I’m Cindy, head of agency partnerships at Joveo. After three decades in talent acquisition, I’ve learned that the most important lessons are relational. And the biggest one is this: real partnerships are never one-sided.

You learn a few things when you’ve been in this industry as long as I have. Some lessons are tactical – how to run a campaign, pitch a client, pivot when strategy flops. But the most valuable lessons are about people.

A true strategic partnership doesn’t feel transactional. It’s not “client” on one end and “vendor” on the other – and I hate that term, by the way. It’s a shared table where both sides bring perspective and add value.

I’ve worked with agencies who understand this. The kind of partners who don’t treat you like a supplier, but as a sounding board. They let us into their roadmap. We let them into our strategy. When that alignment happens, innovation takes off.

Here’s what no one tells you: saying no is part of partnership. We’ve turned down business because the ask didn’t align with what we do best. That’s not easy, but every time we’ve done it, the client came back – because they knew we weren’t just there to collect a check.

When they’re successful, we’re successful. I know that sounds trite, but it’s true.

From Monster to Joveo: The Evolution of Recruitment Tech

When I joined Monster, we were building its first-ever agency relations program. It was chaotic, exciting, and completely uncharted territory.

I came from an agency background, and suddenly leadership was asking me to call on agencies – including ones that were essentially our competitors, since we were owned by an ad agency at the time. “So you want me to call on our competitors?” I asked. It felt bold, but it worked.

I started with three accounts – TMP (Radancy), Hodes (Symphony), and JWT (now rolled into J. Walter Thompson) – and within a short span, I was managing 23 markets across the country.

Those were different times. Recruitment marketing meant Sunday newspaper ads that cost $30,000 each and if there was a typo, you were looking at a $30,000 credit. No dynamic ad platforms, programmatic dashboards or real-time optimizations. Only relationships and determination.

Today’s landscape couldn’t be more different. At Joveo, I work with agencies all over the world that don’t just buy media but shape the entire TA tech stack as well. Some came from branding and are expanding into performance. Others have grown from small shops to full-service powerhouses.

What excites me most is when agencies come to us not just to execute, but to collaborate. They want to understand how Joveo can help them deliver better outcomes for their clients.

The tech has changed completely, but the core – relationships, trust, shared growth – that hasn’t.

Why Consumer Agencies Are Missing The Employment Piece

One of the most interesting shifts I’m seeing is consumer ad agencies realizing they have a blind spot: employment.

They’ve been running massive brand budgets for years, doing exceptional work on the consumer side. But when it comes to employer brand or recruitment strategy, there’s been silence.

That’s changing. Some agencies are spinning up employment arms, while others are partnering with companies like us to fill the gap. When they approach us, it’s with genuine curiosity: “How can Joveo help us offer clients a complete solution?”

That’s where real partnership begins. They’re not asking us to run a transaction but to collaborate, integrate and offer clients something more strategic.

Advice for Future TA Leaders: See Both Sides of the Business

If you’re serious about growing in this industry, here’s my advice: see both sides of the table.

Don’t just sell recruitment tech or run media. Go sit on the recruiter’s side. Work inside an agency or at an employer’s office. Understand what deadlines really feel like when you’re juggling creative briefs, hiring goals, and last-minute client demands all at once.

When I worked at the Arizona Republic, part of training new hires was sending them to sit with clients for a week. We’d place them inside an agency to see how things actually worked. It changed everything. You don’t just see the “what” of the job, you start to understand the “why.”

Also: never stop asking questions. Stay curious. This space changes fast, and the people who grow are the ones who keep learning, even 15 years in.

Most importantly, love what you do. I don’t dread Mondays or count down to Fridays. I’ve been fortunate to work in a field that challenges me, rewards deep relationships, and brings amazing people into my life.

The Future is Synergy

If I had to describe the future of recruitment marketing agency partnerships in one word, it would be synergy.

Two sides drawing strength from each other. They have their own capabilities, but they’re also drawing from their partner’s strengths. Innovation thrives because they’re truly working together. Both companies rise together.

That’s what I’m building toward. Not vendor relationships, but true partnerships where success is shared.

See us in action to boost your company’s productivity. Follow us on X and LinkedIn for more hiring insights!

Video Transcript

Jennifer: Here with Cindy, you are responsible. You are the Head of Agency Partnerships for Joveo, Cindy. You have over 20 years experience in talent acquisition. We were gonna say eons, you know? It’s a lot of experience. Recruitment technology in agency relations. You’ve had roles as a leader at Communo, Talroo, and others including the first global offering agency relations program at Monster. The first agency relations program at Monster.

Cindy: Yeah.

Jennifer: When was that? What year was that? Do you remember?

Cindy: 2000, actually 2001.

Jennifer: Yeah, that was a while ago. That was pretty cool. Yeah, that had to be.

Cindy: It was a lot of fun. And we didn’t know what we were doing, creating it from scratch.

Jennifer: How many people were at the company back then?

Cindy: Oh gosh, I don’t even know. I know it was, that was the year that we really ramped up all of our sales folks.

Jennifer: Okay, and then what did it get to be? Like while you were there, how did you watch it grow and climb?

Cindy: It was global and it was definitely going global and that was our first sales conference, was in 2000. My first year I spent in enterprise sales and then they said, I have an agency background. I know this is going off track, agency background and one of the leaders came to me and said, what do you think about calling on ad agencies? We were owned by an agency at the time. And I said, so you want me to call on our competitors to try this? That’s a real test. I said, sure, let’s do it. I had three clients, TMP, JWT and Bernard Hose Group at that time. And it was a blast. I had 23 markets around the country that I visited on a regular basis.

Jennifer: Wow, that’s awesome. That is awesome. You also were the former president of the Arizona SHRM and you’re the current TAtech board president as well.

Cindy: Not president. For Arizona, it was Arizona SHRM, which was a division. EMA was the division. EMA Employment Management Association at the time. It’s disbanded since then. But yes, that was my way of giving back to the industry. I worked at the major newspaper there, Phoenix, Arizona Republic, and that was great. And right now I’m currently a board member for TAtech.

Jennifer: I love that. That’s amazing. How long have you been a board member for TAtech?

Cindy: 14, 15 years, maybe. It’s been a while. It’s been a while.

Jennifer: So we’re gonna talk a little bit about elevating partnerships and evolving recruitment tech, driving value and agency collaboration, is our conversation today. So I’m gonna ask you a few questions about that. You’ve been a major force in talent acquisition and recruitment technology. What draws you to the industry and what keeps you passionate about it?

Cindy: What drew me to the industry was the fact that I had just turned down Nike and I answered an ad for a marketing rep. I had no idea what it was. And it turned out to be a recruiter, headhunter. Draw against commission. Didn’t know what that was either. Learned very fast that I had to sink or swim. Absolutely loved recruiting and I’ve stayed in it ever since. I’ve watched everything. I think everything about it has changed, but it’s been fun to watch. And it’s been fun to watch different people in different roles grow also. And I have a lot of good great friends in the industry

Jennifer: That has to be a cool part of it when we think about the evolution of recruiting just as a whole going from the fax machine and phone book, right? Can you imagine people trying to do that now?

Cindy: Oh, we joke about how the newspaper ad any given Sunday if you had even a half-page ad, black and white no color could be $30,000, one ad and if the newspaper spelled one word wrong in it, it was a $30,000 credit.

Jennifer: Yeah, there was… I have a fun story about that. I’ll have to tell you one day, but it’s definitely an off-camera So I was in charge of doing that in my corporate life. The advertisements in the newspaper. It’s part of it for MGM grand. Oh wow. In advertising in the newspaper So I have a funny credit story. It wasn’t funny when I was like, oh did I not proof that. But I did proof it. So they did shorten a word they shouldn’t have. You led recruitment marketing agency partnerships where you lead it. You lead recruitment marketing agency partnerships What do you – what does a truly strategic partnership look like? How would you define that? What does it look like?

Cindy: It definitely has to be two-sided. It has to be mutually beneficial, both sides have to add value and it has to be a partnership and not a vendor relationship. I hate the term vendor and I’m almost offended when somebody says vendor to me. It’s like no, I’m not a vendor. I’m a partner.

Jennifer: Yeah, I heard someone say also third-party labor recently and I was like, that doesn’t feel good. That doesn’t sound good and like the vendor relationship versus a partnership. It should be interlocked. Absolutely, definitely and it has to be good for both sides, too. Yeah I agree. You’ve shaped agency strategy at companies like Monster and Talroo, how do you see our space evolving and where does Joveo fit?

Cindy: The space has definitely evolved. At Monster I had, oh gosh, probably over 200 ad agencies that I worked with. I would break that 200 down to probably 35 to 40 that I worked with quite regularly. I also had a top 10. Some of those agencies are around, I believe that those who have stayed true to their roots are still around and still still successful and have grown. Where I’m seeing change now is a lot of people think oh…I’m gonna be an ad agency. It’s not that simple. And we’ll see them fumble through some things. I’m also saying which really excites me the fact that there’s consumer ad agencies that are fine. They’ve been managing the huge consumer budgets, but they have to they they don’t do anything about the employment side of it So they’ve either started an employment arm or they’re partnering or when they come to Joveo, which I absolutely love, is they say how can Joveo help us be a complete partner to our clients and that that way we can be more proactive. We can be advisors, we can be consultants to them. It’s quite exciting.

Jennifer: Love that. That’s great. With so many moving parts in recruitment advertising how do you help agencies align client goals with media strategy and performance expectations?

Cindy: Many times I’ve sat in their shoes and I think that would be like a critical, if I were speaking to a candidate that wanted to be in the role I would say do both sides of the business. For this, we can’t be everything to everyone. So we know our strengths, we stick to them and we’re just focus on that and be the best don’t if you can’t do it

Jennifer: Don’t half-butt it.

Cindy: Yeah

Jennifer: Know your strengths stick to your strengths.

Cindy: Yeah, absolutely I think that’s the biggest thing is because when someone wants you to do something, right? If there’s just sort of an innate thing that you want to help them. Even sometimes it fits outside being able to just bring it back to strategy to say that’s not our core. You know, function and there’s times where you’re gonna have to say no. Last week we had to do this and it kills me to turn away the business but it’s the right thing to do in the long run and the client appreciates you a whole lot more also because they know you’re not there just to take money. Yeah, that builds trust. When they’re successful, we’re successful. I know that’s trite but it’s true.

Jennifer: Yeah, absolutely, a thousand percent. What excites you most at Joveo when thinking about recruitment marketing agency partnerships?

Cindy: I love seeing there’s one agency that is a current client now and I have watched their work for so many years and they were more on the branding side and I’m actually, I mean I told them when we were pitching them. I’m a total fan girl. There’s no two ways about it. I love what your work is. They’ve always been known for the branding side and now they’re getting more into the media side. So I was very excited to work with them there. As far as agencies overall and where we’re gonna go with that is anything is an option. Again, if we’re the right fit for them beautiful things can happen and we do have those partners that trust us and we trust them and their business and their roadmaps and it just turns out beautiful.

Jennifer: Right. You’ve worked with and mentored teams around the world, around the globe, Cindy. What advice do you have for rising leaders?

Cindy: I’m just gonna keep it general. I think for anyone – make sure you love what you do. If you do, again, this is gonna sound trite if you do, it doesn’t feel like work, you don’t worry about Sundays and oh my gosh, I have to go to work on Monday. No, I don’t get that. So, love what you do. Continuously ask questions, continuously learn about it. I would say for those people who have if they’ve only sat on the the sales side of selling recruitment tech – switch jobs switch sides. Go over and be a recruiter see how it’s not and be a real recruiter. Not one that just pushes paper sit there and see what happens. One thing that I used to do on the newspaper side is before and part of new new hire training is I would have that person go and sit at the employer and work at an ad agency for a week and see see what they go through look what deadlines look like. And I just I just think it’s important that they see both sides of the of the business.

Jennifer: Yeah, I love that advice. I think having a holistic view and really understanding how one supports another or it’s so interconnected when I think about how the entire process of…

Cindy: The agencies that we work with also appreciate the fact that we’ve we’ve been there we understand.

Jennifer: Yeah, that’s great All right rapid-fire Q&A you ready? Yes, go! If you were to choose any getaway…

Cindy: Beach all right any beach as long as it’s warm. I don’t do snow beach.

Jennifer: Where would a snow beach be? I guess Sochi would be like in Russia would be like a snow beach, right? That would be considered… where else is a snow.

Cindy: Oh, I don’t know I told you I don’t do. Iceland somewhere like that. I think it’s cold there. I’m pretty No, no, no, no doing it. All right. Yeah for the day. I’ll get really cold. I’ll go back to my real beach.

Jennifer: A piece of hiring advice you often give?

Cindy: When hiring I, I’ll take that back to the interview and that is when I interview people, I don’t, I don’t ask traditional questions. Now I can still interview the same way I did as a headhunter and I’ll ask you all your you know your standard questions. I like to get people to talk and just get them talking about what they’re passionate about and see if they know themselves. And I think it’s important that person know themselves what they want. Not just about the job that I’m hiring for. So I just like to I would say to two part get the person to talk and listen, don’t ask don’t think about what your next question is truly listen to what they’re saying and sometimes if it’s in person what they’re not saying.

Jennifer: Yeah, I like that a lot. I do remember that about our conversation an interview We just kind of chatted and had a good conversation.

Cindy: Yeah, it’s great advice I think it tells a lot about a person if they can carry on a conversation like that.

Jennifer: Absolutely. Most memorable recruitment marketing agency partnership you have built?

Cindy: Well, I can’t name names. But I will say that there are a couple of them that I’ve actually watched the agency grow. Where they’ve started small when I say about the 200 they weren’t even in that 35 and they’ve grown and now today they they’ve stuck to their roots and now today  I’m thinking of a couple of them offhand. They’re leading agencies and what’s more and more exciting I think is the fact that it’s not the it’s not only the agency as a whole but the people within the agencies also.

Jennifer: That is so cool.

Cindy: Think I remember when you were a sales rep or I remember when you were a customer service rep. But you loved what you did, you knew that that was it. Yeah, and now they’re leading companies.

Jennifer: That’s great. Love that. One word to describe the future of recruitment marketing agency partnerships?

Cindy: Synergy. And with that synergy I would say it’s it’s critically important that you have the two sides are drawing strength from each other. They have their own strengths, but they’re drawing strengths from each other. Innovation is just thriving because they are truly working together and because of that both companies are rising together also.

Jennifer: Yeah love it. That is great. All right, that’s our time Cindy, thank you so much.

Cindy: Thank you.