The Faces of Mee Derby is an initiative to share the stories of our team and their journey’s through the staffing industry from a personal and professional perspective. COVID is bringing us all together in a whole different way by connecting through technology. From our home offices to yours, we invite you over the next several weeks to get to know the Mee Derby team through this video series. It is a fun look at who we are – collectively and individually – how we got into staffing and what the staffing industry means to us. This week we are hearing from Walter Shedd:
Why staffing? How did you end up in this industry?
I think like everybody, I fell into the staffing industry. I started my career in a sales oriented role but I think it really started when I moved into student recruiting. I was in an admissions role selling a non-tangible product that was a four year college education for students across the country. I got a lot of fulfillment from making the match between the need and the means to the end essentially for a lot of these people. You know I had not idea that the staffing industry even existed when I was working in admissions with students until I was reached out to by a recruiter and went through that standard process, I instantly fell in love.
How has your journey led you to Mee Derby?
I was reached out to by Sue on the Mee Derby team about a position in the Chicago market but ultimately the drive to the city wasn’t going to work out for me but I told her about my passion for recruiting sales people. She was able to make that match which I’m forever greatly for. I had no idea an entity like Mee Derby existed, staffing the staffing industry was a foreign concept so it definitely opened the book on a whole new world and I’m learning something new everyday in this space.
What are the benefits of working remotely both, personally & professionally?
Instead of taking a 10 to 15 minute break to go hang out with a colleague or run out and grab a sandwich for lunch I’m taking that 10 to 15 minutes to go on a walk with my family. I think the time that I get back in my day is really being repurposed both into those relationships and my professional relationships. I ’m able to work more hours, I lose less in terms of my productivity from commuting. If I’m having a difficult or stressful time of the day, I’m able to go upstairs and have a quick conversation with my wife, hold my daughter, share a couple laughs and completely reset, then go back and try it again.
How does Mee Derby impact the staffing industry?
The Mee Derby team consists of some of the most intelligent and informative people I have ever come across in this industry. I think that’s saying quite a bit because on a daily basis my job and responsibility is to talk to leaders within the staffing space. I think the cohesiveness in the way we work has got to be an anomaly within our space. It’s something that really speaks to the culture and success of the Mee Derby team is our ability to work together.
Why should someone work with a recruiter in their job search?
Before I had gotten into this industry I hadn’t ever spoken to an executive recruiter or external agency. Usually I would go to a job board and do all the work myself, I had no idea of the backend process that was involved. The value of someone staffing the industry that you are in exclusively is unsurpassed. It’s all about getting the candidate excited, being able to sell the value propositions of the client both completely and wholeheartedly, and really making sure that the cultures and opportunity aligns on both sides.
Anyone that is successful within the staffing and recruitment industry would really find some value in even having a 15 minute conversation with any member of the Mee Derby team in terms of what the staffing landscape looks like, what opportunities that are out there. Especially individuals who have reached that glass ceiling, I think it’s important for them to know what other opportunities are out there. Especially if they chose to make this industry their career.
What are your three favorite aspects of working for Mee Derby?
First off I would have to say the reputation, Mee Derby has been a leader in the staffing and recruiting space for 31 years now. We are very well known, we just won our latest ClearlyRated © awards for both client and candidate satisfaction. I think a quick google search will tell the tale of the Mee Derby team and how they are successful.
The second thing is the leadership and the team in general. It’s the most supportive team I’ve ever been exposed to. These individuals are eager to transfer their knowledge.
Third I would have to say the aspect of working remotely. The freedom and flexibility to get my work done on my time is both rewarding and liberating.
How do you stand out as a recruiter?
I would say that I’m very well connected in the Chicago market and from there it spiderwebs. At Mee Derby we work on opportunities across the country so I have my hand in staffing opportunities all the way from California to New York and everything in between.
Walter Shedd
Executive Recruiter
