Thank you to the 2000 amazing people that signed up for this newsletter. This newsletter is for Talent Acquisition and HR professionals interested in growing their brand.

1. Each week, I’ll be interviewing a Talent/Hr/People leader that is doing a great job with their content. (Internal recruiters, Agency recruiters, HR leaders…)

   From Tiktok Influencers to Podcasters, bloggers to video superstars. Each episode will include a short video where they share how building their brand has impacted their career and their life.

2. I’ll then break down how you can use their same strategies to build your brand, so each week you’ll learn and be inspired to create content.

I’ve already lined up some fan favorites and I’m super excited to continue to learn from the best in the industry.

^{About the Author: Joel Lalgee has built a social media following of almost 400,000. In 2019 he started creating content on Linkedin and since then he has expanded to Tiktok, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram… yeah everywhere. He’s also hosted 2 successful podcasts. His content has been viewed over 500,000,000 times and he now coaches recruitment teams on how to create content successfully to win on social media.} 

If you’re interested in working with Joel to get in front of 2-3 million people a month reach out to [email protected] for collaborations.

This week I’m featuring Trent Cotton - VP of Talent and Culture at HatchWorks.

As a highly accomplished leader and strategist, Trent brings extensive experience in organizational development, talent management, and business operations. With a strong background in HR leadership.

Throughout his career as an experienced executive, he has worked with some of the world's leading companies, where he has led and supported HR initiatives across a broad range of functions, including talent acquisition, workforce planning, diversity and inclusion, performance management, and employee relations.

His skills in HR technology implementation, data analytics, and HR process improvement have helped organizations to optimize their HR operations and drive business results.

He is an active Blogger, Linkedin creator, and Keynote Speaker…

Oh, and he has a best-selling book, Sprint Recruiting:

This is his Story.

Joel: How long have you been creating content?

Trent: Started my journey in 2011 out of a passion for writing and sharing knowledge. I honed in on my topics about two years into the journey. 

Over the last two years, I have expanded into Agile Recruiting and FutHRist (HR Transformation) as key topics along with HR analytics and AI

Joel: Why did you start creating content?

Trent: I have always enjoyed writing, it's an outlet for me. I also wanted to share my experiences as well as offer an outlet for others to share and learn.

Joel: What channels/platforms do you focus on?

My blogs primarily and LinkedIn. LinkedIn has been a bit tricky lately and seems to be favoring people who follow the algorithm versus those of us who actually have content based on actual experience.

Also use YouTube and Twitter, exploring Threads and possibly building a community in light of LinkedIn's

Joel: You’ve written a book, what is the book about, and what inspired you to write it?

Trent: Sprint Recruiting: It goes through how I applied Agile Methodology to Recruiting to address the four dysfunctions of recruiting:

Everything is a Priority which means NOTHING is a priority

It lacks a Rhythm and opportunity for iterative improvement

Clients and recruiters are often misaligned on the definition of success

The feedback loop is brokeHow has your blog/book and speaking engagement led to career opportunities and business opportunities?

The 4 principles counterbalance these:

The Sprint creates efficiencies

The business defines priority

Work-in-progress limits create focus and iterative improvements

Feedback keeps the process moving.

The upcoming book FutHRist is about HR Transformation and those of us who "stick out" in normal HR organizations. It studies military leaders and applies their behaviors/lessons to leading transformation both internally and organizationally. I attached the manifesto for you to review. https://youtu.be/fUrW6kEbMxg

Joel: What advice would you give to people thinking about a book?

Trent: You have to write about something you're passionate about and knowledgeable in

Create a basic outline first of what you want to cover then write the chapters

Don't speed through it, trust the process

Joel: What was the most challenging part about writing the book?

Trent: For me, knowing when to stop. I get so excited about the topic that I really have to lock in on the key points and stick with it.

The other is committing to the time and focus required.

Who are some creators that inspire you?

Tracey Lovejoy and Catalyst Constellations

I also get most of my inspiration from non-creators, things like documentaries, history, and business cases.

Joel: What has been the biggest challenge for you with creating content and maintaining consistency?

Trent: Keeping it fresh, relevant, and engaging. There's so much information out there, how do you stand out... in a good way?

Joel: What is next for you in your content creation journey?

Trent: Since LinkedIn is becoming more and more biased, I'm seriously considering creating a community to drive content and learning to a dedicated audience.

Might even go so far as to create an app. 

Joel: What’s the biggest piece of advice you’d give to someone starting out from day 1?

Trent: Start. So many people I coach want to create and build this beautiful house without drawing an actual plan to start.

Joel: What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you in your journey as a content creator?

Trent: The trolls make me laugh, especially when they do not realize that I will confront them and call them out.

Joel: Where can people find you/connect with you?

LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trentcotton/

Twitter: TrentCotton or FutHRist

YouTube: @FutHRist

www.sprintrecruiting.com

www.futhrist.com

Each week I am going to give you a few tips if you want to get started on creating content based on the conversation I’ve had:

Start with what you Enjoy:

The tip this week is simple - when you’re starting begin with what you enjoy doing.

For Trent, this was writing. He was good at it, he enjoyed the creative outlet it gave him so it wasn’t something he had to worry about or overthink.

This was a similar story for me. I started with written posts on Linkedin in 2019. I do 4 written posts a week and a video a week.

Video was a lot harder and more uncomfortable so I didn’t double down on it until 3 years later.

Luckily today there are so many different outlets and platforms to choose from:

Writing: Shortform posts on Linkedin/Twitter (X)/Threads. Longform posts like newsletters/blogs

Video: Short-form video on Reels, Tiktok, Youtube Shorts, Snapchat Spotlight, and Linkedin (Let’s face it video is everywhere.) Longform Video on Youtube or live streaming on Twitch, Linkedin, Twitter, Tiktok.

Audio: Short-form Linkedin audio rooms/Twitter Spaces/Clubhouse or Long form Audio on Podcasts.

Image-based posts: Instagram, Linkedin, Twitter (X) - lots of room for Snapshots of your workspace, vacations, and yes selfies.

There are so many options available, so pick what YOU feel most comfortable with and start there.

Bonus TIp: Push yourself outside of your comfort zone once in a while. The video content was never comfortable for me, but after over 1800 videos and 100 live streams now video is a piece of cake.

Practice doing content. That’s how you get better.

Thank you for reading this episode:

If you are looking for additional help with your content I’m providing 1 on 1 coaching, corporate team workshops/training, and ghostwriting and advising services. Want to work with me?

You can book a quick call here: https://calendly.com/humanheadhunter/quick-meeting?back=1&month=2023-06

Until next time!

Joel

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