Wow – where do I start? For those of you that know me (or that follow my ramblings) you likely know that I’ve been with AT&T for going on 10 years. In fact, I started as a contract recruiter with AT&T 10 years ago on June 1st. It’s been a challenging and equally rewarding ride over the last decade – and I’ve had the opportunity to do things on a much grander scale than I would have if I’d stayed an independent recruiter as opposed to jumping into the corporate world.
Over the last three years I’ve been a strategic thought leader within the staffing organization at AT&T – pushing the envelope (and leadership’s patience a bit, I’m sure) around digital marketing and social recruiting. I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to partner with some pretty smart HR, Recruiter and Marketing types at AT&T and together we reduced traditional marketing spend and increased the return on investment (time & money) with eye-popping speed and almost scary results. We broke ground in our industry on projects such as Facebook candidate sourcing, Twitter recruitment, Social recruiting presence, Mobile Recruiting and of course, the first employer driven iPhone application – just to name a few.
But it’s time I moved on.
I’m one of the biggest fans of “change” that I’ve ever met. And yes, I even fancy calling myself a “Change Agent.” So when an opportunity came along recently to join the PepsiCo team and help create and lead a new employment brand and strategy effort – I suddenly had cause to take a step back and evaluate what was being put on the table.
I’ve had the pleasure of both meeting and working with various members of the PepsiCo Recruiting and Staffing teams over the last few years. I was honored to have been asked a second time to present to the Frito Lay Recruiting team just recently on the topic of monitoring your brand via social media and engaging candidates. And to be incredibly honest – I was floored not just by how sharp the group was (no-brainer there, right?) but also by their hunger to ensure they were sourcing and engaging candidates on terms that were beneficial to both their hiring clients needs and the job seekers expectations. They were smart in their questions about seeking out best practices and fearless in hoping to utilize the latest channels and tools available.
In summary: They “get it.”
I’ll miss my peers at AT&T when on June 1st I open a new chapter in my professional life. With so many things still in production and slated for release over the next year or so (that will simply be awesome!) it wasn’t a quick and easy decision to separate from my professional family of 10 years. I’d also be crazy not to encourage everyone to keep an eye on the efforts of the AT&T Talent Attraction team over the next year – they’re a bright team and have some fun things planned.
The next two weeks will be bitter sweet – and while I’m sad to leave my friends and family at AT&T, I’m amped to be moving forward with this ‘refreshing’ change and my own professional evolution.
