Inside a Recruiter’s Mind: What Winning Candidates Do Differently

We sat down with Jennifer Wilhoit, Senior Talent Acquisition Manager at Southern Champion Tray.

Jennifer started her career at US Xpress, where she learned the trucking and transportation world from the inside out. Today, she brings that front-line experience to SCT, hiring for everything from truck drivers to senior leadership and shaping what strong, people-first recruiting looks like across the organization.

Some highlights from the conversation:
📖 Your resume is your story. Tell it well.
🫂 Culture matters just as much, if not more than compensation.
🗺️ Curiosity, a servant-heart, and grit will take you far.

What have you learned from your own career transitions?

It’s not just about company culture. There are cultures within departments and teams, and leaders create their own culture. When you’re looking at a new role, really think through what’s important so you don’t get caught up in the role or the pay alone. Ask specific questions, talk to other people, and make sure you’re not making a transition just for that next step or pay.

How can candidates ask better questions about culture and leadership?

Understand what the company's values are, but also really dig into how they actually live those values. You can ask something like: “You say that your values are this, this, and this, but can you share some examples of that in action?”

It’s also really important to understand someone's leadership style. If I'm going to be reporting to someone new, I want to understand: What is your style? What do you want to see from your team? Are you aligned there? Do you want someone who works really closely with you? Do you need that mentor? Or are they very hands-off and want people to work autonomously? Those are things to think through.

As a leader, what does your ideal team player look like?

I can teach anyone to be a good recruiter. But for me, it’s more about how they show up and what motivates them.

I’m looking for someone with curiosity, a servant-heart, and grit.

Are they willing to step in and help even when it’s “not really their job”? I want team players who understand when someone needs help and who are easy to collaborate with. I love nothing more than my team piling up in here and us talking about things, listening to each other, learning from each other.

But we don’t stop there. We want to help each other and be learners and curious, but we also want to win. I want a team that really wants to win, has a little competitive edge, and is not willing to give up. Talent acquisition can be hard and frustrating. You just have to roll with it and keep at it.

What’s one of the biggest hiring challenges you’re facing right now?

The biggest challenge we face is the skilled trades. Skilled trades are just not what they used to be. Every organization I’ve worked for has had some component of skilled trades, and I hold that near and dear because I think it’s a wonderful career path.

We’re working with the state to develop true apprenticeship programs. It’s going to be huge for recruitment, development, and our organization long term, really developing folks into these critical roles that help us service our customers. We can’t service our customers without these roles.

Apprenticeships, military recruitment, and forming relationships at the high school level versus just the college level have been really beneficial. I don’t know if stigma is the right word, but I do think young people feel like they have to go to college to succeed. I’d love to see us do a better job shepherding folks toward the trades. They’re wonderful careers, high-paying jobs, and critical, and AI doesn’t really have a place in taking those over anytime soon.

We want to rewrite the script there.

If a job seeker only remembers one thing from this conversation, what should it be?

Focus on your resume. That is the first thing a recruiter or hiring manager is going to see. Your resume has to tell a story.

Be open to having more than one or even two versions of your resume.  Typos and language don’t have to be perfect, but I would recommend that your resume be the best version of yourself. Have one or two people look it over before you submit it to make sure it’s how you want to be represented.

There are a lot of folks we see who don’t have resumes and just fill out an application. In this day and age, that makes it hard. Put the effort into having some sort of resume that represents who you are.

What are your thoughts on using AI tools like ChatGPT?

I use it every day, and I genuinely encourage others to take advantage of it as well. I turn to it for all kinds of tasks, and I've even leaned on it for my own resume. You’d think I’d be an expert at writing resumes, but I’m not. I appreciate a little boost.

Tools like AI and ChatGPT are fantastic for getting you started. They help you generate ideas and break through writer’s block. You can ask a question and instantly get something solid to build from, but it still won’t sound exactly like you, so don’t let it replace your voice.

Think of it as a foundation: let it help you brainstorm, then shape the final version so it’s authentic to who you are. And always review and refine it before you submit anything. I’m completely supportive of using these tools. We incorporate them into our work all the time. If there’s something you’re not confident in, AI can be a great way to take that first step.

Looking to the future of work, what trait or skill will matter most?

Don’t get stuck on one specific area of your function. Whether you’re in accounting, finance, HR or IT, learn as much as you can about the different areas of your focus and try to get exposure cross-departmentally.

As AI and efficiency come into the workforce more and more, I think we might see departments condensing, and you’ll need to be more well-rounded. Learn as much as you can about what you're interested in and about the business.

Regardless of where you live in an organization, the more you can learn about your business and operations, the products, customers, equipment, and operations in the plant, the better you’ll be.

Any final encouragement you’d share with emerging leaders?

I’m at a point in my career where I’m not really focused on ‘what’s next’ anymore, that next step or next title. I’ve had so many strong leaders and peers pour into me over the years and help shape the kind of leader I am today. Now, I’m in a season where what excites me most is giving that back.

My favorite part of my role is mentoring and working with the younger professionals coming in. They’re the future of our organization and the workforce as a whole. I feel extremely grateful that I had people invest in me, challenge me, and give me honest feedback. I’ve taken that, learned from it, and kept moving forward.

If you have the chance to lead a team of curious, motivated people, stepping into that mentor role is not only fun, it’s incredibly important. I may have about ten years left in my career, but I’m confident that the people I get to work with every day have the capability and drive to carry this function forward long after I’m gone.

Thanks so much for sharing, Jennifer!

If you’re interested in learning more about Jennifer or SCT, check out her LinkedIn here.