Hello! Welcome to the Careers for Kids podcast where kids learn careers. This is Maxwell Valencia
and this is Henry Morrison and today we have Deb, a recruiting manager from
Hello Ms. Lundstrom. Thank you for spending your time to be on Careers for Kids. We hope we have
a great interview. Now let's get started! Oh thank you for having me guys. I'm really excited.
Yeah, Stu, we're really also really excited. Yeah, we're down. Thank you for being on here. Yeah,
and tell us what you currently do right now. Sure, so I'm the vice president of sales and business
management for a company in Norwalk, Connecticut. It's Excel Partners. We've been in business for
over 29 years and we place people on a direct hire and temporary basis and that means we can
help find people jobs. Oh, it's really really cool. I like that you help find people find jobs. Yeah,
especially in today's society and you know like economy everybody's like getting like dropped or
let off their jobs and yeah, it's like harder to find. Yes, it's a pretty tough market out there
and I think sometimes you know when people are looking for jobs and they're feeling a little
frustrated they come to us and we can help them get to work meaning if you normally apply for a
job at a company you go into an applicant tracking system where you apply and your resume gets lost
to all the other resumes and so when you work with a recruiter at my firm or any firm it's their job
to make that introduction to the client. They interview you, they send you over to the client
and then they open the door for you and you take it from there and then we help people work on a
temporary basis too as well where you get to try working in different companies in different
positions for a couple weeks, a couple months and maybe it turns out to be a permanent role.
So that probably gives them a lot of choice and like a lot of headroom to figure out what they
want to do. Yeah, I really like that. A thousand percent, you're totally right. So tell us a bit
more and how you got to this position. Sure, so I've been in the stock industry for about 25 years.
I came to this firm so this is a great perfect example. During COVID I lost my job and you know
I've helped people all my life and was you know always coaching people to know your value and
worth, don't worry about your age you know and I found myself in the market where I'm over 50.
I have no college degree and I was a woman and I was nervous about finding a job and these are
things that you guys probably didn't even think about but you know it took me a while. I chose
the best company I could and I interviewed with Excel Partners and I had one interview which was
the typical phone screen and then I got to go in person and interview with three people. So it was
a panel of three people and I was there for a couple hours and here I am three years later.
It's really nice. It seems like you have an interesting job. I do. You know it is. I love it
and the reason it's so interesting is that you get to talk to clients and their clients from all
industries and our clients are people that look to us to find people to work in their company.
And then we have candidates where you meet candidates from all walks of life. It could
be a customer service person all the way up to a CEO of a company that we place within an
organization. So it's pretty good. I feel like every time we go in a new company I learn something
new in a different industry and every time we meet a new candidate you know we're always going an
extra mile to make sure we go to do all the great next steps for them. I like that. Yeah. And what
part of your job do you enjoy the most? Sorry we I'm told you who's gonna laugh. Yeah. What do you
enjoy and dislike the most? You know what I love most about my job is that I make matches and build
relationships. I think that I really really love that and the reason I love it is because I've
always worked in industries where I'm working with folks and helping people. What do I dislike
about my job? There really isn't anything. I guess if there's one sometimes I work long hours but
then also it's a given play where sometimes if I work long hours maybe I leave a little early on
during the week. But you know it's set at it and I'm sure your parents tell you it's work hard,
play hard. You put in what you get out. Yeah. Right? I like that. Yeah. So was this a dream
job you imagined yourself doing when you were a kid? Oh my gosh I thought I was going to be
a kindergarten teacher or an emergency room nurse or a pediatric nurse. That's all that's what I
thought I was going to do as a kid. That was my dream job. That's really cool and when you were
young who were also like your main idols? Just enough to be like a recruiter or kind of. Yeah
doesn't have to be for this job just who were your idols when you were a kid? Oh my goodness.
I don't know I think as a kid I didn't have a lot of opportunity to kind of pick idols but if I
would pick someone in the music industry you might laugh a little bit but it was Elvis. I love the
way he sang and I love the way he danced in his his younger years and I think that's because my
dad loves his music so I have wonderful memories of his music and albums my dad used to have so
maybe he was you know Elvis was my idol because the way he could sing and dance and I also probably
liked him because my dad loved him too. Yeah that's pretty cool. Is he still like one of your idols?
Well he's not with us any longer but I certainly you know when you do hear a touch of his music
or you hear something about his family there's some memories that kind of you know come to the
surface when you think about but you know I still think he was a good idol back then.
I'm sorry again. Yeah Maxwell's just on a rampage day. Okay why did you pick this job? Like what made you be a recruiter? I mean I know you wanted to like help people find jobs especially today but I mean you've been doing this for 25 years so what made you do this?
Yeah it's still a great question. You know when I my first job I was out working when I was 19 years old it was in the retail industry so I worked in the jewelry industry so same thing right? I work with people that come in looking for jewelry.
I watched them get engaged. I watched them get married and they come back in again for gifts for their kids and so when I was looking to work an outside sales job I wanted to work nine to five and I interviewed with this staffing firm in Stamford Connecticut
and I loved what they had to say and I was really excited to be on the client side and the candidate side and I've always been you know in sales and I took an opportunity in the staffing industry and I
don't think I ever looked back. I made a lot of money when I was younger you know and it was fun to help people find jobs so it was pretty exciting that's why I went into the staffing industry.
Wow that's cool. Out of your like your big career like 25 years and more what was the biggest highlight?
Out of my careers? Biggest highlight was
starting my own staffing firm in my early 40s and it was at a time where there were so many things going on. I had one young daughter you know is going through some challenges in my life and I thought bye if I'm ever going to do this I'm going to start my own business.
I'm going to do it. I did it out of my house and I wish you know that I had the knowledge and the forethought to think of all right when I do this I need to make sure I have this type of capital.
When I do this I need to make sure I do this and I did really well with some of the clients I worked with and then I moved out of my home office and opened an executive suite where you had two small offices hired another person but the biggest challenging part was the finance part that I didn't know that back end of things.
And so I was doing it for another two three years and then I sold my business which was totally fine but I loved that opportunity. I think that was highlight of my life that I actually was able to start something on my own and make something of it and I took a risk and I'm really glad that I did it because it just showed me what I was capable of.
That's really cool. Yeah definitely inspiring just like you start a business out of your home and they start it out of your home.
Yeah I just kind of awesome. Yeah. So what were the what are the biggest challenges that you think can be solved by our generation that you would want to solve for you.
Oh my goodness. I think that some of the things I see so my daughter is 21 and we have you know a younger generation starting in our firm now and one of the biggest challenges I think is that what we see is everyone wants things so quickly.
It's not like they don't want to work for it but they expect things really fast and technology wise maybe they like to take shortcuts they don't remember how to write a thoughtful email to a client.
Things are a little shorter and you need faster rewards and I can again I think that lens from technology phones, Ipad how quick you guys get things versus working for them and I don't mean you guys but just in general that's what we're seeing versus what we see in the past generations.
You know and it's solid for us. You know I don't know if it can be solved in it and I think it comes from, you know I think it comes from the parents I think it comes from you the individual where you think about the things that you're doing.
And technology can be great because look at where you and I are today. I'm amazed that you guys have your own podcast.
I'm expecting the quick rewards that's what I love to see change.
Always be your natural self always help others and always give back and all of those I've always been taught if you're always doing the right thing and you're helping other people.
And it's not always about what you get out of it. The rewards will come to you, and they come twofold whether it's, you know, the company that you work for that they appreciate who you are the culture that you work in the family life that you get the work balance,
like balance that you get is helping others and I think that's key. So that's the advice I would give you.
What is your main life advice for kids listening to this podcast and we just went over that but like life, like make it even more deep.
What, what is my what mean main life advice, life advice for kids listening to this podcast.
You can think about this. Take it as long as you know there's a couple things I think that, you know, listening to the advice of your parents. Right. I think sometimes we struggle as parents when we're telling you like, I went through that too and sometimes.
And I always say this because my again my daughter's 21 she's graduating from Loyola this year.
And she had a couple interviews, and she came back to me she said mom, she's like, and it's funny she's going, following my plus test she's going in the staffing industry she goes, I have to tell you how much I appreciate you all those years you try to give me advice
and I listen, but I also listened to like my, my friends instead of what advice my parents were giving me. It's helped me get the job that I've gotten today and it's because of the values that you taught me.
It's because you've worked hard all your life full time and so as dad. And so, I would say, the biggest advice would be, you know, listen to your parents, obviously, make up your own mind sometimes to take some risks and make decisions, but confide in others
and say hey, I'm thinking about doing this, what are your thoughts. And, you know, everyone is always there to support you.
So I would say take, you know, take some risks and and get out of your comfort zone and build on that and you know listen to your parents and listen to your friends and if they're giving you good advice to
Yeah, so Max will get something to say to you.
Yes.
Thank you so much for allowing us to interview you. This was so fun. And I'm sure more kids will be inspired by this interview.
Thank you and I've been pretty inspired and honored that you guys had me on your podcast. Thank you so much.
Yeah, sorry about my laughing he's just kind of like hyper.
That's all right. I love it. I love it that'll that'll bode well as you grow up and you start your future endeavors I think you've already started already. This is an awesome podcast. Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, so to whoever's listening. Thanks for listening to the careers for kids podcast. We hope you enjoyed the episode and we'll see you in the next one. Bye.