Tell me about your current role at Yale University?
In my current role as a Senior Administrative Staffing Support Specialist, I support the M&P recruiters. I am currently in a stretch assignment working as an interim recruiter, supporting service and maintenance, security, and police recruitment. Staffing is the recruitment arm of Human Resources.
What are your main responsibilities?
My main responsibility is supporting recruitment for Local 35 positions, security, and police. Local 35 includes facilities, hospitality, and TR&S. For security, I support the recruitment of security officers in public safety, as well as those in the museums, art galleries, and libraries. I have also been supporting Yale Police as they recruit police officers.
What do you like most about your work?
What I like about my work is the ability to continue learning. Career Development is very important to me. Since coming to Yale, I have been able to take advantage of a lot of different training opportunities, such as the summer training series for C&T’s, and access to LinkedIn Learning, which has helped me further develop my skills. Participation in cross functional project teams (which I find very interesting) has helped me to understand the bigger human resource system and see other roles outside of recruitment. As a staffing support specialist, you don’t get to see the full cycle of the recruitment process. Being offered the opportunity to work in a ‘recruiters world’ as part of my stretch assignment has given me a better sense of the full recruitment process. I have also been able to learn more about the unions, which I was not familiar with prior to this. I want to continue to learn and build my skillsets. My team has been very supportive, which I truly appreciate.
How does your job affect your general lifestyle?
It hasn’t really affected my lifestyle as much as it has given me a better understanding of the volume of work recruiters are dealing with. I have so much respect and empathy for the recruiters now that I’ve stepped into their shoes and have a better understanding of their role. This experience has also helped me to be able to give advice to colleagues, friends, and family who may be searching for a new job.
How did you begin your career?
I had been applying for different positions at Yale when I received a call to come in for an exploratory interview. I met Jill Goodfellow who interviewed me and reviewed my resume in depth to get a better sense of my experience. She made recommendations and pointed out areas I should highlight in my resume as well as information I should add. I revised my resume and Jill helped me identify positions that I would qualify for. The assistance and insight I received was invaluable and helped me obtain my current position, which turned out to be a great fit. I truly appreciate the assistance I received. What seemed like little tips and tricks made all the difference.
What steps would you recommend one take to prepare to enter this field? What skills, abilities, and personal attributes are essential to success in your job/this field?
Be willing to learn new things and brush up on your existing skills. There will always be advancements in software, new applications, and new ways to report or track data. Keep building those skills and even in your current role find ways to improve your process, standardize repetitive tasks, or find ways to improve or simplify the tasks that you do on a daily basis.
Also, in both the recruiter and support specialist role, it is vital to be extremely organized. Take the time to figure out a system that will help you stay on top of your work. It can be as simple as flagging your emails, or color coding your calendar and tasks. Invest the time to find a system that works for you and it will make your work so much easier.
What skills, abilities and personal attributes are essential to success in your job/this field.
The ability to be flexible and supportive. Being able to jump in and support other members of your team when they need it, as well as leaning on members of your team for support when you are in need, creates a strong effective team. Also, a sense of humor! As with all jobs, there are times when work can be overwhelming and hard to get through. A sense of humor can help you get through these times and builds comradery.
If you could do it all over again, would you choose the same path for yourself? If not, what would you change?
My path has not been linear. I would not have chosen anything different. Every place I have worked and every choice I have made has come with really great lessons and have contributed to the person that I am today.
What does YLNG mean to you and how have you contributed as a member of the Steering Committee?
YLNG has been an anchor in creating a sense of community. When I was hired, within a couple of weeks, I received a welcome email from YLNG inviting me to participate in an in-person activity. It was a great way to enter a new workplace. They welcomed me with open arms. It’s easy to come to work at Yale (which is a big community) and not make those personal connections. It was good to have that immediate sense of connection. It is important to make people feel like they belong. YLNG is always there, even when I can’t attend a meeting or participate, they still include me and welcome me when I find my way back. It is also a good way to meet people, hang out (before COVID), and eat really good food!