A Lighthouse Success Story: David and Katy

It was a gorgeous North Carolina June in 2017 at Lighthouse Lab Services — before the suffocating humidity had really come to town — when veteran recruiter David was presented with the opportunity to hire a Recruiting Associate (or Junior Recruiter, as they were known at the time) to help him to source more scientists for his clients. Having only arrived at the company just a year prior, David was eager to find someone who could not only work hard, but also find someone he liked. He and the rest of the hiring team sifted through resumes and interviewed a number of applicants — many of whom were very qualified, but others who, well, weren’t (at least not in the traditional sense). Finally, one interviewee caught David’s attention. Was it the candidate most qualified on paper? No, in fact her only work experience was in the restaurant industry. Nor was it the applicant with the fanciest degree or the most industry experience. David decided to hire a young women straight out of college. He saw something in her that maybe she didn’t even see in herself at the time.

Katy had grown leaps and bounds in a short period of time and was quickly becoming quite a successful recruiter. It wasn’t long before this Recruiting Associate would be promoted to Executive Recruiter — just like David. If you ask her now how she felt to be hired, she’d tell you that she has no idea why David picked her, but anyone who watches her work will tell you that it was the best decision he could have made. Today, Katy is one of our top recruiters who manages one of our largest clients. She provides laughter and fun to the office and she’s a testimony to how important it is remember that sometimes the best workers aren’t always the most obvious.