--- title: SkyWater Blog | Kurt Rakos description: Kurt Rakos is a founder and partner at SkyWater Search Partners, the Short List ® search firm dedicated to placing top tier candidates in Sales, Marketing, IT, Accounting/Finance, and HR related positions. --- [![skywater](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/SkyWater_April2019/images/skywater-logo.png)](https://skywatersearch.com) - [Employers](https://skywatersearch.com/employers/) - [Request Talent](https://skywatersearch.com/employers/request-talent/) - [Search Options](https://skywatersearch.com/employers/) - [Placement Areas](https://skywatersearch.com/practice-areas/) - [Executive Retained Search](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/executive-search/) - [Accounting & Finance](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/accounting-finance/) - [Engineering & Operations](https://www.skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/engineering-recruiters/) - [Human Resources](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/human-resources/) - [Information Technology](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/information-technology/) - [Legal](https://www.skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/legal/) - [Sales](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/sales/) - [Marketing](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/marketing/) - [Financial Services](https://www.skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/financial-services/) - [Construction](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/construction/) - [Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG)](https://skywatersearch.com/practice_areas/consumer-packaged-goods-cpg/) - [Salary Guides](https://recruiters.skywatersearch.com/salary-guides) - [Client Reviews](https://skywatersearch.com/employers/client-reviews/) - [Recent Placements](https://skywatersearch.com/employers/recent-placements/) - [Candidate Assessments](https://www.skywatersearch.com/candidate-assessments/) - [Job Seekers](https://skywatersearch.com/job-seekers/) - [Search Job Listings](https://skywatersearch.com/job-seekers/search-job-listings/) - [Resume & Interview Tips](https://blog.skywatersearch.com) - [Submit Resume](https://skywatersearch.com/job-seekers/submit-your-resume/) - [Salary Guides](https://recruiters.skywatersearch.com/salary-guides) - [About Us](https://skywatersearch.com/our-team/) - [Why SkyWater](https://recruiters.skywatersearch.com/best-executive-search-firm-mn) - [Our Team](https://skywatersearch.com/our-team/) - [We're Hiring](https://recruiters.skywatersearch.com/careers) - [Commitment to DEI](https://recruiters.skywatersearch.com/diversity-equity-inclusion) - [FAQs](https://recruiters.skywatersearch.com/executive-search-faq) - [Press](https://www.skywatersearch.com/press-release/) - [Blog](https://blog.skywatersearch.com) - [Contact](https://skywatersearch.com/contact/) - [(952) 767-9000](tel:9527679000) # SkyWater Blog ## Kurt Rakos ![Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/kurt-rakos550.jpg) Kurt Rakos is a founder and partner at SkyWater Search Partners, the Short List ® search firm dedicated to placing top tier candidates in Sales, Marketing, IT, Accounting/Finance, and HR related positions. Find me on: ### Recent Posts [![Smile Network](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Smile%20Network.gif)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2025) ## [How One Small Walk Makes a Big Impact - Smile Network Partnership](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2025) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 6/9/25, 1:59 PM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2025#comments-listing) [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2025) [![BHM 2025 in MN](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Celebrating%20BHM%202025%20in%20MN.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/celebrating-black-history-month-2025-in-minnesota-workplaces) ## [Celebrating Black History Month 2025 in Minnesota Workplaces](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/celebrating-black-history-month-2025-in-minnesota-workplaces) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 2/4/25, 2:11 PM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/celebrating-black-history-month-2025-in-minnesota-workplaces#comments-listing) [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/celebrating-black-history-month-2025-in-minnesota-workplaces) [![mn-indigenous-authors](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Indigenous%20MN%20Authors.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/mn-indigenous-authors) ## [This Indigenous Peoples' Day, Discover a Great Minnesota Writer](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/mn-indigenous-authors) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 10/10/24, 1:27 PM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/mn-indigenous-authors#comments-listing) You likely knew that last year, Minnesota joined fifteen other states in officially recognizing the second Monday of every October as Indigenous Peoples Day. You probably had a pretty good idea of what that meant, too: that rather than celebrating Christopher Columbus (who, in fact, had a history of committing atrocities against Indigenous People), our state would honor Native Americans instead. ### There is so much more to understanding Indigenous Peoples Day than that. [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/mn-indigenous-authors) [![Walk a Mile SkyWater Search Partners](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Walk%20a%20Mile%202024.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2024) ## [SkyWater Celebrates 10 Years of Walk a Mile for a Smile!](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2024) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 7/17/24, 12:29 PM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2024#comments-listing)   This month, SkyWater Search Partners celebrated our tenth annual “Walk a Mile for a Smile” event in support of [Smile Network International](https://www.smilenetwork.org/), one of our favorite international charitable organizations. [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/walk-a-mile-2024) [![Pride Flag History](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Pride%20Flag%20History.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/pride-flag-history) ## [As You Display the Pride Flag this Month, Consider Its Remarkable History](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/pride-flag-history) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 6/14/24, 11:46 AM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/pride-flag-history#comments-listing) Pride Month is a time to celebrate love, diversity, the progress made within the LGBTQ community, and the countless, often unnamed heroes that have brought about that progress. At the center of these celebrations is the Pride Flag, a global symbol of the pride, inclusion, and unity that all members of the community deserve to experience. [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/pride-flag-history) [![Earth day at the office](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Earth%20Day%20at%20the%20office.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/earth-day-at-the-office) ## [Earth Day at the Office: Two Fun, Meaningful Ways to Go Greener](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/earth-day-at-the-office) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 4/22/24, 10:26 AM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/earth-day-at-the-office#comments-listing) Since our founding in 2013, Earth Day has become a big deal for us at SkyWater Search Partners. As our company has grown each year, so has our sense of community engagement and environmental awareness. It’s an exciting journey that has opened our eyes to the many ways our team can get involved. [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/earth-day-at-the-office) [![Coya Knutson](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Coya%20Knutson.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/coya-knutson) ## [Celebrating Coya Knutson, Minnesota’s first U.S. congressional representative](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/coya-knutson) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 3/25/24, 11:52 AM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/coya-knutson#comments-listing) ### **Small Town, Big Dreams** Cornelia “Coya” Knutson always wanted to become an opera singer. It was a distant dream for a girl born in 1912 and raised on a small farm in North Dakota, but she went for it. After earning her degree from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, Knutson was admitted to the Juilliard School of Music. A year into it, though, she decided a career in music wasn’t for her. [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/coya-knutson) [![Salary Requirements](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Salary%20Requirements.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/no-fail-responses-to-questions-about-your-salary-requirements) ## [No Fail Responses to Questions About Your Salary Requirements](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/no-fail-responses-to-questions-about-your-salary-requirements) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 2/15/24, 1:25 PM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/no-fail-responses-to-questions-about-your-salary-requirements#comments-listing) Did you know that in the state of MN, [hiring managers can not ask about your current salary or salary history](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/2023-labor-laws-in-mn)? Instead, they must rephrase the salary question to inquire about your salary *targets. * ### “What are your salary requirements?”   That question – or any of its many variations – initiates one of the trickiest, most consequential decisions you’ll have to make when communicating with a potential employer.   **How should you respond?  ** *With forethought, a well-prepared answer, and a clear, confident tone, sure.* **But *what* should you say?  ** That depends… on a number of factors.  If you write “salary negotiable” on the application, it might keep you in the running and buy you some time to figure out a more specific response. However employers are looking for candidates who **understand the market**, **know themselves**, and are **confident placing a dollar figure on their professional worth**.  If you just keep dodging the question by saying it’s all negotiable, you look timid and unprepared for the actual negotiation.   At the same time, your answer needs to vary from employer to employer. **Here’s how to determine – and adjust – your response for each opportunity:** [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/no-fail-responses-to-questions-about-your-salary-requirements) [![Salary History Ban](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Salary%20History%20Ban.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/salary-history-ban) ## [What the new Salary History Ban Means for Hiring Managers](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/salary-history-ban) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 12/20/23, 9:15 AM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/salary-history-ban#comments-listing)   As part of the sweeping employment changes that were signed into law in the summer of 2023, Minnesota’s new pay history ban goes into effect on January 1, 2024.  Why the ban and how will it affect the hiring process going forward?   [Read More](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/salary-history-ban) [![](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/hubfs/Holiday%20Job%20Search.png)](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/blog/5-reasons-to-keep-up-your-job-search-in-the-holidays) ## [5 Reasons To Keep Up Your Job Search In The Holidays](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/blog/5-reasons-to-keep-up-your-job-search-in-the-holidays) Posted by [Kurt Rakos](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/author/kurt-rakos) on 12/19/23, 10:55 AM [0 Comments](https://blog.skywatersearch.com/blog/5-reasons-to-keep-up-your-job-search-in-the-holidays#comments-listing) For most jobseekers, December is traditionally written off on the assumption that employers delay filling new vacancies until the New Year hangover has worn off. That’s a myth. At SkyWater, December is frequently one of our best months for placing candidates and our hiring activity continues throughout the holiday season. Don’t put the brakes on your job search. For candidates, the holiday season is the perfect time to secure that elusive job offer and end the year on a professional high. 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