From Referral to Reality: Finding My Passion

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From Referral to Reality: Finding My Passion BY ZIAD OROW Recruiter / Sourcer About four months ago, I started a new role as a Recruiting Sourcer with Brightwing. I posted about my new position on LinkedIn and in the comments, amidst well wishes and congratulations, I was met with a bit of surprise.  Surprise is to be expected, though. I went from 26 years in the automotive industry to the staffing industry. That’s quite a switch.  When I have told people about my career change, they usually want to know how and why I made this switch. So I figure it’s about time I answer these questions. Let’s get into it, shall we? 

How did I discover Brightwing? 

To tell this story, I need to go back in time about 3 years to when I first met Mike Gourley. An old coworker of mine submitted me as a candidate referral to Brightwing, and from there I was put in contact with Mike, the Senior Recruiter on Brightwing’s Engineering Team. We worked together to find a new opportunity, but we couldn’t find a perfect match at the time.  While working with Mike, I realized he was much different than any recruiter I had met and worked with previously. It was clear that Mike didn’t want to just find me a job, he wanted to find me the right job. Whereas I always felt pressure from other recruiters to take the opportunities they presented to me, I didn’t feel this with Mike.  We kept in contact over the years, Mike keeping me in mind for any job orders he was working on that matched my resume. Mike would also call me, asking if I had referrals or if I knew someone he was interviewing at the time. We’d always end up checking in and catching up with each other during these calls.   And that’s how the relationship I built with Mike carried on for a couple of years. 

Why did I choose Brightwing? 

The COVID-19 Pandemic served as a time of reflection for me, as I know it was for many others too.  During this time of reflection, I began to realize something key. I wanted to find a new opportunity that aligned with what I had discovered my true passion was: developing people. It had been fun and exciting to work on various projects over the years, but what I really enjoyed was developing and coaching the individuals on my team. This truly excited me and had me leave work each day feeling fulfilled.  At the point of this realization, I knew Mike well enough that I felt comfortable floating an idea I had by him during one of our check-in calls.  The idea? I wanted to become a recruiter.  And not just any recruiter, but a Brightwing recruiter. I could tell from my experience with Mike that the recruiters really, truly cared about their candidates at Brightwing. I wanted to be someone’s career advisor, helping them land the job of their dreams or the job that took their career to the next level. I wanted to do what I knew would make me feel fulfilled, like I was serving a bigger purpose.  So, I floated this idea by Mike when we were chatting one day. He was hesitant, and understandably so, given the degree of career switch I was proposing.  But I was persistent. Every few months I would ask Mike to give me a chance, just to put me in front of the Brightwing leadership team. I pitched myself, emphasizing my work ethic and how my professional background (especially in engineering) would be a value-add to the team. I told Mike all about how I wanted to follow my passion and how I could do that as a recruiter.  Eventually, Mike did give me the opportunity I was asking for. Our relationship had been built on a mutual understanding of trust and transparency and it was this foundation that persuaded him to give me a chance.  I went through about three different interviews with various Brightwing team members. During these interviews, I discovered what I had already come to suspect: that Mike wasn’t an anomaly. Every Brightwing team member prioritized relationships and demonstrated the importance of communication, care, and consistency in their interactions. I also found that Brightwing’s team and leadership value the same things I do: professional development, flexibility, and a “create your own destiny” mindset.   And the rest, as they say, is history. 

How I’m Doing Now

It’s been more than 3 months since I’ve joined the Brightwing team. While not an easy transition (no career change is), there’s something to be said about the relationship I had with Mike and how that foundation made my transition so much easier.  Recruiting is a highly collaborative job. I now work closely with Mike. We already knew a lot about each other, how the other thought and communicated, and we developed rapport, which allowed our relationship as colleagues to form rapidly. Even the initial conversations I had with other recruiters during my interviews made me feel more comfortable and settled, as if I was already fitting right in with my team.  I’m excited to continue to combine my passion with my everyday work in aligning great companies with exceptional talents. I’m looking forward to bringing my 26 years of experience in the automotive world to the table in creating the right partnerships. Looking for a job? Connect with me! Looking to hire? Send me a DM!

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