Happy Global Talent Acquisition Day! With the recruitment of strong talent being top-of-mind, we’re excited to take a moment today to say ‘thank you’ to our recruitment team. As a former recruiter and someone who still works closely with our talent teams, I know that recruiting isn’t easy. In fact, it’s quite hard! Recruiting is a skill that has no exact answer. It can’t be solved by an equation or by adding a system, it’s a personalized experience. The best practice that worked last week might not work this week. And it requires your full energy and a smile each and every day. As a recruiter, you are your own best version of the Energizer Bunny.
Today, we’re giving our amazing team the moment in the spotlight they deserve year round. On behalf of the organization, we want our recruitment team members to know that we value you. We recognize your hard work and we think you are amazing! To celebrate, we have spotlighted just a few of these all-stars. We hope you enjoy getting to know this awesome team.
Meet Alex.
Campus Recruiting Specialist. Los Angeles, CA.
Years at Protiviti: “3.5 years. 1 was spent in the practice, 2.5 as a Campus Recruiter. “
Growing up, what did you want to be? “Professional volleyball player or physical therapist…until I took AP Bio!”
How did you end up getting in to recruiting? “After my first internship with Protiviti in 2013, I came back the University of Arizona for my senior year and helped with any recruiting events I could. I recruited 3 of my classmates and friends that fall semester and quickly realized that I love the feeling of helping students fulfill their career dreams. That love for recruiting stuck with my first year at the firm while I was a consultant for our Phoenix office. I was chosen to help lead planning the fall 2015 Office Visit Interviews, which helped me see a the full picture of the campus recruiting process. When I transferred to our Los Angles office to be back with my family and the beach at the end of 2015, our HR manager advertised a recruiting coordinator position saying “please let me know if you know of anyone who would be interested”… well, I read through the lines as she really meant “let me know if YOU would be interested”. A few conversations later, I officially made the switch! We think of our business as two half – our clients and our people. Although I found value from serving our clients and learned so much during that first year, serving our people is what really makes me feel fulfilled in my career.”
What’s your favorite part of your job? “Learning candidates stories – each candidate has a different path that lead them to us”
Best memory on the job? “My absolute favorite memory is the recruiting process for one of our current employees. This person interviewed with us during their last semester of college. The candidate did amazing during the critical behavior interview, but nerves got the best of them during the case interview. Ultimately, we didn’t move forward. I saw that person a couple weeks after they interviewed at another campus event and he had the courage to ask me for feedback. Normally, I keep my feedback high level, but there was something about this candidate that I knew they really wanted and needed specifics. We talked about case studies and I suggested they get an accounting internship, if possible. That person took my advice 10 steps further and ended up adding a semester so they could have another summer for an internship in internal audit and add more business operations classes. In the Fall, they reapplied and made every effort to meet more of our people on campus. Unanimously, we decided to extend him an offer and today this person is one of our top performing consultants! Seeing him succeed today is one of the most fulfilling feelings.”
If you could have any job in the world, what would that be? “House flipper. I LOVE HGTV and interior design. My mom and I will sometimes go to open houses on Sundays just to look!”
Meet David.
Experienced Recruiting Senior Specialist. New York, NY.
Years at Protiviti: “3.4 years and I’ve been in recruiting for about 5”
Growing up, what did you want to be? “In college, I thought I’d be working in the International Relations or for a Non-Governmental Organization.”
How did you end up getting in to recruiting? “I ended up in recruiting after giving my resume to a recruiting agency in hopes that they’d sent it along to their clients. Instead, they asked me if I ever thought about recruiting as a career….and the rest is history.”
Best memory on the job? “The most recent one that comes to mind was running our Hope Lodge Events this Summer in NYC. This was more or less, my first initiative that I was completely responsible for. While a bit nervous that things wouldn’t be as successful as past years, fortunately both the Family Game Night & Taste of New York Events were a big hit, with a nice amount of Protiviti volunteers helping out as well!”
What’s your favorite part of your job? “When the candidate starts their first day at Protiviti.”.
If you could only have one food for the rest of your life, what would that be? “Chipotle – Burrito (Flour Wrap, Chicken, White Rice, Black Beans, Fajitas, & Cheese)”
Meet Michelle.
Experienced Recruiting Specialist. Chicago, IL.
Years at Protiviti: “I’ve been at Protivviti for about 6 months but I have around 2.5 years of recruiting experience prior.”
Growing up, what did you want to be? “An astronaut. I love space and science.”
What’s your favorite part of your job? “I enjoy hearing what candidates are most passionate about and in turn, being able to connect them with their dream job!”
Best memory on the job? “One would be the Experienced Hire Training that our team did in Dallas. I had a chance to meet everyone on our national team and we became closer as a group. I would also say that getting my first TC hire and our recent Chicago Ops outings were also highlights!”
If you could only have one food for the rest of your life, what would that be? “I would be a multi-Michelin starred chef and TV-personality, like Gordan Ramsey.”
Meet Sarah.
Campus Recruiting Senior Specialist. Atlanta, GA.
Years at Protiviti: “3 years”
Growing up, what did you want to be? “A singer. If that didn’t work out, my parents both worked in business, so I wanted to follow in their footsteps.”
How did you end up getting in to recruiting? “I started my career in consulting, but helped with campus recruiting as much as I could. I enjoyed it so much, I decided I wanted to make it my full-time job. I had a great experience on the consulting side, and I love being able to talk to students about that experience as part of my current role!”
What’s your favorite part of your job? “1. Our amazing campus recruiting team 2. Traveling to all the college campuses, especially my Alma Mater, University of Georgia. 3. The people I’ve met through the various initiatives I’ve had the opportunity to get involved with within and outside of my primary role.”
Best memory on the job? “The first is every Intern Challenge (intern training) with our team and the interns in Orlando. My second would be the first time someone accepted an offer on the spot.”
If you could only have one food for the rest of your life, what would that be? “Chips and salsa”
Meet Sterling.
Experienced Recruiting Specialist. Phoenix, AZ
Years at Protiviti: 1/6 “I’ve been here just about 2 months”
Growing up, what did you want to be? “Firefighter”
How did you end up getting in to recruiting? “I went into Accounting, joined the big 4, and worked for a couple of the big 4 firms. I didn’t really feel like a fit there. So, I moved into Finance & Accounting Staffing with Robert Half, who is Protiviti’s parent company, then moved to Protiviti after two years at Robert Half.”
What’s your favorite part of your job? “Speaking with people and getting their next career move on track.”
Best memory on the job? “Traveling to New York City and San Francisco. I loved working and meeting with my team in person.”
If you could have any job in the world, what would that be? “Carpenter; Auto Test Drive; Drummer in rowdy rock band; Spanish Teacher.”
Meet Shelley.
Experienced Recruiting Manager. Philadelphia, PA.
Years at Protiviti: “I’ll be with Protiviti for six years at the end of 2018- an exciting milestone with the three extra CTO* days! I’ve been in recruiting for close to eight years.”
*For each 3 years at Protiviti, we give our employees 3 additional days of Choice Time Off (CTO)!
Growing up, what did you want to be? “When I was growing up I wanted to be an actor or producer. I would often write, direct and star in my own VHS videos about Sylvester and Tweety, and in the 3rd grade my teacher allowed me to put on an entire class production called “The Spider’s Funeral” about a dead spider that was found in the classroom.”
How did you end up getting in to recruiting? “My love for the television industry stayed with me, although changed in that I really just wanted to work behind the scenes for one of the big networks. I moved to New York after graduating college, but it was during the downturn in the economy and jobs were hard to come by. I kind of stumbled upon (as most do into the recruiting field) a Recruiting Assistant job with NBC, where I found I really enjoyed the people-oriented aspect of the role.”
What’s your favorite part of your job? “My favorite part of the role is seeing those I’ve hired flourish here. I always feel so proud to see those I’ve hired grow their career, become a key player in a big client engagement, or make a significant impact on an internal initiative or on our culture. It’s so rewarding when new hires are happy they’ve made the decision to join and when it impacts their lives for the better.”
Best memory on the job? “We have a really talented group of 19 people who make up our experienced hire recruiting team. We’re spread across seven cities to be able to support each market in the US. We work with one another daily by email, phone, and Skype, but the blue moons when we are together in person always classifies as a “best memory.” There’s always amazing food and family-style dinners, endless laughs and story-sharing, and of course strategizing how we can continue to be the best talent acquisition team we can be.”
What is one of your guilty pleasures? “I’m a huge game show fanatic but I don’t feel one bit guilty about it!”
Meet Lauren.
Experienced Recruiting Coordinator. Atlanta, GA.
Years at Protiviti: “I have been with Protiviti since the end of February 2018, so I have been here for exactly half of a year. I have had a few years of experience in hiring before joining Protiviti, but this is my first formal position strictly in recruiting.”
Growing up, what did you want to be? “When I was growing up, I was incredibly indecisive. I wanted to do everything under the sun; from being a dentist to midwife, photographer to physical trainer, therapist to DJ. The two constants were, I always knew I wanted to help people and have creative outlets.”
How did you end up getting in to recruiting? “While I was in college, I was a Branch Manager in a small community banking system in North Carolina. When the bank started to expand, I took on the process of hiring for my branch; everything from job posting to phone screening, interviewing to negotiation and finalizing new hire profiles. This began to pique my interest in hiring due to the ability to help find the right people for the right job to benefit the company and the candidate. Once I finished my MBA, I began to look for a job focused around Human Resources. This is when I found Protiviti through Robert Half and began my formal recruiting career.”
What’s your favorite part of your job? “My favorite part of this position is interacting with Protiviti employees all over the country (and world). It has been wonderful getting to know all my colleagues and seeing their immense work ethics in action.”
Best memory on the job? “I have 2 favorite memories of recruiting with Protiviti. First, would be seeing the funny resumes/LinkedIn profiles that we come across during the sourcing process. They sure can be very quirky. Second, I loved meeting my entire team at our recruiting conference in Dallas a few months back. It was great to finally put faces to the names I had been working with and had a great time socializing with them over the three days we spent in Dallas.”
Book/Podcast Suggestions? “Any book written by Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a Buddhist monk and peace activist that writes about daily mindfulness. His books are grounding and I recommend them for anyone that struggles to balance the stresses of modern day life.”
Happy Global Talent Acquisition Day to this amazing team! We are so grateful for each and every one of you.
