As ForceBrands’ Division Director of Operations and Finance and one of the company’s first recruiters, Tina Paresi was instrumental in launching this specialized team. Leveraging her 15 years of recruiting experience, she’s placed candidates in roles from manager level to C-Suite at some of the most innovative CPG companies.

We caught up with her to learn more about what her team is up to and why it’s an exciting time to be hiring and working in the industry.

Q: What excites you most about your role right now?
A: Industrywise, it’s an active candidate market so we have a lot of jobs and companies that are growing and are in need of great talent. It’s definitely an exciting time but because of that, it’s a fast-paced environment. Summer has historically been a slow period but this past summer was busier than usual. A lot of growing companies are coming to us to build their teams but there’s a shortage of qualified talent.

Q: What advice do you have for candidates looking to navigate such an active market?
A: I’m incredibly proud to have built a really diverse network of clients who trust working with our team and know the caliber of talent we have. That said, I often have candidates who are already interviewing with other companies so it’s important to regularly check in with those candidates. My advice to candidates is to be prepared to move quickly if any opportunity presents itself. Have those forward-leaning conversations earlier rather than later.

 Q: What does your team look like?
A: These past six months have allowed us the opportunity to grow the team and division. We’ve made some hires on the business development side that have really grown our operations and finance division. We’ve since been able to hire additional talent and it’s been exciting to have the opportunity to build out the team in a more specialized way. We’ve been hiring industry specialists so it’s nice to have a well-rounded team.

Q: Have you had any hiring highlights from the past few months that you could share?
A: We’ve been able to work on full retained searches which is something that our clients have been requesting more of this year. Companies see the value in paying for top talent. We’re thrilled to expand our recruiting offering to exclusive retained searches now and the opportunity to work on exclusive roles.

Q: Are there any industry trends you’ve noticed in the past six months or so?
A: We’ve been receiving a lot of requests for finance candidates at all levels. As companies continue to grow, they want to make sure they’re reporting their financials accurately. There are now a lot of companies being backed by private equity, and as a result, companies are tightening up their financials.

Q: What advice would you give to hungry job seekers who have not yet connected with you?
A: As we near the end of the year, that’s when companies really start to think about their budgets and open positions they’ll have for the coming year. It’s a great time to connect with us and get on our radar. The autumn months are when we start to have conversations with clients about hiring so it’s a great time to get in touch with us.

Interested in working in Supply Chain, Operations, and Food Science? Connect with one of our Executive Recruiters.