Paladin Consulting is so excited to participate in North Texas Giving Day this year.  We’ve got something very special planned to contribute to this communal effort that will impact over 1600 non-profits in North Texas.  Today kids, animals, worthy organizations will be showered with the generosity of North Texans, joy will stream down gentle cheeks, and fall into the hands of those in need.

The tidal wave of philanthropy that has been rushing through the country since Good Morning America featured the ALS Ice Bucket challenge has been overwhelming and exhilarating.  As a millennial, this appears to be unprecedented level of generosity and it causes one to reflect on the good that we do everyday as members of a community, family, or company.  (Yes, companies do good too!)

Today, Paladin Consulting will help some special kiddos have the experience of a lifetime by holding a “Doing Good with Goodies” bake sale/donation drive to benefit Kidd’s Kids.  Beloved morning show host, Kidd Kradick, founded the organization on the premise of making a difference in the lives of children with special medical needs.

O, To Make A Difference…

What a wonderful thought, truly that’s the wind behind our wave.  People are pouring out of their homes, dumping bone-chilling water over heads, and pulling out wallets all with a pure and simple motivation – the opportunity to make a difference.

At Paladin we can relate to that sentiment.  In fact, it is why most of our recruiters join the organization and what gets us out of bed in the morning.  We get to make a difference in people’s lives every day.  A recruiter calls an individual because they see value in them and their experiences.  We know that our clients can benefit from her expertise or his experience… and they do.

Our client and candidate satisfaction scores are more than triple the national average for staffing and recruiting companies. We believe it’s because we care enough to understand our client’s struggles and we’re passionate enough to convey the value to an individual who may not even see it in themselves.

I have worked at Paladin for several years and spoken with hundreds of people about their experience.  Yet I can clearly recall the day that I got to offer “C.C.” a position in customer support for a well known mortgage software company.  As big banks still tried to re-group and course correct from the mortgage crisis, they were hiring for contract jobs like there was no end to the work, and the lucrative pay that they could offer lured many into switching careers to cash-in.  But about a year or so ago, the job did get done.  Banking recruiters stopped calling. The music stopped for many loan processors and underwriters.  The phone did not ring for so many that had taken a chance on a new career.  Some even picked up and moved to North Texas to capitalize on the opportunity that had now passed.

The second-guessing questions swirled in heads.  The inboxes, checked often now with no day job, remained empty.  The silence of the phone once ringing off the hook was deafening.

Then I called C.C., I saw that she was a young woman that had switched from an established career in Customer Service at a call center into a mortgage processing role.  But that was months ago.  So much time had passed that the bright, vibrant customer service rep had become downtrodden and her spirit dulled by the lack of opportunity.  When I called her she was living with her young child at a friend’s place.  I was struck by the fact that she could no longer see a path forward and could no longer see why she took that mortgage job in the first place.  So we jogged her memory by thinking about the tools she used to accomplish her day-to-day tasks.  Soon we stumbled onto the fact that she had used Calyx Point software and actually had become quite proficient with it.  Well, Calyx Software is a long-running client that we know extremely well and they value customer service as highly as software proficiency.

Well, C.C. had both.  She realized it, and I knew it all along.  That’s why I called.  So we got together and I coached her on how to frame her experience, but when I received the feedback shortly after her interview I remember the hiring manager being bowled over by her outgoing nature, eagerness to assist, and all-around delightful attitude.

Something had changed in C.C. over the past week.  She had been out of work for more than 6 months and the weary person that picked up the phone after my first call was no longer present.  The person that went to that interview was confident, excited, and ultimately triumphant.

The manager was so impressed that he called me to request that I make her an offer at my very first opportunity.

I hung up the phone, then quickly dialed the numbers.  It rang and C.C. picked up with “Nick… I don’t know how it went, but I really want this job”.  When I responded “Well, you got it!” there was a long silence that followed.  I realized her knees had weakened and she sat down and began to cry.  Joy streamed down her cheeks for many moments, before she confessed, “I didn’t think I would ever work again.”  Then my eyes began to cloud and mist.

That’s what we’re here for.  That’s what we are all here for.  It is why there are kind, generous people in Victory Plaza and people logging into NorthTexasGivingDay.org — we all just want to make a difference.  Recruiters are fortunate because we get the opportunity to make that difference several times each and every day.  Today, all North Texans have a chance to make a difference in someone’s life.  Don’t let the opportunity pass you by – be a part of a community, after all, it takes a village.

That reminds me, I’m off to go sell some cookies and inspire a wave of our own!

Visit the links below and check out all the good that is happening around you today!

#NTXGivingDay
Good Morning Texas (video)