E28 | Rianne Brashears

Donnie: Welcome to the team behind the team podcast. I am your host Donnie Maib. This is the monthly show focused on building conversations around the team-based model approach to ethic, performance, strength, and conditioning, sports medicine, sports science, mental health, and wellness in sports nutrition.

Hello. And welcome back to the team behind the team podcast. I’m your host, Donnie Maib. And man, it is 2022 happy new year to everybody listing can’t believe 2021 flew by. We are into the new year and this month, man, I am excited about this episode. It’s a topic in theme that’s near and dear to my heart as a coach.

And as a professional, before we get into that real quick coach, Joe crosscheck is out our cohost, him and his wife, his beautiful wife, Kristen just gave birth to their new baby boy, David. So he’s out right now with his wife on maternity leave. Just helping take care of baby. David’s he’ll be back in the near future.

So, good luck mr. Joe, anyway with that? Let’s welcome our special guest today. Who’s not only a colleague of mine, but I fear, I feel like a good friend. Who’s helped counsel me through just different situations at Texas. Ms. Rianne brashears from our HR department. Welcome. How are you doing today, Rianne?

Rianne Brashears: Thanks Donnie. I’m excited to be here.

I’m doing great. This is going to be fun. Very, very, I’m excited to be here. Thank you for the invite.

Donnie: You got it. And Rianne real quick. Senior associate athletics director for human resources at the university of Texas at Austin, intercollegiate athletics and Rianne her role. But I’m gonna let her speak here in a minute, but her role is so big for us.

And you work kind of behind the scenes. You’re not really out there on social media. Uh, you, you don’t put this stuff out in the news, but the role that you play behind the scenes, not just for our staff, but for, I know other staffs you kind of are the glue. I feel like that holds us together and keeps the ship going in the right direction.

So that’s kinda my take again. I’ve worked with you for years, Rianne, you’ve helped our staff with courses, counsel, and development. So thank you for that. Would you just take a minute and introduce yourself to

Rianne Brashears: the listeners today? Steer the ship in the right direction. So thank you for that. Uh, when you invited me to be on the team behind the team that really spoke to me, working in HR is definitely a behind the scenes kind of job.

So I feel like this is a great opportunity for us to kind of get out in front and share what we do. So my background, um, I actually graduated from Texas state university, San Marcus. It was Southwest Texas at the time. Nobody, nobody put a number count on that for age, but, um, got my degree from there in business and I accidentally fell into human resources.

Wasn’t the career I set out to do, to be honest. Like most college kids didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated, target offered me a job and I actually ended up covering a leave of absence for a human resources director for eight weeks. And after that eight weeks, they couldn’t get me out of it.

I fell in love with HR. Um, so I feel like HR sometimes picks you. And I hear that story a lot from people in my profession. Um, most of my team is the same story. Um, so after that worked for target for about five years, doing human resources, um, kind of grew my career there. Um, had a couple of stores at one point, worked up to nine different stores in south central Texas that I had.

Um, but in my scope of responsibility and was ready for the next big thing, but didn’t want to relocate at the time. Um, my husband and I wanted to stay close to family in Texas. So I ended up working for UT. I actually started out working as the HR director in the housing and dining department. So all of the dorms?

Yeah, all the dining halls, it was a big. Um, the guy who hired me at the time was the vice president of HR on campus. And he retired and came back to work in athletics. And after several years of being at housing and dining, I was there for about four or five years. He called me and was. When it comes to athletics, which I think is everybody’s dream at some point when you work on a university campus.

So I said, yeah, let’s do it. So he recruited me over and I got to kind of break into the world of athletics professionally. Um, and that’s how I ended up here, which is, um, it’s been really fun. Um, my job has Donnie said is overseeing HR, um, for athletics. So we have about 3000 employees and contractors and vendors that includes coaches and Donnie’s amazing staff.

They’re super fun to work with. So shout out to our sports medicine and nutrition teams and strength coaches and our behavioral health. We really love working with your teams and your areas. Um, it’s really, really fun to do so. Overseeing hiring and compensation, um, performance management. We do a lot of professional development.

Um, human resources team is extremely involved in our diversity equity and inclusion efforts and programming that we do. So we do a little bit of everything in our office, which I think keeps it

Donnie: interesting. No, I that’s so good. And I want to just circle back. I feel like this team behind the team that we’re seeing in athletics, it’s so important to me and that’s why I’m so thankful.

You’re on the show we’ve got to have, not just the resources, but the support of people that are developing, uh, professionally, uh, sharpening the ax. So to speak, as we say, in, in performance, uh, just making people better because you, if you can just have that 1% edge and advantage, I think it gives you a difference over the competition.

And so I know that not all athletics departments have the support we do. So thank you for again, we have rock stars here, so sorry that we’re kind of tooting our own horn here, but that’s just, we’re a little biased, but that’s just, that’s part of the deal, but. Kind of a question here to piggyback off your introduction, you know, recently, you know, we just we’re coming through COVID, we’re still kind of dealing with some of that now.

And there was a lot of athletics departments that either furloughed or had to let people go, unfortunately, which were tough times. I feel I read an article on LinkedIn. I think it was last week. They call it the great reshuffle. And so right now it seems like a lot of people are just searching for different jobs and trying to find their way.

What is the current landscape in the job market in college athletics? From your perspective in HR? What have you seen?

Rianne Brashears: Yes, the great reshuffle is definitely one way to coin it. Um, I think, you know, what we’re seeing is a lack of. People interested in applying for jobs. So we went from, for example, posting a job and getting a hundred applicants in 24 hours to getting 10 to 12 over 10 days.

Um, so there’s definitely the struggle of finding qualified candidates or people interested in changing jobs. So I think one of the things that I’m seeing from my perspective is people who held onto their. During the COVID shutdown, you know, across the country and across the world are somewhat afraid to try to take a step to maybe leave that job.

Security, not really sure where it’s going. You know, COVID is not over, it’s still around. And I think that people are still a little bit nervous about making the job switch. Um, and then I think in other cases, you have people who really change their primary. Um, during that time and they got to spend more time with family, or they got to realize, you know what, this wasn’t a job I was super passionate about.

I want to try something else. So we’re also seeing a lot of, um, applicants who don’t necessarily have the qualifications that we’re used to seeing in our applicant pools. And so we’re trying to find, you know, we want to get the best of the best to come to Texas. And, you know, we want to have a lot of, um, really diverse candidates to pull from to make sure that we have the best staff with different backgrounds and different genders and ethnicities and experiences and jobs.

And, um, it’s been really challenging from a human resources standpoint to really find and go recruit people, um, to come to Texas and that’s everywhere. Um, you know, we’re facing the same struggles that all of the industries are facing. So, um, you know, some of those trends that we’re trying to be more open to are, yeah, we’re going to get candidates in the pool who maybe have no athletic background or experience, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do the work or the job that we want them for.

I didn’t come from an athletics professional before. I played sports growing up, but I hadn’t worked in the industry until I came to Texas athletics and you know, it’s been really great. I feel like I’ve been successful in my team is really strong and most of my team doesn’t have a background working in sports.

So I think we’re trying to get more open to the idea that just because you didn’t grow up, working in athletics in your career doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t do the work or you won’t be phenomenal at what you’re hired to do. Um, so I think that’s a new trend that we’re embracing and seeing in our applicant pools and in our recruiting, um, and we have more jobs and fewer people applying for them.

So the other thing that we’re kind of seeing is that our jobs might take a little longer to fill, or we might need to restructure our teams to fill some gaps and do it with fewer people. But with some really qualified go getters who have the ambition and the drive to work really hard and, and embrace something new and different.

Donnie: That’s cool. And I mean, what I hear you saying to Ryan is like, right now, it’s like a great time to get involved in athletics. If you’ve kind of been thinking about it, like you’re, you’re looking for a job, maybe you maybe think you’re not qualified as much yet, but still it’s worth the shot to get everything together, apply for it and try to try to make a run.

That’s what I’m hearing.

Rianne Brashears: So I always tell people, they ask me, well, I may not be as qualified for that job as others. Then I, you know, my response to them has always kind of depends on who applies. So you don’t know who you’re going up against until you actually get your application in there. If the person across the country with 20 years of experience doesn’t apply, you might find you are the most qualified person or that you bring a skillset to the table that that team needs right now.

So definitely get out there and take that chance and take a look. If it’s something you’re interested

Donnie: in. Yeah. Um, let’s talk through the interview process just for a moment. If you see a job you want to go after, what advice would you have for someone to help them get a shot? Just getting in an interview, kind of.

Talk us through that

Rianne Brashears: first and foremost apply kind of what I was just saying. Don’t think that you’re not qualified enough apply for the job because you just never know, um, how your resume or how you might stand out compared to others who are applying. Especially when we know there’s not as many people applying for jobs right now, as there are jobs available.

Um, number two, do your research, you know, know your company, know what their culture is. You never want to go after a job that might not be a good fit for you and your lifestyle or your career goals. Um, and you want to make sure it’s a right match for you as well as for the company. So, you know, remember you’re interviewing the agency to, or the company that you’re interested in or that, um, university or that college athletics program.

Uh, the other thing that I would say in preparing for interviews, you’re only going to get the interview. If you’ve got the resume. So your resume can get you the interview and your resume can cost you an interview. So the very first thing to get, right, is that resume so that your application stands out.

Um, you know, a lot of companies are using software. Now that read for keywords. They don’t even look at resumes. In some cases, we do, we look at every single applicant, but a lot of institutions are relying on software to find keywords or buzzwords and resumes to match you with the job that you’re applying for.

So your resume really needs to be tied into the job posting that they’ve created. Um, and I’ve got some tips on that too, uh, for resume writing and, and things that we can get into. The other thing I would say is if you get that interview, you’ve really gotta be prepared. So I have this technique that my friends call and ask, like, I got this interview.

I don’t know how to prepare, what do I do? Um, and so my first thing is like, well, let’s start by taking a breath and calm down. Cause you’re an abuse two weeks away. You’ve got plenty of time to figure it out. Um, but one thing that I’ve always done is I actually will print out my resume and, um, I will print out the job posting and I’ll go through it.

I’ll highlight, I’ll get a pink highlighter, a yellow highlighter, a green highlighter, and I’ll highlight everything on the two that match in green. I’ve got this experience in green. It matches the posting yellow. I probably have a little bit of that experience, but I might need to go back to kind of my bank and recall some more.

Different situations that I’ve had that I can pull from and pink is like, oh, I probably don’t have that experience. So where can I really focus on the things I do have in a highlight those strengths? And then I get a notebook out and I go old school, I get a pen and paper and a notebook. And I write down and try to pull eight to 10 situations or examples from my professional experience that I’ve been in.

They can be very complex and challenging to super simple, but I’ll actually write out here eight to 10 scenarios that I could provide in an interview. I practice and kind of have them in my bank of questions that I can go to an answer and I have something to pull from. So I don’t just walk into an interview completely unprepared.

Now there have been questions thrown at me that I didn’t practice or rehearse. Um, and I’m not standing necessarily in front of a mirror practicing my answers. I’m just getting my thoughts out on paper so that I can more easily recall examples from two years ago or five years ago or seven years ago that might apply to different scenarios when I get that interview so that I can really stand out and show that I’m qualified for this job.

And let me tell you how I’m qualified. So those are some things that I do. Um, I be curious, you know, you’ve been in your career for a very long time, and I know that you coach a lot of other young professionals coming up. What kind of advice do you give them? Cause I know mine’s kind of unique and different.

Um, but I be curious what things you’ve shared with, with your people. Yeah, I believe

Donnie: too. I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head at the beginning of your resume needs to be sharp. I mean, when it doesn’t. And what I think in our profession. And maybe you see this in different areas too. They tend to put too much on there, or I think what they’ll do, this is kind of a pet peeve in coaching, but they tend to, uh, over-hype what they can do.

And almost it comes off to us. Like you’re just bragging on yourself and it’s kind of focusing on you versus kind of what you, the value or the trait that you have that helps make the team better. So I think that’s something that, you know, so I think going through, and like you said, with the highlighters would be a great exercise too.

And then I think the second step that was just wording some of those statements or bullet points in a way that it’s, Hey, I can bring value to this team. If you bring me in, I’m not going to have all the answers, but I’ll make everybody better. And so I think that’s kind of what we look for. Um, and so I think there’s just as young coaches and professionals, they.

Kind of put a cause to on horn a little too much.

Rianne Brashears: I definitely think that’s one thing I see in your team and the team that all put together is that humility very competent and confident, but there’s a humility behind every person you’ve hired, which really goes back to, yeah, I can do this job and I bring value, but I’m not going to have all the answers and that’s okay too.

And being honest in those settings and really expressing that is a quality that I think most companies and good managers are looking for when they’re interviewing. And I

Donnie: think just to circle back on what you said, I really think a key thing that you’ve gotta be skilled at. And I think there’s an art to it.

And I’d love to hear your thoughts. You’ve gotta be able to sale yourself though. So how do you sell yourself in a way where you’re confident in your competence, but you’re not coming off as arrogant or self-centered like, it’s all about me. I’m the guru. And I don’t know that I have the answer for that.

I think you can pick up on the spirit of that when you’re hearing in the body language or see the body language and voice tone and kind of how they, what would be your kind of, uh, how do you, how do you kind of strike a balance in that, from what you’ve seen? I know it’s hard to answer, but what, how would you

Rianne Brashears: answer that?

I actually can see people on both ends of the spectrum, right? You know, a lot of people undersell themselves and don’t come in tooting their own horn enough. And then you’ve got the opposite side where it does come across as arrogant. I think if you’re the person that struggles with coming across as arrogant or overly confident, a really great way to kind of water that down and make sure that people see that, yes, you’re selling yourself, but you also have.

You give credit to others so you can share examples. Right. And you know, you’re going to say, you know, yeah, I had this happen and this is what I did. And these are the actions that I took, but it took all of us or it took the team or, and so really stepped in and they contributed this. And so one way to really show that you’re a team player and it’s not coming from a place of arrogance or, you know, Mimi me is to just give credit to others.

And you can do that. Even in your interview process, people want to see that you’re going to be a team player and really acknowledge the work that the people around you are contributing because no one can do anything by themselves anymore with what we do and in our industry.

Donnie: Yeah. I remember you made me think of a John Maxwell quote.

Uh, one of the favorite leadership guys is, uh, he talks about, you know, leadership. They have this kind of. Saying that leadership is lonely at the top. And he kind of pokes at that a little bit kind of pushes against it and says, no, it’s only lonely at the top because you don’t take anybody with you.

Right. And that’s more of a personality flaw. There is, or a character flaw because you’re not, you’re not because the best leaders, he kind of talks about this in a lot of his books, the best leaders take others with them. So to your point, yes. I think that strong when you’re interviewing that, you can say, Hey, it’s not just about me.

I help lift other people up too, as we, as we strive for excellence.

Rianne Brashears: So I think that’s true. Absolutely. Absolutely. And that makes the organization as a whole better cause you’re bringing the people around you with you, which builds the organization up at the same time,

Donnie: more marketable ride and just hire, I mean, just attractive to hire.

So I think it’s, yes, it’s big time. So good, good advice. Um, I want to talk a little bit more about resume. And I secretly have this. I have a background in art. And so when I see a beautiful, I don’t know what it is, but when I see a beautiful, I mean, beautiful resume, just the way it’s the font. And you can tell they’ve gone into great detail of how they’ve, you know, the bullet points are organized.

Right? There’s just, so there’s something about it before I even look at it and start going through I’m like this person has already impressed me with her. They’re detailed orientation. So what would you say? What, what are some of the best resumes? How are they structured or is there a certain font you like give us the, give us the, the know-how and the secret tips

Rianne Brashears: here.

Well, first I’m going to tell you yes, that beautiful resume is going to stand out to you first. And I think we always go for that one. I’m like, this is beautiful, but keep in mind that just because somebody’s good with art skills on a computer doesn’t mean they have the competency or the skills to do the job you’re hiring them for now.

If you’re working in the creative team and your job is to build websites and resumes, you definitely want to go for that one, right? Yes. Yes. So definitely a caution there. If you’re not hiring for a creative web based social media person, but, um, it’s easy to get caught by those beautiful resumes and they do help because you know, the person put a lot of time and effort in terms.

So it is a good sign, no matter what. Um, I think, you know, a couple of things on Reddit. There’s definitely some things that you can do on there that I think are a waste of space. And this is me, just my opinion. I can’t speak on other HR professionals or hiring managers. So from my perspective specifically, um, the objective statement, a lot of times is just written very poorly or is wrong.

And I think it takes a valuable space. I strike it, I strike it. So, you know, I’m, I’ve kind of become known as the resume writer in my, my friend circle and my family circle. And the first thing I tell them to do is delete the, the objective statement. It doesn’t actually get you anywhere, especially if you have to write a cover letter anyway.

Um, so you can put those objectives in your letter of interest or your cover letter. So save your space there. Um, for me, I really like to be able to look at a resume at the top and very quickly see a summary of qualification. These are not long sentences. They are literally bullet points with one or two words.

So, you know, if you have, for example, experience and, um, Olympic sports strength coach, um, at the top, it can be, you know, two or three bullet points and you can put strength coach, you can list your certifications and you can just list the sports that you’ve trained and worked with very concise. And so for me at the very top that tells me right away, I want to look further because the thing about resumes is they can get like.

And the person reading a hundred resumes needs to very quickly know. I want to look at this one or this person’s not qualified. So if you want to stand out immediately and get the rest of your resume read, that’s what works for me and everybody on my staff. Um, so we kind of teach that when we’re helping others with resume writing.

Um, the other thing from there is clearly everybody knows this rule, no typos make sure your layout and your grammar and everything is correct. Um, after that, I really like to see their job history. So your most recent job at the top to your oldest at the bottom, and that’s where you can get into kind of a little bit more detail about, okay, this was my job.

And these are the things that I did. So your bullet points are more, they’re a little longer, they’re not that brief, concise bullet point at the top that you did. And that’s where you can get a little more explanation of, you know, what you accomplished and what in more depth you did in that role. So you really want to grab the attention at the top.

Otherwise, if they’re looking at a hundred resumes, You’re going to lose them really quick. It gets lost. Um, so being concise, I think also I go back to that pink, yellow, green. I don’t have one resume. I have about 50 resumes, um, with my experience on it. And the reason for that is, um, what I find a lot of times when I’m helping somebody.

They do one resume and they use it for all of the jobs they’re applying for. They’ve applied for 20 jobs in the last few months, and it’s the exact same resume every time. But those 20 jobs are all different. You should have 20 different resumes because each resume should be customized to the job that you’re applying for.

So go back and print that job posting out and your resume and go back and highlight green, yellow, pink. If you highlighted something in pink, but it’s in your experience, you need to make sure you add that to your resume so that you get that match with the job posting. And then when you’re organizing those bullet points under that job, you want to put the most relevant things for that job posting at the top of that list of bullet points and the least relevant kind of work their way to the bottom.

So the big things are right under your title. If they’re looking for somebody to manage a team of 40 people, that’s kind of a big deal. That’s the main purpose of the role that should be right at the top of your list of bullet points. So really prioritize what’s the most important from that posting that you can pull out and get that in that.

I’m not super picky about font, but I love Ariel. Um,

it seems very clean. I’ll tell you, uh, August probably gonna listen to this and cringe. She hates Ariel font. She cannot stand it. She, I think her favorites times new Roman, you can never go wrong with times new Roman. I think you can actually fit more on the page with Ariel. That’s what I like. Definitely don’t go smaller than 11.

That would be the tiniest. I would go on a font size. Right. And then make sure your sections are just really got some really great headers to section out. You know, these are my, this is my work experience. These are my qualifications. Here are my certifications and licenses, which can go with your education.

So don’t be afraid to list all of the qualifications that you’ve got that are relevant to that job, but not just one resume folks. You should have lots of resumes. If you’re applying for different positions to make them custom and unique to that. Okay. Two

Donnie: KA caveats to that hole. That is awesome. Cover letters, pet peeve of mine.

Look at who you’re addressing the cover letter to, you need to change whether it’s the person or the school I know in coaching, they send so many out, cause they’re applying to so many jobs that they just don’t check little things, and that just shows you they’re not paying attention. And I think that can kind of, that can kind of being you sometimes

Rianne Brashears: in.

Absolutely. I know that I’ve received numerous cover letters in athletics. Well, in all of my career history, Maybe they even change the who they’re writing it to, but in the body of the cover letter, it names the other organization and not, you know, Texas athletics and might say some other school or another department.

So you definitely need to go back and proofread. And if you’re going to recycle some of that and use it over, that’s great because you’ve probably got some great content, but if it’s not current, you’re automatically out in most cases.

Donnie: Yeah. Kinda. This is a country boy analogy, but it’s kind of like fishing.

I think, you know, you, if you, if you, if any Fisher men or women out there, if you’ve ever been, you gotta change the bait. You can’t just leave dead, beat out there. And like the fish, you know, it’s gotta be alive. So kind of equip that to, uh, make sure you check every resume. Double check it before you send it though.

Cover letter, uh, quick other, uh, little thing here, references attached to the resume or separate.

Rianne Brashears: I would recommend they be separate. So sometimes you want to submit your references right away. And other times, depending on the organization software, they may want you to wait on submitting those and do it later.

So I actually keep them as two separate documents so that I have the option of either uploading both or separating them. Um, I also find that I can get better formatting if I keep it in a separate document and it doesn’t clutter, the formatting I’m doing with my resume, and then I can keep everything just super clean, really nicely printable.

Sometimes when you upload your documents to accompany software, if it’s all in one document, your formatting might get off and your references might blend onto a page that you didn’t intend for them to. So another tip never upload a word document for an application, always use a PDF, the only way to guarantee your formatting won’t change.

So a lot of times people will upload word documents. And as soon as I open that on my computer, I might have different computer settings or you might’ve been using a Mac and I’m using a PC and suddenly your beautiful resume. It’s completely unformatted because you didn’t do a PDF. So always use a PDF when you’re uploading your dog.

Yeah. Note

Donnie: to self on that one. Awesome. Good stuff. A little transition. This is a one I’ve been dying to ask you. Cause I have, I have, yeah, I’ve got all these pet peeves. That’s why we brought

Rianne Brashears: you to that

Donnie: promise. So throughout Cobra, there’s been a lot of online interviews versus in-person and I know that still.

I think that’s still a trend and continuing, I think financially it saves money, convenience, and just, you get to just get a, you get a greeting with somebody, get to know them a little bit kind of before you start bringing them in and spending money and out of the budget. Um, what are some tips or tricks?

How do you stand out online? And are there anything that you can do online that kind of will fall flat, you know, or kind of be a turnoff? Give us a little bit of your, your wisdom there. Ryan. I’d love

Rianne Brashears: to hear that online can be very tricky. I think what I see the most is people settling. Aren’t themselves.

It’s like, because you’re behind a camera, you lose all of your personal. So tip number one, just try to forget that you’re on a camera and just pretend you’re in a room with everybody. Um, I mean, even coming today for this podcast, I’m like, oh my gosh, we’re being recorded. Right. I don’t want to act different, but you know, you kind of just put that aside and just do what you would normally do.

And I think it’s the same thing for online interviews. Uh, the other thing too, I think a lot of people don’t really put a lot of thought into their setting camera, placement, backdrop, um, how close or far they are from the camera when they’re online. So just a few things to remember. You could probably make yourself a checklist.

There’s a lot of also references online that tell you how to prepare for an online interview. And there’s some really great advice out there. So you definitely should do your research. Don’t just hop on your computer and say, I got this. So, you know, definitely test your technology an hour before 30 minutes before and make sure everything’s working because even though it was working yesterday, doesn’t mean it’s working right now.

Camera placement is huge. I think a lot of times what we see with online interviews is people’s cameras are looking up at them. So they’re looking down at us or the opposite, their cameras looking down on them and they’re looking up at us. And that’s very weird if you’re in a formal interview. So take the time to get your camera placement at island.

And as far as closeness, you really want to be about mid torso up to the top of your head so that we can see enough of you, but you don’t want to be so close that we’re all up in your business, in your face. And so far away that we can’t really get a feel for your facial expressions and your personality.

So that’s kind of a good distance to keep in mind. And, um, you know, you hear the jokes about people wearing shorts, but a blazer. You know, if there’s any chance you might get asked to stand up, I would recommend you just be full on professionally dressed, even online interviewing you never know what’s going to happen or something might, you need to stand up and take care of something.

You also are just going to feel more prepared if you dress the part. So you feel the way that your clothes are when you’re in an interview. So go ahead and get up earlier, get dressed, do all the things you need to do. Backgrounds can be very distracting. Uh, so

yes, we’ve definitely, um, I’ve definitely been an online interviews these past couple of years where you see some things you probably didn’t want to see. Um, you know, and then there’s things where you’re just like, oh, I’m distracted by your dirty laundry. And are you going to keep your office that way? So you kind of get a little bit of, you know, you try not to judge, but the coffee

Donnie: stain on the shirt.

Rianne Brashears: Yes. It’s talking to you. Yes. Um, I’ve had cats squawk across keyboards in the middle of interviews that happens. That’s

Donnie: not just, it is.

Rianne Brashears: I know. You’re like, yeah, you’re definitely not prepared for this. So, um, keep your background simple. Plain is always best, but if you don’t have a plane, you know, while that you can use just something very basic and simple, I did have a really positive experience with a candidate.

One time here at Texas, uh, we were doing. And online interview and he very strategically placed like a Texas, um, item in the background on his shelving unit, very clean. There were a couple of books and he, he staged it and I was like, wow, that’s brilliant. Uh, so something very simple, like that can also be a nice touch.

Oh yeah. It was great. So keep some of those things in mind when you’re doing online interviews, but I think the biggest thing I see other than some of those basics is people just get really nervous being on a camera. So if you’re nervous on a camera practice, get on a camera and interview yourself or have somebody practice with you and just get comfortable there because we can sense it and feel it.

Uh, so yeah, just like, oh,

Donnie: I, I echo your sentiments and advice. I know just. Before COVID hit. We did a lot of Skype interviews and which is getting online and we would see things from people it’s like, they were cramming in the interview, like dressed in like they’re working out or something, which again, I understand where strength coaches, but I think, I always say you need to go one level above.

If you think you should be here, maybe go one or two levels above that because you don’t get that famous quote. Like you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. And that’s your first time medium though. It’s online. So dress the part. I think I love your part about not being. You know, not looking down at the camera.

I know it was one of the, I’ve got a guy that stands out. I still remember his online interview to this day. He ended up getting a job, uh, in the big 10 and he was incredible. Um, but just the way he was in a suit and tie. His background was this clean with no clutter in it, any of the perfect distance on camera?

Like we were actually sitting at a table talking, so I felt very comfortable and he just, he was very comfortable, confident in the interview and it just, it was simple. It was clean and it was organized and he stood out. It was just, you know, I think, look, just pay attention to details. I think

Rianne Brashears: paying attention to details.

And the thing about the online interviews is you want to make sure that anything around. You want to be the focal point of that interview? Interviewers are human. We all get distracted. So anything that you’ve got around you, that’s going to be a distraction will happen, and you want to make sure we’re focused on you and your confidence in what you’re communicating in your interview.

So eliminate the possibility of me being like, Hey, what’s on TV behind you. Like if you’re watching friends, I’m tuned out because I love friends, so not listening to you anymore. Um, so definitely think about those things are really important and just, you know, be yourself and that confidence that you just mentioned is so important, you know, going in as comfortable as you can.

Um,

Donnie: I know. Yeah, we had a, you made me think, um, we had an interview again, pre COVID for position and the guy we were doing phone interviews, which we’ll do that. Sometimes do a phone, then a Skype or zoom, and then in person, if we can. And this person was, you had made, you know, like, you know how we do it here at Texas, right.

And I’m sure a lot of places you’ll start with your, your pool and you’ll trim it down to, to those you feel like are qualified

Rianne Brashears: based on their

Donnie: resumes. Right. What you said earlier. So note to yourself, make sure you’re qualified for the job description. And then just did a phone call with just real short, just an introduction.

The guy, there was a guy who was in Starbucks own like, uh, you know, the little ear, things that hang down, it was so loud. I couldn’t even really hear what the guy was saying. It was such a, just a turnoff professionally. And like, if this is really, so my point on this is like, if you really want this job and you take it serious, like take the interview serious, right.

Get into a place. You know, no distractions, there’s no sound. There’s no cats or dogs, no TV show on there’s no background talking or, you know, planes flying over like finding a good, quiet place that you can focus and answer. Cause you see that, that moment, those, those first interviews are usually, I mean, 20 to 30 minutes, maybe they’re short.

So you don’t have, uh, a very big window to make that impression. So it’s, it’s important.

Rianne Brashears: I really don’t. And little bit more honesty. I think, you know, you can lose a job in about the first three minutes of an interview and it won’t even really matter what you say after if that first impression, if you didn’t take the time to prepare, because what the person interviewing you is thinking is, well, if you’re not going to take the time to prepare and be your best right now, you’re not going to be any better if I hire you, because this is when you should put on the best of the best for yourself and really show me that you want this job and you took the time to prepare.

And if you blow it, you’re kind of out.

Donnie: Yeah. That’s tough. Transition in person interview. So you make it through the gauntlet, so to speak, right. And you get the in-person interview. You’re excited. Your heart’s racing. How talk to that individual, how should they go about preparing for the interview in advance?

It could be, they could only have a few days to get ready to fly in. Maybe it’s a week. I don’t know. Give us kind of some, some advice there in council

Rianne Brashears: by for sure. Um, if you already had an online and like face to face zoom type interview, definitely find a new outfit. Um, so that’ll kind of change it up.

So they’re like, Hey, you were wearing that when we interviewed you other day. So it sounds silly, but just something to think about. Um, the other thing too, I think for in-person, I don’t know that the prep is that much different. There’s a few different things to think about once you’re in person, but really you’re going to do your research again, take notes for yourself.

I think one thing too, and this really applies for both online and in-person every time you get to the interview, what’s the final. What did they ask you? Why do you want to come here? Why do you want this job? And so you share that and then they always close with this one. What questions do you have for us?

Crickets, crickets. What’s wrong? I don’t know. I don’t understand it. I mean, clearly at this point you think most people know, right? They’re going to ask me what questions I have. And I think, um, a lot of times people get caught up in, well, I don’t want to seem too pushy or too overbearing or, but the thing is, is we know you’re interviewing us too.

So one, I expect for you to ask questions because I might think you’re a good fit for our company and our department and for our team. But if you don’t feel the same way, then we’re not a match. So really take the opportunity to prepare questions you have. And I usually will tell people, I’m like, well, how many, how many questions should I ask at the end of an inter.

And if you’re doing a full day of interviews, which typically would be an in-person, you should have questions for every single interview you’re in, not just the first one. So that’s the other thing I hear at the end of the day. I don’t have any more questions. They’ve all been answered. You know what?

It’s a different group. Ask the same questions again. You might get different answers and be able to kind of compare what people think. Um, but as far as account, uh, one is not enough. So I typically will recommend somewhere between two and four, two being the minimum you would ask at the end of any interview and four being the maximum cause anything over four really might be too much, um, where your interviewers might start to be like, okay, we’re running out of time and we want to be respectful of time as well.

So two to three is a really good medium, if you don’t have an idea so that you show that you’re interested in, you want to know what’s going on, but you’re not going to consume another 30 minutes of the, of the interview. Committee’s time at the same time. So that’s something to think about. I don’t know.

What’s your experience with questions? Do you feel the same? You’re looking at me like,

Donnie: yeah. You know, you struck a chord, uh, just over the years, uh, working with you guys, you guys have trained me well, by the way, it’s like when you get in front of your Ady and they’re just throwing pepper in them with questions and you’re just sitting there and you’re kind of being supportive and listening and they’re doing great.

And then this question comes like, what questions you have for us? The ones that have fallen pretty flat. It’s just, I don’t have any, I don’t have any versus ones that kind of pushed back a little bit in a respectful way and go, Hey, well, I think one of my favorite questions, like where do you see this, the vision for this athletic department going in the next three to five years and just be quiet and let them talk, you know?

Yeah. But I think some kind of followup question, uh, or even a question, I think what you just said would be huge. Is that you, you do your homework on the university of the department and bring up something that’s relevant right now that would pertain to you. If you were part of that staff, kind of, that puts a picture in their head that you see yourself working here and that you love it.

You know, you have a, an affinity for us. I think that helps. It’s

Rianne Brashears: also a great opportunity to show you did your research and you know about that university or that organization or that team. Um, and every interviewer, every ID wants to know that you invested some time and learning about us while you’re there.

So questions are a great opportunity to do that. I agree with you. The ads can be intimidating. I think a lot of times what happens is people get in front of the ID and they freeze and they get nervous about, I don’t, I don’t know what to ask. I don’t know if it’s going to be sound intelligent enough or researched enough, but the thing is, is I don’t know, a single lady that doesn’t like to talk.

Right. Ask them questions. They want to talk, they want to share their visions with you. And they also want to know that you’re going to treat them like a human, just like everybody else. Most ATS want to have a relationship with their teams and you do that through conversation and two-way dialogue. And if you’re going to freeze every time, because you’re so nervous or so scared around an a D um, that’s gonna hurt you every time.

So find a way to get comfortable with that question and plan for your audience. You know, your interview schedule before you get there. So think of some questions you can ask an ADM, uh, versus a head coach or someone else you might be meeting.

Donnie: It made me think, you know, I have four daughters at home and we’re kind of helping them get into the job market a little bit is not athletics, but still the one thing.

And it’s just, and I’m sure you’ve seen this in young people, just social intelligence, just being able to sit down, let’s have some banter and just general conversation, whether it’s about a movie or about something in life or something in your family, that kind of thing. Those kinds of conversations put people at ease.

And then when you do give an actual answer, You go wait, I can relate to this, you know, so I think that’s a part of learning. How do you connect with people and communicate and not just give information?

Rianne Brashears: Absolutely. You know, a funny, unrelated story. My relationship with rad, uh, kind of began with me sending him pictures of rattlesnakes.

So we live out in the country in the middle of nowhere and he’s definitely not a country snake kind of guy. Um, and he can hear this and he’ll laugh and tell you the same thing. So now we kind of have this thing we have for the last couple of years, we get these really big rattlesnakes or copperheads.

And I sent him pictures and he’s like, I’m never coming out there where you live. I’m going to get bit by something, but it kind of just gave us something that’s not informational. It’s not always just about work. Right. Have a personality. It is okay. In interview settings, whether it’s online or in person to break the ice and have, you know, a conversation about just something fun or, you know, crack a joke.

If that’s your personality, if it’s. Just, you know, try to relax and be yourself and have that social intelligence and it’s okay to be conversational, uh, to some extent. So don’t be afraid to just have those types of conversations outside of what’s your vision or what’s your plan, or these are my answers to your questions because people who are interviewing you, they want to hire people.

They want to hire humans that they can interact with and work well with and have relationships with. And that’s going to help you stand out among other people all day I’m in interviews where they’re interviewing a lot of people

Donnie: real quick. What, in, in all your years of conducting and leading interviews and helping people, um, what have you seen that kind of sets candidates apart?

So let’s say you’re one of two or three finalists for the in-person. What would you say? What kind of can help them set themselves apart? What have you seen? I’ve got a couple of things, but you go first. Yeah.

Rianne Brashears: So outside of just competency for the job, right. Being qualified and knowing that they can do it, you set all that aside and.

You know, they both have that experience. I would say, um, relaxing and not being afraid to have some fun, um, being able to have that conversation to laugh at themselves or to joke, um, not being afraid to kind of ask the silly questions I had one person come in and. We started the interview and she’s like, wait, can I ask a quick, quick question?

And I was like, of course, you know, what is it she’s like, can I take notes? Like she, wasn’t afraid to kind of put herself out there, which I think most people would have been too afraid. Very simple question. But for me, I was like, I like this, right. She’s comfortable asking the questions that most other people would be too nervous to even bring up, even though it’s not anything serious.

Um, so just being able to, you know, have fun and have a personality and smile, some people get into an interview and they’re so nervous and they’re so tense and they never smile and they never just kind of like, oh, okay, I’m good. Right. Have a conversation with me. This interview is really about a conversation.

I want to get to know you. I don’t want to sit here and drill you the whole time and you give me these rehearsed answers. So if you can find a way to put yourself in more kind of like you said, right, the camp side, campfire talk, just relax and have a conversation. Those for me, the individuals that really stand out.

Competencies and qualifications aside, because I know that you’re going to be able to build relationships with other people in the workplace. You’re going to be somebody who can, you know, build trust and is open to asking questions and looking silly. Sometimes if it feels that way for you, I don’t know what you said.

You had some tips.

Donnie: What are yours? No, you got me. You got my mama. Tell you my what I, what I think, but you made me think of that again, John Maxwell I’ve read so much of his is so good, but it’s like a, he says like 99% of the time people work with people, they get along well with. Absolutely. Right. And so if you can show up front in an interview that you’re very personable and that you can, you can be approachable right.

Then you’re going to be somebody that, Hey, I like this. I could see this person on our team. So I think that’s a big piece of it. Uh, going back, I think things I’ve seen over the years, it kinda, I thought that’s a cool. You know, tip they’re like, like you just mentioned, one person wore a burnt orange tie, like a splash of burnt orange with no Texas logos.

So thinking through, I remember we had one guy came in with one of our big 12 colored other schools, color zone. Like you might not want to wear a purple

Rianne Brashears: that day. I think you actually called me about that guy he’s wearing not wearing maroon. Don’t wear the other school’s colors to an interview. Go

Donnie: neutral.

At least. I think that, I think what I’ve seen, even on some of our staff here, they’ll do just a one sheet. On how they would interact with every department within the team. Wow. This is what you can expect from me working with this department, this department. And I felt like that’s very proactive in your thinking and being, Hey, this is what it would look like.

If you hired me with my skillset, it was just, it was small and concise. It wasn’t like in depth, but it was something that kinda like, Hey, I never thought that this is a cool touch, you know? So I think that. Those are the things that kind of stood out to me. I love

Rianne Brashears: that. You know, one thing I always go back to when it comes down to you, you ask me who, who to hire and, you know, I say, yes, you need to be qualified and competent.

But I also know that there are some very specific things. I can train anyone how to process a background check, do an I nine work in the HR office, but how well you blend with the existing team, how well you get along with others and how you build relationships. That’s a lot harder to train or teach sometimes impossible.

So when you’re interacting, those are things to think about. You’re always on stage, right? So your style and your demeanor, and you don’t have to be an extrovert, Tim pass this test, right? Introverts, you don’t have to be this crazy, outgoing, loud, bubbly thing, but you know, being able to have a conversation and just being comfortable with who you are says a lot about who you will be as part of that team.

Donnie: Yeah. I think, um, the book leaders eat last by Simon Sinek. He talks about that. In there about kind of in a different language and we’re saying, but you’re going to spend more time with your work team than you do your family typically, right. Especially in athletics. So you that’s a, he calls it like the circle of safety.

So when you hire somebody though, it’s not your genetic bloodline family, the time in the, the, the things you’re going to share, whether it’s adversity, different conflicts, disagreements projects, you’re working on, you’re going to be in the trenches. So you want to bring that person in there that they, somebody that you can be that can be loyal with you.

You can trust and get along. And you know that if you get offended or have to work through things, it’s going to be okay because you’re in this together and your family. So definitely a that I know when I read that, that really helped me years ago. Just so my perspective and mentality of how, when you hire people, you need to take it serious, be cautious about who you do bring

Rianne Brashears: in.

So yes, absolutely. I know, you know, I’ve had experiences where I’ve been leader and a part of a team that did not get along. It didn’t work and I was miserable, miserable. Everybody was miserable, nobody enjoyed it. People didn’t get along. And you know, it’s so funny now because when I hire for my own. It’s there’s a big part of it that goes into how are you going to blend with the existing team that we have in place?

And is that going to work because one bad hire can ruin the dynamics that you have on a really strong team pretty quickly. Um, so again, I don’t want to negate people’s qualifications and experience, but I think that it’s the whole package you’ve got to go in and present, you know, who you are as a person, but also, you know who you are as a professional and, and how you work with others around you, especially in athletics.

Cause this is not a independent job. These are all team effort approaches. Quick

Donnie: little side here, I think is important. Um, speak real briefly to diversity inclusion in hiring. I know that’s a big piece at university of Texas athletics. Um, and. You know, coach Conrad has obviously been very instrumental in just not only equipping us for that, but you guys in HR, I’ve done a good job of just reminding us, Hey, let’s, let’s look at all types of candidates, not just to go look for clones.

Right? So speak to that.

Rianne Brashears: Yes, no, you know, and I love that you bring up coach Conrad. She’s been such a great partner for human resources and our team, and really focusing on hiring for a diverse environment and athletics. And, you know, diversity is so important. I think a lot of people, um, really underestimate the power and the impact that having a diverse team can have in your organization.

Um, and on your university. So, you know, that diversity, I have one of the most diverse teams in athletics, um, which, you know, is intentionally and by design. I, you know, I also, you know, hire people that have worked for me before have done a great job or who have worked for others that have done a great job.

Um, and it’s, you know, it’s such a really great thing to have that diversity on your staff. We get into different situations that can be very challenging. People have different experiences or different backgrounds. And when you pull from your own personal life experiences or your professional ones, we’ll sometimes sit in a room and say, who’s best equipped to handle this situation.

And it’s not always me. In fact, usually it’s not me. Um, when we’re dealing with some of the more challenging situations, um, you know, if you’re dealing with gender, if you’re dealing with race, you’ll be dealing with age. We all have different perspectives and backgrounds. So sometimes we’ll decide, okay, Hey Olga, you’re going to handle this.

Or Hey Arthur, Jose, or whoever on the staff, um, has experiences that they can draw from that might really connect with that employee or with that situation. The other really great thing too, is we can sit in a room together and we can openly share because we have the trusting relationships and we have the really great team dynamics.

And we can all come together and put together a plan that says here’s the best approach for this situation by all coming together and sharing those experiences from those diverse backgrounds, we do make a really conservative. In Texas athletics to try to go out and recruit intentionally. If you think that you’re going to have a diverse.

Candidate pool with no effort, you are wrong. You have to make the efforts. You have to go out and intentionally recruit, do advertising there’s websites, galore that you can post your jobs on, um, that you can really pull candidates from all over the world, um, and all over the United States to come in and work in your organization.

So if you think you’re going to post a job and, and really have a great qualified and diverse people, you’re doing it wrong. Get out there and recruit, use your networks. Use the websites that our universities and higher ed partners have created to help really bring in those candidates and cast your net really wide, because otherwise you’re going to hire somebody who probably doesn’t even have the best qualifications you could have found.

And there’s some really great experiences out there that you should be pulling in.

Donnie: Yeah, I can, uh, definitely a test just over the years at Texas. And I remember coach Conrad said this to me one time that, you know, if you look at. Your student athletes and look at the diversity, the range of diversity in our student athletes, shouldn’t our coaching staff, or shouldn’t our staff and athletics somewhat kind of mimic that.

If they’re going to have that range of background backgrounds, this, these life experiences, then you probably want to have that in your hiring process as well. So, and so it was definitely, uh, impactful when she said that to, to just think through that lens is important.

Rianne Brashears: Absolutely. Absolutely. And those are who our athletes look at and they’re like, can I do this in my future?

When I graduate, what can I do? And when they see people they can connect to and relate to. Doing these full-time professional jobs in athletics, then you’ve already given them this knowledge that they can to. And our whole job is to support and graduate and help our student athletes be really productive and positive individuals in the community and in their life.

So if we set the example now, then we’re starting something really positive for future generations. And that is something coach Conrad has always been really, really great about teaching and modeling and supporting for athletics. And, um, she’s just such a legend and we’ve loved working with her and having her

Donnie: support.

My, one of my favorite movie references that were. A minute ago is the Avengers. Yes. I don’t know any Marvel fans out there. I don’t know Ryan, if you watch movies like that, but I mean, you think about they’re there, here’s this, you know, obviously it’s a very fictional cartoon movie, uh, sorry to break anybody’s heart if you thought it was real, but it’s like, you’re fighting, you know, you’re fighting evil in the world or in the, in the universe.

And there’s this diverse a team of super powers, you know, and everybody, you know, there’s conflict and they don’t get along well and they have to kind of figure it out. And there’s different leaders in different roles. And, you know, once they figure it out, they’re powerful together. And I feel like that’s how athletics is to, you know, when you can hire with diverse, the first thing inclusion, you build this team of people with super powers that have, they look through different lenses, they see problems differently and it makes you stronger as a unit and it makes you more creative and.

Just, it makes you more powerful and just more relevant in athletics. And so I think again, kudos to you guys for, for always pushing us to do that. So just again, don’t forget that in the higher, as you’re, you’re, you’re looking for jobs, that’s so important. It is absolutely. Um, let’s change gears here. As we kind of turn the corner, as we’re getting close to the end on the flip side, you’ve applied for the job, but just haven’t heard anything back.

What would you say to them? How should they proceed

Rianne Brashears: your resumes failing?

Donnie: Well,

Rianne Brashears: I think, you know, there are definitely some things that if you sit back and you’re like, I’ve applied for multiple jobs, I’ve heard nothing back. You got a resume problem. Cause that’s how you get your foot in the door. Um, the other thing too, that I will say, so one going back to the.

Go back and look at that, have someone else look at it, take a partner, get some feedback, find a friend who works in HR or there’s agencies out there too. That can help you if you’ve been trying this for a long time and you’re just not getting phone calls, go find an agency that helps with resume writing or get some help online.

Um, because if you’re not getting an interview, that’s the starting point to look at where the problem might be. Uh, the other thing that I will tell you too, you’ve heard the saying it’s who, you know, right, right. It’s actually not it’s who knows you. And so somebody told me that in my career, probably 15 years ago, they’re like, it’s not about who, you know, it’s about who knows you.

And it took me a really long time to fully understand the impact of what they meant. People don’t get jobs because of who they know. You’re not necessarily, I mean, yeah, you can pick up the phone and you can call someone. But really when someone’s recruiting, a lot of times they’re sitting down in a room and saying, who do we know that could be really good at this job?

Or they might happen to be in an organization that’s hiring. And they’re like, Hey, you know, I know somebody who might be a perfect fit, let me reach out to them and call them. So, one thing that I could really tell you is if you’re not getting a call, get out there and network yourself, get out there and show off who you are.

Go have lunch with the person across campus. You don’t want to have lunch with that works in whatever office so that you get to build relationships and meet people, get involved in organizations, go to conferences, sit on committees. Um, the more involved you are, the more people who know you can actually vouch for you and say, Hey, you know what?

Donnie would be really great for this. Um, and I know him because he’s done all this work with me here, here, and here, and that gets your name circulating and can kind of help with, okay. Maybe your resumes in there, or it’s a really competitive pool, but a lot tough times, word of mouth really helps with getting your foot in the door, um, with different jobs.

Donnie: That is like my man. I want to take that. And like staple that, put that in quotes, we just relevant situation. We just hosted the NCAA volleyball tournament here in town. And. We played a school that I came all the way from the east coast and this young coach, very young strength coach reached out to me, uh, actually reached out to me over, uh, over Instagram and just, Hey, let’s get together and have a cup of coffee.

And I was like, I never met this industry. Sit down. She was dressed sharp. I mean, he was literally like, it felt like an interview, but I I’ve never met her. No, but I just, after we met, I was like, um, and their team performed really well. And I was like, you have a bright future, but just to the net, I mean, we spent maybe 30 minutes on a cup of coffee.

You’re not actually, you know, I bought the coffee. I was like, Hey, you’re reached out to me. And I actually learned some stuff from her. So not only is it a good networking, but you make an impression and you start to build this relationship professionally and that other people may call it. Have you heard of this person and go, well, actually I have met her and she’s super pro I mean, she was impressive to me.

So, and you start to build a kind of a brand for yourself, so to speak.

Rianne Brashears: You really do. You know, it’s funny earlier you asked me kind of how I came into athletics and I told you, you know, I was at housing and dining and the guy who had hired me had retired and come in, I made a point once a month to have lunch with him from the day he hired me.

So he brought me into athletics. So we kept a connection. For two, three years. And that’s why when athletics became this opportunity or an option, I was still in contact with him on a regular basis. And we were sharing ideas from one department to another. And so, you know, things like that, coffee, a lunch once in a while, it doesn’t have to be all the time and frequent, but enough to keep a connection or to form new connections with people, um, who you can help and they can help you, you know, that street goes both ways.

So it also helps you find people that are great for your organization, that you can bring in and say, Hey, I know this great person. Um, let’s give them a shout and see if they’re interested in and

Donnie: talk to them. Yeah, you gotta be right. So I hear you saying you gotta be a little bit like a Maven in the book tipping point by Malcolm Gladwell.

He tells the story. I think when the first chapters about Paul. And Paul Revere is known for the British are coming, right. He was the first one, so history and we have this perception. He was the first one to warn everybody that the British were coming when actually he wasn’t the first. And he tells the story in the book and that chapter there.

And I can’t remember the guy’s name. There was actually a guy that beat him to the punch. Here was the problem. Paul Revere was a Maven. He was connected, all kinds of different clubs and societies back then. And he networks, that’s our kind of modern day term with people all throughout that, that area. So that when he spoke up, people knew him.

They believed in, they listened to him and people responded versus the first guy that actually beat him to the punch. We’re really nobody listening again. To your point, you will be known because of these little things that make a difference as a

Rianne Brashears: professional. Absolutely. So it

Donnie: goes a long way. It’s tough.

Um, last question. Any resources, classes, books. Courses, uh, to help people level up going into 2020, oh

Rianne Brashears: gosh. Donny. You’re definitely the reader of the two of us. So guilty, guilty admittance here. I don’t read a lot. Y’all don’t judge me. Um, yeah, so, you know, I put some thought into this, cause I kind of thought you might ask me this question.

I will say this. I kind of go back to, um, I don’t think there’s any one resource that levels somebody up. I think that the approach for any individual is get involved in your industry. You know, if you are strength, coach looking to be a head coach and run, you know, an entire Olympic sports program or a football program, or if you’re, um, in sports medicine, whatever your focus is, each of you have your own industry.

Just like I have my own industry of human resources. Um, one, if you’re not certified or there other certifications, you know, Do it, um, find what you want to do and go educate yourself, get your certifications, get your licenses, keep them current. Um, because that is something that can absolutely give you an edge over others and also level you up.

Um, as you say at the same time, because you’re constantly learning and keeping current with what it is that you’re an expert at. Uh, the other thing that I would say is, you know, a lot of this is about HR, so there’s this fun, little secret. Most people don’t know. So HR has conferences, just like every other industry does.

Uh, but they’re not necessarily exclusive to HR professionals. So if you want an inside scoop on what HR people are learning and doing, um, right now, or some things that you can tap into or interviewing help, go register for an HR conference and go, just sit in and learn some things that we’re talking about.

Cause nobody’s asking. So that’s kind of a neat way for you to just figure out, okay, how do I. You know, we’re the ones that are kind of setting the standards and the requirements for how you get jobs and how you move up in your career ladder to some extent, um, and just get involved in your community.

Like I said earlier, sit on different volunteer activities, be a member of your diversity, equity and inclusion group, and, you know, take offices and, and be involved in your organization. Because again, that’s going to help you with networking. You’re going to learn so much more about your organization as a whole.

If you stay in your little bubble and do just what you do every day, you’re not going to level up at all. Yeah. You’re going to be great at what you’re doing, but if you want to move up in your career, you’ve got to learn about your organization. You’ve got to learn about your team. You’ve got to learn about the university, um, if you’re staying in education, so getting involved in things outside of your four walls, That are available to you is going to help you all day, because the more you understand about the organization from a bigger, broader perspective, that’s, you’re already an expert at what you do, and yes, you can keep learning and growing that, but it’s the things you don’t know that you should really be exposing yourself to.

So that would kind of be my advice for leveling up outside of not having know specific books or,

Donnie: but that’s, you know, that’s a, that’s a core value. That I definitely recommend for a lot of peoples. Cause I think in our profession, we tend to kind of like head down and as coaches and stick in our office and do our home, you know, do all our notes and programming and work with athletes or whatever, and just go home where I really feel like, I mean, I think that’s such golden advice if you want to keep moving up is that you’ve got to get outside the four walls.

I think Donald Phillips talks about it. A lot of his leadership books, uh, Martin Luther king, he would walk slowly through the hallways. Right. And that’s really what you’re saying is you got to get out there and you got to stop and meet other people, get involved. Just have to be super heavy, you know, burdensome, but you’re building relationally.

You’re learning connect with that new people. That’s going to build you up and help you get ready. So,

Rianne Brashears: yes. And you know, a lot of times you’ll see in those other extracurricular kind of volunteer things, you see your senior leadership, you see your executive staff, you see your AED. And so it gives you time.

It gives you access on things that are not just about what you’re doing every day to keep the organization running. And so I think a lot of times people underestimate the value of being involved. The only other thing that I would say here that I didn’t mention earlier is become an expert in behavioral interviewing.

If you want that next job. Um, so many companies have really embraced this and you can just go online and Google behavioral interviewing, and there are thousands of resources and, um, seminars and classes that you can watch and take, and it really will help you with your interviewing, um, skills to help you get that.

Simply

Donnie: put to my kind of definition of that and correct me if I’m wrong, it’s just how you respond in critical situations, right? How are you gonna respond? People want to see how you’re gonna respond and how you gonna, how you, uh, how you problems. Yes, your analytical skills and then how you handle conflict too.

And I think those are, that’s so important and in bringing a lot of value. So, yeah,

Rianne Brashears: absolutely. And that’s something we target, you know, how do you do conflict management? Give me an example of a time when you did, and I don’t want to hear, well, if I face this situation, this is what I do. I want to hear what you’ve actually done.

Um, so you’re going to share with me the situation, how you handle it, what actions you took and that outcome. And if you can nail those three things, situation, actions, and outcome, and really share how you handle situations in the past. That’s a great predictor of how you’re going to handle them in the future.

So that’s something else that I would say for leveling up your interview. Get out there and become an expert at that process and that style, um, because it’s the last point

Donnie: it’s so important. Yeah. Huge. Yeah. Well, Ryan, it’s been awesome today. If people, the listeners want to reach out and just kind of connect with you and maybe try to ask a few more questions, what’s the best way to connect

Rianne Brashears: with you guys?

Email is definitely the best way. Uh, do you want me to spell that out right now? All right, guys, I’m going to go slow. It’s very complicated. So it’s Rianne dot Brashears, but it is R I a N N E dot Breshears B as in boy, R a S H E a R s@athleticsdotutexas.edu. So shoot me an email. I’d be happy to answer any questions you have.

And if you lost that, let me know. He’ll put it in the show notes. It’s kind of long outline.

Donnie: That sounds great as alarm, but, but, uh, Ryan has been incredible today. Thank you for. Just sharing wisdom, counsel and advice. Uh, so that people, I really believe 20, 22, there’s going to be a lot of job openings.

That’s my belief. I don’t know if you agree, but, but like you said, if you’re listening, they do not be afraid, apply for the job and go get it and make this a great year. So anything else to end down there

Rianne Brashears: right now? I’m just so grateful for being invited today. Thank you so much for letting me share some of these tips.

Again, my opinions. They’re not always, uh, well-liked by everybody, but they seem to work for me and for people who have used them. So best of luck to you, and I hope you end up in the best career you could ever ask.

Donnie: It’s tough again, Rianne Brashears uh, HR athletics here, associate athletic director, UT Austin, Ryan.

Thank you so much. This is Donnie may and this is the team behind the team pockets. You guys have a great 2022. We’ll catch you on the other side. Hookem

thanks so much for tuning in and listening to this episode of the team behind the team podcast for future episodes, go to iTunes, Spotify, Google podcast, or Stitcher. We definitely want to keep having great guests on the show and great content. So if you have a moment, please go to iTunes, leave a rating and review and let us know how we’re doing.

I’m Donnie Mae. And thanks so much for tuning in.