enjoy most of those things if we don’t have a job (or a job that we enjoy very much). In an effort to be a full-service guide to all things Austin, we want to help everyone get the job they are looking for here.
That brings us to a friend of mine since grad school, Richard Fusco. He is one of the first employees at recruitAbility, one of Austin’s newest recruiting agencies. If you’re looking for your next great role or looking for that next great hire, I’d encourage you to spend a few minutes with this edition of our Spotlight Series to learn what makes Richard Fusco and recruitAbility different than all the other agencies out there.
EAA: I know how you ended up in Austin the first time, but I only partially know how you got here the second time.
Richard: I actually moved to Austin 3 different times.
EAA: Oh.
Richard: The first time was for undergrad, then for grad school. Then back again, once we had kids we decided we wanted to get out of New York City and back to somewhere with a better lifestyle. We looked around at all the usual cities but eventually settled on Austin.
EAA: We’re glad to have you back. So you’re in the recruiting business now. And obviously getting a job is a pretty big deal for people moving to Austin so can you tell us about recruitAbility and what makes it different.
Richard: We spend a lot of time getting to know our clients and our candidates to make sure that there is a good fit, instead of just sending resumes over hoping for the best. We also have an Applicant Tracking System that allows our clients to see where everything stands without a lot of back and forth emails or phone calls. It’s much simpler and it gives them clarity of what we are actually doing for them.
EAA: I’m down for anything that cuts down on calls.
Richard: I think what really separates us is that we have a long-term focus on placements. Most recruiters think it is their job to find a candidate and the client’s job to keep them. We take a different approach in that we work with our clients on the retention of the people we place throughout their first year. We collect and give feedback with a proprietary employee engagement platform so that everyone can keep improving.
EAA: That’s very cool. So the company knows what the new employee thinks and the employee gets feedback too?
Richard: Not only that, but we also get a better understanding of how the client works and what is a good fit so we can continue to improve future hires as well.
EAA: Very slick. Since you’ve been here three different times, I suspect you might have a unique perspective on things to consider for someone who is new in town?
Richard: I don’t know that 3 times matters, other than seeing it grow so much. Location does matter. Traffic is real. I love how easy it is to access parks and the Greenbelt. We spend all day staring at screens so that is great to get out and soak it all in. I do have a different perspective of Austin now that I’m a parent.
EAA: Let’s talk about that.
Richard: We got a season pass to Volente Park and it is great. We take some food down there and it will wear the kids out. It is a great deal, $200 for an entire summer pass.
EAA: That is definitely the first time I’ve heard that. I pass it a lot when I go to party barges but I’ve never actually been there. I also want to make sure we talk about your charity work.
Richard: Yeah we are still doing work all over the place for Building Bridges Worldwide.
EAA: You’re being a little modest. This is like schools and hospitals in the middle of nowhere.
Richard: Right. It’s medical and educational infrastructure in some remote communities: Guatemala, Nicaragua, Nepal, Bolivia, Ghana, Tanzania.
EAA: I still think you’re underselling it. You spend a week or so building a school in the middle of nowhere and then sleeping in the dirt to wake up and do it again for a week or so.
Richard: Don’t forget the bugs.
EAA: You’re a better person than I am sir.
If you’d like to get help with recruiting, as a candidate or an employer, reach out to Richard via recruitAbility. If you’d like to help out with Building Bridges Worldwide you can donate here.
