I’ve always been grateful for the gifts I was given. I promised myself 10 years ago that I would use both my natural talent, acquired skills and passion to help both companies and job seekers. I absolutely love this company. CEO Ken Sundheim
Recruitment Origins
The story of this company is amazing and the work and talent of the people behind it is phenomenal.
The recruitment origins of KAS begin ten years ago with a then-24-year-old Ken Sundheim who, a few weeks after graduating from Fordham University, finds himself in corporate America. His perception is as follows:
The people I worked with were good people, however at a young age I could decipher that many acted out of fear for losing their job rather than what was best for the company.
I used to write letters to the CEO of the company, but at that age, was too timid to send them and would throw them in the garbage when finished.
Regardless, I continued to work harder than anyone in my division. One day, our manager told us our group was hiring and if anyone knew someone, it would be helpful.
I didn’t know anyone, but I figured I would find someone for my manager. Within 24 hours, I successfully recruited someone from a competing company (a practice I no longer think is strategic in many instances).
After doing some research, I deduced that there was an inherent lack of effectiveness and focus in the recruitment industry so I took $1,500 and would build a company that changed that.
However, what’s more interesting than the origin story is where this recruiting organization is going now. The first ten years of KAS Placement was a phase 1.
We are doing our best to save capital and are again working around the clock on new initiatives that will improve the companies of our clients and the lives of our candidates.
Recruitment Bios
Aside from being the acting CEO of KAS Placement, Ken Sundheim is a Forbes writer and graduate lecturer at New York University. Additionally, Ken is a contributor to HR sites such as Simply Hired, The Ladders, Career Brazen, Business Insider and Personal Branding Blog.
His recruiting expertise is frequently requested from sources such as Business Insider, Entrepreneur.com, Globe and Mail, AOL and Chicago Tribune.
At age 31, Bravo Television, hoping to duplicate its hit show The Millionaire Matchmaker, held meetings with Ken Sundheim to do a similar version based on the life of a recruiter (or job matchmaker).
The two sides could not come to an agreement and the show was later tested with a British headhunter.
Top universities around the United States have relied on Sundheim’s expertise in sales, HR and marketing to further educate their graduates on key business strategies. These institutions have included Syracuse University, Pace University, New York Institute of Technology, New York University, Baruch College and Salisbury University.
He has also done recruitment consulting for some of the most prestigious government agencies and holds security clearance eligibility.
During the Obama / Romney election, Ken was asked to do a special for MTV analyzing the resumes of the two presidential candidates resumes as they stood after their college graduation.
His achievements and reputation have allowed KAS Placement to gain unparalleled exposure including: CBS MoneyWatch, About.com, Monster.com, AOL Jobs, Fox Business News, WSJ, FINS, Sales Careers, O Magazine, Interviewing.com, Recruiter.com and many others.
At age 29, Ken Sundheim was the youngest Finalist to be the About.com Sales Career Guide.
Ken is also responsible for writing, designing and programming the entire KAS Placement website. Frequently, he is called in by organizations to analyze their marketing budgets as well as perform cost analysis on their current marketing division.
As the Managing Director at KAS Placement, Alison oversees and directs the recruitment operations that connect our clients (companies ranging from Fortune 500s to brand new startups) with talented sales, marketing, and business development job seekers across the U.S.
Before joining KAS in 2006, Alison received her bachelor’s degree from NYU, initially stepping into public relations, marketing, and event planning. Her main focus allowed her to work closely with major international media organizations such as the New York Times and NBC on behalf of not-for-profit clientele including the USO of Metropolitan New York, the New-York Historical Society, and the New York Pops.
Here at KAS, as the director for all client research, job seeker interviewing, and hiring process management activities, Alison utilizes knowledge, skills, and talents she’s cultivated over the years to best serve our clients.
These range from a deep and broad knowledge of current hiring and salary trends across industries and regions put to use to best advise our clients at each step of the hiring process; to breaking out her French with clients in France or Québec; to calling on the attention to detail and education that allowed her to ace the verbal section of her SAT and SAT II twice in order to identify job seekers with the most rigorous, professional communication standards.
In addition to her responsibilities with KAS, she also enjoys guest lecturing at colleges and universities in order to teach real-world job seeking skills to soon-to-be members of the workforce. Most recently Alison has spoken at Baruch and NYIT, both in New York.
Ken Sundheim MTV Interview
Fox Business News
New York University Recruitment Lecture