Samantha Lopes

I entered the staffing industry in 1993 after graduating from Cal State Northridge with my BS in business and an emphasis in human resources. What's interesting is that I had just done a paper on the staffing industry, really having no interaction with staffing before that. The paper was primarily around the idea that nothing is permanent, and it was during a time when that was a really difficult shift for people. I was recommended to meet with a headhunter who owned an agency in Santa Barbara, where I'm originally from. I had a really great interview with them, but they were selling their agency, so they decided to recommend me to the gentleman that was buying the company, who was out of Manhattan Beach, as a possible branch manager. Now, with over 30 years in the field, I handle the bulk of the internal positions for our whole company, which is nationwide. I do a lot of sourcing, a lot of external posting, and set up multiple interviews - anywhere from 6 to 9 interviews a day. I make a lot of phone calls and set up interviews for the various branches and states for people I've screened that I think are a good fit for the positions available. I work remotely from home now, which has shifted my involvement from when I first got into staffing. The biggest challenge is finding people who have the background and experience that's really necessary for the types of internal positions we have, and who can handle the fast pace - you're usually juggling many different pieces at the same time. I look for people with the skills, the mindset, and the passion for making a difference in people's lives, and that motivates them to do the best job they can.