#364: Robert Hosking - Global Executive Director at Robert Half

Robert Hosking is executive director of the administrative and customer support practice at talent solutions and business consulting firm, Robert Half.

In this episode of The Leader Assistant Podcast, Robert talks about how assistants can earn a seat at the table. He also shares tips for interviewing, breaking through the AI wall when applying for jobs, weighing job offers, and more.

Show notes -> leaderassistant.com/364

--
It’s the last day of the offsite and it was exactly what the team needed. The CEO pulls you aside to say, “Thank you. This was next level.”

Your secret? You used Offsite. They handled the venues, negotiations, and logistics – so you could focus on shaping the experience.

Sound too good to be true? It’s actually within reach. (And it can even save you money.)

See how at leaderassistant.com/offsite.

--
Are you ready to level up? Enroll in The Leader Assistant Academy at leaderassistant.com/academy to embrace the Leader Assistant frameworks used by thousands of assistants.

More from The Leader Assistant...

• Book, Audiobook, and Workbook -> leaderassistantbook.com
• The Leader Assistant Academy -> leaderassistantbook.com/academy
• Premium Membership -> leaderassistant.com/membership
• Events -> leaderassistantlive.com
• Free Community -> leaderassistant.com/community

Transcript

Intro 0:52

The Leader Assistant Podcast exists to encourage and challenge assistants to become confident, game-changing leader assistants.

Jeremy 1:09

Hey friends, welcome to the Leader Assistant Podcast. It's your host, Jeremy Burrows, and I'm very excited to welcome you to episode 364. You can check out the show notes for this conversation at leaderassistant.com/ 364. Again, leaderassistant.com/ 364. You'll find the transcript and the bio and all the fun stuff for this conversation that uh we're about to have. And speaking of, I'm excited to have a conversation with Robert Hosking. Robert is global executive director at Robert Half. And uh what first of all, Rob, thank you so much for joining and welcome to the show.

Robert 1:53

Great. Thanks very much. Thanks for having me. Great to be here.

Jeremy 1:56

And just to you know be clear, I'm sure it should be obvious, but you're not the same Robert as Robert Half, correct?

Robert 2:03

Correct. Yes, he was uh much older than I am. But we do often get mistaken for one another based on initials.

Jeremy 2:11

So there you go. There you go. Well, uh tell us a little bit about your favorite thing to do when you're not working.

Robert 2:22

So when I'm not working, and uh that uh amount of that time seems to get smaller, uh, but um I do love to travel, and uh that's a really big uh kind of part of uh uh my life, but exploring and uh and going to different places, meeting different people, seeing different cultures. And uh so whenever I have that ability to take a break, uh love to get away and and do something that's very different than uh than work.

Jeremy 2:46

Nice. Where's uh maybe a favorite spot that you've traveled to recently?

Robert 2:51

So I was really fortunate and was able to go to India in the fall. Uh and uh it was fantastic. It was a trip that was a little unanticipated. So I had a friend that was going for work and I was able to tag along, and uh, we had a great time, and it was just so different than anywhere else I had been, and we learned a ton. The the history, the culture, the food, the people were all extraordinary. So it was uh yeah, really great time away.

Jeremy 3:14

Awesome. Uh so you are executive director of the administrative and customer support practice. Um, is that right? Uh is that kind of the full title there?

Robert 3:26

It is, yes. Yeah. Full title. Yeah.

Jeremy 3:29

Awesome. We'll get into a little bit of that, but but I want to uh go back in time a little bit and just tell us about your career journey and you know what how you ended up at Robert Half.

Robert 3:40

Sure. Yeah. So I started, I'll age myself really quickly when I say this, but uh I started uh with Robert Half when I was two years out of school. Uh and uh that was in 1995. So it was a long time ago now. So things have certainly changed and the business is very different. Uh, but uh I started uh in uh a role where I was helping people find jobs and uh and helping organizations find great people and have worked through a number of different roles uh during that time uh from a leadership standpoint and then uh moving into learning and development uh in the broader Robert Half business, and then most recently in the executive director uh position, which again ties everything together really nicely. So still very involved in helping people find jobs uh and uh helping great companies find great people, but also working on the business strategy for the overall business practice in terms of where do how do we stay ahead of the trends and keep current and you know really be able to adapt to what's happening in the market and uh uh and be there to uh again be able to help people in their career journey.

Jeremy 4:49

Love it. And we're gonna talk a lot about that. Um, but give us, and you kind of tease this a little bit, but tell us a little bit about Robert Half. What's what's the organization's mission? How do you, and then specifically, how do you all work with executive assistants and administrative professionals?

Robert 5:06

Yeah, so Robert Half is a it's a global leader uh in specialized staffing and consulting. So essentially we're really committed to connecting talented professionals with companies that are looking for additional support. And that may be on a full-time basis, uh, where an organization is looking to hire somebody directly or helping those that uh individuals that may be looking for contract work or shorter-term uh project type or related work. And our mission is to empower administrative professionals by providing staffing solutions, uh, career guidance, and uh skill development opportunity as well. And then uh we definitely help uh executive assistants, administrative professional professionals find the right roles while advising those organizations that we work with on hiring the best administrative talent to help drive their business success. Uh and so that includes focusing on matching skills, um, career goals, uh, those that uh those evolving demands uh in the workplace and uh emerging skills such as AI literacy and uh other things that are constantly coming at people today.

Jeremy 6:16

That's great. So uh speaking of AI, how are you seeing AI impact the workplace? And of course, uh the assistants listening want to know how it's going to infiltrate their roles specifically.

Robert 6:31

Right. Yes. So, you know, it's hard to believe uh we've had so much uh I think back and I think back to the very beginning of when I started so a long time ago, where the business was very different, the uh roles were very different in terms of uh administrative roles and and how they interacted and worked within uh companies. And we've had so much change in the last almost 30 years uh or so. And AI, of course, is the newest change, and I think there's some there's some anxiety around it and also fear around what is AI going to do for people's uh career, how does it impact their job? And I would say maybe stepping back, there's a couple of things we're seeing. Number one, uh, that uh AI is is here, it's here to stay, uh, it's constantly evolving. Um but what we are seeing is that those that adapt and work with it and uh embrace it are really finding it can actually help them uh in their jobs and in their in their uh daily uh duties and responsibilities, but also help organizations move forward and administrative professionals can be the leader in that and really be able to help organizations evolve as they embrace AI and work with it. I think from a skill perspective, there are some things that AI will likely actually do and take over. And I think we're already seeing that where maybe there are some more uh clerical skills or things that are a little more transactional where the AI can step in and actually manage. At the same time, what we're seeing is that's giving people the opportunity to do more interesting work and embrace different things and find they've got time to do things that are more strategic uh within organizations and really be able to demonstrate how they can support and help an organization meet those goals professionally. And so it's uh, you know, there's there's so many tools it's really almost impossible to keep up as far as what's what's coming out and how do you use it and how can it help me, but staying ahead of it is really important uh and I think uh will continue to be uh as time goes on as well.

Jeremy 8:37

Yeah, what's the application or how do you see the AI and assistants who embrace AI, how do you see that helping them earn a seat at the table?

Robert 8:51

So I think if you think about the the seat at the table um and being able to not like I communicate um well um ask for what you're looking for. And so um knowing that uh uh as you uh learn skills or or identified areas um that uh you believe could help the business, making sure that you're standing up and saying, hey, I've got some ideas that I think could be very, very helpful, uh, and uh things that uh could work for the organization. And in my in an administrative uh role, um you see everything and uh you're part of everything already. Uh and so there's so many times when you know what's going on, or you know, hey, this is inefficient, or this is something that doesn't actually make sense, put your hand up and and be vocal about that. Organizations and leaders today are looking uh for people that not only embrace change but are willing to be able to put themselves out there uh to uh to talk about it and uh get involved with it. And maybe that's being involved in a uh a task force or a group or or uh that the organizations are putting together. Uh, I think the more that you're vocal and and really indicate that this is something that you want to do and you're very keen to do and and uh and be able to help the organization move forward with, um more organizations will will certainly embrace it. I'd also say that companies are going through so much transformation right now, um, and there's so much change uh and so and are always looking for um people to be able to help lead through that or lead uh as part of that.

Jeremy 10:29

Yeah, so you know, you've been you said you've been at Robert Have for a long time. How have organizations on the maybe the executive side or the hiring side, how have they changed their perspective of assistance over over the years? You know what I'm saying? Like it do you see I know a lot of um organizations, especially in Silicon Valley, are you know changing the titles to executive business partner or administrative business partner to try to like uh get out in front and say, hey, you know, we actually see you as a valuable strategic partner? Um did you notice was there is it has it been a slow, steady shift in the industry um throughout your career, or was there a few key moments? Is you know back to AI, is has AI been another moment where it's like I know there's there was some news this week about a consulting firm in Australia laying off a bunch of assistants uh to offshore their work. And so uh I have lots of thoughts on that the uh for a different episode, but just curious like how you've seen companies and hiring teams and executives um reshape their perspective on what an assistant is or what an assistant does.

Robert 11:51

Yes, I and I would say the answer is definitely yes. There's really been an evolution and uh and more to that strategic partner, as you say that somebody that can really be aligned with the business, with company goals, with company strategy, um be able to, you know, from a leadership perspective, to be able to turn to that person and say, I really need you to drive this or I really need your help on this. And that's not something that anybody else in the organization likely can do because of expertise and skill and what um that uh what an administrative professional brings uh to the to the organization. A lot of that comes from learned, you know, learned experience, having been in the organization for a while, if that's the case. And in other instances, it's taking what you've done in one environment and bringing it to the next and being able to talk about results. Here's what I did in prior role, um, here's what I can do for you, here are the results of what I did that are tangible, that really helped to kind of move the business, um the business or company forward. But I would say where in kind of I look back and think to the time when administrative professional roles were very transactional. So it was very much here's the responsibilities and duties, here you go. And we're seeing a real evolution to being very strategic. Um, and that then gets to an earlier question around seat at the table. How do you get to that spot? Because now you're very important and you're a tangible part of the of the business.

Jeremy 13:22

Yeah, that's great. So super helpful. I know we could probably spend the whole episode on that, but I really wanted to shift uh probably the most of it, the rest of our time uh to assistants who are searching for a job. As I know that's one of your organization, Robert Half's uh expertise, right? Um so how we'll go through a few different things, but first off, you know, assistants listening that are either unemployed, just got laid off, are worried about uh upcoming cuts, or maybe they're just not happy where they're at and they want to find a better, better position in a different organization. How do you recommend uh assistants looking for a job? How do you recommend they stand out amongst the crowd?

Robert 14:13

So, you know, that's it's a great question. And I, you know, you hear stories of uh of individuals that are really highly skilled, have great experience, and are struggling in some instances to even get to the stage of an interview. Um and um, you know, then the question is, well, why is that? And and so much of that comes back to that in today's world from a hiring perspective, many organizations are using AI-based tools to screen whether it's the resumes or job applications, and those tools are looking for uh specific things. So they're looking either for key words or themes or trends or whatever it may be that are on um that resume that's important to them for that job. At the same time, what we're also hearing is that those tools are screening and in many cases screening down to the candidates that aren't the most skilled for the job and don't have the experience because, of course, we work with people. And so people come with skills that aren't tangible. You can't actually put them on a resume in the same way when you talk about soft skills or those ability to be able to interact with a team and build culture and all of those great things. And so I would say the number one thing is to really just make sure that your resume and cover letter really do highlight those problem-solving skills and um those business alignment skills. So again, back to where you can add value uh to an organization and then build and demonstrate AI literacy alongside that. So again, those, you know, you think about the traditional administrative competencies, but then how does AI literacy tie into that? So any experience working with or identifying or tools that uh uh that you've worked with, adaptability is really important and growth mindset. Um, so either speaking about that or tying that into anything that might be written, certainly in interviews, you can bring that out, but in applications, job applications or resumes a little tougher to do that, but maybe then it highlights where you've been involved with an organization that's going through growth and how you contributed to that. Um, leverage um networking and uh and follow-up communication, I would say, to uh kind of really reinforce interest uh in a job. I I think it's important if you're looking for something specific and it's something that you really want, make sure they know that. Um, and so the passion sometimes goes a long way with an organization looking for someone and being able to demonstrate maybe it's an industry you're particularly passionate about, or um it's in an organization that you've really wanted to work with, or people that you would really like to work with. It's okay to express that. Organizations look for people that want to be there and um and want to be part of their overall team. And then maybe last, I would say um strong examples of how you've been able to proactively uh contribute to to business goals and strategy. So, kind of again, back to um where what you've done before or what you're doing now can help another organization move forward because again, I in sort of my world, everybody seems to be looking for people that can certainly help them with that.

Jeremy 17:34

That's awesome. So you mentioned the AI tools that are reading these the applications and resumes. Is there any sort of tip uh that you would recommend to help assistants break through the AI hiring wall? Like is you know you mentioned it is kind of it can be difficult to express uh these problem solving skills and in in a tangible way on a resume or on an application. Uh but yeah, any any like quick little tips to help people get through that AI hiring wall?

Robert 18:06

I I would certainly say that um keeping resume clean, so uh, you know, not include and again, I mean the resume is one element, but and it's uh, you know, we we you know, you often think about a resume document, it's it's what people put on it based on um what they think is important and uh and ultimately what they would like to highlight, but it doesn't certainly in any way tell the whole story. Um but keeping it uh uh clean and that helps sometimes to get by that uh that AI gatekeeper. Uh so simple text uh uh or uh anything that uh avoids graphics and don't include any graphics or tables or unusual fonts, uh, any of those things because it can sometimes confuse those systems, believe it or not, um, where uh they're looking for key things or certain things. Then when if there is a job description, so something that you're specifically applying to, um, you can pull in some of those key words that are on the job description description, providing they actually do align with your skills. So it's really important because it's easy to have a resume created for a job description using AI. The challenge is when AI creates something, it again doesn't know you as a person. So it can sometimes put things in there that aren't necessarily right or accurate or realistic. And so it's very important if you do use those tools to then put the critical eye on it. Everything is in fact accurate and true and really does represent you. Um so there is definitely editing that uh that needs to be done. But some of those keywords that are there in the job description can help to um to pull through, and then certainly again tying back to those achievements on those applications. So here's what I did, here was the result of that, or here's what this the return was on this. I led this project and the return was X amount for the organization or uh X result uh for the organization uh overall. And then I think from an interviewing standpoint, because once you get to that stage of interview, the world there has also changed. Some of those are done virtually still, and and maybe the first one is done virtually. Treat that interview the same way you would as a face-to-face. So what you're wearing, how you present, being organized, have questions to ask that are tied to the role and be you know very specific, very engaged, very passionate about the opportunity. Those things again go a really long way when it comes to uh to interviewing and really trying to get through to um that stage where you can be yourself and all those other things then start to come out.

Jeremy 20:50

Love it. So, okay, so let's assume uh you've crushed the interview, now you're getting offers. And let's say you get a couple different offers from different organizations, different companies. Any any suggestions on uh how to I know everyone's different, every job offer is different, but yeah, any tips on weighing job offers against each other? Uh what are things that maybe if if you're working, let's say I was interviewing with a couple people and or and I got a couple offers and I was like called Rob up and said, hey Rob, I need I need help. I don't know which one I should pick. What are some things that you're you're looking for in those job offers?

Robert 21:34

Yeah, it's you know it's great. The great news is if you're in that position uh where there's multiples, it's like the best case scenario, right? So if you know you've got a couple of different yeah, and you know, and and also I would I would argue that we're still seeing in many instances individuals that you know uh uh do have multiple opportunities or or there are multiple things on the go, which is which is great. Um and unemployment numbers when you really look at the overalls are still very low for administrative professionals uh overall. And so that means there is opportunity out there and uh and that you we can people can easily find themselves in that spot, which is great. Um, I would say a couple of things. You know, I think I always I'm a believer in the pros and cons. So I'm a believer in the uh, especially if you know if you're looking at something and you're thinking, what are the things that really stand out about this role that make me excited or make me feel really good about whether it's the people I'd be working with or the environment I'd be working in or um the team I'd be part of, the person I'd be reporting to, what does the company actually do? Does that in fact, you know, uh uh get me excited about it? Does it align with um the things that are important to me? So building that out and then building out the cons list. And these are things that may be focused around, you know, is it what's my commute going to look like? How much time am I going to be in the car? Is there flexibility in the role? Flexibility both from time in office, but also from the way I might like to work in terms of the hours of the day that I'd like to work. And again, does this really align with where I'd like to be from a career perspective? Does it get me to that next step, which can then lead to where I'd like to be? Does it make the move? Because I think sometimes it's easy to look at comp and benefits as the only factor. But and while those are really important and certainly play into it, there's a lot of other things because the workday, we spend a lot of time at work. We spend a lot of time with the people at work. And it's important that those things feel good. I'm a big believer also of going by the way I feel in my gut about those kinds of things too. And so it's almost like, you know, when you wake up in the morning, you think to yourself, where would I really rather go? Or who would I really rather work with? And that sometimes can actually help you make the answer or makes the answer a little easier, maybe to get to. Once you get there, and if you're weighing options from an offer perspective, I also believe that first offer isn't the only one, meaning it's always okay to come back and ask for a little bit more. And is there more that we can include? Are there other benefits or perks that are important? And even bringing those up sometimes in the interview process can help to get there from an organizational standpoint, particularly when they're putting together that package. So it's a, yeah, it can take some time and some reflection. Again, great place to be in if there's multiples, but even if there's only one, still really important to be thinking about those things and uh and weighing those out because those are the things that uh will will in many cases keep you engaged and excited about staying in the role for a long time.

Jeremy 24:51

Love it. Super helpful. Thank you so much, Rob. These are great. Um, any any final career encouragement tips for assistants looking uh for work? And I know I had an uh assistant client of mine, a coaching client. She was looking for months and very discouraged, and then all of a sudden she had like three offers within one week, and she called me up and she's like, Hey, I I need help. I got all the so anyway. I say that to say my encouragement is keep going, keep trying, keep keep applying, um, keep taking the feedback and trying to grow and learn from it. But what what are your last uh career encouragement tips for for today?

Robert 25:32

Yeah, and you know what, I think it's a really good point around the the keep going. Um, and uh take what you've learned from one and apply it to the next, I think is really important. And don't be afraid to ask those questions. So if you weren't successful in one scenario, ask the question, what could I have done differently? Um what could have helped me to stand out? And um I would say that uh employers or prospect employers are very open often to giving that kind of feedback because you know you got to a if you certainly got to a certain stage, or even if you were even just in the beginning stage of a process that didn't work out, um, they're often willing to share that um that feedback for people that are interested in in knowing it. So that would certainly be one. I would absolutely say that soft skills continue to be uh a superpower and uh and really, really important. And in the age of AI, when everything feels like it's so tech-driven and AI-driven, staying back and really focused on those soft skills, whether it's communication skills, um, empathy, leading with empathy, leadership skills, those things that can truly set you apart and are are may help to make you uh differentiate you from others who may be uh in the mix. And ability to be able to kind of work collaboratively as a team. So many organizations today, as they're back in office, and and so many more are, are looking for people who can help build teams and culture and um bring people together and work between multi-departments and multi-leaders and have those skills. Uh, and so that's actually really important. And then I would can I would say certainly continue to invest in in lifelong learning. Um, there's always things that um uh you know individuals can do to be able to what's the next and the latest and greatest? What else can I learn from? What else can I pull into? So always be learning and always be curious.

Jeremy 27:23

Love it. Well said, Rob. Thank you so much. Um, you know, thanks again for taking time out of your day to be on the show and super helpful insight for assistance all over the world. What's the best place for people to reach out if they want to connect with you? And um, and then also Robert Half. Like, where would you recommend assistants who are looking for support and looking for help uh in their careers? Uh, where's a good place for them to uh to start?

Robert 27:53

So RobertHaff.com um will uh bring you right to our our uh website and uh kind of all of the different uh areas of specialization are listed there. So places to go. We have jobs that are posted in local markets. We have offices across um the globe. And so uh uh for individuals, depending on where you uh where you may live, you can reach out directly um to the team in local market, and that can certainly help you to get there. Uh and again, there's lots of great jobs that are posted um today, which um you can certainly apply directly to. And again, somebody will follow up with you um regarding those. And uh and from my perspective, always open uh to individuals who would like to reach out. Uh my LinkedIn um profile, uh Robert Hosking at Robert Half, is a great place to go uh and uh and certainly uh encourage that as well. And you know, certainly here to help as uh in your in your career journeys.

Jeremy 28:46

Love it. Perfect. Thank you so much. And I'll put those links in the show notes at leaderassistant.com/364. Uh check that out and connect with Robert and the Robert Half team. So thanks again, Rob. Appreciate you and appreciate the work you're doing and and what Robert Half is doing for administrative professionals and executive assistants. And uh yeah, thanks so much for being on the show.

Robert 29:14

All right, thank you. Appreciate it. It was great.