The Fit List
There are some things we do quietly. Behind the scenes. Without a splashy name or a line item in the proposal. We do them because someone asked. Because it felt like the right thing to do. And because when you spend enough time listening—really listening—to what people need, you start to notice patterns.
This one started as a whisper. A text here. A coffee chat there. A friend of a friend asking if we knew of anyone hiring. Or someone on the employer side asking if we’d “keep them in mind” if we came across anyone good. We weren’t advertising anything. We weren’t recruiting. But the requests kept coming.
For years, we’ve been connecting the dots between good people and good places to work. We’ve passed along résumés. Made introductions. Said things like, “I know someone who would be perfect for that.” These weren’t transactions—they were connections. Built on trust. On knowing the people behind the paper. And on understanding that fit matters more than qualifications.
We are relationship people. We know how to listen, how to read between the lines, and how to build trust on both sides of the hiring table. So after years of running this underground talent pipeline as a side hustle—just doing what we’ve always done for clients—we had to ask: why are we gatekeeping a service that works?
So we decided to stop treating this as a one-off favor and start treating it like what it really is: a community-driven solution to a workforce problem that isn’t going away anytime soon.
The Fit List
We’re not recruiters. We’re something different. We are relationship people. We’re connectors with a very strong filter.
When a candidate reaches out, we meet with them. We dig in. Not just what’s on their résumé—but how they work, what kind of team makes them thrive, what kind of leadership they’re chasing (or running from), and what’s going to matter most in their next move. Then we build the Fit Sheet—a detailed, honest, practical cover page that gives an employer what they really want: context, insight, and a sense of what it’s like to work with this person before the interview ever happens.
We don’t send maybes.
Employers will either see a teaser in our Rise + Grind newsletter (Scroll to the bottom of this email to see this week’s Fit List)—or you’ll come to us with a job you’re trying to fill. When that happens, we check the Fit List. If we’ve got someone who fits the bill, we won’t shoot off their name. We call them. We walk them through your opportunity. If they’re interested—and we mean genuinely interested— then we’ll send you their résumé and Fit Sheet. One flat connection fee but only when you see a profile. It cost nothing for us to look for a Fit. No chasing. No reviewing terrible résumés on Indeed. Just a solid lead that wants the job and already knows what you’re about.
Local talent. Confidential connections.
We’ve been doing this work quietly for a long time—listening well, connecting dots, and making calls that turn into careers. Now we’re giving it a name. And a home.
The Fit List is about alignment, not volume. It’s about local people landing in local roles where they can do their best work and actually want to stay.
We’re not promising perfect. But we are promising this: every connection we make is intentional, informed, and built on trust.
If you’re hiring—or hoping the right thing might come along—reach out.