Kathleen Smith 00:51
This is Kathleen. Welcome to another show. I'm so glad you're joining us. And you know what? I'm even more excited to have my wonderful co-host, Rachel. Rachel, how are you doing today?
Rachel Bozeman 01:02
You know, so good. I can hardly stand myself, or that mute button that seems to always be the bane of everyone's existence. But enough about that. We have a great guest today, Kathleen.
Kathleen Smith 01:14
I am so excited. We'll be talking to Hannah Nyberg, People and Culture Manager with BlackSky. Welcome to the show, Hannah.
Hannah Nyberg 01:23
Hi. Thanks for having me.
Rachel Bozeman 01:24
Well, Hannah, there are so many reasons that we are glad that you are here. I know there's great things to share, but I have to tell you, you may be the first person I've ever met that knew when they grew up, they wanted to be a recruiter. So tell us more. Tell us how in the heck you knew that's what you wanted to be when you grew up, and tell us a little about your career journey and how you ended up at BlackSky.
Hannah Nyberg 01:45
Yeah, well, thanks. I have to say, I've been in HR for about 10 years now, and I very rarely meet people in HR or recruiting, especially who planned to go into it. I studied Business Management at JMU. Go Dukes! And my first job out of college was actually in operations, but I quickly moved into recruiting. I just love working with people. I'm passionate about helping people find jobs, find a fit for them, find a fit for the company, and it was kind of just something that clicked. So I've done college recruiting, I've done international recruiting, cleared recruiting, and tech recruiting. You name it – I think at this point I've recruited everything, except for maybe a dentist. It's not an easy profession. It can be so fun and rewarding, though. So my background has been in consulting, and then from there, I went to government contracting where I did international and tech recruiting. And now I've been at BlackSky for almost three years, and it's been a whirlwind. It's been a wild ride, and it's been so fun to get to be in the space industry.
Kathleen Smith 02:47
Yes, as Rachel said, we rarely hear about people saying that wanted to be a recruiter when they grow up. So kudos to you for that. So BlackSky has about 275 employees, and you've grown tremendously over the past several years. Explain to us, who is BlackSky and what do you do?
Hannah Nyberg 03:09
Absolutely. The question here is, how much time do you have? Because I could talk about BlackSky all day. It's an easy sell as a recruiter. So BlackSky is a space-based defense and intelligence company. In basic terms, we own and operate our own small satellites. So a small SAT is about the size of a dorm room fridge, just as a reference point. So our satellites are in low Earth orbit, which is also called LEO, which is about 300 miles above the Earth's surface. These satellites collect imagery, and we provide imagery and analytics to our customers to make better business decisions. So that's very much in a nutshell. We're about 10 years old, but like you mentioned, Kathleen, we've seen a lot of growth in the last three years. We've doubled in size from an employee headcount standpoint, we've gone public, we've expanded internationally. It's been so exciting. We're coming up on the launch of our next gen of satellites by the end of the year. So the team's hard at work there, and we are just doing things that have never been done, analytics in house, revisit rates. We're providing intelligence to our customers faster and better than our competitors. So it's an exciting place to be.
Rachel Bozeman 04:19
It sounds like it, but for some reason, the only thing I can remember is picturing all of the college dorm refrigerators floating around the sky. So I'm looking up every time I step outside today, but no, that is really cool. And I love how you framed it, doing kind of things that haven't been done before. And I know that's going to make a lot of people really excited to learn a little bit more about BlackSky. So what they want to know, what the people want to know Hannah, is, what type of security cleared jobs are you currently hiring for?
Hannah Nyberg 04:50
We hire for a variety of roles, but the security cleared positions that we focus on, typically are architect engineer type roles or more of a focus in things that are more managerial. So think a program manager or certain sales people, sometimes back-office folks. So we have a variety of people who are cleared and uncleared. We have a decent percentage of our workforce that are veterans, and we look for niche talent. Space is hard, so you add that clearance in, and we really look for the best.
Rachel Bozeman 05:20
Dare we say the talent is out of this world? So we talked about out of this world, but on this world, where are the positions located?
Hannah Nyberg 05:31
We don't actually send anyone to space, but it's funny that you mentioned that. I just launched an employee recognition program this quarter, and it's called “out of this world,” so fun facts. But our positions are typically, the cleared ones, are located at one of our offices. So we're headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, not far from the capital and all the decision-makers. We also have an office out in Seattle. This is where more of our space and satellite engineers are located. Our control room is there, and then we have a small office in Albuquerque, New Mexico. So a lot of our classified physicians do end up near one of those locations. But we do also offer remote roles for people with clearances. Perhaps they're not necessarily full-time on a contract if it's classified, but there could be some travel or program support when they need to be on the high side. So it's a unique opportunity for people to be remote but still maintain their clearances.
Kathleen Smith 06:30
I just want to delve a little bit deeper into that, because there's fully remote, where you don't have to come in at all. Then there's hybrid remote, which means you have to come in one or two days a month to meet with a customer on site. And then there is another hybrid remote, which is you need to come into the office two or three days a week to meet people, be on-site, work on a classified network. So do you want to sort of share a little bit more about what kind of positions do you have for cleared professionals?
Hannah Nyberg 07:02
Yeah, so there are some roles that require being more full-time on-site or in-person. Right? If you're working in a classified program, you need to be on the high side. You're going to have a lot more in-person requirements. So we do see that more frequently in our Herndon in our Albuquerque offices. We have a lot of people that are supporting programs, kind of as ad hoc or customer meetings like you were saying, that's maybe once a week, maybe a couple times a month, where they need to come in. But outside of that, we have a large amount of our workforce that comes in because they want to. And again, I'm a little biased, because I work for BlackSky, but we try to build a culture and environment at our offices where people want to come in.
Rachel Bozeman 07:48
You bring in great talent, then you want to make sure that great talent stays. You've mentioned the recognition program there. But you know something that is important to folks, and I know you know this very well, it's about that culture. It's about what's in it for them. So you talked about kind of building that culture that makes them want to stay, so what really sets BlackSky apart as an employer in the cleared community?
Hannah Nyberg 08:13
Oh, gosh, so many things. I have a little pitch where I highlight to our candidates two things specifically. The first is our technology. So this is not something that can be contested, right? We have revisit rates that no other company, no competitor, is able to meet. We can capture an image in one location and capture another image of the same location in as low as 90 minutes apart. That's huge. We're talking minutes and delivering actionable intelligence versus competitors who are looking at hours or days, and that leads to our analytic capabilities. And as you guys likely know, AI is the thing, right? Space, AI, all that is something people want to be a part of. So we're able to offer people that opportunity to work with that and then also support a mission. I mean, we're a defense and Intel company, but we're helping people across the world. For example, one of our customers tasked satellites over the earthquake site in Turkey last year, and we weren't involved at all. They just did it from their phone, and they rescued over 30 people using our imagery. So that technology, that mission, that value, is something that is pretty unique. And the other one does come with bias, so take for this what you will, but it's our people. We have seven values at BlackSky. People first is one of the core values and one of the reasons we've been so successful. We've got a large group of employees that have been around for years, and we're only 10 years old. And a decent number of actually boomerangs that have come back, because they like the work we do and the people. So those really are the two things that set us apart, that technology opportunity, and then the people.
Kathleen Smith 09:53
That's really great. And I love hearing about boomerangs, because that really says a lot about what your culture is all about. So tell us who would really thrive at BlackSky?
Hannah Nyberg 10:05
This is one of my favorite questions, and I say that because I love when candidates ask me this kind of question too. I think transparency is so important in the interview process. We're not a nine-to-five, butt-in-seat company, and I think that's really important to be clear with candidates, what we're looking for. We're looking for people who thrive, who are passionate about the work that we do, passionate about the impact that we have, the purpose. Like I shared with that earlier example, people who aren't afraid of a challenge, who like to have a little bit of fun around the way. We've grown pretty rapidly, so we have some growing pains, but I like to think of us as a sports team, high performing and high-impact talent.
Rachel Bozeman 10:46
So Hannah, a little birdie told me that you're doing so many great things there at BlackSky, and one of those is you're in the process of implementing career pathing a little bit later this year. So what's that going to look like? Give us a little sneak peek of what's coming.
Hannah Nyberg 11:01
Yeah, so career pathing is actually a very big project. We really want to be able to provide more structure and guidance to our employees on how they can grow their careers with us. So far, my team's been working with various departments to better understand the BlackSky-specific requirements for performance at different levels. So we're starting to build out a framework to enable them to see, “Hey, this is what I need to do to get to that next step, to get to that promotion, or perhaps see what other opportunities there are within the company, but in a different team. Hey, I want to take these skills that I've learned as an account manager, move into program management.” It's a lot of talking, a lot of understanding, and a lot of coaching and guiding our managers to be able to have those conversations as well. But it's definitely a worthwhile program because we really want employees to see their path forward with us.
Kathleen Smith 11:56
I'm so thrilled when employers think about career pathing. We talk about retaining really great talent within the cleared community. And I don't think it's just the cleared community that has career pathing as a challenge. We see this across the board, that people just job hop to be able to get another peg in their career. And speaking of sort of job hopping, I understand you have a really great resume tip for cleared professionals when they have to change employers, but they're still working on the same contract, and this happens so much in the community. And I think that you have a really great tip on how to show that on a resume so that the cleared professional doesn't look like he's job hopping or she's job hopping.
Hannah Nyberg 12:43
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, in short, explain it on your resume. Subs or primes on contracts change all the time, but the work, the contract itself remains the same. So I always tell candidates, make that clear when you're showing a different role, a different position on your resume, so that the recruiter, the hiring manager, can see that you're staying in the same role, but perhaps you've changed employers. So it could be parentheses, like company V previously, company A continued contract, something like that, because it does make a few eyebrows raise, a few questions happen because we want longevity with our employees, so being explicit in that will definitely help candidates avoid any additional questions.
Rachel Bozeman 13:31
Don't make the recruiter think too hard, right? Just keep it simple.
Kathleen Smith 13:35
A lot of people think that recruiters are mind readers, and they're not. You have to lay it out there.
Rachel Bozeman 13:41
Yep, we are magicians. We are pretty incredible. But mind readers, not so much. But while we're talking about kind of our recruiting chops here, I know you've got some great experience, but unfortunately, sometimes those cleared job seekers, they make little oopsie doodles, some mistakes in the process. So what is the biggest mistake that you see maybe on repeat or have seen across your experience?
Hannah Nyberg 14:07
The biggest mistake I've seen, from day one of recruiting, is when people do not craft their resume for the job. I know this sounds perhaps a little silly, but it's so critical to what you were just saying, you know, I tell people, pretend the recruiter has no idea what they're doing, pretend the hiring manager has no idea what they're doing. You have to make it explicitly clear that you are qualified -- without lying -- for the position that you're interviewing for. So I tell people, whether it's candidates I'm interviewing, whether it's people I'm coaching, whether it's my sister, have one long resume that has all of your experience. Then when you apply to a job, pull out what's relevant, pull out what they're looking for in that job post, and try to explicitly mirror the requirements on the posting. A recruiter, on average, spends seven to 10 seconds looking at a resume to decide if it's worth spending any more time on. That's nothing. I mean, I look through hundreds of resumes a day. So when you apply to a job, make sure you're pulling out and mirroring that language to make it clear at least, so you can get that first conversation.
Kathleen Smith 15:22
And it's amazing, we say this time and time again, and people still don't believe us. Yeah, so one thing that's near and dear to my heart is the candidate experience, and we actually started here at ClearedJobs.Net the Best Recruiter awards almost 20 years ago, which is fabulous when people get to vote at our job fairs who provides the best overall recruiting experience. I know that this is also something very important to you, Hannah. Can you sort of explain to us how you feel about the candidate experience and why you think the candidate experience is so important for the candidate?
Hannah Nyberg 16:02
This is huge for me. Job searching is hard, i's stressful, impactful, and it's either being done while someone's working a full-time job, perhaps, or when they really need to find a job. So managing that candidate experience can make the difference between a candidate accepting a job or selecting a different offer. We always cover in our first recruiting screen, the interview process, timeline, compensation, and insight around the role. Communication is huge. Transparency is so important, and even if it's something like, “Hey, I don't have an update for you today, but I'll be in touch next week,” that makes a huge difference in showing the candidates that we value their time. For people who are on the job search, I think this is really important as well. Your interview interactions are foreshadowing od how you're going to be treated as an employee. How is the company going to operate? How are they going to value you? You're interviewing the company as much as they're interviewing you so it can be very telling.
Rachel Bozeman 17:02
We've poked and prodded you on some recruiting, the different career opportunities, the culture, but I want to kind of tap into the other side of your responsibilities, which is the employee retention, that engagement side of it. And something that you shared with us in a previous conversation was the quote, “take time to spend time with people.” And this is just something you recommend for those new employees that are joining an organization. Tell us a little bit more about what you mean by that and how someone can be most successful using that advice.
Hannah Nyberg 17:33
It sounds a little silly, doesn't it? Take time to spend time with people. At BlackSky, we're moving 100 miles a minute. People are always busy and never bored. Back to that people who thrive at BlackSky question. So sometimes it may seem, if you're new or if you're on a new project, I don't want to take someone away from something else that's more important. But those interactions, those conversations, are so important to get to know coworkers, to understand what they do and how it impacts maybe you, or impacts the company. I think it makes everyone better at their job. It makes them feel more connected and engaged, and makes your job more fulfilling.
Kathleen Smith 18:14
I've been dying to ask this question, so this is the most unique employee benefit I've ever heard of. Your employees get to task a satellite. Please tell me more.
Hannah Nyberg 18:28
Oh, absolutely. This is one that I love as well. So outside of collecting imagery, we have a platform called Spectra, which is what houses it, delivers it, has our analytics in it, but every employee is given a login to our satellite platform Spectra. So anyone can go in either on a web browser or on an app on their phone to collect imagery, task a satellite to collect imagery over certain locations, over certain time frames, and then once it's delivered, you can download it. So for me personally, I like to do this anytime I go on vacation, so I have a collection of imagery over where I've been at the times that I've been. So my last exciting trip was to Spain, and I've got a couple of images of the coast of Spain and a folder on my computer, and it's so fun, it's definitely unique.
Rachel Bozeman 19:16
That is pretty cool. So now we know how BlackSky can get a hold of us, or at least our image. But how in the heck can our listeners get a hold of you to learn more about some career opportunities?
Hannah Nyberg 19:27
I'm very active on LinkedIn. Everyone can find me there. Hannah Nyberg, SHRM-CP, which by the way is a Human Resources certification, not a secondary last name. Feel free to reach out. Send me a message. Happy to connect with people.
Kathleen Smith 19:42
Well, Hannah, thank you so much for spending time with us today, and we wish you all the best. Thanks for joining us.
Hannah Nyberg 19:48
Thanks, ladies.
Kathleen Smith 19:52
So Hannah had some really great tips for cleared job seekers, and I really like the one that happens so often, that people’s employers change on their resume because they're staying on a contract, but they're changing the employers. And we talked about the fact that you can explain that. That it is not a ding on you. You can explain that. We need to make sure that the recruiter totally understands what's going on with a career and changing employers because you stayed on a contract is totally acceptable. Rachel, what about you?
Rachel Bozeman 20:27
For the risk of sounding like a broken record, something I really enjoyed about the conversation was the talk about transparency and the honesty talking about, here's the timeline for what the process is going to look like. Here's what you can expect next. When somebody does it well, it just gets me so excited. Kathleen, I know it's hard to believe that I can get more excited about anything, but gosh darn it, that just does my little recruiter heart good. You know what else would do my recruiter heart good? For you to make sure that you come back and listen to every single show, write us that five-star review, follow and make sure you come back next time.