On the front end, you see a man with a killer style that loves Jesus, coffee, and golfing. But when you dig a little deeper, you find a very successful businessman ready to change the lives of everyone around him.
Steve Hadnot recently hit a significant milestone, billing over $4,000,000 throughout his career at Richard Wayne and Roberts. He started at RWR in 2002, when there was a downturn in the economy, making it a challenging time to start a career with a 100% commission structure. Steve was one of the two original recruiters building an Energy Search business, at arguably the worst possible moment.
At the time, Enron Energy was going through a major crisis which had a rippling effect throughout the entire Energy space. There were energy companies across the nation experiencing difficulty attracting talent (North Mid-West, North East, and other rural areas of various states). The RWR Energy Search team was able to take advantage of some fantastic opportunities with professionals left stranded by Enron and outside service companies.
Throughout Steve’s career with RWR, he has been through four downturns in the nation’s economy. At a time when most recruiters in the industry were getting out, Energy Search at RWR was one of the only groups left standing, which allowed for a more excellent vision of success and long-term growth. Steve says that like most business owners and surviving the ups and downs of market trends extends a learning capacity to endure. He realized that in the most trying times, his clients still need excellence in their search for top professionals. Ultimately, Steve’s’ primary motivation stems from the growth and understanding of the clients and candidates he serves, as well as his own business.
Steve rose from an Executive Recruiter, progressing onto a Manager, and has now landed at Managing Director of the Energy Search team at RWR. He was able to build a team that currently consists of eight people. When Steve began his career in recruiting, Mark Dremely, Managing Partner of Real Estate at RWR, said, “this is like starting your own business from scratch, and you must treat it as such.” And that’s exactly what Steve did.
Steve’s advice to fellow recruiters is to partner with an experienced recruiter, take advantage of a mentoring program, and manage your time and money wisely. When asked whom Steve would like to have as a mentor, he replied, “Jesus Christ, because I am inherently concerned about the well-being of the people around me, in particular, my colleagues, clients, candidates, and friends and family.”
Congratulations on your accomplishment, Steve. Your success and dedication to your career are genuinely inspiring.