I'm Not Just Doing My Job...

Ashley Lawler
Talent Acquisition Manager
Stamford, CT

I'm a Recruiter. Have been for some time. Been at McGladrey for 3 years now, and I have a hard time wrapping my head around that because it's kind of flown by. I began here as a Sourcer, having taken time off to raise a family, and little did I know when I accepted the offer that I would soon know the difference between Internal and External Audit, c-corps vs s-corps, and exactly how many credits someone needs to sit for the CPA exam. To say I've learned a lot from the candidates with whom I speak would be quite an understatement - I still learn every day. Just today I spoke with a lovely woman who taught me all about FINRA exams. Adding this to the "cool-stuff-I-never-knew-I-wanted-to-know" file.

Now, I work hard, we all do, but it has been a fun ride since I was a Sourcer in 2012. Not long after I started with McGladrey I was promoted to a Senior Recruiter, and last year I became a Manager. There is so much opportunity here in every area and sometimes I still pinch myself, wondering how I got so lucky.

But let's face it - I'm paid to sell McGladrey, I'm a Recruiter, remember? Every day I have conversations with accounting professionals who have either applied to my open jobs and therefore are looking for a new home for one reason or another, or who I have directly sought out because I was given their name by a happy employee, saw their profile on LinkedIn or have networked with, and I want to make each conversation a good one, hearing about someone's career goals, experience and sharing with them how they can make a true impact here. I like to think that I'm a genuine person first and a recruiter second, but with so many conversations each day, week, month, year - I sometimes wonder if I'm putting the recruiter hat on first. Frankly, I don't have enough time in the day or space in my brain to not be forthright with what we're looking for and who we are trying to attract to help grow this thing and neither do the folks I speak with, but I guess anyone could say that.

But last night, an old friend told me she had applied to an open position we have and that she was interviewing today in one of our offices. She's from the Big 4 and naturally, she asked me a thousand questions and was looking for my honest, friend-to-friend perspective on whether or not McGladrey was a good place to work. I told her that culture is of utmost importance to us here. I told her that the fact that we are consistently on the Working Mother's 100 Best Companies To Work For isn't just lip service (haven't missed a school event or a 6pm baseball game yet where my son is the starting pitcher!). I told her that the Partners' doors are always open, both figuratively and literally. I told her all about the growth that we are experiencing and how we like to build our team with people who have a vision and want to make a real contribution to a team, rather than just go to work each day, and that they're truly appreciated for those efforts. We talked for nearly an hour.

I don't know if I can explain the feeling I had after we hung up, but let me try. Elation. Pride. Gratitude. I was so excited to reconfirm that I'm with the best firm for me, and that I am not just "doing my job" when I am sharing McGladrey's finer points with prospective candidates, but rather I'm able to share with many why it's easy to come to work each day. It was pretty awesome.

My friend did come in to interview today and we had coffee afterwards (actually she had a raspberry crumble and black tea and I had a lemonade, but now I'm getting too specific). She told me how impressed she was with our firm, our vision, our culture and our real commitment to our people and our clients, and that she was crossing her fingers that she gets the job.... I am too!