Tom Fox met Mary Ann Faremouth at the National Speakers Association’s (NSA) Winter Conference. He was immediately enthralled with her passion for recruiting. Mary Ann is the founder and CEO of Faremouth & Company, a national recruiting and consulting firm. She also networks with a consortium of recruiters, sharing jobs and helping candidates. Mary Ann describes herself as a “holistic recruiter”: she looks at the whole person when placing candidates, as she believes this more human approach works best for these times. She chats with Tom about her book, Revolutionary Recruiting, and shares practical advice for job seekers as well as employers.

The Faremouth Method
Tom asks Mary Ann to describe the Faremouth Method. She explains that it is the 5-step process she uses to place candidates. These 5 steps are:

• Know yourself: do an inventory of your skills and talents.
• Ask better questions.
• Step out of your comfort zone.
• Take the time to do it right.
• Be a hunter.

She says, “The Faremouth Method helps me really identify who that person is right now, what their purpose is, what their passions are, and that helps me align them with a position that’s gonna fit that.”
A Win-Win Approach
“…if we take the time to understand what their [candidates’] passions are, what their skills are, what their transferable skills are, we can place them in positions where the retention rate is a lot higher. Candidates are happier because they’re feeling a sense of purpose. The clients are happier because people aren’t leaving, and so it’s a win-win for everyone.” Mary Ann and Tom discuss why her holistic approach makes good business sense. Tom comments that Mary Ann brings not only her professionalism to the table, but also candidates and clients trust her advice. She responds that her motto is ‘Integrity Personified’, and that doing the right thing for everyone is one of her key values but it is also just good business. “If I make a good match, everybody’s happy,” she points out. “Then guess what happens? That client is gonna send me his vendors, that applicant is gonna send me his friends.”
Key Mistakes Employers Make
Revolutionary times such as these, require a revolutionary approach to recruiting, Mary Ann argues. In the new normal, both job seekers and employers have to be willing to think outside the box. Tom asks Mary Ann to outline the key mistakes employers make when they’re looking to hire a new employee. She responds that employers often have unreasonable demands and expectations. Going forward, they have to look realistically at the job and its requirements, and look for a candidate with those transferable skills, Mary Ann says. She shares some insights about the post-COVID job market. 
Another mistake employers make is that they don’t ask the right questions during interviews. She advocates asking more hypothetical questions so that employers can gauge the potential employee’s problem-solving skills, and if they have the right mindset to be part of the team. Mary Ann then shares some insightful and practical advice for listeners to prepare themselves for the future. Life is ultimately about relationships, she remarks. Ask yourself, What can I do in service of others? “Maybe this is the time for us to look at these worst of times being the best of times for us to improve and to learn what our skill set might be that we can refine to help make a contribution to the greater good,” Mary Ann comments.
Resources
Faremouth.com
Revolutionary Recruiting book on Amazon | Barnes and Noble
USA Daily Times
The Price of Business podcast