It’s not the size of your network — it’s the size of your network’s networks. These are words of advice from Marty Parker, BA ’91 and M.Sc. ’92, founder and managing director of Waterstone Human Capital, a leading retained executive search firm, and Rethink Recruitment Services, a company specializing in middle-management recruitment and large-scale human capital outsourcing.
 
Parker himself received this advice from Frank McKenna, former premier of New Brunswick, Canadian ambassador to the United States and 2007 recipient of U of G’s Lincoln Alexander Outstanding Leader Award.

“I’ve never forgotten that,” says Parker, a former football Gryphon. “My network is certainly bigger today, and I’m fortunate in terms of what I do, but the really great thing about what I do and what I’ve learned is that, with every search, I’m building networks and building relationships.”
Originally from Barrie, he completed a BA in Canadian studies at Guelph before shifting gears and earning a master’s degree in consumer studies. After graduation, he worked for Labatt Brewery, then joined Johnson and Johnson’s Ortho division.

In 1995, Parker headed east to work for the CCL Group, the biggest marketing firm in the Atlantic region, and stayed there for five years, working his way up to executive vice-president for advertising.

In 2000, he was recruited to join Caldwell Partners, a large Canadian search firm, as a partner. After spending three years learning the ropes of building a search practice and gaining experience as a search practitioner, he branched out and began working for himself. Today, he works with some of North America’s biggest businesses and helps them attract the best executives.

“It’s in my blood now,” says Parker, who frequently writes for canada.com, the National Post, Canadian Business and other publications. “I love to build businesses. For me, there’s nothing more satisfying than looking at an organization and having a real impact on it. Being a little part of the Canadian business mosaic makes me proud.”

A large part of his work involves researching the “corporate culture” of each client to identify the strongest and most suitable candidates. To build on the knowledge base surrounding this topic, Waterstone Human Capital produces an annual Canadian corporate culture study. The most recent study, published in 2007, examined whether or not corporate culture is an asset that can be used strategically by Canadian organizations to sustain competitiveness and enhance financial performance.

“Each organization is looking for different things,” says Parker. “Understanding corporate culture means understanding the accepted behaviours of an organization, especially the behaviours of high performers. With flatter executive teams out there, most clients are looking for executives who can be strategic and are able to get things done. Today, you need very active hands-on leadership. With the connectivity of wireless communications, which keep us on all the time, the impact these individuals have can be significant and great.”

For younger professionals in the earlier stages of their career, he recommends participating in networking and development opportunities whenever possible.
“I would certainly take advantage of them to gain every competitive edge you can. The newest generation of university graduates has never seen an economic downturn, and most of them know that organizations need them. Forty per cent of the workforce will reach retirement age by 2010, and young people know they’re being sought after. Everything is going to change within the next year or so.”

Besides looking to your networks and taking advantage of development opportunities, you should talk to people who work in a field you’re interested in to find out how they got where they are, says Parker. From there, you need to develop a plan to help you achieve your goals.

“No CV is ever going to get you a job. It’s going to be your heart, your soul, your network and your legwork that do it.”