In this month’s edition of our “In the Limelight” series, meet Deanna Szewczyk— a recruiter. While working as a branch manager at a bank, Deanna realized that her passion for talent acquisition made her destined for a career in the workforce solutions industry. Learn how her competitive nature and outgoing personality have propelled her to succeed at Broadleaf.

Michigan-born and raised

I grew up in Clio, Michigan but now live in Livonia, just outside Detroit. I attended and graduated from the University of Michigan at Flint, where I studied marketing.

The road to Broadleaf

After college, I worked as a Retail Manager for ten years for companies such as Coach, Fossil, and Michael Kors. After leaving retail, I managed a bank branch for over three years. In this role, I was responsible for conducting all the job interviews in my district. I became passionate about the entire recruitment process—interviewing, hiring, and training—making me realize I wanted to pursue a career in the workforce solutions industry.

Recruiter responsibilities

In 2021, I stumbled upon an open position at Broadleaf while browsing LinkedIn. I immediately applied without even having done much research about the company beforehand. However, I was sold on the traditional benefits and the flexible work schedule and joined the team soon after.

When I initially joined Broadleaf, I was responsible for recruiting entry-level technicians for a prominent Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) client account. Now, I source and hire employees for higher-level roles—including Assistant Managers and Inspectors—while managing requisitions for several client locations.

Being on an RPO account team can be challenging because we are required to pivot and adjust to changing client needs. It is easy to feel “out of the loop” because clients typically have events for their internal talent acquisition team that the Broadleaf recruiters are not privy to. Despite these circumstances, my teammates and I take steps to help remain competitive in our space. We inquire about new technologies we can incorporate to make our responsibilities easier to manage and help us successfully place candidates with clients.

Leveraging her strengths

I would consider myself a people person and enjoy connecting with and getting to know new people, learning about their lives and what brought them to the role they are applying for. I find this one of the most exciting aspects of my position and believe it’s essential to success as a recruiter.

Every day at work brings new challenges, wins, and losses, and I’m excited to continue to learn and grow in my role. Being a recruiter involves learning new skills and continuous professional development to grow and succeed. I appreciate that the Broadleaf leadership team gives me the flexibility and autonomy to complete my work in the most beneficial and achievable ways for the company and me. I am independent yet always feel coached, mentored, and encouraged to reach my personal and team goals.

Life outside of work

Each weekday morning, I enjoy taking my eight-year-old Frenchie for a walk before making coffee and logging into work. When I am not working, you can find me outside, that is, if the sun is shining in Michigan! When I need to escape the cold, I love to vacation and take mini weekend trips whenever possible. My dream has always been to visit Australia, Greece, and Paris. I’ve always loved visiting tropical places with exotic animals and beautiful water.

Apart from my dog and traveling, I try to be active as often as possible, including going to the gym to work out or taking cycling classes. Most people would not assume this just by looking at me, but I love any form of competition or challenge.