When Jerry Kurinsky joined The Energists in 2023, he brought with him a successful career in energy solutions, industrial services, and chemical manufacturing. Jerry’s transition to The Energists marks another industry crossover, aligning with the firm’s recruitment, training, and development strategy.
We had the opportunity to reflect with Jerry on his journey from an industry leader to an executive search partner.
Question: Tell us about your thought process when making the switch to executive search, how long was the “courtship,” and what were the deciding factors for you?
Jerry Kurinsky: Executive search wasn’t initially on my radar until Jon brought it up in the spring of last year. He provided ample time for me to consider it seriously. In the end, having experience as both a candidate and a hiring manager, I felt that my background could bring value to an executive search role. Equally important, the firm’s high integrity values closely align with my own in interactions with customers, candidates, and colleagues.
Question: What life experience best prepared you for executive responsibility and now, executive search?
Jerry Kurinsky: I attended school on a military scholarship, and the military excels in teaching leadership. It’s a blend of holding people accountable while being compassionate, taking care of your people, and developing them for more responsibility. This approach, I believe, works well in private enterprise, and I’ve applied it effectively in my executive leadership roles. Constructing the right team is a significant part of those roles and that’s what executive search is to me, partnering with clients to understand their needs in terms of skills, behaviors, culture, and brand, then matching candidates whose skills and values align perfectly.
Question: How has your peer group and network reacted to your move into executive search?
Jerry Kurinsky: It’s been a mix of surprise and “I can see that.” In either case, my network has reinforced my confidence in making the change. Most of them believe I’ll excel at it and have offered their support.
Question: How would you describe the candidate experience for yourself compared to candidates whom you are handling for clients?
Jerry Kurinsky: It took a bit longer, which is to be expected given the career pivot nature of the engagement. Now having the view from the recruiting side, I can see the process was the largely same, with the additional application of the behavioral and cognitive assessment tools we always use internally. Some of our clients do not yet use them or have their own solutions.
Jon Hill, Managing Partner at The Energists, expressed his enthusiasm for this 2023 addition:
“We are delighted to onboard another key team member from a direct industry background. Importantly, Jerry aligns with our core values of Collaboration, Inclusion, and Integrity. In the first week of 2024, Jerry, supported by the team, closed an important search for a key client – the head of HSE. The candidate placed was everything the client had desired. Interestingly, the client had intimated they would settle for less at the beginning of the process, but no compromise was required – well done Jerry & the rest of the team.”