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My Journey to Recruitment

The moment I landed at Career Contacts, I was excited that this was a place where I was free to share my story, my journey, and hopefully help others who are still searching for their “dream job’ or looking for their own career path.

Having studied Real Estate, I thought that I knew from a young age what direction I envisioned my career going in. I had worked for my mom’s real estate company since I was 16, and so I thought it seemed like a smart fit to follow the road she had gone down. I mean, it seemed like such a great idea – we both loved people, sales, marketing, and hard work. And I really liked being my mom’s administrative assistant. Many of the valuable work skills I have now were built on the solid training that she gave me. However, after finishing the course and working more closely in the Real Estate industry I realized that this was not going to be a long-term fit for me. Sure, I enjoyed meeting new people, hearing their stories, and wanting to help them in a monumental decision like buying their next home. However, there was less focus on getting to know them as a whole person and more reducing them to numbers, such as: their credit scores, down payments, and budgeting. I am happy that I took the course and pursued real estate, how can we know what we are built for if we do not know what we aren’t?

The lesson I learned: Hard work is important, but it can only get you so far if you aren’t really interested in what you are doing.

 While I was going to school, I stayed busy in the restaurant industry. I first started working when I was 16 in an Italian restaurant and I worked there until I was 20. I transferred to a different place at a High Tea restaurant and I worked there from when I was 20 until I was 23. I probably did every job that you can imagine in a restaurant. Barista, host, busser, waitress, dish washer, pizza maker, prep cook, and then manager/administrator. I never felt afraid to try my hands at these various roles and I am glad that I tried them. Did I enjoy each role equally? No, but I did learn to enjoy working and how to just ask if I felt like trying something new. This skill has served me well.

Tip: Ask your boss or manager when you have extra time if you can help in different areas in your workplace, you will see your role in the company differently and how you can make things more productive and efficient when you are seeing things through multiple points of view. 

I enjoyed the years that I worked there, it shaped the person I became by teaching me to wear many different hats at once which taught me how to multitask and stay calm under pressure. Mainly though, I loved the customers that I met, especially my regulars. I have kept in touch with many of them and they have become close friends. Each of them has taught me something new that is unique to their life experience and I would never have met them had I not worked at these restaurants.

The lesson I learned: You have very little to lose and everything to gain by putting yourself out there. Look at them as opportunities instead of obstacles. As possibilities instead of problems.

So how did I end up working as an administrator at an HR Consulting Firm? I honestly feel so blessed to have found this job and this company. I have always been interested in HR and have always sought-after jobs that have had some element of HR. So, you can imagine my delight when I found out that not only do I get to work with amazing people, always having something fun to do, but also that I would be working at an HR Firm where we specifically are trying to help people find employment. Truly making a difference in their life for the positive. The day just flies by and I feel excited to wake up in the morning and get to work and that is really saying something because I am not a morning person, but I feel motivated and happy to get up at 5am. It shows me that I am on the right path, exactly where I am supposed to be. I am where I belong now.

2020 threw us all many curveballs and it taught me that there are so many things that are out of my control, I can’t control a global pandemic. I can’t control when I see my family who lives on the other side of the world. And for a little while I felt that I couldn’t control where my next job would be. I learned that there will always be a long list of things that I cannot control, even without COVID, so I no longer gave that long list any energy. I decided to focus my attention on the things that I could control such as: courses and programs I could take that would be lucrative to the changing job market, reading books and watching videos to discover what I truly am interested in, and putting in the hours to perfect my resume and cover letter. And you can do these things too, and our HR Firm can make it easier for you. Make a good resume and send it to us. Make a list of things you cannot control and things you can control. Try to focus mainly on what you can control and if you are finding it difficult to let go of that long list, then set a goal that you will only worry about that list for 15 minutes every day and then promise yourself to move on after the allotted time. Many things seem impossible right now, but you finding your dream job doesn’t have to be one of them.

The lesson I learned: Sometimes if you want to achieve more, you have concern yourself with less.

 As our team grows, we look forward to them sharing their own journeys and stories.

At the end of the day, when we say we are people first, we start with our internal people – and we know they will carry that mission to every client and candidate they meet!