This month's spotlight features Mike Crotty, a Senior Recruiter based in the Chicago office. Mike is a consistent top performer in the recruiting department and sets an example for the entire organization. He's also a father of two sons who he supports through their sports and arts endeavors. He is full of personality and we are so thankful he is a part of the V-Soft family.
What Brought You to V-Soft and What is Your Experience?
I have worked in the IT recruiting industry for nearly 14 years, predominantly focused on direct hire. I spent the first decade of my “adult” life as a yield curve futures trader. After a blip with my health, I needed to find a new career where I could make 6 figures within the first year. I was fortunate to find a company that specialized in finding IT talent for the trading industry in Chicago. Needless to say, my trading background helped me get my foot in the door with many clients.
I first heard about V-Soft from a close family friend of 25 plus years that goes by the name of Sheila Willis. Sheila spoke highly of V-Soft and after coming to work here, I can see why. The people have been great! I’ve had to deal with many health issues throughout my tenure and I have received nothing but incredible support from my peers and leadership. I don’t believe I could have found that kindness from other companies.
Mike and his son at a baseball event.
Any Interesting Stories in Your Line of Work?
As recruiters, we come across interesting stories on a daily basis so I figure I will talk about my start as a recruiter. I began in October 2007 with no sales or recruiting experience and focused on IT in the trading industry. Not realizing the trading industry doesn’t really hire people in the 4th quarter since everyone goes on vacation (which I should have known); I finished my first 3 months with 60 recruits, 20 interviews, and 0 placements.
Having 2 kids under 4 and being the sole financial provider for my family, I needed to step it up. I came to work early, stayed late, and spent my evenings rifling through resume databases for C++ and C# developers. I came into the office each morning with a list and made call after call. I built a website that had links to all my open jobs. Created monthly newsletters and my own LinkedIn group. Anybody who wasn’t interested was asked, “Can you help me?”.
The company had a tournament that started in January and whoever brought in the most money through signed offers won $5,000, and I won. I was asked by the partners, "what changed?" Then answer - my goals. My first goal was to beat the new recruiters that started with me, then I wanted to be the rookies, then the people in my division, then the Oak Brook office, then the market specialists, and then the entire company. I love to compete, so I used that to my advantage.
What Do You Enjoy Doing in Your Free Time?
I am fortunate to have 2 kids that are complete opposites. One is all about sports and the other is all about theater and music. My free time is spent going to sporting events, plays, musicals, and concerts. Additionally, I run a youth baseball league with 5 other people that has around 500 kids in the spring and another 400 in the fall.
Mike's son (second from left) and his baseball team.
Mike's son (second from right, front row) and his theatre castmates.
What's a Fun Fact About Yourself?
I played drums in a rock band back in high school where we would play in bars across Chicago. Years later, when I made the move to the suburbs, I ended up with another band that also played in bars across Chicago and a few gigs out of state. We stopped playing as we all ended up coaching our kids in different sports and just didn’t have enough time.
Any Favorite Things to Do in Chicago?
The best thing about Chicago and the suburbs are all the festivals. During the summer, you can find a festival every weekend in the city with great food and music. The suburbs don’t have them every week but they do have their fair share. Rib Fest in Naperville is always a good one.
