Hey, I’m Kadri 👋🏼

I help companies hire sales + commercial leaders who actually move the needle
and help candidates make real career decisions, not panic jumps.

Right now, most hiring feels like chaos in a blazer:
rushed interviews, unclear expectations, random offers, “we’ll circle back” that never happens.

I sit in the middle of all that… on purpose.

I’m a sales + leadership recruiter focused on medtech / healthcare and other high-stakes sales roles.

I spend my days talking to:

→ top reps who quietly outgrew their companies
→ VPs who are tired of sifting through “forwarded resumes”
→ leaders trying to build real teams, not revolving doors

Because of that, here’s what I actually bring to the table:

→ Real market intel from 100+ weekly convos with top performers and hiring leaders
→ Candid breakdowns of what great commercial talent really looks like (not just what the JD says)
→ Field stories from the messy middle of hiring, the part nobody posts, but everyone feels
→ Straight-to-the-point guidance for both candidates and hiring teams
→ High-touch recruiting that feels like a partnership, not a transaction

If you’re a company, I can help you:

- Hire sales + sales leaders who drive revenue and stay
- Build a pipeline that isn’t built on prayers and job-board luck
- Protect your time, your brand, and your sanity in the hiring process

If you’re a candidate, I can help you:

- Get clear on what you actually want (not just what pays a little more)
- Position yourself as a standout in competitive markets
- Ask better questions, read red flags, and stop settling for “it’s fine, I guess”

At the end of the day, I’m not here to “fill roles.”
I’m here to give people peace of mind about the decisions they’re making, on both sides of the table.

📩 DM me here on LinkedIn
or email: klumsden@thinkingahead.com

We’ll figure out where you’re stuck
and get you moving again, fast.

I did something illegal in hustle culture.

I forgot I had a job.

Like, genuinely forgot.

Jan 5 apparently means “back to work.”
News to me. Welcome back, I guess.

Right before Christmas I told someone, 

“I'm closing all loose ends. Might actually take time off.''

She looked at me and said:
“Are you really going to though?”

Fair. Historically? I lie to myself.

But... 

Drum roll please:

I surprised myself.

Past two weeks I’ve done almost nothing.
And I don’t feel bad about it. 
At all.

Who am I?
A regulated adult??

• i didn’t check my inbox “just in case”
• i didn’t feel guilty for being unreachable
• i didn’t spiral from doing nothing
• it didn’t bore my nervous system
(for the most part. i'm still a human.)

Turns out resting before crashing is a thing.

This wasn’t “burnout recovery.”
This was intentional, nothing.
Pause on purpose.

And yeah, it felt damn good.

Here’s the mic-drop truth we all know but pretend we don’t:

• the world does NOT need me “on” 24/7
• nothing broke while I rested
• some things actually feel clearer now

Looks like I got my first win of the year.
Not productivity. Not momentum.
Permission.

Let’s go. Bring it on.


What about you, did you actually take time off over the holidays, or did you just pretend to?
______

p.s. when Estonia looks like this you drop everything and go outside. Non-negotiable.

Kadri Lumsden

Sales & Leadership Recruiter | Engaging good people in good conversations

$325k wasn’t enough to keep him.

Not a headline.
Not a trend.
A real conversation I had.

He was making ~$325k.
Consistently.
Base + variable.

And still leaving.

Why?

• 401k match cut
• R&D killed
• Missed targets - again

At that point, the question stopped being 
'how much can I make?' and became 
'how long until this breaks?'

My first thought?
Should be enough money to tolerate a lot.

But it wasn’t.

And he’s not the only one.

Hearing this more and more lately.

At some point,
money stops working as a band-aid.

The lazy take is:
''People are just chasing more money.''

The real reason?

- they want predictable targets
- leadership that doesn’t change the rules mid-quarter
- a strategy that survives past the next board meeting

They want to work for a business that actually knows where it’s going.

No comp plan is worth constant whiplash.

Walking away from “great pay” isn’t entitlement.
It’s pattern recognition.

Curious, what was the moment you realized the money wasn’t worth it anymore?

The week Nashville iced me in. 🛼 ❄️ 

Came for work. Had meetings. Real ones. In-person ones. The kind that reminds you why you like the people you work with. Annual wrap-up. Smart humans. Real conversations. Learning from the best. Celebrating the best. Remote teams hitting different when they’re not tiny boxes on a screen.

Then came the rest of it. Honky-tonks. More country music than she’s had all year. And just when she thought it was time to go home, Nashville said: ‘‘what if… ice rink?’’ Flights canceled. Then canceled again. Then still canceled.

Yes, she’s from Estonia. No, this is not how we ice.


This week’s live roles:

🛼 Junior Territory Sales Rep (medical device)
 – Omaha, NE
 – $70k base + quarterly bonus guarantee
 – OTE $110k

🛼 Territory Sales Rep (fintech)
 – Columbus, OH
 – $72k+ base (flexible)
 – OTE north of $100k, uncapped

p.s. day 3 of trying to get home. let’s hope today is the day.

apparently i’ve been running on fumes for 5 months.

yesterday my gremlin started kindergarten.

which means i survived:
full-time mom
full-time work
full-time time-zone acrobat
(part-time keeping my sanity whole - lol)

trying to be present at home
while being “on” for clients late at night.

too much tv. 
late bedtimes.
hello mom guilt, my toxic little friend.

“it’s only a few months,” i said.

it took way more out of me than i thought.

i handled it.
mostly.
i think.

but yesterday... 
it shifted.

he walked in happy.
confident.
ready.
(didn’t want to leave when i picked him up)

and i walked back into my day with space.

space to think.
space to breathe.
space to be me, again.

it's OKAY!!!

you can love your kid 
and
love getting parts of yourself back.

both can exist.
neither makes you a bad parent.

new chapter.
for both of us.

anyone else love their kids and love getting parts of themselves back? asking for a friend. 


p.s. this is me pretending i know how to use my free time wisely.

This weekend was brought to me by carbs and snow. 🥐❄️

Coffee + a cinnamon roll date with my little rascal to start. Then skiing. First proper time back in a while and did just over 10 km (6 miles). Didn’t fall once. Basically ready for a marathon. And yes, the ski clothes still fit. Small but meaningful win.

Sunday was ice skating. Which actually meant gremilin sitting on a seal for an hour, while i pushed him in circles, taking direction like “faster. faster.” Wrapped it up with buns because Estonia has officially declared bun season open. And I respect the law.


This week’s live roles:

🥐 Junior Territory Sales Rep (medical device)
 – Omaha, NE
 – $70k base + quarterly bonus guarantee
 – OTE $110k

🥐 Territory Sales Rep (fintech)
 – columbus, oh
 – $72k+ base (flexible)
 – OTE north of $100k, uncapped

p.s. curious? shoot me a “🥐” and i’ll send details.

Here’s to a full week ahead. Momentum. Travel. And at least one really good cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll.

10 years ago, today

i almost died,
on a sailing trip.

i knew nothing about sailing.
or boats.
or what i was agreeing to, apparently.

tampa → mexico.
6–7 weeks, allegedly.

in my head:
sunbathing. journaling. reading books.
living my best life.

LOL.

six hours in:

storm.
violent storm.
two days of seasickness.

(my main contribution was throwing 
up and apologizing to the ocean.)

also, surprise...

i wasn’t a guest.
i was crew.

no one mentioned that part.
(probably because i didn’t ask.)

no onboarding.
no “here’s what success looks like.”
just: here’s the wheel, don’t crash us.

then another storm.
ripped the mizzen mast clean off.
(like it changed its mind about being attached.)

after that, everything broke.
engine. fuel. rigging.
all of it.

then silence.

just drifting.
middle of the caribbean.

the 6–7 week trip lasted eight days.
we got shipwrecked.
rescued near the cayman islands.

not exactly what i thought i signed up for.
but unforgettable.

right after?
i swore i’d never get on a sailing boat again.

ten years later?
yeah. i’d still say yes.

just with better questions first. i guess.

happy anniversary to me, for surviving, again.


what’s your “this is not what i thought it would be” story?


p.s. this smile did not survive the week.

Every company says they hire A-players.

Candidates know who’s lying.

“We only hire A-players.”

A candidate said that.
Then chuckled.

“Every company says that.
Then you walk in and think…
how did these people get here?”

Brutal.
Accurate.

Saying you hire A-players is easy.
Living it is not.

Candidates notice this fast.
They don’t read your careers page.
They read the room.

Who’s sharp.
Who’s coasting.
Who’s being carried.

Once they realize they’re surrounded by B-players, they don’t argue.

They disengage.
Then they leave.

If you want A-players, the bar has to exist everywhere.

Who you hire.
Who you keep.
Who you let coast.

Otherwise, just say it out loud:
“we’re a B-player environment, and that’s what we’re optimizing for.”

Honestly?
That level of clarity would be refreshing.

Because A-players always notice.
Always.

👇 So, where does the bar actually break- hiring or retention?

Can we all admit January 1st is a little dramatic?

Like why do we act like if your life isn’t mapped out by midnight, the whole year is cancelled.

Who decided that? 
I’d like a word.

It’s January 2nd.
Nothing is figured out.
And honestly? That feels… healthy.

So instead of goals (never liked them anyway), I’m making a 2026 bucket list.

Things I want to do, try, feel, experience. And yes, fine, achieve too. But in a way that actually feels like my life, not a performance review.

Because I don’t want a year I “managed well.”
I want a year I lived.

(Plus, I like crossing things off with a smug little smile.)

So here I am. January 2nd, one coffee too many. Zero master plan. Making a list that feels fun instead of heavy.

If you’re easing into the year and ignoring the imaginary pressure clock, you’re doing it right.

👉 What’s one thing you want to experience this year?

January 7th and i already feel late.

(late to what?? no idea. vibes only.)

Which is impressive, considering the year started 5 minutes ago.

Half of us are planning our best year ever.

The other half is staring into space,
wondering if it’s too late to start over.

Both valid.

Reality check:
first full week. wednesday.
everyone’s either locked in, burnt out, or lying.

This is not a reinvention week.
It’s a re-enter society week.
(without losing our minds)

Personally,
i’m just relearning how to function after the holidays.

Today’s agenda:
drink water
do one thing
don’t spiral

anyway...

Midweek counts.
January counts.

Carry on.

One word to describe this week?

________

14°F and SUNNY today?? in January, Estonia gets very little sun, averaging around 1 hour of actual sunshine per day. so when it shows up, you clock in.

If your routines are slipping right now, 

this is why.

Two days left in January. 
A.K.A. the moment the halo fully evaporates.

The motivation high wears off. 
Routines get wobbly. 
Old habits start creeping back in like, 
''hey, remember me?”

Not failure.
Biology.

Novelty wears off. 
Habits aren’t quite built yet. 
Life applies pressure.

This is the part nobody really plans for.

January didn’t give me a fresh start. I wish. 
It gave me a mirror instead and went, 
“yoo… you might wanna look at this.”

Because my life is… a lot right now.

New logistics. New routines. 
Getting my kid into kindergarten. 
Building my workday around an 8-hour time difference. 
Being intentional about who I talk to, when, and why. 

etc. etc. etc.

And doing all of it… alone.

Before anyone jumps in. No! This isn’t a discipline issue. 
I’m good at showing up.

What January exposed wasn’t a lack of motivation.

It was a load.

When I work, I work.
When I’m with my son, I’m with my son.

That part is clear.

What’s messy is the in-between. 

The constant recalibrating. 
The feeling that time just disappears. 
Calling this “temporary” while living it every day.

Here’s what January actually taught me:

You don’t need more motivation when your life is changing.
You need honesty about the season you’re in.

Because if I repeated the last few weeks for a year, some things would grow fast. Others would quietly fall apart.

And that’s not a trade I’m willing to make.

So before February starts, I’m asking myself one real question:

Am I building my days for the life I’m in right now?

or 

The one I keep telling myself I’ll get back to “soon”?

Because change doesn’t start with a new month. It starts when you stop lying to yourself about what this season requires.

Does this sound familiar… or is it just me?


about the pic: this is what “i made it home” looks like after getting iced into nashville for days, traveling for almost 20 hours, nearly missing my last flight, and realizing i have no keys and a dead phone.

“if your first question about a sales role is ‘what’s the salary’, you’re not getting a response.”

I saw this take yesterday.

I get the frustration. 

recruiting is chaos
inboxes are wild
time is limited

but i don’t think it’s that simple.

Salary is a valid question.

Not because someone is lazy or unserious, but because time is limited on both sides.

If the range is way off, 
why waste anyone’s time?

Honestly, if comp were clearer upfront,
that question probably wouldn’t even come first.

For me, the issue isn’t that they ask.
it’s how they ask and what comes after.

curious where you land on this:
👉 dealbreaker or reasonable question?

let’s hear it.

The boarding pass says “delayed,” my soul says “home,” and Nashville says “lol no.” 

I’m in airport limbo, emotionally sponsored by the weather app and false hope.

Calendar says meetings, reality says snow day. Which is it?

taplio

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