About Stebbins and Associates
Hi there! I'm Steve Stebbins.
I’m a California native who grew up in Orange County, I love the beach, play competitive tennis and racquetball, and am a dog lover.
After obtaining a B.A. in Religion from Vanguard University, in Southern California, I pursued a career in Sales. I sold industrial fasteners to light manufacturing companies, calling on design engineers and purchasing agents, with my territory Southern California. I then sold industrial and ground chemicals, and fertilizers for NCH, which is where I gained an appreciation and love for horticulture and agriculture. Thereafter I sold clinical reference laboratory tests for Nichols Institute, a gold standard lab specializing in tissue and endocrine tests, calling on doctors and endocrine specialists.
I subsequently met a recruiter working for a national search firm based in Sacramento, and the rest is history. I was surprised to learn back in 1994 that there was not one executive recruiter specializing in Agribusiness! After two years of good training and mentoring, I started Stebbins and Associates in 1996, and never looked back.
I quickly developed a niche within Agribusiness and the Green industry, focused on crop inputs, which is still my core market. The sales and technical folks I placed in the late nineties are now hiring managers and executive officers with industry leading companies. I have nurtured thousands of relationships and prided myself on helping people. Being a recruiter is very gratifying. I help find better jobs for candidates and help growing companies make sound investments by hiring top talent.
Today my firm is much like it was over two decades ago, specializing in filling sales, technical, and management roles. For over 25 years I have maintained a good reputation for protecting job seekers’ anonymity and being straight up honest with people. I help candidates with career advice as well as hiring managers who look to me for relevant and up to date benchmark information about hiring talent.
When you help a person land a new job you become friends, and you help their family! I am extremely grateful for the long ride I have had, and today I am enjoying my most prosperous and productive days. The job market has never been as hot as it is today, with demographic shifts (still lots of older people in Ag!), new sustainable products, new technologies, startups and investors, and offshore companies selling into North America.
I work with only a handful of “Associates,” usually contractors who help me with recruiting and networking. I do few things but do them well. I love my job, cherish the relationships I have forged, and am very excited about the next decade of recruiting.
If you need help finding top talent to bring to your company, book a call below and let’s talk about what you’re looking for.
A Poem By Steve Stebbins
As I sat on the plane, I thought long and hard
My mind was made up, they played their last card
I wondered if they, while minding their profits
Knew I was the key, that I filled their pockets
My boss said he cared, he promised to pay me
I waited three months, and now he says maybe
It’s hard to imagine, they never did notice
My clients all know, and they think it’s bogus
My family and wife are at home and they wait
They fear for our future, not knowing our fate
“Why don’t you take it?” she said with a glare
It’s obvious to me that they really don’t care
I then tried to tell her, I tried to compare
My love and devotion, like her, I placed there
I paid all my dues, my company knows it
I stuck to their plan, and never bemoaned it
I’d hoped they would see this, and kindly reward me
We had an agreement, instead they ignored me
When Stebbins first called, I gave him a lead
He hung up the phone, but planted a seed
My peers and my friends, all knew I was tired
They told me to talk, big deal, you get fired!
I landed, drove home, and without any waiting
I called my new boss, without hesitating
We worked out a deal that allowed us a chance
To grow a good business, work hard, and then dance
He then did a thing I will always remember
He said I WAS NEEDED like fire needs its ember
I landed with only a plan to resign
My boss caught off guard, with no warning or time
He then shook my hand and in earnest confessed
That he knew he was losing one of the best
The exit was quick, they made sure that I took
Not one note or label, not even a look
The moral dear friend, is to pay close attention
To those who produce, with earnest intention
Steve Stebbins