Maureen Wilner always wanted to have her own business. She wasn’t quite sure what it would be, but she knew it would involve helping people. Her professional career spanned working in an internal auditing position for a multinational corporation and later as a top producer of a global staffing firm. Here, she realized that staffing and recruitment struck the balance of a satisfying career that connected business with talent to help secure the role of a lifetime for job-seeking professionals.
As CEO and founder of The Wilner Group, Maureen is passionate about helping forward-thinking professionals and business leaders solve one of their most challenging issues—finding the right talent for their business.
Although recruiters tend to get a bad rap in the business world, Maureen is out to change that perception. “Many people view recruiters as salespeople,” she says. “But recruiting is more of an advisory or counseling role—I want my clients to have a positive customer experience. We want to ensure that you are successful and that the role is right for you. If the role is not a good fit, no one is happy.”
The key to Maureen’s success as a recruiter is to establish open lines of communication and foundational relationships with both the companies and the candidates. Clear and candid conversations between the client and candidate are essential for both sides to understand expectations to achieve the best outcome.
“I invest my time to get to know the culture of the corporate environment and how they train and onboard new employees. Many clients tend to seek out the perfect ‘purple squirrel’—a candidate with expertise in various roles—but like purple squirrels, that’s non-existent!” Maureen works closely with her clients to determine the non-negotiable requirements of the open position and ensure the candidate’s personality, work habits, etc., will mesh well with the firm.
She also talks to the job seeker about what they are looking for in their new position. “More importantly, what they’re excited about in their career--and how we can help them love it more,” Maureen says. “Building trust is critical. It allows us to properly guide the job seeker in finding the right position.”
In keeping with this philosophy, Maureen can effectively recruit for any type of industry. “There is great value in building positive relationships,” she says. “My clients know they have a true partner who can help them identify the right talent.”
Maureen and her team of recruitment specialists meet weekly to discuss challenges and experiences while brainstorming together. “We share valuable insights and talk about how we would handle different situations,” says Maureen. “It’s real-life stuff, and it helps our firm creatively collaborate. Our goal is to make the process less stressful and more successful for clients.”
Maureen grew up in Dumont and moved to Westwood when she and her husband, Kevin, were married and later moved to Hillsdale. Her two adult sons, Kenny and Danny, are Pascack Valley High School alumni, so she’s heavily invested in the local community.
“I want to help local businesses,” she says. “Many of them are unaware of the value of recruitment services, and I love helping them find the perfect person. Finding the best match for our clients (both businesses and job seekers) isn’t just my vocation, it’s my passion. After nearly 15 years, I still get excited about every new job opportunity that comes through the door!”
wilnergroup.com
"Finding the best match for our clients (both businesses and job seekers) isn’t just my vocation, it’s my passion."
