What’s your Strongest Workplace Memory?

July 16th, 2008 at 08:22am Jeanine Randoph-Tagala

I have been in Recruiting and Staffing in many facets for over 20 years.  As I reflect back, I have met many people and been affected by their stories.  I feel that while I can’t help everyone I meet, I have been able to help many people and have been blessed by getting to know them along the way.  Believe it or not, candidates teach me a thing or two on a regular basis and that is what I love about Recruiting. 

I have a very strong recollection of a candidate I was interviewing back in 1988. I recall it was a very, very hot summer. The company I was working for was near O’Hare airport and the traffic was horrible. I was always dealing with people for in-person interviews. Wilma, our Receptionist, called me and said one interviewee was 45 minutes early and one was 15 minutes late. I opted for the early candidate.   

Her name was Rose, and she was a single mother from the south side of Chicago. She had no car, and took two forms of public transportation to get to the interview. And, she was 45 minutes early. She had a shopping bag that she kept by her feet during the whole interview.  She had a beautiful phone voice (the position was for Customer Service). She did well in the interview and sold me on why she would be perfect for this job. Rose was someone who was so committed to getting to an interview early with many obstacles and she was more than qualified for the job.  She was hired, did extremely well, and was there every day.   

I found out later that the shopping bag held a change of clothing. She asked the Receptionist if she could use the restroom once she got there so she could be fresh for our interview.  After all, she did travel for several hours. I have remembered Rose for all these years.  

Tell us about your strongest workplace memory….

Entry Filed under: The Staffing Industry