In this month’s edition of our “In the LimeLight” series, meet Carla Shevokas. Carla is a Talent Acquisition Specialist (TAS) whose previous relationship with Broadleaf made her an excellent addition to our team.  Carla’s administrative role is essential to ensuring that Broadleaf’s recruitment process outsourcing client accounts are successful.

From banking to Broadleaf

I grew up near Montezuma, Iowa. I attended Iowa State University at Ames where I majored in history. While there, I was a member of the University’s marching band, performing at all home games and even a Vikings vs. Packers NFL halftime show! I graduated with my bachelor’s degree and a certification to teach secondary social studies education. After graduation, I started working in banking, first in Ames and later relocated to Des Moines.

I eventually left the banking industry and accepted a position on the public education team for the American Cancer Society non-profit. While there, I worked closely with the Superior Group—now Broadleaf—to fill temporary staffing and recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) roles, training new hires on our applicant tracking system (ATS), and providing them with reports and analytics. After a reorganization of the American Cancer Society occurred, resulting in my position’s elimination, my contact at Broadleaf reached out to me to see if I would be interested in joining the organization. Since I was already familiar with the company and a few of the employees working there, joining Broadleaf was an opportunity I felt that I could not turn down. It is always nice if you know someone when you start a new position.

Day in the life at Broadleaf

My role as a talent acquisition specialist is certainly busy. Since every contract is specific to each of the RPO accounts, there is much to keep track of. No day at work looks the same. I am the administrator for the ATS Broadleaf uses for our RPO accounts. I provide training for new recruiters and refresher training for more experienced team members. This ensures high quality across all employees. Additionally, I am responsible for managing external job postings on ZipRecruiter and LinkedIn. I assign access to the sourcing tools used by our recruiters. Finally, at the end of each month, I prepare the usage reports for each of the tools and bill each of our RPO client accounts.

I enjoy the variety of my work, especially working with our recruiters, Client Delivery Managers (CDM), and Directors of Client Delivery (DCD). I think my previous work with the American Cancer Society, my interaction with recruiters, and my juggling the various needs of talent acquisition prepared me for this role.

Keeping pace

Because so much of the talent acquisition and workforce solutions industry relies on technology, it is always changing. Resumes are electronic, people apply for jobs using mobile devices, and interviews are conducted via video meetings. In fact, this is my first full-time experience being a remote employee. Using the technology available to learn a new job and to help build a collaborative relationship with co-workers is different from anything I have experienced previously.

Apart from technology, the staffing industry has undergone substantial changes over the last five years. It no longer relies solely on external job postings from platforms such as Indeed, LinkedIn, etc. Recruiters are now focusing on passive candidates, not just those who have filled out an application or expressed interest in some way.  These candidates have an impressive skill set or outstanding qualifications that make them highly sought after, even if they are not seeking new opportunities. This trend forced recruiters to look in new areas and with a different perspective to find these types of candidates.

When I am not working…

Outside of work, I can usually be found taking care of my yard and garden, weather-dependent. I have nearly 30 rose bushes in my backyard, along with several peony bushes that came from my paternal grandmother and my sister. I also enjoy reading mystery novels and spending time with my husband and extended family. Working remotely helps me maintain a healthy work-life balance. The time I used to spend commuting to and from the office can now be spent with my husband and doing activities together. A longtime dream of ours is to travel to Europe, visiting all the historically famous sites. I would especially like to visit Norway. My maternal grandfather was born on a farm there that remains in my family to this day.

To learn more about Carla, visit her LinkedIn profile.