As December graduation quickly approaches and May graduation is just around the corner, finding a job and deciding where to move can be overwhelming. For Victoria Gonzales, a May 2008 graduate, finding her ideal job in an ideal city may have taken a while, but it was worth the wait.
Gonzales graduated from JMU with a degree in Organizational Communication. After graduation, she moved back to her hometown of Virginia Beach where she worked for two years as a hotel general manager and then as an inside account manager for international military sales.
At the conclusion of her second year working in Virginia Beach, she wanted something more exciting, bigger and farther from home. She had adopted Frank Sinatra’s perspective that, “if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere,” and decided to move to New York City. Though a move that far may seem frightening and out of reach, she was determined to make it.
Landing her dream job.
For Gonzales, the transition was easy and seamless. After enjoying the first few months and searching for a job, she attended a JMU alumni career fair in NYC. Upon researching companies that would be in attendance, she decided to talk to the representative at Bluewolf, an On-Demand Software Services company.
“What could I offer them?” was her original question. Although she did not think she was technical enough for the role, she decided to speak to them anyway. She had faced a similar situation at her previous position.
“I didn’t know anything about selling tactical and operational equipment to the military or international sales, but I learned and I did well, so why not?” Gonzales said.
After a few interviews, she landed the job. At Bluewolf, Gonzales is a Technical Recruiter in the IT Resourcing department. Her job is to find qualified candidates that fit a certain position based on their skills and resume. These candidates are obtained through Bluewolf’s internal database and from job boards such as Monster and CareerBuilder. For Gonzales, her focus is on selling the client and the opportunity to the candidate and vice versa.
A day in the life.
A typical day for her starts after a 5-minute walk to the subway. She takes the M train seven stops into the Flatiron district in Manhattan. At 8:30 her day begins in the office in a meeting called “pipeline.” Here, the sales account managers and recruiters discuss the deals and opportunities they will be working on and what the best strategies are for closing these deals.
“We work diligently all day to get those action items accomplished,” Gonzales said.
The atmosphere at Bluewolf is fun and diverse. The workspace is wide open and the management and CEO are personable and encouraging.
“We are a highly motivated and diverse group that helps each other achieve goals, and it feels like a family,” Gonzales said.
As a fast-growing company with branches in places such as D.C., San Francisco and Philadelphia, the mentality is that if a company is not growing, it’s shrinking; everyone knows what is expected of them. When the company meets its goals, they take the team on an all-expenses paid vacation to places like Cancun.
“We are a loud bunch who work hard and play hard,” Gonzales said.
For Gonzales, this experience has been a positive one and she is living her dreams each day.
“I know that I am where I am supposed to be right now and again that I outgrew Virginia at this point in my life, so I take everyday as part of a fun adventure,” she said.
By Desirae Vivian Stevens
Contact: desiraevivian@gmail.com
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