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Talent Trade Tidbit - Big Name Vs. The Market

Published on: 9th October, 2025

So you've worked for a big company, and you want to namedrop in an interview. Does that really give you a leg up? .....Kinda. But it's not THE most important thing...

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Transcript
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This is Stephanie Maas.

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Today I wanna talk about a topic.

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It's kind of like the chicken or the egg.

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Not necessarily what comes first, but what is better?

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And specifically, is it better to be with a big name bank?

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Is it better to be with a smaller, more community focused bank?

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Is the relationship because of the brand name?

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Is it because of the person?

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The answer to all of that is absolutely yes.

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It totally depends on your perspective.

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Let's face it.

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If you're a commercial banker and you call in a company and you say, Hey, company, this is Stephanie from Bank of America.

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Do they know who Bank of America is?

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Absolutely.

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If you call 'em up and say, Hey, this is Stephanie from Joe Schmo Community Bank, do they know who that bank is?

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Maybe.

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But let me assure you, what they really ask themselves is not what's the organization you're representing, but who are you?

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We see this a lot in search as well.

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Sometimes I'll get in front of a client and they'll talk to me about doing a search and they go, well, hey, you know, we're, we're talking to you and we know, you know, you're pretty well known in the market, but we're also gonna go talk to these big box retain firms.

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And I always love when I hear that because it reminds me of this scenario and I think to myself, Hey, yes, when a recruiter calls from the big box firm, do people know that firm?

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Oftentimes they know the name, but it's not about the name.

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It's the person with the name.

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In fact, I would even venture to guess, I actually work for a firm.

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I don't work for myself.

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I work for a firm.

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It's actually a pretty decent sized organization.

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I bet of all my 5,000 contacts that I keep in regular contact with.

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If you ask them what was the name of the firm I worked with, I bet you not even half would be able to come up with the name of the company.

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Although every single voicemail and every email says Stephanie Moss with thinking ahead search.

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'cause what they're relating to isn't the company, it's the person.

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So does name recognition really matter?

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Kind of does market expertise matter?

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Kind of, but at the end of the day, it's the person.

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About the Podcast

The Talent Trade
Presented by ThinkingAhead Executive Search
The Talent Trade is all about finding the right person, for the right opportunity, at the right time. But how exactly do you do that the "right" way? Executive Search Partner and Top Biller Stephanie Maas shares more than 25 years of experience about what it takes to be a top recruiter in today's "talent trade" market, using ThinkingAhead’s four-prong system focused on recruiting, business development, planning, and managing your mindset. It’s real, honest information about how to build your desk, perfect your niche, and stand out among the crowd in your search career.



Southwestern/Great American, Inc., dba Southwestern Family of Companies, for itself and its related entities and their assigns, reserves and retains all rights to their copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in this podcast.
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