Indianapolis Staffing with Integrity

November 20th, 2010 is a very special day for me. It is the day I reach 10 yrs in staffing and I have to tell you that I love it more today than I did the first day I started. 10 years ago, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into and I was very nervous. You see, I had a less than positive experience with an Indianapolis Recruiter so I was hesitant to get into the business.

Here is what happened: I was placed by a recruiter into my first job straight out of Purdue University as a Management/Finance graduate. After working for 2 ½ yrs at Monon Corporation in Monon Indiana, I was ready to move back to Indianapolis. I reached out to the Recruiter that placed me at Monon and asked him if he could help me find a position in my hometown. He told me that he would and the next thing I knew, he actually had the audacity to contact the Controller (my boss) and informed him of my desire to move home. Imagine my shock when my boss confronted me! I would have understood if the Recruiter told me that he couldn’t represent me because my employer had paid a fee to hire me and he wouldn’t be able to pull me from a company that paid a fee to hire me. I am a reasonable person so a discussion about the ethics of the situation would have made sense to me. For this recruiter go directly to my boss and share what I felt was personal and confidential information, however, felt like a complete betrayal of confidentiality.

When I look back, I see that this mentality was consistent across most do in staffing agencies - the client pays the fee, so the loyalty is to the client. I did end up finding a position in Indianapolis through a different Recruiter at a different Indianapolis Staffing Agency. The position they found for me was a temp to hire. While I hated leaving a permanent position for a temp to hire, I felt comfortable with my skills and knew I would get my foot in the door and make a good name for myself. I did just that and my last position with that company was as an HR Supervisor. In this role, I had many agencies calling me wanting to meet with me and earn my business. I was always very respectful to them and always returned their calls because that is the way I was raised. Although I wasn’t authorized to use any agencies, you never know when that could change. One of the companies that called on me was a small local Indianapolis staffing firm. That firm is no longer in business but one of their employees in Business Development asked me if I would consider working for them as an Indianapolis Accounting Recruiter. My first response? Absolutely not!!! Recruiters just want to make money off of your head! I have no desire!!

Fast forward 10 years... Why did I change my mind and join the ranks in staffing? I decided that I would raise the bar. I decided that just because some Recruiters may make you feel like they are just trying to make money off of your head, I wanted to be different. I wanted to come into the business and run it ethically with honesty and integrity. Also, I wanted to be different in that I would work just as hard for the candidate as I would for the hiring manager, regardless of who is paying the fee. I can say that for my 10 years in staffing, I have been blessed to align myself with a company that supports that mentality. I do what is right for both the client and the candidate. I never have to compromise myself to make a placement. I get that support from the ownership down.

What has kept me in staffing for 10 years? I love every aspect of filling Indianapolis openings with Indianapolis’ top talent. I love it from the beginning to the end. I love when a candidate comes in to register with me and steps into my office with a broken wing. I love patching up their wing and patting them on the shoulder and telling them that it will be alright. I love presenting opportunities to them and helping them prepare for the interview. I love hearing the excitement in their voice after that first interview. I love hearing that same excitement from the hiring manager after they have met the candidate and they feel like it is going to be such a great match. And the BEST part? The best part is talking to the candidate 2-3 years later and hearing that they still love their job. The perfect outcome? The candidate that I placed has been promoted and is now a decision maker for hiring! It is the relationships that are built with the candidates and hiring managers that make this job so fulfilling for me. I can do the job every day working for a small local firm like THAT’S GOOD HR and never compromise my integrity and I have the Recruiter who “did me wrong” in 1995 to thank for my inspiration. I am looking forward to the next 10 years in staffing!!