Does this sound familiar? You've been told that hiring candidates solely based on their qualifications and skills will result in a successful team. But despite following this advice, you're still experiencing a lack of cohesion and productivity. The pain of investing time and resources into recruitment, only to realize that the values of your new hires don't align with your company's culture, is all too real. On this episode of the Beyond Barriers Podcast, Brooke Skinner Ricketts welcomes a highly respected Executive Recruiter, Entrepreneur and CEO, Anna Kelch. With an extensive background in executive search, Anna is the leader of the global technology practice at SRI. Her expertise enables her to provide invaluable insights and strategies for hiring managers and candidates, seeking to improve values alignment. Visit https://www.gobeyondbarriers.com where you will find show notes and links to all the resources in this episode, including the best way to get in touch with Anna. Highlights:  [03:00] Anna’s background and path to her career and lessons learn [10:29] Finding the right person for a role [12:02] Incorporating diversity [17:18] Opportunities for women [21:14] Telling your story and negotiation [27:00] Sharing about your life with your employers [32:27] Leveraging your relationships [42:16] Competition among women [42:40] What Anna advised her own kids in their job searches [45:16] Sending a thank you note [48:55] Doing your homework before sending a resume [52:33] Lightning round questions Quotes: “A company’s culture, who you work for, how you’re supported, makes a huge difference in a company’s ability to keep talent.” – Anna Kelch “You’ve got to figure out how to stand out, and that means you have to tell your story.” – Anna Kelch “Networking is not transactional.” – Anna Kelch Lightning Round Questions: What book has greatly influenced you? - “Radical Candor” by Kim Scott What is your favorite inspiring quote or saying? - “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” – Maya Angelou What is one word or moniker you would use to describe yourself? - Connector What is one change you've implemented that made your life better? - I stopped saying sorry so much. What power song would you want playing as you walk out onto a stage? - “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys (or anything by Bruce Springsteen) About Anna Kelch: Anna leads the Global Technology Practice at SRI which exists to serve all companies where technology and transformation are critical to their business mission. She is an accomplished search consultant with over 25 years of experience and a reputation for recruiting hard to find talent for consumer, enterprise, and private equity clients in digital media, information services, SaaS, AI, e-commerce and data & analytics. She is strategic, unbiased, and personally invested in every search focused on delivering best-in-class talent. Clients and candidates value Anna’s counsel and view her as a trusted advisor versus a search vendor. Prior to search, Anna served in sales, marketing and management roles in publishing, digital media, and educational technology with companies including Meredith Corporation, Bertelsmann’s Gruner & Jahr, and Whittle Communications. A supporter of children, education, and the fine arts, she served on the board for Steppenwolf Theatre and Urban Gateways. She is a veteran in the search world yet remains committed to finding new ways to make search better, faster, and more fulfilling for both clients and candidates. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-mccormick-kelch/ https://sriexecutive.com/