Kristen Chartier, PHR

Two U.S. based aerospace companies recently received funding with SkyFi raising $12.7 million in an over-subscribed Series A, and Samara Aerospace receiving $10 million in its seed round. Fidelis Companies https://lnkd.in/gtGc-Hh8

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Aerospace leaders, you’re not just competing for talent. You’re competing for belief. Belief that your company is worth building a career with. Belief that what you’re building still inspires engineers the way it used to. Belief that aerospace is still the field where curiosity meets courage. Today, your competitors aren’t just other firms. They’re every industry that offers faster hiring, clearer growth, and more modern leadership. The truth is, the best candidates still want to work in aerospace. They just don’t want to fight to be seen, heard, or moved through a hiring process that feels outdated. The companies that win the next decade will be the ones that humanize hiring again who move fast, communicate clearly, and treat every candidate interaction like a mission critical launch. Because right now, the people who can take your projects to orbit aren’t waiting forever for liftoff. #Aerospace #Leadership #Hiring #Engineerin

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I hadn’t worked in an Embedded Talent company before joining Bond Global. Honestly, I’d been a bit dismissive of the model (Probably because my experience was limited to traditional “RPO” setups, and my agency background). Now? I can’t imagine working any other way. Hiring a Talent partner through BOND is tapping into a global hive-mind of 50+ experts, sharing insight, experience, and ideas across markets behind the scenes. All working together to solve problems and bring the very best talent into some of the coolest companies in the world. That access is the real power. Embedded Talent isn’t a trend. It’s becoming the dominant way businesses hire. 🚀 Robert Hussey Ben Rutter Ryan O’Hara Lauren Peake Bond Global Short video below explains it far better than I can 👇

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Our latest can’t-miss Talent Climate series report with The Josh Bersin company brings talent leaders the most up-to-date insights on the key trends impacting talent acquisition this year. We conducted a series of deep-dive interviews with TA leaders from various industries to gain insights into the challenges and opportunities in talent acquisition this year.  The top four focal points in 2025 are:  1. Implementing skills-based approaches to hiring and mobility: TA leaders state a growing priority to implement skills throughout their talent functions and strategies 2. Redesigning the tech stack with AI at the forefront: AI and enhanced tech capabilities are prompting TA to shift its technology approach from “stack” to “ecosystem” 3. Developing a multifaceted approach to fill talent gaps: A competitive market and talent shortages call for diversified strategies that look beyond external hiring 4. Upskilling and elevating the TA function for the future: TA leaders cite collaboration, new skills, and a shifting mindset as necessary to advance the function’s role in the business Download our report to unpack the four focal points, access stories and examples from world-leading organizations, and gain recommendations to help you build a future-ready workforce: https://lnkd.in/djAePdn2 #Hiring #Leadership #Recruitment #ArtificialIntelligence #TalentAcquisition #Technology

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🎢 Recruiting in Today’s Wild Market: Buckle Up! Recruiting in today’s job market feels a bit like riding a rollercoaster—thrilling, unpredictable, and occasionally leaving you wondering why you got on in the first place. One moment, you’ve got an open role and a client ready to hire. The next? Poof! The position is closed due to budget restrictions, and you’re back to square one. Talk about whiplash. Then, there’s the candidate side of things. Many professionals are hesitant to leave their current jobs, while others aren’t exactly excited about contract work as they search for something “perfect.” Add in the mystery of the poorly written resume (or worse, the invisible “open to work” setting), and recruiters are left wondering if great talent is hiding in plain sight. Spoiler: they often are! And let’s not forget the magic of keywords. Without them, even the most qualified candidates slip through the cracks of search filters. Recruiters have to put on their detective hats, get creative, and sometimes even channel their inner fortune teller just to uncover the right match. So what’s the takeaway? Today’s recruiting world is unpredictable, messy, and… oddly fun. It challenges recruiters to be adaptable, resourceful, and endlessly curious. We’re not just matching resumes to job descriptions—we’re piecing together puzzles in real time, all while balancing shifting markets, cautious candidates, and clients navigating tight budgets. At the end of the day, recruiting is still about connecting people to opportunities. It may not always be smooth sailing, but it’s never boring—and that’s what makes it worth the ride. #Recruiting #TalentAcquisition #Hiring #JobMarket #CareerOpportunities #CandidateExperience #FutureOfWork #RecruitersLife #HiringChallenges #CareerMatchmaking

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Nobody’s talking about company culture right now — and that should worry all of us. The job market is noisy with layoffs, rescinded offers, and talented people just trying to stay afloat. When survival mode kicks in, culture really becomes a “nice-to-have��… I get it. When the choice feels like any job vs. no job, people feel like they don’t have the luxury of asking hard questions. Unfortunately, a bad culture doesn’t become tolerable just because the market is tough. It still leads to burnout. It still costs your health. And it still shortens your tenure — even if the paycheck feels necessary today. As someone who’s led hiring from the inside, I’ll say this clearly: ➡️ You are still allowed to evaluate the company. ➡️ Interviews are still a two-way conversation. If you’re job searching right now, don’t skip culture — reframe how you assess it. A few culture-check questions you can actually ask (even if you’re desperate): • “How do leaders support teams during periods of high workload or change?” • “What behaviors get rewarded here — and which ones don’t?” • “How does this team handle burnout or capacity issues?” • “What is one thing you would change about the culture here?” • “Can you share an example of feedback being acted on?” Pro tip from TA: Listen closely to HOW they answer — not just what they say. Vague answers = unclear expectations. 🚩 Defensive answers = warning signs.🚩 All Sunshine and roses = ask more questions. Specific examples (genuine and balanced)= real culture. The market may be unforgiving right now — but you don’t have to accept a workplace that is too. (If this helps someone navigating a hard search, consider sharing — they may need to hear it.)

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Astrotech wins $77.5 million contract to accelerate pre-launch satellite processing at Vandenberg The U.S. Space Force awarded a $77.5 million contract to Astrotech Space Operations to increase satellite processing capacity at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, an investment in ground infrastructure intended to prevent processing constraints from limiting access to space. The three-year contract, announced April 25, was secured by Astrotech through a “Commercial Solutions Opening” competition.

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You don’t have to be an AI expert to start using it. But if you’re not already leveraging AI in your HR workflows, you’re leaving time and talent on the table. This guide breaks down 10+ essential tools HR teams are using in 2025 — and how you can, too: https://hubs.ly/Q03B0c3_0

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The Aerospace and Defense industry doesn’t have a talent shortage. It has an access shortage. ✈️ The strongest engineering leaders, program managers, and executives are not applying to job postings. They are employed, delivering results, and being relied on to execute mission-critical objectives. That’s where true headhunting matters. At Journey Search Partners, we specialize in identifying and securing aerospace and defense professionals across executive leadership, engineering, operations, supply chain, and strategic sales. We don’t just send resumes. We take the time to understand your business strategy and hiring objectives, allowing us to target, engage, and close the individuals best positioned to support your long-term growth. If you are actively hiring and need recruiting partners who are experts in aerospace manufacturing, precision engineering, and highly regulated environments, you are reading the right post- DM me. #Aerospace #Defense #ExecutiveSearch #EngineeringLeadership #Manufacturing #Headhunting

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𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Greater Seattle's top aerospace employers with job openings in the past year include Blue Origin, Boeing, SpaceX, Alaska Airlines, and Safran. The region’s aerospace industry is projected to grow 5% between 2024 and 2029. Read our aerospace report https://ow.ly/xOSy50W6IEw. #ParisAirShow #aerospace Economic Alliance Snohomish County, Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County, Washington State Department of Commerce

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The age of manual recruiting is over... if you aren't automating your process using AI, your recruiting team might not be reaching its fastest hiring timelines possible.

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Space Infrastructure News | Northwood Space Raises $100M & Wins Space Force Contract Northwood Space, the El Segundo-based space infrastructure start-up, just hit two major milestones this week: ▪️ Closed a $100M Series B funding round led by Washington Harbour Partners LP and co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from leading space and deep-tech investors. This is a huge leap from its Series A less than a year ago. ▪️ Secured a $49.8M contract from the U.S. Space Forces – Space (S4S) to modernize the 'Satellite Control Network (SCN)', the backbone communications infrastructure that tracks, controls, and supports satellites for critical missions including GPS and national security payloads. Northwood is solving the ground infrastructure bottleneck that increasingly complex satellite constellations depend on. Their network of phased-array ground stations and software stack is designed to collapse deployment timelines from years to months (and sometimes days), which is hard to match! The growth has been quick - founded in 2022 and closed a $30M Series A, and now collectively $150M Series B - Bridgit Mendler, CEO and founder of Northwood stated, "that's really what we're ready for from a production standpoint". Northwood CTO, Griffin Cleverly expects the expanded capacity to be most valuable to customers who are "scaling into large constellations". Investor confidence is now rising and defense customers are supporting - this is a strong indicator of where the space supply chain is headed... #Northwood #Aerospace #SpaceTech #Funding #SeriesB #MetricSearch #Global

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The future of UAS/UAV is fully autonomous systems. If you want to be a part of something that will scale with homegrown, clean sheet product's...this is the place. ✈️ Latest News on Swarm ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gaGmdBX9 Apply Here ▶️ https://lnkd.in/gKnCzmkf

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The question I’m getting most often right now... “What’s going on with hiring in aerospace?” Here’s what I’m seeing across the market. Companies are proceeding with caution while raising the bar. Between AI disruption, lost contracts, tariff uncertainty, manufacturing innovations, and a new administration settling in, prudent hiring is more elevated than ever and competition for top talent is intense. If you’re in the job market, here’s what I recommend: ✅ Stay visible – Network with peers, mentors, and former colleagues. ✅ Stay ready – Keep your resume and supporting docs polished. ✅ Stay proactive – Set weekly goals for outreach, applications, and recruiter conversations. ✅ Stay focused – Partner with recruiters who specialize in your function and industry. And above all, don’t get discouraged. This is an employer driven market and you don’t need ten offers. You just need one yes. Drop your perspective in the comments. Would love to compare notes. #AerospaceJobs #HiringTrends #Recruiting

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