Corporate Recruiting Is Passion, Not Commission: The Five Ps and What Candidate Experience Actually Costs with Brett Fitelson of Seminole Hard Rock Support Services
Oz Rashid sits down with Brett Fitelson [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-fitelson-48490b38/], Technical Talent Acquisition Manager of Seminole Hard Rock Support Services [https://www.linkedin.com/company/shrss/], to explore what separates transactional recruiting from recruiting that genuinely changes lives.
Brett came into staffing the way most great recruiters do: sideways. A yellow sticky note, a cold call to Robert Half, and a lot of persistence later, he discovered he was built for this work. Five years inside Seminole, Brett has personally hired over 600 people across 18 departments, 13 states, and four countries.
We explore the real difference between agency staffing and corporate recruiting, how Brett’s candidate experience approach turned two SVP finalists into lifelong advocates, and why the Five Ps (proper preparation prevents poor performance) show up in every conversation he runs.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
00:00 Introduction.
01:00 How a six-month-old sticky note and a cold call to Robert Half launched a 10-year recruiting career.
11:50 Staffing is money-driven; corporate recruitment is passion-driven, and Brett nearly tripled his base salary by following the latter.
19:00 Building a Boeing 787 while flying it: what it means to recruit inside one of the world’s most recognizable brands.
21:00 600 hires, 18 departments, 13 states, 4 countries: what it means to be the gatekeeper of Hard Rock’s culture.
23:28 A promotion and a new baby at the same time: why Brett’s answer is always get a bigger plate.
28:45 Pickleball, 5 AM courts, and the 80-year-old who handed Brett the best lesson in humility he ever got.
32:00 Culture fit before credentials: why Brett knows within five minutes whether a candidate belongs.
34:35 The Five Ps: why interviewing is like professional dating, and the one question that reveals preparation instantly.
39:15 Two SVP candidates, one blocked calendar, 15,000 steps: what world-class candidate experience actually looks like.
45:15 Proactive vs. reactive follow-up, the day-after email to the hiring manager is non-negotiable.
47:05 Wake up early, make your bed is the advice that Brett would give his 20-year-old self.
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Seminole Hard Rock Support Services website:
https://careers.hardrock.com/ [https://careers.hardrock.com/]
“Make Your Bed” — University of Texas at Austin 2014 Commencement Address - Admiral William H. McRaven:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxBQLFLei70]
Thank you for listening to “Hire Learning with Oz Rashid.” Don’t forget to leave us a review and subscribe so you don’t miss out on future episodes.
Connect with our host, Oz Rashid, on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozrashid [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ozrashid].
To learn more about MSH, visit https://www.talentmsh.com [https://www.talentmsh.com].
#TalentAcquisition #HiringStrategy #EnterpriseHiring
