Waterstone Client Stories: Sushant Trivedi, CEO, Fresh Tracks Canada

At Waterstone Human Capital, our focus on helping organizations build high performance cultures means that we get to work with some truly exciting organizations across a variety of industries. We are also fortunate to work with some inspiring candidates who can help our clients meet and exceed their culture and organizational goals.

Meet Sushant Trivedi, CEO at Fresh Tracks Canada, a Vancouver-based travel company that has been helping travellers from around the world plan worry-free, personalized vacations in Canada since 1996.

Waterstone helped place Sushant at Fresh Tracks Canada, and since then, we’ve had the pleasure of working with him as a client as well. We recently sat down with Sushant to catch up and learn more about his experience working with Waterstone.

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Waterstone Human Capital (WHC):Describe your job search experience – what was it like working with the Waterstone team?

Sushant Trivedi (ST): I was open to leaving and I was looking for new opportunities. I was on vacation, and I got a message from the Waterstone team saying we have a role that we’d like to talk to you about. I looked at the company and at their website and I thought: “No, it’s not for me.” I told the Waterstone associate I wasn’t keen on the opportunity, but she asked me to talk to her anyway – just have a conversation for five or ten minutes.

I had my first call from vacation, and it was just learning more about [the company and] what they do, and the Waterstone associate insisted I meet [the company’s] chairman and founder. After that first meeting with the chairman and founder, it changed my perspective 100 per cent. I went from not interested at all, to I would like to learn more, to I’m interested.

It was Waterstone’s persistence – not in a nagging or negative way, but in a “you have nothing to lose by having a conversation” way – that I really appreciated.

WHC: How did Waterstone’s team help set you up for success during the recruitment process?

ST: The team did a really good job of facilitating the link between the company and myself – really being an efficient and helpful channel of communications, dialogue, and perspective. That is something I really appreciated. It made me aware of things I maybe wasn’t seeing, but it also made them aware of where I was coming from.  So, I wouldn’t say they were just representing the client; they were representing the overall process and project, and they genuinely had the best interest of both.

Where Waterstone did a good job was that they had a single-minded focus on making it a win-win – making the client happy but also making the candidate happy. Because it must be a perfect marriage in that regard.

WHC: What surprised you most about your experience working with the Waterstone team?

ST: What Waterstone did differently, and which I appreciated, was the manner in which they did [the search]. It was based on clarity and empathy: here are the facts so there’s no misunderstanding. There was empathy for each other’s vantage point and perspective, and I really appreciated them bringing that to the table. 

WHC: What advice do you have for other candidates looking to change roles in today’s job market?

ST: First, don’t judge a book by its cover. There’s no slam dunk yes or slam dunk no. Seek to learn and seek to understand whether this is a place where you can have a good match with the values system.

The second thing is ask, “Is this a place where I can make an impact and add value?”

Number three is, while all the monetary metrics are incredibly important, don’t choose a role based solely on that. At the end of the day, what’s going to motivate you to wake up every morning and go to work is not the paycheque but the people who you work with. Do not put money over people. The ideal scenario, of course, is good money and good people, but don’t disregard the importance of the latter.

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At Waterstone, we partner with our clients to support the full spectrum of culture and recruitment opportunities through our Waterstone Executive Search services and the Waterstone Culture Institute. Schedule a meeting with our team today and find out how we can help you build, sustain, or transform your high-performance team and culture.