Brian Carlson

Brian Carlson began building Ambrion in 1999 with the goal of creating long-term relationships with clients and candidates, not just “filling jobs.” By taking the long view of the recruiting and placement process, clients and candidates are both more successful and rely on Ambrion, again and again, to further their careers or build their teams. When Carlson started recruiting at the young age of 24, he had a manager who insisted his recruiters do things the “right way.” His team would not cut corners to make placements, and each search was approached as more than just a transaction. Carlson was taught to evaluate each opportunity in a way that would benefit the client or candidate for years to come.

Carlson attributes his first manager’s attitude to shaping his outlook on recruiting and ultimately influencing his philosophy and approach. “When you focus on helping people, everything falls into place,” Carlson says.

The Ambrion team knows that Carlson believes each member should start every day with the goal of helping someone, even if it doesn’t turn into a billable search or placement. If clients or candidates want information about what’s happening in the market, resume tips, interview tips, or advice on how to conduct or participate in salary discussions, it will not be followed by a bill from Ambrion.

Ambrion has allowed Carlson to pursue his dream of being an entrepreneur. He says he thinks he always knew he wanted to work for himself, but he never said it out loud before founding Ambrion. He compares his love of being an entrepreneur with his love of backpacking. When on a hike, Carlson usually chooses to take the road less traveled, which is not unlike his approach to building Ambrion. His team is very familiar with the phrase, “Do what you’ve always done, and get what you’ve always gotten,” because Carlson challenges his team and himself to regularly get creative in order to exceed expectations. “I might have hiked the same trail 100 times, but I will always look to spot something new and just enjoy being in the moment,” Carlson says. He’s comfortable pushing traditional perceptions of what it means to be a recruiter because “I expect our team to do things differently and stay true to our core values of honesty, integrity, collaboration, and putting our clients first.”

After over two decades in recruiting, Carlson says he can feel it when he finds the right job for the right candidate, and it’s going to be the right fit. When a candidate turns down the perfect opportunity, Carlson says he almost always gets “the call” from the candidate a few months down the road where he or she says, “I should have listened to you. Your opportunity was better than the one I took.”

As Carlson looks at how to grow Ambrion and maintain its commitment to its core values like integrity, honesty, and collaboration, he’s excited to see what the next decade will bring. “Our team has grown, thrived, and continued to support each other in a way that makes me proud,” Carlson says, “I believe that as long as our core values are at the center of what we do, the future will only be bigger and brighter for us.”