Amplify Stories: Jeff Eagle, Corporate Recruiter

This month we’re showcasing Jeff Eagle, Corporate Recruiter at Amplify. Since joining us almost one year ago, Jeff has made several significant innovations in our hiring process, building our team into what it is today.

With a background as a mortgage loan originator (MLO), Jeff found his way to recruiting through RemX, a nationwide staffing agency. As Senior Staffing Manager, he specialized in connecting companies with accounting and finance professionals. He takes pride in matching the right candidates with satisfying positions and careers and has been an invaluable addition to our Human Resources team. An experienced leader, negotiator, and problem-solver, he works to build and support value-adding relationships with individuals at all levels.

We spoke with Jeff to learn more about his career, his philosophy on recruiting, and Amplify’s recruiting process.

Why did you choose your profession?

It chose me! I was a mortgage loan originator before transitioning to recruiting. I was just laid off from my MLO job and decided I wanted to move away from the mortgage industry because I was looking for a more stable industry. I was approached by a staffing firm called RemX to work for one of their clients as an MLO. After I told the recruiter I wanted to leave the industry, they offered me a job as a recruiter working for them. At first I said no, because I was still early in my job search and wanted to explore all of my options. After about three months, I was still figuring out what I wanted to do when RemX called me again to follow up. They offered me the job again and I accepted. I’ve been recruiting ever since!

What made you choose Amplify Credit Union?

When I decided to transition from agency recruiting to corporate recruiting, I knew I wanted to work for a credit union. My favorite clients at my previous employer were credit unions. I enjoyed recruiting for their banking and mortgage positions and wanted to continue recruiting for the same roles with my new employer. The culture at credit unions always seemed to be so positive and community-focused. When speaking to candidates that work for credit unions, most of them tended to be happy with their employer and had positive things to say. When researching Amplify, I read about the amazing culture, how we’re tech-focused, and how we provide an inclusive environment. I also researched the people that were going to interview me and saw that there was a lot of tenure within the team, which was very appealing to me because I was looking for a longtime career opportunity.

What makes you an exceptional choice for your current position?

In terms of job experience, my time as an MLO and my seven years of recruiting for mortgage-related positions make me uniquely suited to be a corporate recruiter for a credit union.

“I love connecting with people, data-driven solutions, honest interactions, and technology.”

In a general sense, I love connecting with people, data-driven solutions, honest interactions, and technology—and all of these traits make me a good fit for my position. It’s part of what makes me and Amplify a great match.

What do you love most about what you do?

Being on the job market is incredibly stressful—so when you finally get that job offer, it’s one of the best feelings in the world. I have always loved being a part of that journey and the person responsible for connecting the candidate to their dream job.

Now that I’ve moved to corporate recruiting, I love seeing the candidates I recruited develop in their roles and grow within the organization.

What do you think is the key for success in a role like yours?

Building relationships with candidates. In most cases, I am the first contact the candidate has with Amplify. In all of my communications with candidates, it’s important that I embody the values and service standards that are so important for our organization.

In today’s job market, candidates complain all the time about applying for a position and then getting ghosted by the company. That is why it’s so important to follow up with candidates right away and never leave them in the dark.

It’s also important to find a way to connect on a personal level as well – not all conversations with candidates need to be so formal. It’s okay to laugh and be lighthearted every now and then. It’s true that not everyone we interview gets hired. If someone I interview isn’t selected for the job, in most cases, we genuinely want to see that person apply again in the future. That can only happen if I can build a relationship with the candidate in the first place.

As a “people-person”, you must rely on a lot of personal skills during your day! What skills do you find most helpful?

Being on the job market and interviewing can be overwhelming and stressful.! Similarly, if one of our teams is short-staffed or needs a position now, I need to be able to mediate that stress. Because hiring can get tense, I hold myself accountable to be:

• Responsive: I pride myself in being as responsive as I possibly can. I reply to emails and messages as soon as possible and always make myself available to assist my colleagues and respond to candidates.
• Level-headed: I’ve always been able to handle stress very well. When it comes to demanding managers, achieving goals, or working with challenging colleagues, I’ve always had the ability to remain calm so I can continue to focus on my job.
• Personable: recruiting is all about making connections with candidates. I have always approached my interview style and how I interact with candidates in a “down-to-earth” kind of way. If I can make a personal connection and lighten the mood, I can limit some of the anxiety associated with the interview process.

You’ve made a few big innovations in just under a year. Can you tell us about some of the changes you’ve implemented?

I love building computers in my free time, so I’m always looking for ways to utilize technology to be more efficient at my job. This knack for technology and desire to be efficient drives almost everything in my working life, and it’s what led me to implement one-way video interviews at Amplify (we use Spark Hire). One-way interviews have drastically cut our time-to-hire and cost-per-hire metrics. I also implemented a texting platform called Grayscale, which makes it easier and more convenient to communicate with candidates.

Prior to my arrival at Amplify, there were no metrics associated with recruiting. Now, we closely monitor things like time-to-hire, time-to-fill, and what source our candidates come from which helps us to decide what recruiting tools to invest in. In order to fix or improve a process, you must have the data to make decisions.

Tell us about a professional success here at Amplify that you’re proud of.

I was tasked with achieving a time-to-hire of 42 days or less for several mortgage positions in April and was able to fill them all in half the time. That was a big win.

What is the best career advice you’ve ever received?

Never be afraid to speak up. Voicing your opinion and sharing your ideas—and in some cases, standing up for yourself—is essential when it comes to being successful at your job and advancing through your career.

“Voicing your opinion and sharing your ideas—and in some cases, standing up for yourself—is essential.”

Depending on the environment you’re working in, sometimes the only way to advance and learn new things is by taking a proactive approach and sharing your ideas or asking to take on new tasks. This is the only way to truly take control of your career.

What is Amplify looking for in candidates?

The cool thing with Amplify is that no candidate needs to check all the boxes. If you have the basic experience, and most importantly, the aptitude to live up to our service standards, you have a good shot at getting a job here. We are incredibly transparent with letting candidates know every step of our interview process and create job descriptions that not only describe the duties of the role, but also list the characteristics that are needed to succeed in each role.

How does negotiation fit into your philosophy on recruiting for Amplify?

We are not naive to the fact that we’re competing with so many other companies for candidates. Because of that, not every offer we make is accepted right away—and we get it! That’s why I make an extra effort to paint a picture of what it’s like to work at Amplify. This credit union is different—both in terms of a financial institution and as an organization.

Sometimes candidates are looking for career advancement or a work-life balance. Other times candidates want to be ensured that they will be valued and not be a victim of turnover. It’s my job to help navigate candidates through all of this in an honest and transparent way so they are making an informed decision. It’s not my job to “sell” anyone on working at Amplify, but it is my job to ensure the candidate has everything they need to make the right decision for them.

How does Amplify’s culture inform your decision-making when hiring?

Amplify’s culture is at the heart of all our hiring decisions. In fact, many of our structured interview questions are designed around uncovering those cultural attributes that we’re looking for.

How does Amplify support candidates?

This is why I love the one-way interview process. It’s convenient for candidates; they can take it whenever they want and on their own time, not on someone else’s schedule. There’s a deadline so we can keep moving forward through the process, but it’s flexible.

The one-way video interviews also give the opportunity for unlimited response time. This means candidates can take the time to think about their responses before submitting; they can also go back and resubmit an answer they’re not happy with.

We’re also excited to support our candidates through the use of our texting platform. In this day and age, most candidates want to be texted—it’s just easier, especially if they’re at work. It’s more convenient than email, and communication is more streamlined.

Ultimately, the best support we can provide for a candidate is transparency into our process. It’s all laid out on our website, and we’re happy to do that. We want our candidates to feel fully-prepared and confident about their hiring process. We want them to know exactly who we are and what the process involves.

Do you have any advice or tips for potential team members?

Do your research. Since our culture is so important to us at Amplify, doing the research to learn about our history, core values, and service standards is essential when determining if Amplify should be your next home. If you end up getting hired, be prepared to voice your opinion—because we actually value that “outside perspective” – it’s what helps us innovate and grow. It’s what helps us stay progressive and forward-thinking. We have deliberately created an environment where everyone is heard, so take advantage of that!

Future-Focused and Growing

As we continue to grow as a financial institution, Amplify is focused on serving our community and expanding with integrity. We provide fee-free banking and award-winning lending to Texas, and we’re building an incredible team from around the country to support those efforts.

We can’t wait to see what’s next for Amplify. If you’re interested in joining our team, take the leap and start the process—we’re looking forward to meeting you!