Celebrating 10 years - Q&A with our Founder and CEO, Shauna Swerland

We are proud to be celebrating a decade of excellence at Fuel Talent! To mark this milestone, we are thrilled to bring you an exclusive insight into the heart and mind of the driving force behind our success, none other than our CEO, Shauna Swerland. In this special Q&A session, we delve deep into Shauna's journey, vision, and passion that has propelled Fuel Talent to new heights over the past ten years.

Q: Why did you choose to get into this industry?

“I feel extremely lucky that the recruiting industry found me, and I found a career that I love. Right out of college, I met a recruiter, and she brought agency recruiting to my attention, which wasn't a common job at the time. It was 29 years ago pre-LinkedIn, and before technology was being used as a tool like it is today. It felt like a very natural fit because I am a connector, whether that be dates, hairdressers, real estate agents - all the things! I loved the idea of learning about various businesses and industries and helping people at the same time. It was a perfect fit. It didn’t hurt that we were on the cusp of the dot com boom in San Francisco and companies were hiring like crazy. I grew up around business, and hard work was instilled in me from a young age – recruiting is about so many things, but hustle and grit are essential.”

Q: Why did you start your own recruiting company in Seattle?

“I've always wanted to start my own company. Timing is everything and I was in cities that I wasn't sure I wanted to settle down in or I was timing in having kids. When I arrived in Seattle after 15 years away in SF and NYC, the timing felt perfect. I realized there was a gap in the market, and companies were looking for a recruiting partner to help with their hiring across the firm, not just in one area. We set the company up to support engineering, design, product, marketing, sales, HR, and admin support. We also extended our services to fill both full-time and contract roles, which really resonated with the Seattle market. The community felt so supportive, and we grew rapidly. My kids were three, six, and eight when I started Fuel Talent and it has been great to set an example for them.  

Since I grew up here, Seattle always had a grip on me as far as feeling like home. I couldn’t have predicted we would start Fuel Talent at such a great time given the crazy growth we have seen in this region over the past 10 years.”

Q: How did you come up with the name and logo?

“I met with Shauna Conlon and Mindy Blakeslee, who agreed to join as Fuel’s first two employees. We took a whiteboard, and the three of us wrote every word we could think of. I knew I wanted something with the word talent or recruiting. Often, you get a business card, and you don't know what a person does. We wanted words that created energy and momentum and as were writing; we'd look the name up to see if it was available. When we typed in fuel and talent, and it was available, we got chills. It was immediately clear that we found the perfect name.

We hired Milk and Honey, run by a woman named Whitney, who helped create the logo. We wanted it to be something very simple, sophisticated, clean, and strong. At first, we put it out to bid from different graphic designers, and they all came back with fire or flames which felt cheesy. Whitney worked with us to come up with our overall brand, which we love – our tagline has become Fueling the Future, and our podcast is called What Fuels You.” 

Q: Who gave you the confidence to start fuel? 

“My parents have always raised me to believe I could do anything, so there was never a doubt in my mind that if I found the right team, we could create something special. I owe a lot of gratitude to Robin Andrulevich, who was my initial advisor. She helped me model out the business plan, get a strategy for recruiting, and helped with some key introductions. Mindy and Conlon's confidence in me made me feel stronger and more capable. 

 I felt that I had to be perfect at everything before starting the company and understand how to read all the financial statements, understand legal, marketing, find office space, etc. When I realized that I could hire great people, it gave me the confidence to do the things that I'm best at and get out of the way to let others do the things that they're best at. It has been a huge lesson to me and one that I share often with others considering entrepreneurship.”

Q: What do you think sets your company apart from other recruiting companies in Seattle?

“There are several things that set Fuel apart from other companies. Some companies are fantastic, niche businesses, but they only do engineering, or only design, or sales, but one of the differentiators is that we do full-time, contract, and managed service project-based work. There are many roles that come our way, and we have teams that specialize in all roles. I think it's been helpful for companies because we can partner across different verticals, from engineering, design, marketing, product, sales, admin, and HR. We can really dive deep, get to know our clients and their culture, be an advisor around better systems, processes, or strategies, and get to know them well. We are also 100% Women Owned, which is important for companies who want to partner with diverse vendors and partners. 

We have recently evaluated the metrics and data in our business, and have found that our numbers far exceed our competition. On average, Fuel has a 3:1 submittal-to-hire ratio, 48% of our placements are diversity hires, it takes on average 18 days to fill a role, and on the contract side, our clients extended or hired 93% of eligible candidates at the conclusion of their initial term. When we looked at how long our candidates stay in the role, specifically in Admin, 88% of our candidates have stayed 3-7 years with our client vs. the 30% national average. We're proud of these numbers, as well as what people are saying about working with us. We love when clients notice the difference in partnering with us, in terms of our sense of urgency, availability, industry knowledge, and quality of the overall work.

We are set up to do business right now in over 20 states and the pandemic has really leveled the playing field in terms of where you can hire new employees from. The combination of my 29 years of experience in the industry, having worked in different markets, such as SF and NYC, as well as an incredible team of recruiters that have experience and maintained connections nationally, make it so we have a large reach. At least 65% of the candidates that come in are referred to us.”

Q: Do you have any hobbies outside of work that have helped you become a better leader?

 “I really enjoy recording our Fuel Talent podcast, What Fuels You. Part of what makes me become a better boss is that I've interviewed some incredible leaders. I ask questions that are meant to help me improve, it helps me be reflective on what kind of leader I want to be.

I love to travel, and I think that the more you travel, the more you learn about different cultures and different ways of thinking, which also develops a higher empathy and understanding for others. I am also obsessed with pickleball and love to listen to live music.” 

Q: What is the best advice that you can give?

“Time goes quickly, and I try to show up and be present. The advice is to surround yourself with good people who support you. It’s also important to pay attention to where you get energy from and double down in those places.”

Q: Can you give some tips for people who aspire to start their own company?

“I talk to people a lot who seem to be stuck in analysis paralysis, and I tend to have a real bias toward action and a desire to get stuff done. I would say that when in doubt, just do the thing, and don't overthink it.

Something that I have been working on is balancing being a cheerleader and a motivator, while also being a driver and a results-oriented leader. As the economy shifts, it’s important to dig deep and focus on listening. The ultimate tip is to hire smart people who are curious, open to feedback, and driven.”

Q: If you couldn’t be in recruiting, what would you do?

“When I was little, I always wanted to do something in sports and events. I thought because I played college tennis, the natural next step would be to work for Nike Tennis or the USTA. I also thought I might want to be a social worker or run a camp, but I was also drawn to fashion so clearly not too focused. Everything I think about doing involves working with people and bringing out the best in them, or building confidence in others. I would also maybe be a talk show host or a therapist. My problem is that I wouldn't be one that doesn't give advice.”

Q: What fuels you?

“100% I am fueled by connection. When I feel connected to another person's mind, spirit, and soul, I feel energized. When I connect other people, and they end up liking each other, I get a huge jolt of energy. I'm also fueled by being a mom. It is the most rewarding because I am trying to shape people into good human beings, and I feel good about the job that we're doing so far. I have three amazing children, and they make me very proud.”