Q&A with TalentMonger.com’s McVicker

Jan. 26, 2015
Greg McVicker and two colleagues co-founded TalentMonger.com, a collision industry website committed to connecting qualified technicians with the shop owners looking to hire them. He talks to ABRN.
Greg McVicker has been a part of the collision repair industry since 2005, when he started working as the collision center manager at Budd Baer Collision Center, a dealership shop south of Pittsburgh. In 2010, McVicker was elected chapter president of the Southern Allegheny chapter of the AASP-PA. In 2012 he became the collision division director of AASP-PA and a member of their board of directors. In 2013, McVicker began representing Pennsylvania on the AASP National Board of Directors. He has been honored to serve on the advisory board of WyoTech. In 2014, McVicker and two colleagues co-founded TalentMonger.com, a collision industry website committed to connecting qualified technicians with the shop owners looking to hire them. He talks to ABRN about the site and what it can do for the industry.

ABRN: How did the idea for TheTalentMonger.com come about? 

GM: Like most shop operators, the greatest challenge in running my shop has always been finding qualified employees. It became clear last year as we prepared to open an addition to our facility. To staff the new space, we had an immediate need for six new employees. I spent $1600 in one week on generic online and newspaper ads, interviewed 12 candidates, and STILL found no one of value. Driving home after another failed interview, I thought about how much our industry needs a new way to connect with the people we need to hire. That’s where the concept for Talent Monger came from.

ABRN: Tell us about the site and how it works. 

GM: Technicians create a free, anonymous profile listing their skills, experience, training, and qualifications. Shop owners create a free account that allows them to search this collection of profiles based on whatever criteria they’d like. Shop owners can choose to subscribe to the site and reach out to as many techs as they’d like. If the tech accepts the interview, the site sends the owner the tech’s contact information and the rest is up to them. 


We are really excited about our "Willing to Relocate" option, which allows techs who are looking for a great job but are not tied down to a specific market to show up in searches around the country. This grants shop owners access to techs they would otherwise never see in their local searches.

ABRN: What is the long-term plan for the site? Do you want to eventually also address the service repair market? 

GM: We see the site as a bridge between the techs, shop owners, trade schools, and trade associations around the country. We are working with tech schools around the country to promote the site with their students and alumni. We are directly reaching out to shops through trade associations and industry events. We have even been approached by members of the mechanical service industry who are looking for techs. While our primary focus is growing the site within the collision industry, we do hope to be able to roll out a mechanical version of the site in the very near future.  

ABRN: You run TheTalentMonger.com in addition to a repair shop. Tell us a bit about your shop. 

GM: I have been the collision manager at Budd Baer Collision Center, just south of Pittsburgh since 2005. We are a new car dealership shop that is part of a GM, Mazda, and Subaru auto group. Currently, we employ 27 people in the collision center and will finish off 2014 at just under $4 million in total sales. Our shop moved to our current location in 2010 and opened our addition at the beginning of this year to handle growth in our business.

ABRN: Your shop endured a fire several years ago. Can you tell us what happened and how you were able to rebuild the business? 

GM: In October of 2003 a short in a paint recycler sparked a fire that destroyed the shop and a large part of the dealership complex. Thankfully no one was injured, but it left the shop without a facility. Our owner, Mark Baer, found a temporary building in town for us to work out of until plans for a new facility could be realized. We worked out of that facility and learned a lot about how to produce work in less-than-ideal conditions. Finally in 2010 we moved to our current location and have been lucky to experience a tremendous growth since then. 

ABRN: What has the response from the industry been to TheTalentMonger.com? 

GM: The response has been great! The site went live in October after months of development and in the first 60 days we have had thousands of people view the site and just under 200 users register on word-of-mouth alone. We have also had a great reaction from tech schools, who are eager to help us get techs into the system. And there has been an outpouring of support from industry groups, publications, and vendors. Everyone seems to be excited for a tool that can help the industry hire effectively. We are adding people regularly to the site, so check back often. We are excited to see the response as we start to market the site in 2015.

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