Inside 30 Years of Staffing: A Q&A with Andrews & Cole Founder & CEO Nicole DelToro
Andrews & Cole Founder & CEO, Nicole DelToro, celebrates 30 years in staffing this year and reflects on the lessons, people, and principles that have shaped her career. From the early mentors who influenced her consultative approach to the values that continue to guide Andrews & Cole today, Nicole shares what has changed, what has not, and why relationships remain at the center of great recruiting.
Was there a mentor or role model who shaped how you approach business and leadership today?
I worked for Rich Raniere early in my career and learned a tremendous amount from him about how to be able to deliver a high degree of consultative services to clients and candidates. It stuck with me and served me very well over the past 30 years, even to this day. Rich joined the Andrews & Cole team in 2023, and it has been amazing working together again.
In my personal life, my mother was an amazing role model. She was a single mom raising 4 kids and was not college educated, but she taught me so much about working hard. She instilled in me the idea that whenever you walk somewhere you should always ask what you can do to help. She also taught me a tremendous amount about generosity. She had very little but would be the first to give the only dollar in her wallet to someone who needed it.
What advice would you give someone entering the job market for the first time?
You need to become an expert at something. Know your subject matter and be the best at it so you can add value for everyone you work with. Be dependable. Do what you say you are going to do, under-promise and over-deliver, and make your boss’s job easier by managing up and proactively communicating. Mistakes are normal, especially early in your career, but take responsibility for them. Finally, read. Seek out the news and different sources of information. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and if you take even half the time you spend scrolling videos on social media and use it to read about what is happening in the world, you will build an incredible amount of knowledge.
You've worked through multiple economic cycles, labor market shifts, and changes in technology. What are the secrets to your success?
Honestly, not much has changed in the past 30 years. You need to differentiate yourself to be successful. You have to be knowledgeable, honest, and trustworthy. There’s a lot to be said for doing things the “old-fashioned way”, being thorough, building real relationships, and not taking shortcuts.
What made you want to start your own firm?
I was always very entrepreneurial. I enjoyed working for a large public company and got a great foundation there. I worked with tremendous people and learned a lot from them, and I was able to take that knowledge with me when I started my own firm.
How has Andrews & Cole changed over the past 24 years?
We started with a hyper-niche focus on finance and accounting professionals and executives in the metro DC area. Over the years, we have hired experienced professionals around the country and expanded both nationally and functionally, partnering with clients across industries including high-growth start-ups, Fortune 500 organizations, and small to mid-sized privately held and founder-led businesses.
After 30 years, what are you most proud of in your career?
I am most proud of how I have impacted the lives of my candidates and clients. I have seen people I placed as a senior accountant become highly successful CFOs or in some cases, CEOs, and candidates that I placed 20 years ago create a lasting impact at a variety of organizations.
I am also proud of the financial success that I have seen my candidates achieve, earning 10s of millions of dollars in equity and retiring 10 years early to enjoy life.
At Andrews & Cole, I am extremely proud of the longstanding relationships we have built. We have clients that we have worked with for the entirety of our 24 years in business and will continue to work with. This is a relationship business, and these relationships have significantly contributed to our success.
I am also proud to see the success of individuals we have on staff who came here with no recruiting or sales experience but are incredibly smart and hardworking and truly care about delivering a high level of service to their clients. It has been amazing to mentor them and see them thrive in our environment.
Thinking about partnerships over the years, what is one of the biggest challenges clients face?
I was on a call yesterday with an HR professional, and he pointed out something that has exactly been my experience: if a search has been going on for six months or more, there is something wrong with the search. No search should take more than six months. At that point, there is usually either a misalignment of expectations among different stakeholders or no real intersection between candidates who have the desired skills and candidates who actually want the role.
To get a search right, you need the right cadence from the beginning. Being able to timeline a search for sourcing, recruiting and presentation of candidates, feedback on candidates, sequential interviews and quick interview feedback is what allows companies to hire very strong people quickly.
You have had a very successful career in staffing. If you were not in staffing, what would you be doing?
My dream job would be either a food or travel writer. I love to cook for my family, and try new restaurants, especially when we are traveling. We love to plan annual trips each year to explore new destinations, whether we are looking at Europe or heading out west to Jackson Hole.
Was there a mentor or role model who shaped how you approach business and leadership today?
I worked for Rich Raniere early in my career and learned a tremendous amount from him about how to be able to deliver a high degree of consultative services to clients and candidates. It stuck with me and served me very well over the past 30 years, even to this day. Rich joined the Andrews & Cole team in 2023, and it has been amazing working together again.
In my personal life, my mother was an amazing role model. She was a single mom raising 4 kids and was not college educated, but she taught me so much about working hard. She instilled in me the idea that whenever you walk somewhere you should always ask what you can do to help. She also taught me a tremendous amount about generosity. She had very little but would be the first to give the only dollar in her wallet to someone who needed it.
What advice would you give someone entering the job market for the first time?
You need to become an expert at something. Know your subject matter and be the best at it so you can add value for everyone you work with. Be dependable. Do what you say you are going to do, under-promise and over-deliver, and make your boss’s job easier by managing up and proactively communicating. Mistakes are normal, especially early in your career, but take responsibility for them. Finally, read. Seek out the news and different sources of information. Nothing happens in a vacuum, and if you take even half the time you spend scrolling videos on social media and use it to read about what is happening in the world, you will build an incredible amount of knowledge.
You've worked through multiple economic cycles, labor market shifts, and changes in technology. What are the secrets to your success?
Honestly, not much has changed in the past 30 years. You need to differentiate yourself to be successful. You have to be knowledgeable, honest, and trustworthy. There’s a lot to be said for doing things the “old-fashioned way”, being thorough, building real relationships, and not taking shortcuts.
What made you want to start your own firm?
I was always very entrepreneurial. I enjoyed working for a large public company and got a great foundation there. I worked with tremendous people and learned a lot from them, and I was able to take that knowledge with me when I started my own firm.
How has Andrews & Cole changed over the past 24 years?
We started with a hyper-niche focus on finance and accounting professionals and executives in the metro DC area. Over the years, we have hired experienced professionals around the country and expanded both nationally and functionally, partnering with clients across industries including high-growth start-ups, Fortune 500 organizations, and small to mid-sized privately held and founder-led businesses.
After 30 years, what are you most proud of in your career?
I am most proud of how I have impacted the lives of my candidates and clients. I have seen people I placed as a senior accountant become highly successful CFOs or in some cases, CEOs, and candidates that I placed 20 years ago create a lasting impact at a variety of organizations.
I am also proud of the financial success that I have seen my candidates achieve, earning 10s of millions of dollars in equity and retiring 10 years early to enjoy life.
At Andrews & Cole, I am extremely proud of the longstanding relationships we have built. We have clients that we have worked with for the entirety of our 24 years in business and will continue to work with. This is a relationship business, and these relationships have significantly contributed to our success.
I am also proud to see the success of individuals we have on staff who came here with no recruiting or sales experience but are incredibly smart and hardworking and truly care about delivering a high level of service to their clients. It has been amazing to mentor them and see them thrive in our environment.
Thinking about partnerships over the years, what is one of the biggest challenges clients face?
I was on a call yesterday with an HR professional, and he pointed out something that has exactly been my experience: if a search has been going on for six months or more, there is something wrong with the search. No search should take more than six months. At that point, there is usually either a misalignment of expectations among different stakeholders or no real intersection between candidates who have the desired skills and candidates who actually want the role.
To get a search right, you need the right cadence from the beginning. Being able to timeline a search for sourcing, recruiting and presentation of candidates, feedback on candidates, sequential interviews and quick interview feedback is what allows companies to hire very strong people quickly.
You have had a very successful career in staffing. If you were not in staffing, what would you be doing?
My dream job would be either a food or travel writer. I love to cook for my family, and try new restaurants, especially when we are traveling. We love to plan annual trips each year to explore new destinations, whether we are looking at Europe or heading out west to Jackson Hole.
Andrews & Cole is a certified woman-owned boutique executive search and consulting firm with a focus on accounting and finance professionals. Clients range from start ups to Fortune 100 in nearly every industry.
