Even as a working professional early in my career, I'm continuously thinking about how I want to keep evolving. I think in the back of my mind I’ve always wanted to have a people-centric role, but it was a matter of what kind of initial opportunity I could pursue to start on that path, as well as finding the right timing. Even before I started with Spreetail, I established a great connection with my recruiter and from that first phone call, my interest in the People & Culture team was already piqued because of the amazing candidate experience I had right from the get-go.
I started at Spreetail in May of 2020 as a Product Copywriter on the Content Team. Starting in a virtual environment can be tough, but the Content Team went out of their way to make sure I felt welcome. Our day-to-day tasks included creating SEO-rich and engaging content for our product listings to thrive across all our marketplaces.
I couldn’t have asked for a better place to start and learn about the ins and outs of our company than with the Content Team. I knew that if I eventually wanted to pursue an internal move, I had to make sure I was the best copywriter I could be by learning the ropes, raising my bar, being relentless when challenges arose, and being the best teammate possible.
Spreetail has offered opportunities to learn more about different internal career paths by connecting people from various departments. From coffee connects every Friday, to food and beer tastings during the summer, I was able to meet so many different people around the company despite working remotely. Spreetail Spark and Spreetail Connect also provided a great medium for new hires to get acclimated with the company, develop personally and professionally through different workshops, and provide another avenue for Spreetailers to interact with one another.
When considering an internal move, it all starts with communicating with your manager/lead right from the beginning. Once you decide what path you want to start pursuing, sit down with your manager to start developing an actionable plan toward that path. Once I had that initial conversation with my lead, he was nothing but supportive. He suggested reading articles about recruiting, meeting with other recruiters to understand more about the role, and he even told me to shadow a recruiter if time allowed. At Spreetail, we all support each other’s goals and ambitions, but it means even more when your biggest advocate is your manager or lead.
My internal move process happened quickly as a business need was identified. After having the conversation with my current manager, we built a development plan that included shadowing a recruiter to learn more. Once a recruiting role opened a few weeks later, I had an informal interview with the hiring manager followed by a work sample interview, and a week later I was offered a role with the Talent Community team.
Everything came together so quickly, and that really was a testament to my current manager, Jason Barker, who has set me up for success from the moment we first spoke. Since that initial meeting, he made sure to communicate with me when I’d be hearing a decision, giving me great interview tips, and answering any questions I had along the way. I also need to give a tremendous shoutout to the leadership of both the Content and Recruiting Teams, because everyone needed to be on the same page to make this move happen and for that I am truly grateful.
Now that I’ve started my new role, I think the biggest skillset I carried over from the Content Team was learning how to operate under pressure. There is a sense of urgency for this team to ensure our product listings can launch right when our inventory arrives at our fulfillment centers. Without having the listings live on our marketplaces, we know our customers are unable to purchase the products they need, which has a direct impact on our company’s success.
With recruiting, there’s a different sense of pressure, where we focus on communicating in a timely manner with all candidates. We want to make sure we fill our roles as efficiently as possible, while also maintaining best-in-class candidate experience. To do that, time management skills are essential and I’m glad I was able to hone that in my last role.
While thinking of how I can evolve in my new role, I’ve set a few goals to achieve. First and foremost, I want every applicant that I interact with to walk away having a wonderful experience whether joining the team now or in the future. I want every candidate to feel that I was genuine throughout the whole interview process and that I could always be a resource for them.
Another goal of mine is to make sure I keep learning about all the different roles and departments we have here at Spreetail. Every team, and I truly mean every team, plays an important part in our company’s success. By educating myself and diving into what makes each team special, I’ll be able to better showcase why Spreetail is a workplace people desire to join.
As I begin supporting our Lincoln, NE Fulfillment Center and their hiring needs, I want to foster a keen sense of what characteristics and traits to look for in an ideal Spreetail candidate. As I keep growing in my new role and building great relationships with hiring managers across all divisions, I aim to develop the skills and best practices to secure top talent to help reach our growth goals.
Establishing a career development plan can seem scary, but there is no better place to help you grow in your career than at Spreetail. You will have the tools, resources, and endless amounts of support to accomplish your goals. So, I encourage you to take the first and most crucial step: start the conversation.
Recruiter
