Built for the fight.
TALNT Team is a recruiting firm for growth-stage companies that need recruiting horsepower right now — not in 90 days when a full-time recruiter ramps up, not after an agency’s commission incentives kick in.
Who we are
TALNT Team is an Alaskan Native–owned, MBE-certified recruiting and staffing firm. We don’t show up as a diversity supplier to fill a checkbox — we show up to win the work. Our team is diverse by design and our standards are higher because of it. We don’t lower the bar; we raise it — with the team we’ve built, the networks we draw from, and the execution we deliver. Different perspectives produce different results, and the results are the proof.
We run two operating models. First, embedded recruiting (also called Recruiting for Recruiters / R4R) — senior recruiters working inside client teams, on monthly capacity-based pricing. Second, specialty search across data centers, energy, and high-growth tech. Most engagements blend both.
Our deepest specialty is hyperscale data center construction. We run that program under a sister brand, Data Center TALNT — same operating standard, deeper bench for the hyperscaler, GC, developer, and operator audience (CMs, Sr CMs, QA/QC, Cx, Schedule Analysts, MEP).
Our Mission
Build the teams that build high-growth companies.
We embed senior recruiters who close the seats that move the business — across every function and seniority, on the timeline the work demands. We pair human judgment with the best AI tooling in sourcing and screening so the right candidates land faster than the market thinks possible. Every placement is built to stick, not just to close.
Our Values
Five principles that shape every engagement.
Recruiting is a contact sport.
Most recruiting fails because nobody on the other side is fighting for the role. We work the phones. We chase passive candidates. We close offers. The contact-sport energy isn't a tagline — it's the operating standard.
Matchmaking motivates us.
A recruiter who only cares about closing the fee places people who quit in 90 days. A recruiter who cares about the match makes placements that stick for years. We've built our entire screening protocol around durability, not just close rate.
Specialists beat generalists.
Data center construction recruiters can't credibly screen GTM hires, and vice versa. We staff each engagement with senior recruiters who've actually closed the kind of roles you're hiring for. No generalists running everything.
Reputation over revenue.
Our clients run their business on the people we place — and on us. We protect that trust over any individual placement fee, every time. Companies stay with us for years because they know the recommendation is honest, even when it costs us the close.
Diversity raises the bar.
We don't pursue diversity to fill a checkbox. We pursue it because diverse teams produce better outcomes — broader networks, sharper screening, fewer blind spots. TALNT Team is Alaskan Native–owned and MBE-certified through NMSDC, and the same standard applies to every candidate we put in front of a client. We don't lower the bar to make a placement; we raise it with the team and the execution.
The team
The three operators who run TALNT Team. Senior recruiters and operators sit behind every engagement.
Nate Ollestad
Founder & CEO
Founded TALNT Team after two decades of recruiting and staffing leadership across hyperscale construction, energy, and growth-stage tech. Runs client relationships and the operating playbook.
Ramiro
Head of Recruiting
Leads the embedded recruiter bench. Owns sourcing strategy, candidate experience, and the working-interview standard that every TALNT placement runs through.
Robert Putt
Head of Growth & Operations
Runs growth, technology, and operations. MS / MBA. Builds the systems that let our recruiters spend their time on candidates, not paperwork.
Joy Schwartz
Recruiting & People Operations
20 years of recruiting and people operations across startups, growth companies, and billion-dollar organizations in tech, healthcare, and energy. Pragmatic, business-focused approach to recruiting and organization design — building the high-functioning teams, infrastructure, and strategies that enable hyper-growth. For Joy, profit-enhancing growth isn't just hiring; it's finding talented, purpose-driven people and enabling their success.
The certifications
- MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) — certified through the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC). Eligible for diverse-supplier spend allocations at most Fortune 500 and federal-contractor clients.
- Alaskan Native–owned — eligible for ANC-related procurement programs at federal contractors. The ownership brings different viewpoints and perspectives into how talent gets sourced.
Let’s talk about what you’re hiring for.
R4R, embedded recruiting, vertical search — or all three. 48-hour scoping call.