Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Testerman.
Jeff, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The idea came about during the late 90’s as the dot-com bubble was at its’ peak. We realized there was not a very good online solution for sourcing and recruiting candidates with employers in the financial services industry, this is really where the light bulb went off for us! So we spent the next several months trying to put together a site that would be able to filter candidates based on very specific industry criteria (at the time, this was not being done). We got our site launched in early 2000 and we hit the road to promote and demo the site to any Hiring manager, HR or talent acquisition person that would listen! We hit a lot of adversary and skepticism in the beginning trying to get this to market. We just kept moving forward and here we are 18 years later, the leader in our market space! (See pic of Jeff and David Testerman on Wall Street in June 2000 during the launch of the company and website)
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Not at all, we started back in early 2000, so we saw the collapse of the market post 9/11. That was a very difficult time in our industry and then again in 2008. You must be prepared for these types of events that you have no control over. You must find your niche and be the very best in your business space. Become an expert in your niche and clients will listen to your advice and recommendations. Always be looking how you can fill the needs for your clients. What you’re specializing in right now could change in a year from now, as business needs change. You must be nimble and be able to change and go where your customers’ needs take you. When you see an opportunity that makes sense, seize it. If you don’t, someone else will.
You really need to be open to the changes in your industry that could be brought on by a number of things — like new technology, industry regulations and economic conditions, just to name a few.
BrokerHunter – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Since 1999, BrokerHunter has become a leading destination for Financial Services Jobs and Talent!
Our community of professionals are in the Securities, Insurance and Banking sectors with an emphasis on FINRA licensed candidates, careers and jobs. We specialize in Financial Advisor along with supporting roles including Sales Assistants, Branch / Sales Managers, Compliance, Operations and more. Our clients are from coast to coast representing small local branches up to national enterprise level firms.
We have nearly 40 years combined industry experience in helping put financial services candidates to work here at BrokerHunter.
We have won numerous awards and accolades through the years including the Top 100 Fastest Growing Bulldog Business, WEDDLE’s Guide Top 100 Employment Web Sites, Internet, Inc. – Top 100 Niche, “Best of the Best” Job Site for Finance, Accounting, and Banking, Voted #1 Employment Website in the Securities Industry, Benzinga FinTech Finalist for Wealth Management 2018. (See photo of Top 100 Bulldog award ceremony in Atlanta)
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
That actually changes pretty regularly as our business changes. I think when you first start out, you just want to make it and be in business the next year. After 18+ years now, and having gone through several business cycles including recessions and record unemployment, I take pride that we are still a leader in our industry and provide a service to our clients that is second to none. We are truly providing our clients a solution to help grow their business and helping people get back to work in the financial services industry.
Contact Info:
- Address: Cumming GA 30040
- Website: www.BrokerHunter.com
- Phone: 888-955-6795
- Email: jeff@brokerhunter.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brokerhunter/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BROKERHUNTERcom
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtesterman1/
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
