Tell me a little bit about your position at Morton
I’m a Senior Technical Recruiter here at Morton. I focus on finding quality candidates for our clients, mostly within the Richmond area, and I’ve been at Morton for almost 2 years.
What’s the best part of your role at Morton?
My favorite part of my role is really twofold. I love calling candidates to be able to offer the job to them. It’s especially rewarding when there’s someone excited about it. I’ve had candidates cry over the phone because they were so happy and that makes me feel great. I also like letting the client know that the candidate has accepted, especially if its an important role or one that they’ve been trying to fill for a long time.
What college did you attend, and do you have a favorite memory or experience?
I attended VCU. My most memorable experience is related to how I got into recruiting. When I was at VCU, I changed my major 4 times because I didn’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I decided I wanted to do occupational therapy, I had taken the pre-reqs, and I was in a large auditorium with 200 other people when the professor let us know that she’s going to introduce us to the types of patients we would be learning about. She pulled up an x-ray of a woman’s hands that were so deformed they looked like Z’s and I started getting nauseous and walked out of the room. I knew it wasn’t for me. When I started learning about technical recruiting, I didn’t get nauseous — so that was fantastic.
Any advice you would give to your younger self?
I would tell myself not to feel like the world is coming to an end at every setback. Growing up, everything that happens is the end of the world, and it feels like you’re never going to find your place. Over the course of time, you’ll be able to discover what you were meant to do and who you were meant to be.
Highlight of your career so far?
The highlight of my career has been finally finding “home” here at Morton. I had worked for other staffing agencies before and it was so nice when I came to Morton and felt like I was with the right company. I feel like I’m good at what I do, I have the support that I need, and I’m surrounded by the best of the best. I get support from Mark, the account managers, even the other recruiters — we are all here to meet the same goal and it feels great.
Do you have any personal or professional goals for 2018?
Professional- Getting better and better at my job is my goal. In recruiting, no one knows absolutely everything. It’s a learning experience, you can always fill more positions, and there’s always room to improve.
Personal- My husband and I purchased a house that ended up being a lot more work than we thought it would. We are in the process of fixing it up, so my goal for this year is to make nice and homey.
If you had a free day to spend in RVA, what would you see or do?
I would explore downtown Richmond. I know that there’s many different places to eat, lots of things to see and do and I haven’t spent enough time down there. I love museums, so I would try to visit a museum or two.
What’s your favorite part of the Morton company culture?
My favorite part of the culture is the smaller feel that Morton has. Everyone works as a true team and it’s very collaborative. I also appreciate our open door policy, so I can just walk into senior offices and no one ever turns you away. If the account managers don’t have the answers I need, they’re always willing to go out and get the answers and I think that mentality is really great.
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen in the industry?
When I first started recruiting, I had more candidates than I had open jobs and I would say in the past year it’s completely flipped. Unemployment is so low now, which is great, but I’ve had to work with a lot of counter offers. People are finding good jobs and sticking with them, they’re not available as long as they would be, and they’re getting offers really quickly.
Any fun facts that you’d like us to know about you?
I’m a direct descendent of Thomas Nelson Jr. who signed the Declaration of Independence!