The "Sizzle Factor": What Actually Makes a Candidate Stand Out

So you mentioned sizzle factor. Yes. Can you define that? Is it definable? That is something I came up with to differentiate myself from other folks in HR and talent acquisition and corporate recruiting. What's that edge in terms of wanting to talk with me? If someone's highly talented, they have options, right? So why would they wanna talk to me or my company? And so it allowed me to reach out and when I contact candidates, I ask them, what's their sizzle factor? Because even before we get on a video interview, I meet them in person, they've kinda shared with me, I'm not looking for a book report, I'm not looking for a college thesis, I'm not looking for a paragraph, but tell me why we should hire you. Why should I have spent my time and your time getting to know who you are? Right. That type of thing. And so what's your sizzle factor? It kinda stuck as, you know, what makes you a hot candidate? Welcome to Beyond the Ledger, real conversations with people driving business forward. I'm Troy Ashby, CPA and host. Each episode, we impact stories, challenges and insights from today's top accounting and finance leaders. This podcast is brought to you by my friends over at MarketScale. Welcome back to Beyond the Ledger. Today's guest is Jed Gifford, a former broadcast journalist whose career has taken him from breaking news, human interest stories in some of the biggest stages in sports, including the Olympics, the Masters, and the Stanley Cup finals. After graduating from UT with a degree in broadcast journalism, he has spent seven years in television before making a career pivot into talent scouting and corporate recruiting. Since then, he's built a reputation for spotting talent, building relationships, and helping people discover what he calls their sizzle factor. Jed, welcome. Thank you for the invitation. It is awesome, man. We have known each other since, I think I looked back two thousand and nine, twenty Yeah, we're going on a decade. You bet. I think that's more than a decade. Well, that's true, more than a decade, but it's flown by. It's certainly flown by. It sure has. Well, I cannot wait to get into your story from, you know, all the intro is only touches on what you've done. But before that, let's pause and why don't you tell people something they can't find about you on LinkedIn? Well, I think LinkedIn is your digital footprint, right? But I think you've talked about my broadcast television career. There's so much that I did with other people across the country that you can't just put on a resume or a LinkedIn profile. The newsmakers, the athletes, the celebrities, the human interest stories. You talked about some of those big events that I covered. You know, a Daytona five hundred. Right? Covering the Cowboys when they were actually winning Super Bowls. You know, they've been pretty mediocre the last, you know, couple decades here. Not this year. But in terms LinkedIn, just the ability to make an impact in different industries. You know, broadcast television, commercial real estate, automotive, now back in HVAC, and so in terms of what's not on LinkedIn, it's probably just the depth of relationships and the ability to connect with people, mentor, coach others. Yeah, and I didn't know you started in that career, but you've always been a great communicator. Start with kind of what, with that initial background, how is that the relationship piece and how you've kind of used what you were taught in your first part of your career, and how is that taking you to today and successes in today? Well, think it's an extension of what I did, right? Storytelling, asking questions. I was interviewing people with a camera and a microphone, either as a one man band or as part of a news and sports crew. Sure. So that skill set that who who, what, when, where, and why. Yeah. Right? The the basics of of capital j journalism applies to what I do in talent acquisition from a corporate perspective. And so digging, being a detective, learning more about someone's background, learning more about a company and sharing those details. I mean, in terms of my experience in front and behind the camera, I'm comfortable talking to people. It's natural for me. I've I've always been an an extroverted individual, and and I've just taken that and and kinda pivoted to use your phrase earlier from broadcast television and that world, that sandbox, now into a corporate setting. You know, I was fortunate to kinda have some Forrest Gump moments, meeting famous people either on the set, in a newsroom, or out in the community, but the transition to corporate America was something I did for a work life balance and family reasons. Right? I love broadcast television. I still read the trades every single day. I went from working at one local television station doing the Nomad TV Life to impacting over two hundred TV stations and networks around the country. Yeah. ESPN, The Weather Channel, New York, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas Fort Worth, other markets, Denver and and Miami. What I'm able to do is apply the experience in television to talking with you today on this podcast, with other people at the executive level, the C suite, all the way down to someone who's a high school senior trying to get that first job or that college junior senior looking to get that internship or that first career, and so relatability. Working across North America, I have a lot of icebreaker stories. I reference something, maybe a university or a college or maybe a company they work for, I've got some nuggets of information because I try to be as well rounded and as well read as possible so I can make an instant connection with somebody. I think that is a differentiator. That's probably what's part of my sizzle factor is my authentic approach to getting to know somebody. And that's part of storytelling as well. It sure is. Talk to us about, that's a big transition. Yes, it In the pre show, were talking about that being maybe one of your biggest obstacles or challenges that you've had. What was that like? So I was fortunate. I had gotten married and wanted to start a family, and you're working in broadcast television. You're either working very early mornings, going to bed at seven o'clock at night and waking up at two or three o'clock in the morning to do the morning show, or in my case, I was working night. So you're working like a two to midnight shift. Right. Split days off, every holiday, every weekend, because I was doing a lot of sports. And I actually found a company in Las Colinas, legendary company by the name of Talent Dynamics here in Dallas, in Las Colinas. So I wound up being a talent scout and an account manager in television. So instead of me going straight into corporate America, I had this transition position. So I became an industry insider going to all the various conferences and finding working with TV stations and networks to help them find on air talent, anchors, reporter, weather, and sports talent. So it was a bridge What a great bridge. A bridge for twelve twelve months. I was there for eight years. Yeah. And so it worked out that it was a still in television, but not at a television station, so I was working Monday through Friday. I had the work life balance, the family time, but still able to leverage my journalism background, my storytelling. You know, again, serendipitous that I found a company in Dallas Fort Worth. I didn't have to move, and they are the industry leader as it relates to all things broadcast television, on air and off air talent, and so we had team members that would handle off air talent, producers, news directors, general managers, and I was responsible for the on air talent, the folks you see in front of the camera, out in the field, that type of thing. So it was my That's very great. It was my world. And so did that for eight years. So basically all told about fifteen years in broadcast television and because of that background, I have contacts all over the country that are reaching out to me, how did you pivot out of TV, right? Yeah. I'm now at a point in my life where I wanna do something different and so as a journalism major, you can do just about anything, right? You understand deadlines and you understand corporate communications and marketing. Some folks in journalism have gone into sales because we're extroverts. Yeah. Right? So that transition to talent dynamics out of local television has paid huge dividends, and that's probably the biggest marker in my career because I was able to transition into something that was relevant, relatable, I was able to expand my skillset. I don't know why I didn't think about this, but what a great way to bridge it. Yes. Not everybody gets that opportunity. Yes. It's not too unsimilar to before I started Benchmark, how I got out of accounting and went to the big firm placing accountants, right? So as a CPA, and that was the thing that kind of allowed me to take that step away from my education, away from what I thought I knew as a first generation college grad, like what am I doing? But that's great. Now, is that where you made this big placement of this big name that everybody's gonna know? Yes, and so it's all about networking and relationships, and so I was fortunate to work with a lot of large media groups. Now obviously, as we all know, the broadcast sandbox has evolved and changed. Yeah. They used to have, we used to have a lot of, large number of broadcast television ownership groups, not just the O and Os, the owned and operated stations around the country in large markets, but we had all these family owned or publicly traded media companies that have kind of been gobbling each other up. Yeah. And a lot of consolidation, a lot of ownership changes, and so, yes, I was fortunate to to work with some stations around the country finding a chief meteorologist or a main anchor. I worked with Al Jaffee at ESPN. I worked with the team at the Weather Channel, and so some of the folks that are at the networks, I have great pride that was basically a talent scout, but kind of an agent too, because you had to nurture those relationships, and maybe someone was under contract and they weren't eligible and available to a station, and so we just kept those relationships going and networking keeping in touch and facilitating, you know, when your contract's up, let's talk. Let's get that top five or top ten out in your contract where you'll be eligible to so yes, I was fortunate to place a lot of, I think, strong talent, memorable talent that have made a real impact in their local markets or at the national level. Yeah, that's awesome. All right, so you've made that change. You're now, you're at Lennox, right? Now I'm at Lennox, back at Lennox. I'm a Boomerang employee as a matter of So, you know, I know most of our audience, they're either up and coming or they're already leaders in the accounting world. The reason I wanted you here is because you get a talent acquisition, an HR perspective, somebody who's looking at talent when people are either applying or what are you looking for? One of the things that I know you're really good at is spotting talent. You've also helped a lot of people coaching them on whatever it is, their resume, their LinkedIn, and we can get into some of that too, but talk to the audience and what are some things that you're looking for or you see or common mistakes? Well, look beyond the resume or the LinkedIn profile. Maybe they were a high school or college athlete. Maybe they were in the military, right? It's more than just having a bachelor's or a master's in MBA. Maybe there was something special about who they are, right? Or maybe when I reached out to them and how they responded to me in terms of my questionnaire responses, or questionnaire and their responses to kind of initial conversation, I look at everything. I'm not some of these folks in talent acquisition or recruiting that only look at the first five or ten resumes, and they make a hiring decision. I look at everything to ensure that I don't miss anything. But in terms of spotting talent, it's finding that diamond in the rough, finding that that individual that may already have be be a people leader, but they've got a little something extra. They've got something special. They've shared with me or have identified their sizzle factor. What makes them a can't miss candidate? What makes them a high potential candidate or an employee? Makes them highly promotable as well. And so having conversations with them and letting them be authentic and vulnerable with me sharing where they wanna go with their career in the short and long term, regardless if they're right out of college as an entry level twenty two, twenty three year old, or someone who's been in the industry, their specific industry for twenty, thirty, forty years and looking to pivot or look for a new opportunity, on an active or passive job search or a strategic job search. So you've mentioned sizzle factor. Yes. Can you define that? Is it definable? That is something I came up with to differentiate myself from other folks in HR and talent acquisition and corporate recruiting. What's that edge in terms of wanting to talk with me? If someone's highly talented, they have options, right? So why would they wanna talk to me or my company? And so it allowed me to reach out and when I contact candidates, I ask them what's their sizzle factor? Because even before we get on a video interview or I meet them in person, they've kinda shared with me, I'm not looking for a book report, I'm not looking for a college thesis, I'm not looking for a paragraph, but tell me why we should hire you. Why should I have spent my time and your time getting to know who you are? Right. And that type of thing. And so, what's your sizzle factor? It kinda stuck as, you know, what makes you a hot candidate, right? Right. And I've just utilized it, and it's appropriate now because I'm back in HVAC, at Lennox, global leader in climate controlled solutions. You know, we hot and cold, right? You wanna make And so it's very appropriate in my industry that I'm in, but I've also been in automotive, commercial real estate, I was in broadcast television. So what differentiates you is what So I love that because that question comes up in an interview a lot. Why should I hire you? Yes. And sizzle factor. So now let's talk about, I'm gonna coin a phrase. Sure. Your sizzle factor. What quick way to get overlooked in Jed's eyes. Would say that folks that don't dress for success, they're late for an interview, they undersell themselves. Maybe they've got a dynamic resume with or without AI help, right? Now in this day and age, they undersell themselves. They don't put metrics and measurables on their resume. They're not able to articulate to me and others in either a first round interview or a final interview why they have the transferable skill set to make an opportunity. And so why do they fall flat? Why do they not sizzle? They don't know their story. They don't know their brand. They're not able to, going back to my journalism background, they're not able to be a good storyteller on their career. Yeah, so I work with a lot of accountants. Yes. And some of them are great at storytelling and some aren't. Sometimes the resume is spotless. Sometimes, you just mentioned measurables. Putting measurables is something I always talk to people about. Not all accountants are outgoing communicators like broadcast journalism, So how do you make sure that you don't get fooled by a great communicator who's good at telling a story that compared to somebody who is a rock star? Are you pulling that out of them? What that That's, I mean, perfect example. I actually a couple a couple months ago, actually, a sales candidate we were talking to had an incredible resume, right? Former athlete, right? So he had kind of that competitive edge, right? That winner's mindset, winner's mentality. But when I got him on the interview, he fell flat. First of all, was not dressed for success. He was in a t shirt, it was a video interview, he was like in his lazy boy, he was not dressed for success, and then he was not able to walk me through his resume. He had all these great accolades the resume, but was not able to back them up. He was not able to articulate them, lower energy, right? You would expect someone to be able in sales to be able to share their story and walk through. Going back to your accounting and finance question, I think that goes back to people just practicing their story. And they may be an introvert, but they need to be able to turn it on when they need to turn it on. Maybe the phrase social battery, maybe they just need to have the battery revved up a little bit to be able to walk through their work history and why they should be hired, why they should continue in the interview process, and then turn it off right after the But be able to turn it on, turn it off. But think for folks, they need to be able to be humbly confident and be able to tell their story in terms of their work history, right? Walking through their college education, maybe they've got certifications or licenses, or what was the motivation for getting the CPA? What was the motivation for getting the MBA? Why don't you have a CPA? You're gonna hold yourself back if certain criteria are not met. Certain companies need certain positions with certain skill sets, and so you're limiting your earning potential potentially if you don't have certain degrees or certifications or licenses, and so they need to look themselves in the mirror and evaluate regardless if you're twenty one or twenty two years old, you're five years into it, maybe you've been in big four and you're looking to get into a corporate opportunity, or you're twenty five years in and you're a people leader. Right? You're at that director level, VP level. You still need to exhibit humble confidence if you wanna become maybe a CFO. I wanted to put a pin on that humble confidence and come back to it. Bet. But you said something that I think is really relevant, and part of that storytelling, a weakness may already know that they have. For example, they didn't get the CPA or they didn't get the MBA or whatever that is. I think it's important to mention that before it's asked because it's a glaring thing and there might be a relevant story, whether it be you know, family started early or or whatever it is. It depends on where you are in your career, but I think it's important to address those weaknesses that maybe people are thinking and don't even ask. And I don't, you know, people, some of the standard, you know, what are your three strengths? What are your three weaknesses? I don't like to use the word weakness. I like to use the phrase area of growth potential. Sure. Right? Because a weakness is gonna highlight, let's focus on what you do well. What can you bring to the table for a company or this position, the current role you're interviewing for, or where do you see yourself in two, three, four years? And so an area of growth potential may be going after that MBA or that Masters or that CPA. And maybe there was a reason, a real life reason that you weren't able to go back to school or you didn't go get it right after your undergraduate. But if they're able to be authentic and provide a relevant, solid answer, I think companies will accept that. Sure. Right? And some people, they may have all the letters after their name, but if they don't have the ability and the soft skills to relate and be a good teammate, it doesn't matter if you've got a CPA or MBA, if talking in the clouds and not relatable to your staff, to your coworkers, your peers, your customers, your vendors. You could have all the letters after your name, if you're not a good person, if you are not humbly confident, then that's a problem. You brought us back right to humble confidence. So let's go into that because I think humble confidence is not easy. I'll let you define it. It actually makes total sense just in the two words, I think someone that is coachable, regardless if they are a people leader or not, because you all those folks have leaders as well. Maybe you're a CFO, you still have to report to somebody, the CEO or the board. Right? Or maybe you're an individual contributor. You can influence with or without authority even if you don't have head count reporting to you. Somebody who's humbly confident, and I use that phrase, is someone who's confident in their ability but knows they don't necessarily have to be the smartest person in the room, they have room to grow. Maybe they maybe they take advantage of a mentor or a coach to where they can accelerate their career because they're they know they don't know everything. Sure. Regardless if you're in sales or accounting or finance, you know, someone who's humbly confident, even if you have a CPA or an MBA or a Master's, you can't be cocky or arrogant because that will come through in meetings, that will come through in a mid year annual review, that will come through in an interview. It just oozes. It just oozes out of your pores, Someone could be dressed for success, but if you come across not authentic and arrogant, people don't wanna be around that. Yeah. Right? Very true. You could be the most talented person on a team or in a company, but if you're not relatable and authentic with people, they don't wanna work with you. Yeah. And they're not gonna run through a wall for you. If you're especially if you're a people leader and you're not relating to folks, they're not gonna wanna work for you and they may leave your organization. They're not gonna leave the company, they're gonna leave their direct manager because that direct manager is not investing in them and the leader's not humbly confident. All right, so let's take a little pivot for a second. I to dive in. AI is everywhere. Yes. And you alluded to it a second ago. But regarding AI, what mistakes are you seeing that candidates or let's just use candidates or employees are coming with you that you can spot to try to prevent them from using making these mistakes? Well, I had a teammate recently had someone were darting their eyes. Instead of being eye contact, you know, dialed in, their eyes were darting to another screen because they were typing in the question that the teammate was asking them about and quickly leveraging AI to get a response. Stop. Again, was fake. It was not authentic. They were not showcasing their real skills. AI is a tool, right? It's kinda like an open book test for a lot of people. Sure. But in that instance, in an interview, they exposed that they were Wow, that's wild. Cheating. Yeah. Right? It's kinda like, and that has not happened to me, right? And part of what I do also with a pre screen before I talk with someone over Teams or Zoom is I do have an evaluation questionnaire, And fortunately, I am not getting AI responses because I think they know that I'm looking for that authenticity. But I think people are maybe using AI as a crutch. Regardless of what platform you're using with AI, we know. Talent acquisition, HR, hiring managers will know that it's not who you are. It's not your voice. Right. Right? It goes back to your story. Right? It doesn't feel real, but that candidate that was darting their eyes onto another screen That's what. It was a video interview, was reading an AI response to the question. Wow. It's okay to pause, think about it. Hopefully you've practiced some of your responses and how you wanna tell your story and respond, but that individual used AI as a crutch and lost eye contact with the interviewer. Yeah, that's wild. Eye contact, that's so necessary anyway, but I've seen resumes become bland with AI. I can almost spot it when it's Because they're trying to match the job description. Yeah. And where are the metrics and measurables? Right. Your wins, your losses, your achievements, the impact you've had on a business. And so, it's again, artificial, right? AI, artificial intelligence, right? And so we've seen that. So when someone's able to put together a resume or their LinkedIn profile has a robust skillset with that, that doesn't come across as AI. But you can spot it. Yeah. You can spot Unfortunately, I haven't run into that a lot because I think how I approach reaching out to a candidate, right, they've applied to my role or I've reached out to them on LinkedIn or name your platform, I want the real person. Yeah. Right? Show me your vulnerability. Show me who you are because that's real. That's not a robot. That's not some AI generated response. Yeah. So I literally had this conversation late last night. And so, the counter to some of what you're saying from a candidate perspective is I have to get past the algorithm, the screener, making sure it hits somebody's plate. Know, somebody comes to me, I'm getting it right in front of the leader and skipping a step or two. But talk from your perspective, because there's an over engineering because they're trying to make sure that they don't get weeded out for you to ever even see it. Because they may be one of thirty seven applicants or three thousand seven hundred applicants or one hundred and thirty seven applicants. Sure. You can't just post and pray. If you've identified a and you wanna work for them and they're an employer of choice, that's where you need to network and find someone like me, rattle off a message on LinkedIn and introduce yourself. I think people are, I think they're hung up that companies are using AI to weed out candidates. Companies can't do that. I mean, you just, you have to see because you're gonna miss some candidates by doing that. Sure. Right? And so it goes back to my earlier comment about not just looking at the first five or seven or fifteen resumes. There may be fifty four candidates, and it's that forty second person that's the rock star that you're gonna hire, you're gonna bring in. I think candidates need to recognize that companies are not out to get them with AI. Right? We're leveraging AI to be more effective and efficient in our evaluation process. It is not replacing the human element of someone who has the skill set to go through and identify folks that hopefully ideally have a solid resume, but maybe there's something that we wanna glean from that. So I'm hearing some of that cadence. You're weeding us out. Not necessarily. Right? I can't speak for all companies in North America, but great talent acquisition professionals are not leveraging AI to weed people out. It's allowing us to be more efficient with our time. So you've heard it here first, dispelling the biggest myth that I hear all the And it's not to say that everybody is not, that there's not some sort of ranking system, but I think the authentication or the authenticity needs to come through. And that's what you're saying. Well, and it's not just the hard skills on a piece of paper, on a resume or LinkedIn profile. It is your soft skills. Sure. Right? That's not AI, right? It's are you able to hold a conversation? Are you able to show me and tell me in in your two minute elevator pitch or your thirty second commercial or what are your strengths? What are your areas of growth potential? You know, tell me what what your last mid year review. What what did your manager tell us about? I mean, that that's gonna lead leave leave me with more of an impression of who you are on what what you do well Yeah. In your current role. Because again, what what's the phrase? Past performance is an indication of future future performance and success. And so the folks, the candidates that are using AI as a crutch that they're not getting interviews, they're not doing they're not doing the legwork. Right. Right? They're making excuses, I think, for why they're not moving forward because they have not been able to articulate, it goes back to storytelling in their brand, right? Yeah. Need to work on that, practice that instead of saying companies are screening you out because of AI. That may not be the case. You may need to work on your resume and your digital footprint and your interview preparation. It goes back to, we talk about location, location, location in real estate. How about network, network, network, right? Practice, practice, practice. Absolutely. You've got a, I don't know if it's a passion project, Jed, the career coach. Yes. And I feel like I just got a masterclass in a very brief period of time, but are those things that you work on with people in that space? Some things like that come naturally for some people, regardless if they're an introvert or an extrovert. Someone could be an extrovert and have a lot of personality and be very confident in who they are, humbly confident in who they are, but you can still twist and tweak things. And so what I do with folks, they need kind of an advocate, right? Someone who's going to be that confident and they can be vulnerable. Job interview preparation, mock interviews, role playing, right? Those are things that, it's the little things that make a difference. If let's say you're one of three finalists for an opportunity, it's not initially what's on paper. It's the little things that you've shared during an interview with hiring managers or HR that are gonna allow you to get that offer versus finishing on the podium with a silver or bronze medalist. Or you finish fourth and you're off the podium, right? And hopefully if you don't necessarily always, because it's hard to get jobs, it's hard to get interviews and offers, But if you do finish second or third, stay positive because maybe you've left a favorable impression for another opportunity with that company. Right. And so we're always looking for folks that are strong interviews, that have potential, but part of the career coaching, Jed, the career coach is literally working on your game, working on your communication skills, working on your story, having them tell me who they are. Yeah. And working through that to where they're able to articulate it. It goes from their brain to their mouth and they're able to, in a phone interview, video interview, in person interview, be able to highlight what they do well and what value they can bring to a company short and long term, right? And prepare, bring notes. It is an open book test. Have your questions ready. Show that you care and you've done your research on companies, right? And so it's all those little small details that make a difference in an interview. It's actually amazing. The number one thing that I think people forget nowadays is your notes, Padfolio. Yes. Yes. And it is it's It's right here. I mean, weird as the interviewer and you're interviewing somebody and they literally come in with nothing or maybe their resume only. Or they don't even take notes on their phone. Yeah. Right? Mean, they've silenced their phone, which is good. They're not getting alerts and it's going off in an interview. But if they come in with no copies of the resumes or maybe they were asked to do a presentation, maybe a thirty, sixty, ninety day outlook, or maybe they took it upon themselves. I had a candidate just yesterday, literally was not asked to present something but came in with their strategy for the new role. That's a differentiator Yeah. Between the two other candidates. Sure. Because they came prepared. They had thought about the role and how they were gonna differentiate themselves. And so it is okay to have a portfolio. It is okay to have notes. I, As someone who was in broadcast television, I wouldn't just wanna be on camera and relying on the teleprompter because technology sometimes goes down. And so I wanna be able to reference something. But I think candidates, if they practice their story, it's gonna become second nature, right? And so part of that career coaching is working with them to gain that muscle, muscle memory, to also that help with their confidence. If they know their story and know what the talking points they need to hit during an interview, regardless if it's a conversational interview or a behavioral base, provide an example, tell me a time when, they'll walk into that interview confident because they've practiced with a family member, with me, with someone else, or with themselves in a mirror to where they're ready to go when they're prepped. But they also have their kind of notes or some of their talking points that they can reference. And it's okay to look down or pause. Pause. It's okay. And then answer the question. Instead of rambling on, and, you know, we use this phrase at Lennox, I can't take credit for it, we want candidates to use verbal economy. Ask and answer. Don't just ramble. Keep it simple. The kiss method, right? That's so true. I talk about keeping it short, be concise, answer the question that was asked. Look, if there's more to be asked of you, they will ask you more. But sometimes you're It's like you're filling the room when the interview is going off rails and you don't know it. And lot of times it's nerves, right? Yes. And everybody can do it. And it's okay to have sweaty palms and butterflies in your stomach. That's natural. Yeah. Right? You don't wanna be a robot, right, during the interview process. You don't want the hiring manager telling HR talent acquisition, I interviewed this candidate for thirty to forty five minutes and I only got two questions in because they overtalked. Right. They over shared. They've said things that were inappropriate or not applicable to the job at hand. Yeah. So again, that comes with practice, knowing your answers to questions. Right? You're not gonna know every question, right? But if you practice enough ahead of time, you'll know your story and be able to pivot accordingly Right. Without rambling. Yeah. It's great. Alright. So before I move into the final segment, the final three Yes. Anything that you wanna share that we haven't covered yet? Well, I mean, let me look at my notes. How about that? Right? I wanna talk about that. I I think for folks, they need to advocate for themselves. Regardless if they are in a current situation where they wanna be moved laterally or up the food chain and within their current company, advocate for themselves. Find a mentor, find a coach, leverage your manager or your manager's manager, right? Step level with that. Visibility within the team or the organization, depending on the size, if it's privately held or publicly traded, partner with your HR leader. Let them know that you are committed to the company long term and you want to stay with the company and you're looking for a new challenge. Now that doesn't mean apply for seventeen openings, right? Be strategic in your thought process on where you wanna take your career. Know what you wanna do in the next three to five years, and articulate that to your manager during your mid year annual reviews. Articulate that to your HR business partner to help with that. But advocate for yourself. Yeah. You can't assume your company knows what you wanna do. Right? They wanna retain you. If you are a high potential, high performer, they will find an opportunity. You won't always have to raise your hand. You want people tapping you on the shoulder for a new assignment with that. Attitude and effort go a long way. Have a motor, right? Have a great mindset. Be a good person, kind of that golden rule or the platinum rule you read about. Be coachable. Be a sponge. Be a student of the business, right? Regardless of the company or the industry, read about it. Be a constant learner. If you don't know, ask questions, don't fake it till you make it. You always hear that phrase, don't fake it because again, it's not authentic, right? I'm currently reading Think Again by Adam Grant. Very good book, and actually, I was at a conference and we talked about certain books. A couple of books that I that I recommend are is Unconscious Bias by Pamela Fuller, Mark Murphy, and Anne Chow. And so that's more a leadership development opportunity for folks, but that's that's for an individual contributor too. With Winning in Mind by Landy Basham, and then again, as I said, Think Again by Adam Grant. These are books that are relevant to an individual, regardless if they're in their twenties or you're in your fifties or sixties and kind of the twilight of your career needing to work another five, ten, fifteen years. It boils down to, yes, technical aptitude. Can you handle month end close and journal entries and all of that? But it's also the differentiator when people win interviews and get offers are the soft skills. It's the soft skills. It's the relatability. It's the humble confidence. It's the approachability. You don't wanna be robotic, right? We talk about AI and that's a robot, right? You want to be, don't lose that human ability to relate to people with that. Make sure you're influencing with or without authority. You may not have direct reports, right? Been in my career, I've been an individual contributor, I've also been a people leader. You can still make an impact in the business without having a job title or eight or eighty direct reports. Right. Right? You can work with the C suite. You can work with blue collar or white collar workers by just handling your business with that. I think we talked about staying connected. We talked about networking with folks. Have that, what's your sizzle factor? That enthusiasm, that passion for what you're doing, regardless if you are a CFO or someone coming out of Big Four and they're looking to get into a corporate opportunity, right? Or get into consulting, or maybe you wanna be like you and be an entrepreneur and run your own business someday, right? But don't lose who you are. Know who you are. Be detailed, organized, conscientious. This applies for someone at twenty two years of age or someone who's sixty two or seventy two years of age. It's just life skills that I wish maybe we had in high school and college. Right? You know, I think it'd be I've been advocating and saying for years that we should have financial planning and like job interview preparation, resume writing, LinkedIn, that should be a course, a class, some sort of project so we're prepared to go out in the real world. Financial planning and then kind of your career planning as well with that. Does that help flesh that out a little I feel like I don't even have to go to the final three, but I'm going to anyway. You may have to repeat yourself. You bet. But before you do, one of the things that I've noticed in my career, and you've talked about it several times over and over, is the soft skills, the communication. And with my kids, it's been something that we're working on. They're fourteen and thirteen. And we practice telling a story in front the family because I see it every day. I see it every day that the person that I know should get the job may not, which I also prep a lot and role play as long as they'll let me. Sometimes maybe there's some pride there and they don't want that. And I've run into that too where I had someone that reached out to me. We grew up together here in North Texas. He had not interviewed. He hadn't had to interview because he always got other opportunities because of his network. He was able he was tapped on the shoulder. Hey. I'm joining this company. Follow me. Yep. He's now in a position where he needs to find employment, the company is downsizing, he's on the open market, he's a free agent, he's entered the NIL portal, whatever we wanna call it. Yeah. And it maybe was pride. He did not win an interview because he came across cold, didn't provide examples, but I offered the opportunity to practice his friend, as a long time friend, knowing him since middle school and high school but maybe he just didn't want to spend the time and invest in his career. He missed out on an opportunity with a great company because he bombed the interview because he didn't practice. He thought he would go in cold, but he was out of practice. It had been years since he had interviewed. So I always tell people it's reps. Yes. And unfortunately in interviewing, no one gets enough reps if you don't practice. Right. So if you're not going to the batting cage, you're not gonna be able to hit well on a You're gonna hit three hundred or more, right? You're gonna be hitting two hundred in the Mendoza line or nineteen, you're gonna be zero for twenty seven at the plate because you aren't practicing. Right, right. So that's how I explain it to people. Sometimes it gets across, sometimes it doesn't. All right, the final three. Yes. So, like I said, you've already talked about a lot of these, but we're gonna move into this. You don't have to answer them quickly. It's just I wanted to kinda go three Sure. Questions with everybody this season. Sure. And what's the one thing, if you could find one thing, that accelerated your career? I think making the conscious choice to step away from broadcast television and get into a more corporate setting, first in broadcast television with Talent Dynamics, networking and going to DFW TRN here in North Texas, networking there, that's how I was able to secure a position with CBRE, the global leader in commercial real estate. Because of my broadcast background, I went to Van Tyle Group, which is now Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, so Warren Buffett's now in planes, trains, and automobiles. Right? Then I went to Lennox because of someone I used to work with at CBRE. Again, it's networking, networking, networking. Then I wasn't initially looking to leave Lennox, but got recruited back in the automotive industry. D and M Leasing and their family of companies running talent acquisition for them. And then kind of a work life balance opportunity presented itself, and I'm back at Lennox as a Boomerang employee. And so one decision accelerated my career, not staying in broadcast television because I needed to, I had gotten married, wanted to start a family, more earning potential. So it was money motivated, it was work life balance motivated, but I think making that conscious choice earlier in my career, not waiting twenty years in, and uh-oh, I missed my window. So my earning potential has increased because I made that conscious choice to leave broadcast television. I've been fortunate to help other broadcast television folks, regardless of their family dynamic, pivot out to go into corporate communications, marketing, events, sales, because they have transferable skills. That's another thing too. Having a journalism degree, being well read, being a storyteller has allowed me to, could bounce into all kinds of different things. I chose to get into talent acquisition because I'm an ambassador of a company, I'm selling the company, I'm able to continue to interview people, right? I have a passion for wanting to know why. Who, what, when, where, why. Why are you here today? That type of thing. But I would say probably pivoting from broadcast television into corporate America. That's perfect. Yes. All right. And how somebody How does somebody stand out on your team? And if you don't wanna answer it that way, how does somebody stand out to you as a candidate? As a candidate, as a teammate, big smile. Right? I talk about all the time people on their LinkedIn photos. Right? We're not looking for a Facebook photo on there or a wedding photo. We want an authentic smile, dressed for success, someone who brings the energy. They could be an introvert. They could be the quietest person. But if they have that energy and that passion, it comes through even though they may be the most quiet person in the room. Right? Show that humble confidence. Collaborate. Right? In terms of talent acquisition, someone who's going to secure high performing placements, and that person's gonna be promotable, or maybe they become a client, right? Not just a candidate, but they become a client. Be open, honest, own and advocate for your own career, right? But that, you know, in terms of the fastest way for someone to stand out on a team is results. It comes back to, what can you do for me today, tomorrow, and down the road with that? Be a constant learner, attitude and effort. Be consistent. Don't be a one hit wonder with a company, right? They hire you because you've got an incredible background and you did well in your first year, but are you sustainable? You know, you want to be, I jokingly say this because I'm a Texas longhorn, proud Texas longhorn, you don't wanna be Johnny Manziel. You won the Heisman, but didn't do anything at the next level because he didn't work at his craft, Right? And so We can talk about that topic with You don't you don't wanna be a one hit wonder with that. You wanna be someone who is a a a high performer, an a player, a rock star, and that comes with attitude and effort, your ability to be a sponge, be willing to be coached and trained up and coached up with that. Perfect. Yeah. Alright, Jed. What are you excited about right now? Well, the fact that I'm on your podcast. I was a guest on your podcast. I'm also a family man, remarried. My daughter's in grad school, very proud of her. She's getting a doctoral degree in occupational therapy. So I'm very proud of that. I'm excited about what's happening at Lennox International, our family of companies and being a part of that, growth of being part of a company that's over a hundred years old, a hundred and thirty one years old this year, that was privately held, Midwest values that we now have a global footprint, and we're publicly traded and are seen as an employer of choice, not only here in North Texas, but around North America. We have a footprint in Canada, the US, and in Mexico. And so I'm excited about the future, my future at Lenox, the ability to coach and impact others, mentor others. And so that that gets me up in the morning is is, you know, presenting my story and how I can help others advance their careers as well. Chad, it has been great to have you on the show, man. You bet. You've given so much. I can't wait to see how this is all packaged together because there is so much value that you've provided. You bet. Appreciate you, man. Thanks, Troy. Appreciate it. I'm Troy Ashby. 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