Get Started

Carolynn Monaco is the Owner/Developer of CTM Job Solutions (RealEstateBestJobs.com), a successful recruiting company specializing in the mortgage industry and banking.

Carolynn’s company specializes in such areas as project management, full mortgage branch placement, bank mortgage departments, mortgage & finance companies, banking placements at all career levels and real estate. 

Carolynn has placed candidates from entry level through executive positions up to the CEO level, as well as entire branches and loan officers. She is skilled in understanding both company and individual needs in any capacity in finance fields, and is passionate about helping people find the right fit.

 

 

In this episode, Steve and Carolynn discuss:

  • Finding out what you want to do
  • Shutting up to listen 
  • People need to hear the truth 
  • Inspiring a caring atmosphere

Key Takeaways:

  • If you want to help someone, the first thing you’ve got to do is to find out what it is you want to do and how you can use that to serve people. 
  • Pause your preconceived notions about a person and silence that instinct to make conclusions about them if you want to be able to learn more about their ideas. You’ve got to shut up to listen to someone’s story. 
  • Sometimes, people need to hear the truth. You can’t always sugarcoat everything.  
  • We need to inspire a culture of care in the workplace. People need that in order to be happy and satisfied in their work. By encouraging people to care about each other, people will stay in the workplace and love their job.

 

 

 “If you can't get up in the morning, and say, ‘I can't wait to go to work’, you're in the wrong job.”

- Carolynn Monaco

Connect with Carolynn Monaco

 

Connect with Steve and Jason:

 

Listen to the podcast here:

Carolynn Monaco- Be Crazy But Care

Hello, everybody, and welcome to this week's version of the Insight Interviews, our podcast, where we get to bring in guests around this amazing country who have some phenomenal insights and today should not disappoint. I am really excited for my guest today, and so I think I'll just do something different. Before we get into who it is, and what we're going to talk about, I'm just going to introduce her, Insight Interview world. Say hi to Carolynn and Monaco. Carolyn, say hi to the Insight Interview world.

Hi, Insight Interview world. How is everyone today?

There you go. I hope they're all going I'm great Carolynn, but we don't know. We don't know how everyone is today, right? Well, Carolynn, as we dive into these interviews, we have a tendency to do this here at the beginning, and it's become a little bit of a tradition for us. So, the very first question before we even know who you are, and why you're even on our show, which I can't wait for by the way, my first question for most of the guests is simply, what are you grateful for?

Oh, dear, what am I grateful for?

Yeah, ready? Go.

I'm grateful for the life I've earned, and the life I've created for myself, for my children, for my grandchildren. I do have some grandchildren. And I'm just grateful to be here and to be successful.

Carolynn, that's awesome. You know, people just listening to you now, everybody is wondering, and I hope you hear this as a compliment, because I think it's wonderful, they're wondering, what part of the East Coast are you from with that accent?

I'm from Jersey,

We've heard of it, right?

Everybody's heard of Jersey. I’m in the northeast,

Oh, northern Jersey?

Northern Jersey, right on the border of New York State.

That's wonderful. That's wonderful. Well, thank you for that. And we start with gratitude for one, because, you know, Carolynn, I don't know what you think about this, but living a life of gratitude, in any endeavor we start, including our Insight Interviews, we think it's a good way to start the endeavor just to be grateful about things.

Absolutely. Get up every morning, and that's how you should feel. Be happy to be here.

Yeah, absolutely. Do you have any morning practices? Do you actually think of those things actively? Do you practice active gratitude?

Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Someone had sent me a booklet. I was in an auto accident a number of years ago., and it was quite it was quite challenging and horrific, but someone had sent me a religious booklet, which it has sayings each morning of the calendar year, and I do take a look at that in the morning, before I start my day, and the sayings just center me and make me very grateful that yes, I'm still here, and I'm fine and everything will be good.

Isn’t that wonderful? Oh, good for you. Well, that's a wonderful way to start our interview as well. And so, we're grateful to have you so thank you. I was grateful after you and I had met once a few weeks back and after our talk, I was like I can't wait to get this lady on the show, because she's crazy and I love crazy.

Yes, I am a little off center.

Yeah, well, we don't want any centered people on our show, just so you know. It doesn't make for a good interview, right?

Then I’ll fit right in.

Love it. Carolyn, tell us about you. We talked a little bit about this, and I can read your bio and I can read about your work as a recruiter and all that but it sure would be nice to just hear it from your voice. Tell us a little about your story and how you got where you got and what you're doing and why you're doing it and fire away.

Okay, well, I decided, I was working of course in the industry is as a licensed appraiser, also a real estate agent, a title insurance producers agents, I have a number of licenses that I acquired over the years, and I was asked constantly, because I was also doing public speaking for a home inspection company, so I'd be asked no matter where I was to do a speech on environmental issues, or whatever the subject was, do I know a processor? I need an underwriter, I need I need people with someone to answer my phones, I was constantly asked, because I traveled. So, I had that idea that, gee, this is 25 years ago now. This was just when the internet was a baby. This was when you turned on your computer, and Earthlink came up with all those kinds of noises, and there wasn't really much happening on the internet. Well, there was but not so much in business. And I decided I should put people into jobs because that would make me happy. I was happy to offer people that asked me that they needed help, I was happy to give them someone that was looking for a job. So, I had this idea, no one understood what I was going to do, because at that time, 25 years ago, we had something on every corner in every town, you had your little employment agency. And I was thinking way beyond that. I'd like to open something on the internet where I could recruit across the country, and help people get a job that they would love. And so, I quit a salaried position, everyone thought I was crazy, and I just threw myself into it. I hired a couple from England to do my website, and then I sponsored them into this country.

Wow.

Into Georgia. So, make a long story short, that's how everything started. And from there, it's just progressed and grew and grew over the years, and I was really the only one for quite some time doing a niche real estate. I worked with title companies, attorneys, of course, mortgage companies, and place people in various positions, right up to very important people in within the company. I've also placed entire branches into banks, so, it's been quite exciting, quite a ride. And a lot of people jumped on board 10 to 15 years later, after they realized that this was lucrative. So, we have many more recruiters out there now.

Untitled design (8)-1 

Carolynn, thank you for that. I got a lot of questions when people thought you were crazy, that's the second time we've referred you as crazy, which again, you're becoming more and more a part of our community just by how crazy you are. But to leave this, the security of, you know, a salaried position and just start your own thing, if I could bring you back there for a second, because I do want to ask you about leadership and how what you've seen has grown but there are a lot of people throughout time, and especially think about what you do, right? You're in the midst, if you're recruiting and helping these various industries find people, well, those people themselves are going through something akin to what you went through.

Exactly.

And so, what was that? What demons or fears, or I mean, did you just wake up one day and have none of that? And just up and go? What did it take? What kind of fortitude did it take you to up and go do something else?

Well, I somewhere deep down inside, I knew that this was going to work because I was very much into the Internet and computers and what was going on in the industry. And when I saw that, gee, it's not just people in town or your little community that need jobs, it's people that are all over the country, doing all types of work, that may need training. I also, you know, freebies all the time, tell people where to go for training. I get calls like that, and I speak with them, I find out what they want. So, if you're the type of person that wants to help someone, I think that's the first thing you should do is find out what is it you want to do? Do you do want to help people? Is it that kind of industry? It's not just about oh, yeah, let me put somebody in a job and make some money. It's not about that. It was never about that. So, I think that if you have that inside you, you're not going to be afraid to take that step. And yes, to leave a job with benefits and a salary, I was a little crazy because people didn't even understand what I was going to do. They couldn't understand how I could possibly interview someone. And we didn't have this, we didn't have Zoom. Everything was done by phone, and I felt it was a better scenario for me to not physically see the person that I thought was great for the job, because I had no preconceived notions of their abilities for who they were, or where they lived. So, I was just listening to their story, and deciding what I could do for them and where I could place them. So, I think that's a very important issue also.

You know, you and I, we could do an entire Insight Interviews episode on, because you said, I told you, I was going to do this, I told you, I came in 10 questions, I'm going to ask you like one or two, because there's two things that you've said, and I don't know how to I don't know how much we want to go into this cul-de-sac or not, but you started by saying somewhere deep down inside you knew this would work. Well, I'm interested in how you, I'm interested, even in my work, right? Because we own this coaching company, but in our work, how do you access that down deep inside? That's one thing that I'd like to ask you about, because you're helping other people do that, right? It's not just you told us that you did that deep down inside, I suspect in some of the questions that you're asking people are about what is deep down inside of them. And then you said, which I thought was brilliant, then you know, you didn't say like this, but you're from New Jersey, so you can handle it, then shut up and listen to their story. You didn't quite say it like that, that's how I heard it. Because don't we have to shut up to listen to someone's story? And you and it sounds like you're really really good at that like listening to someone else's story. Because otherwise, how can you place them in the right place? So first, talk to me about that deep down inside part. Again, you had it. I suspect you deal with other people that want to know how to get deep down inside. Just elaborate a little bit on that part of you that knew something deep down inside.

Yeah, it's it is something very deep down inside each person. Each one of us has that inner person that speaks to us and tells us -it's how can I explain this. It's like, if, if suddenly you think you're in trouble, you don't know why, it's that inside person telling you this trouble, or that said inside person telling you, I like this person that I'm speaking to, and we all have that ability, if we just use it, and trust it, and that's the hard part. And I found that by just not actually seeing the people that I was speaking to, was just so helpful for me to draw out of them. What were their best points? And what in their heart did they want to do with their life? And not everyone wants to go to college? Some people want to go to college and then continue to go to school. I'm the type of person if things get slow, I sit down, I'll take a course, and I'll get a license or certification and something, you know, I wasn't the type to say, I'm going to sit through four years of one thing, because my interests were so diverse. So, I tried to draw out of people, what did you learn in school? And what is it that you'd like to do for living? That's two different things. What you like to do and what you've learned is not always the same thing. So yeah, and if you listen to that, when people speak to you, and tell you who they are, each company, each office, and I always say this to people when I meet the owners of the company, it has a personality. The office itself has a personality. So, if I'm lucky enough to have somebody local, and I can drive over and actually meet them and shake their hand and see their production, what they're doing, when I speak to someone without seeing them, I can tell if they're going to go into fit into that office. So, it's just a matter of perception. And like you said, being able to listen.

Well, I appreciate that. It might just be a matter, but that's a skill. And it's an ability and it sounds like it's something that you've developed over time which is actually really unique, and I love the fact that you're not only doing it, but hopefully you're teaching others how to listen. You know, you're doing it for them, but you're also helping them access that inner voice if I'm hearing you correctly.

Yeah, I do. People will end up confiding in me and talking to me on a very different level than they would anybody else that recruiting them for a job. So yes, I have developed over 25 years or more, that ability to draw out of people who they really are, what bothers them? And I always say to them, yes, I'm a recruiter, but you tell me anything, it will stay here. Talk to me. And they do. They'll talk to me and they'll tell me things they never told anybody else. So, I know where they would fit in, and what would be the best type of position for them at work. Some people are not people people. They don’t want to be around.

They’re introverted or-

Yes, yes, they want to be alone. They're more secure when they're working individually. Other people need somebody looking over their shoulder and have to be pushed. And you will generally, I find that I pick that up, once I speak to someone on that level, where we're getting to really know each other. And I just love what I do.

Yeah, wow, you sound like you're very gifted at it. Let me ask you this. Let's say you're listening to somebody, and someone says, man, I really want to be a banker, you know, I really want to do this, and you talk to them, and you spend time with them, you know, again, this is a terrible stereotype so forgive me for this. But again, I love this east coast, people on the East, in my view, have this tendency to just be so ruthlessly honest. And I love that. And I shouldn't say ruthlessly, it's just as very like no. Have you ever had to tell someone like, hey, Joe, Sally, Billy, whoever it is like, you don't want to be a banker. You want to be a zoologist or something. As best I can tell, have you ever had to help someone hear something that they can't?

Yes, yes. Many times, many times, I'll speak to people who have been in the industry trying to climb the ladder, and they can't figure out why they can't. Well, how come? I'm not getting there? How come I'm not getting promoted? Why is this? Why is that? So, I kind of can pick up on that, and talk to them, and it's probably not where they belong, and it's probably not going to work. When they get to that point, if they're feeling that they’re putting that out at work, they don't realize they're doing that because they're not happy. If you can't get up in the morning, and say, I can't wait to go to work, you're in the wrong job. You're really in the wrong job. And I know a lot of people say, well, that's easy for you to say or whatever. No, it's not. It's not. Believe me. There are times my job is very trying, but that's part of it. And I actually, sometimes I enjoy a little conflict. That’s a little crazy to say, but I think it falls back on what you say about being a little ruthless. I'm not ruthless, but I'm quite honest.

No, I didn't mean you. I just say generally.

No, I know, in general. People here. You're absolutely right.

But I happen to think that's an endearing trait. I just, I meet some people on the East Coast, and I like walking away and not wondering what they're thinking. Well, they told me exactly what they're thinking, and for me, that's just really great.

Exactly right. And sometimes people need to hear the truth. You can't always sugarcoat everything.

Well, you know, you were basically saying, yeah, okay, I'll help you climb the ladder. Based on what I'm hearing, you're gonna get to the top, even if you can, which you might not be able to anyway, because you're not throwing out the vibe that makes me leads me to think that you want to get there anyway, but even if you got there, you're gonna be miserable.

Exactly. Yeah. And that happens that, you know. Thank God, it's not constantly but that does happen now and then. So, you know, you just have to know how to handle it. And they'll argue with me, and then come back to me a year later and say, you know, I took your advice. Now, I'm doing this or that, and I'm so happy, and I understand now what you were trying to tell me a year ago.

Untitled design (9)-2

Isn't that wonderful?

Yeah.

Well, I told you this thing goes fairly quick, and I have a couple other questions. Given that you get to interact with so many entities and organizations and individuals, because I kind of look at your work you're an electronic matchmaker, and you've done this for so long, and you're a highly perceptive person, I'm trying to even craft this question the way that I wanted to, but I wonder, like in today's world, I know there's not a one size fits all, Carolynn, and I understand that, but if you were to consult with a company, let's talk about the organizational side of things and say from a leadership perspective, in terms of how the culture is and how they lead, what are some of the qualities, irrespective of the industry, whether it's mortgage or real estate or title or whatever, I guess those are the industries a lot of people are listening to, but what are some of the qualities and characteristics that when you see them, you get excited to tell people about those organizations? Again, obviously, we're not going to use any names of organizations. I'm looking for qualities of leadership from your chair, that when you feel it and see it inside an organization, you as a recruiter get excited to recruit for those entities based on what you know about them internally.

Yes. Well, basically, for me, as far as organizations and companies on my accounts, I'm very choosy. I don't just take on a company that I'm not feeling I can put people in, that will be successful. Again, companies have a personality, just like a person does. And I look for that. I don't take every account that calls me. That might sound a little uppity, but it's the way I am. And I run my own business, so I have the option of saying yes or no, but I love to work with the companies and the accounts that I do have on board.

                                                                                                       
"The number one thing is honesty, and how they treat their employees. That's so important to me to know what they do as far as benefits go, how do they treat employees when it comes to, oh, we’re slowing down now. Is everybody out the door? I mean, of course, I would make more money if everybody was out the door, and then I had to replace them when it got busy. That's not how I work. I always say this to people, if you're in it, and you're just money hungry, you're not going to last. You'll do it for a short amount of time and then somebody else will take your place. That's the way it is."


I do it because both ends, I want to satisfy the company, the owner of the company, or the department or whatever I'm working with, and I also want to place the person I know will stay there. I don't want them calling me up and six months saying get me out of here. I don't want to hear that. So, I'm very fussy, and I think that turned out to be a good thing for me, because I don't know anybody else that stays in this business as long as I have. I know a lot of people jump into it, and as soon as something happens, they jump out. And then they come back in when everything's wonderful.


I wrote down the word fussy. I had to go spell that. Good for you. You're very fussy. Good. I'm glad you are. Alright, honesty, and then you said how they treat their employees, and then you gave us examples of what benefits and then I also wrote down I think you said what happens when times get tough and so good leaders, you know, and good companies with the kind of cultures that you Carolynn want to work with, you know, they stick with people, they treat people well, honesty. What else any other characteristics that you can think of that when you see it because you said these places have a personality. So I'm just looking for the traits and the characteristics from your view about that person what else would you go yes, that's a healthy and good spot that I'm really excited to put people into.

Yeah, it has to be a caring atmosphere that I feel they care what's happening to the people that work for them. And you know, it's not just get in the chair and do your work and shut up. There are companies like that and it just, oh, it's contagious to the other people that work there. When that happens, you know, you want to feel that you cannot wait to get to your job, love your job, you love what you do. You like talking to other people on the phone, most of what I place, they will be talking to other people because they're coming in for loans and nervous and first time buyers are like you know, very difficult sometimes because it scared. You have to, you know, have people that understand that. And if the company itself understands that and trains and gives them the right information to be able to make their employees happy, the employee is going to do a better job which in turn, the people that call in to get a loan through that bank or that company will get referrals.

Yeah.

So, it all goes hand in hand.

Yeah, well, okay, so I've got honesty, how you treat your people and a caring atmosphere. And then I took like 20 notes on, you helped us define what caring is. Sometimes even when I'm coaching people, Carolynn, I think people understand that soft skill of caring, but it's kind of one of those things you either care or you don't. I'm not interested in helping someone have a script, or some sort of, you know, demonstration that they care, we need people to actually care. And when you do, it's contagious. I wrote down. That’s really great. You get one more. If you had to pick one other. You got caring atmosphere, how you treat employees, honesty, what else? One more characteristic.

Fun.

Love it.

If you're not having fun, why would you do it? I tried to find something, even if it's funny, that makes me laugh, at least two or three times a day. Something will strike me, or I'll read something that I find humorous. If here alone, and, you know, people would think I was crazy, but I'm laughing out loud. So, if you can find that in a company, you work with that. It's a happy place. I mean, there are going to be times when you have to buckle down, and something important is happening or what the situation is, of course, of course, but if you're not having fun at your job, and if you're not smiling when you're talking to someone on the phone, it shows, even though they can't see you.

Well, I did get to see you beforehand, and you know, one of the things I'm laughing at and having fun with is we've identified that you're crazy now three or four times in our show. And that's awesome. So maybe we maybe we should title the show, but just be partly crazy, but care about people. And I really like you putting in there like yes, it doesn't mean when we're having fun and laughing that it's always jovial and humorous. No, we got to buckle down. But if it ain't fun, man, rethink it. That's wonderful. Hey, I am super grateful for you. If you can imagine we're already at the end. How quick does that go?

I know, I know, we could probably talk for hours if we kept going.

Well, if it's okay with you, I'd love to have you back on. I have a lot of other questions for you with regard to the other side of it, and that is for people that are looking to be placed. But you sort of helped me with that too. And you helped our listeners with that. Because I like this idea of taking the time to dig down deep, right?

Right.

And people sometimes, Carolynn, they're not taking the time to do that. And if you don't do that, even someone like you, yes, you can draw people out, but to the degree to which we can encourage people to dig down deep, we might help people find where they need to be placed even more effectively.

Exactly. This was the tip of the iceberg.

                                                                                                       
"You know, this is where it all starts. To get to know that person that's applying for that position that you have with your company, that's the tip of the iceberg. Now we found the right person. Now it goes into the details of the job, what they know how well they're going to do that job. There are so many other facets that go along with the job, and if it's the right person in the right atmosphere, it all works. It all works."

It's been a joy. Like the whole time we've been doing this, I've been smiling. And so, I'm I thankful. The Insight interviews, Carolynn, is designed to draw out insights from you without like sounding like we're giving advice, and the reason is because what we're ultimately trying to do is have our listeners have their own insights. And so, if you're listening and you are a leader of other people, I hope you heard, and I hope you have insights around honesty, and how you treat people and even being fussy, but fun. That might even be the title of our show. Be fussy and fun.

Yeah.

Have a caring atmosphere. And if you're someone who's listening and you're thinking about a change or whatever, dig down deep. And either way, you know, listen. And when you're listening, smile, right?

Exactly.

So, Carolynn, thank you so much for your time. I will have you back on this has been a ton of fun. Grateful for you. Keep doing what you're doing. Do it for another 100 years because we the world needs more people like you.

I will try. Thank you so much, Steve. Thank you.

Thank you, everyone. And you guys, we'll see you next time here on The Insight Interviews.

---

Thanks for reading. If you got any value at all from this episode, a little nugget all the way up to some big huge insight, please do us a solid by subscribing, recommending, rating, and reviewing us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or Google. That stuff matters to us, and it allows us to continue interviewing more awesome people.




Important Links
, , ,

Lead Magnet

  • First cool thing
  • Second cool thing
  • Third cool thing
Download