SWFL recruiting director specializes in finding top executive talent

Nearly 20 years ago, Jana Vanaman was working for Target in retail management, supporting hiring for one store. Within several years, she was overseeing human resources for 12 Target stores.

“I fell into it, fell in love with it, and I was like, I want to focus on this,” Vanaman says. “It's just so rewarding to be a part of somebody's career journey.”

Photo by Mark Wemple

Next, she went from a senior recruiter at Connecticut-based research and advisory firm Gartner to vice president of talent acquisition, ultimately leading a global team. When she started, the company, which has a large presence in Southwest Florida, had about 5,000 employees, and by the time she left nearly 11 years later, it had grown to 20,000.

“One of the most exciting and scary things is to find a job [or] change jobs, and I just really like being not only a liaison but also a coach to candidates and to hiring managers,” she says.

Now Vanaman is executive recruiting director for W Talent Solutions, a Michigan firm that provides what it calls elite recruiting services for high-level roles. She says she is excited about moving from a company hiring in-house to conducting external recruiting for a variety of clients.

“I have 12 major accounts — clients — that I work with,” Vanaman says, compared to one at her previous job. “What excites me is getting to make an impact on a variety of businesses and industries in Florida…I'd love to see over the next couple years a 10x increase in Florida-based clients and relationships that I'm able to develop here in our more local community.”

Much of her work involves confidential searches and succession planning, she says, adding she also does HR and talent strategy consulting, too.

“I've always been a very hands-on leader, never getting too far away from the work” of recruiting, Vanaman says. “Managing executive searches, VP-plus-level is just something that I ultimately specialize in.” 

One of the ways she stays on top of executive searches is by headhunting. 

“These executives — they're not sitting around applying for jobs. Oftentimes, they are actively working, doing amazing things,” Vanaman says. “A good headhunter has their ways of getting in touch with people and finding the right talent.”

Her father, Jerry Penny, is her mentor and has always been a role model. Penny became the head of operations for an oil and gas company in California after working his way up during a 45-year career. While he has a lot of sayings, one that Vanaman singles out is this: “‘Bloom where you’re planted.’ That’s really his story,” she says. It has been her story, too.

“The way to get recognized or move to the next level is be amazing in the role that you’re in,” Vanaman says. “That’s something that I’ve always strived to do.”