My #FrazerJonesJourney – Marisa DiChiacchio
Entered as a candidate and left as a Recruiter
My journey into recruitment started with my first role after college, as a Campus Recruiting Coordinator for a financial services firm. Two years later, I moved over into a corporate recruiter role which moved me from Pennsylvania to the Big Apple and eventually led me to Frazer Jones. I came in as a candidate seeking help with my own job search after being laid off and, after our conversation, the Recruiter asked, ‘‘would you ever think about working for us?’’ I had never thought about the staffing agency life but met with the two Partners that day, went home to think about it and called back the next day to accept their offer. Everything truly happens for a reason – I just love recruiting.
The economic downfall that revealed my path
I stayed at Frazer Jones (formerly Maximum Management) from 2003 to 2009. 2008 was the year when the economy was in a downward spiral and I had just returned from my maternity leave after having my first son, Connor. We were living in New Jersey and I was commuting four hours a day. Due to the economy and long commute, I left to become a stay-at-home mom. I had my second son, Keenan, in 2010 and moved back to Pennsylvania to be closer to my loved ones. Once my kids were in school full time, I did some contract recruiting in 2017 to get back to into the workforce. I was interviewing for a permanent role and the company was in the midst of checking my references; one who just happened to be our very own, Stefan Schneider, who I had kept in touch with all of those years.
After giving me a glowing review, Stefan encouraged me to come back and speak with the new Partner in NYC, Brad Law, I met the rest of the US team two weeks later. Funny enough, half of the people in the office were the same from nine years prior. Staffing agencies are notorious for being a revolving door – but seeing how after all those years Frazer Jones retained their talent, I knew this was where I wanted to be. I remembered how I felt working with the team; how it wasn’t too corporate, and I had such a great experience so I took a leap. I was their first remote employee prior to the pandemic.
Not just a place to work but a family
About a year and four months after starting back with Frazer Jones, we found out my son, Connor, was diagnosed with a rare and terminal illness, Sanfilippo Syndrome. I will never forget how everybody really rallied around me and my family. The support from the company, the wishes of encouragement, the amount of money donated, etc. really proves that this isn’t just a place to work – it is a family. I work with people who truly care about me and they always ask what more they can do. Whether it’s fundraising, raising awareness or sharing our story, I don’t think I would have gotten that kind of support at another staffing agency.
Frazer Jones is different; we hire different and diverse people and look for different qualities vs. other agencies out there. Our corporate values hit home for us, which we embrace when hiring internally. I came back because of Stefan. He is a great leader. When you have a great leader, you’ll build a great team. When you build a great team, turnover is lower. He and Lara Levin are constantly removing roadblocks and looking for ways to improve processes so that we can do our job well. We nurture our relationships, work well together, share our successes and find fun in what we do. It’s not all about placing candidates/filling jobs, it’s enjoying what we do and being subject matter experts in the HR field which makes us different.
Constant learning opportunities
There are many great tools given here at Frazer Jones and The SR Group for us to be successful. If you have the desire to learn, you will be given the opportunity to thrive. For instance, Stefan handpicked me to trial Salesloft because he knows I’m not afraid of learning and I appreciate a Manager who knows my willingness to embrace new technologies.
Every day is different here. I get the opportunity to speak with people of various backgrounds, origins, states, companies, job levels, etc. I love getting to know my candidates as humans, not just people that I can potentially place into a role. The neat thing about our business is that our candidates end up becoming our clients so building that natural and comfortable relationship leads to a long-lasting partnership.
A piece of advice
Be patient, this business isn’t for everybody. You are either going to love it or hate it. It’s a tough industry yet it is rewarding. You must become a subject matter expert. Knowing HR inside and out will give you the confidence and the leg up that you need to be successful. Come to work as your authentic self. If you do that then everything else will fall into place.
Read more about Sanfilippo Syndrome and how you can support Connor.
