How long have you been in your current position?
I just had my 1-year anniversary in my new position as Talent Acquisition Specialist.
What interested you in working in senior living?
I started in the dining department here and had previously done a lot of work in restaurants, so I was a server, barista, floor lead, bar tender, just all different kinds of front of house roles in restaurants. I knew somebody who worked at Friendsview as the director of the dining department. We ended up connecting and she mentioned she had a position open as the dining coordinator. She really encouraged me to apply, because I loved working in restaurants and I wasn’t sure, but I was interested, so I went ahead and applied and got the position. I worked in that role as the dining services coordinator for a year before applying for my current position as talent acquisition specialist.
Are there a lot of opportunities to move up or explore different roles depending on your interest?
We have set it up really well for people to move up in the department they are already in, or if they have an interest in another department to be able to explore those opportunities. We have internal applications open all the time for staff to apply to.
If people are looking to advance within the department they are already in, they just need to apply for the position they are interested in and speak with their manager. We do a lot of internal promotions for entry level staff; we make sure they know that they can apply for that next position after only two weeks on the floor. So, we do a lot of those entry level promotions for dining staff and a lot of people move from resident assistants to CNAs.
When we have somebody who wants to move departments completely or into administration or a little bit of a higher-level position, they would go through our regular application process, do interviews, provide references, all those things like a normal external application. I went through that process as well to move into my current position.
What is a day in the life of a talent acquisition specialist like?
It’s different every day. Right now, we are in the big hiring season with school starting up in September. We are right across the street from a university, so we have a lot of their nursing students come onboard. We hire as young as 14 years old for dining services, so we get a lot of students.
I usually start my day by sending out pre-screen appointments, which is when we have a new hire starting in the onboarding process. I am the one who sends them all their online paperwork, I set them up to do their background check, and I send them all their drug screening information. I am also the person they do their I-9 appointment with. So they come in fill out that form, bring their IDs in, go through new hire paperwork with me, and I get them set up with their online training.
The department coordinators start with the applicants and then hand them over to me to get them onboard. We hand them back when they are ready for training. We also have departments that don’t have coordinators, so I fill those roles. For example, for our facilities department, I coordinate a lot of the maintenance interviews and sit in on housekeeping interviews.
We also attend a lot of events and job fairs. Summer is an especially busy time for that. I post the jobs for all departments here at Friendsview, so I connect with all the different departments regularly to ensure their jobs are posted and filled. If the coordinators have any questions about onboarding or needing to hire new people, they will usually come to chat with me.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
In my first year, a challenging piece was how busy we get during the summer hiring seasons. We have a lot of people coming onboard around that time. Right as a moved into this position, we were opening two new buildings on our campus, a new health center building and a new independent living building with an on-campus bistro and coffee shop. We were hiring all the new health services and dining services employees for those buildings, so I got to step into this position when things were in full swing. It was a quick learning experience.
This summer it was hiring a lot with students who were coming and going. There’s been a lot of new staff and staff who are students returning after the summertime. Just balancing making sure everyone is getting in and having a good experience while also attending job fairs and events is the balance. So, summer is a little busy, but I really like my job, and Friendsview especially makes it easy. We have good processes and great departments that are super supportive.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
One thing that attracted me to my current position, that I really enjoyed about my previous position in the dining department, was working with a lot of the student employees and supporting a lot of them in their first experience in the workforce. I’ve seen a lot of younger staff members coming into their first job ever and learning to navigate the workforce, and to be a support person for that was really rewarding for me.
One thing that really attracted me to the position of talent acquisition specialist was to be able to be that support for all staff members that were coming into the different departments. I want them to know they always have someone they can reach out to with questions, even if it’s just a little random question. We are a big campus with over 500 residents and 324 staff members. In our HR department, there’s only 4 of us, so we have a lot going on all the time. I always make sure I’m available for staff and can support them so they can ensure our residents are taken care of to the best level possible.
What is it like on the Friendsview Campus?
We have one main campus, and, on our campus, we have several neighborhoods as well as the original manor building. We have a couple of independent neighborhoods, and our brand new 4-story independent living neighborhood. We opened a lot of apartments with that one. And our new health services building, with full medical rooms, dining rooms on all four floors. It’s been a great addition to the campus. We also have one an additional independent living neighborhood that is across town.
What is the company culture like in your organization?
The company culture is very welcoming. That’s one thing I can say for sure. Our residents and staff members are so welcoming to new faces. I felt like part of the team immediately.
We also did a big internship program with Project SEARCH, they are a company that works with adults with disabilities, and we are a host site for that program. They have told me all year that the interns felt so warm and welcomed by the residents and staff taking time to talk with them and wanting to get to know them, and that’s how I’ve felt too. It’s all around a very welcoming environment.
How do you get to make a difference in your role?
Coming from the dining coordinator position, I was doing those first interviews and first steps of hiring process, so I knew that side coming into the talent acquisition specialist role. It was helpful to be able to recognize some of the hurdles we had or where we could improve communication.
I was able to use that experience from my previous role coming into my current position. By understanding what the department coordinators are working with, I can support them and help them through the hiring processes. This has made a difference in our hiring time, and that was a big goal of mine—decreasing the time from application to working on the floor with residents.
Have you had a memorable work experience that stands out in your mind?
I had one recently that was really special. It has to do with the Project SEARCH program that was also kicking off right as I moved into the position. It was a big project I took on in my first year. We recently had our first group of interns graduate from the program. They are now going to work on finding jobs in the field that they can apply the skills they learned in this program. We also encourage them to apply if there’s a position if they are interested in.
At the graduation, we had so many residents and staff members from different departments show up and celebrate and show appreciation for the interns. It really warmed my heart. I had heard about these connections, but with them working in different departments throughout the whole year with their instructors, I didn’t get to see it firsthand. So, to get to see that they were so celebrated, that residents took time to hug them goodbye and staff came in to meet their families, it was such a special experience that’s going to stick with me for a while.
How has working in long-term care had an impact on you?
It’s had a big impact on me. This line of work was never on my radar. I never thought I would work in a retirement community or continued care. It’s so rewarding to work with our residents and our staff members to ensure they are well supported. Seeing the connections between staff members and residents, I feel so fulfilled every time I come to work. I didn’t get that in the restaurant industry.
What is your advice to someone considering working in this field?
My advice is to definitely look into it. There are so many different careers that can begin in this industry. Whether in dining or healthcare or the marketing department, we can find spots for people with all different backgrounds. I think that’s so cool, and not many industries can accommodate that.
If you feel called towards it, take the jump. See if there’s a spot for you and see if you like it. You might be really surprised that you find something that works perfectly for you. I’m so grateful I know someone who encouraged me to apply. I love what I do now.
Are there any educational requirements for your position?
I didn’t have full recruiting experience when I applied for the talent acquisition specialist role. We made an agreement between myself, my director, and the team, that coming into this position, I would work on those trainings and additional seminars.
In July, received my talent acquisition specialist certification from Cornell University. That was really exciting! I also do a lot of training on the job. I have a great mentor that works with me and trains me on all of the procedures and gives me super helpful tips and tricks.
Did your employer help sponsor your education?
Yes, they did! Our residents are very generous, and we have a scholarship program set up for staff that is completely funded through resident donations. They donate money to that fund every year, and a lot of staff go through that program. Whatever you are interested in you can apply. We have a lot of staff that are applying for CNA training and licensing, but we’ve had someone in dining apply because they wanted to take a cake baking class.
Whatever you are interested in, it doesn’t matter what department you are in, if you want to expand your knowledge and education, Friendsview will work with you to make that happen. You get to do an interview with the resident association board, when I did my interview, they asked how we get more people to apply for scholarships in other departments to apply. “How do we get people in community life, residency planning, and other departments to look into this?” They are so eager to help staff members. It’s part of that experience that makes you feel so welcome and supported in your work.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Long-term care is a great field and there’s so many different opportunities and career pathways, and it’s a lot of fun! I really encourage people to look into the opportunities available to them and jump in.
Published November 5, 2024.
