Recruitment and hiring found me by accident. In all honesty, I didn’t even know what it was until my senior year of college. Upon looking for a job after graduation I realized two things. First, I had a marketing degree from a Big Ten university but didn’t have any idea how to do marketing, still don’t quite know how I graduated. Second, I didn’t have any marketing work experience and therefore I was not getting a marketing job, because you know you need 5 years of experience for an entry-level job, at least you did when I graduated. It was clear that a sales job was where my opportunity lay, which was ok, because my father was a salesperson, and everyone said that is what I was born to do.

So, upon looking for a sales job I made some criteria; first, I wanted a job that provided mentorship, second, a job that had upward mobility with no politics, and third, uncapped commission.

I found that job in staffing.

Fast forward 9 years and two companies I found great success (at least by the standard measures) in an industry I never heard of before accepting the job offer. However, something was wrong. A six-figure salary, a luxury car, and living in a major city I found myself unfulfilled, bored, and lost. On the outside, it looked like I had everything figured out but on the inside, it felt different. Not depressed, not anxious, not mad, but something else. I felt a pull, a push, but I didn’t know where to.

I began reading because every single individual I admired listed it as a superpower. I began writing for the same reasons. I became obsessed and decided to take a professional break and pursue my Masters in a degree I had never heard of before Industrial Organizational Psychology.

I found what I was looking for… not the degree or the profession.

I found my calling, something only I could find. Now the challenge was figuring out how to make that my profession.

7 years later here we are…

The work we do is important, and I believe who we do it with matters. I believe general solutions, generally don’t work and I believe context is influential. I admire those who do things differently than the norm, who are authentic and transcend their craft. The ones that inspire and give us permission to pursue our individuality.

Everything I do is to serve this belief system. If we want individuals to enjoy what they do we need to change the way we approach hiring, and if we want to enjoy what we do we must change the way we approach our work.