About Your Host

Mark is an Ex-Professional Athlete, Youtuber, North Park University graduate (BA in Psychology), and currently a Talent Acquisition Professional at Microsoft. 

Although these are all true statements about Mark, he prefers to let his unique experiences be what defines him, making those statements merely outcomes of said experiences. 

Mark is no stranger to taking the path some may deem untraditional. Following the conclusion of his collegiate basketball career at NPU, Mark began his International Journey, despite the fact that he had not yet attained his diploma. For the next 4 years, he instead attained, the opportunity to travel the world, playing basketball and living in Switzerland, France, China, and Canada. With an offer to play his next season in Dubai, he decided to "hang it up" and finish his undergrad degree, returning to North Park just as abruptly as he left.

It was during this time; Mark became drawn to Industrial & Organizational (IO) Psychology and specifically Recruiting. Given his experiences engaging with Sport Agents, he felt he could leverage his empathy for the individual "on the other end of the deal" to establish himself as a trusted advocate to Job Seekers.

Since beginning his corporate career in 2019, Mark has proven to be a valued Talent Acquisition resource with experience spanning across various roles and industries. As both an Agency and Corporate Recruiter/Sourcer, Mark has helped facilitate the engagement, assessment, and onboarding of professionals in IT, Finanancial, HR, Marketing, Mortgage and more. 

This wide range of exposure to various hiring processes caused Mark to take note of one element that seemed to be consistent, regardless of environment: an overwhelming sense of mistrust between Candidate and Recruiter, spoiling the overall Hiring Experience.

Mark's idea to create TalentXM, comes from his passion for the importance of one's experience, recognizing the experiences we encounter, have strong impact on life's outcomes. From a Talent perspective, Mark's mission is to help individuals take a proactive approach in managing their experiences within the Hiring Arena!