THIS INSPIRING, LIVE-STREAMED PROGRAM, A CAREER JOURNEY: ANYTHING BUT STRAIGHT AND NARROW, FEATURED MOTHER-DAUGHTER DUO, CYNTHIA (CINDY) ADES AND PAULINE ADES HAYES. IT WAS WONDERFUL TO SEE CINDYâS AND PAULINEâS HUSBANDS IN THE AUDIENCE, EXUDING PRIDE OVER THEIR WIVESâ ACCOMPLISHMENTS. THERE WERE MANY FAMILY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS IN THE AUDIENCE AS WELL, CHEERING ON THE PANELISTS!
Alissa Shams, Co-Executive Director of PROPEL, began the program by lighting a candle to recognize Yom Hazikaron, commemorating and honoring all those who gave their lives for the State of Israel.
The program was moderated by PROPELâs career coach and true superstar, Caroll Dweck Sutton. Caroll began by asking each of the panelists to describe her career journey.
Pauline grew up in Deal and attended Hillel Yeshiva. She said that when she graduated high school, she âsomehow convinced her parents to let her go to Binghamton for college.â Pauline majored in accounting and she obtained an internship at Deloitte & Touche. Upon graduation, she secured a full-time position at Deloitte, but, after two years of working there, she realized accounting was not the profession for her. After some self-reflection, Pauline deduced that she really enjoyed mentoring and recruiting. She decided to change her career course! It was not easy, but through networking, Pauline obtained a job as a headhunter, initially focusing on recruiting for accounting and finance positions.
Pauline explained that she took a leap of faithâalong with a pay cutâas she pivoted and started down a different career path. After over three years as a headhunter, Pauline ecstatically described that she was fortunate to obtain a position as an in-house recruiter at Capital One. After several years at Capital One, Pauline moved to Google. She is currently a recruiter at Google, where she supports recruiting for senior software engineers. She lives in Englewood with her husband and two children.
Cindy initially worked in the retail industry, but she stopped working when she was married and had children. She was a stay-at-home mother until her youngest child, Pauline, started kindergarten. At that time, Cindy felt it was financially prudent to have a part-time job to help pay for the extras her children needed (such as dance and baseball lessons). As her children grew, Cindyâs part-time position developed into a full-time position in a corporate retail organization, Ritmo Latino, where she held various purchasing responsibilities.
After 14 years of working as a purchasing agent/director, Cindy pivoted into a new role that was offered to her at the time within the same organization. She was offered an opportunity to become a human resources director where she was able to expand her knowledge and experience working on employee benefits, recruiting and hiring, employee relations and payroll. Cindy took a chance with her motto being, âI have nothing to lose!â After three years in that position, she decided she needed a change and focused on obtaining a position doing what she really enjoyedârecruiting and hiring. She feels grateful that others took a chance on her at a large construction engineering company and gave her an opportunity ten years ago by hiring her.
Today, Cindy has extensive experience in human resources, which includes talent acquisition for large global construction and engineering firms. She is truly passionate about the industry and is always looking to learn more, so she can better assist and understand the needs of the business. Her accomplishments include: running recruitment for the entire construction management organization within AECOM, and leading national recruitment for Skanska, including the ramp up of their largest project in history for LaGuardia Airport.
The audience applauded and cheered when Cindy shared that she is in the process of completing her bachelorâs degree! She explained that she was in college when she got engaged to her husband and had put her education on hold.
Caroll asked the panelists about being able to maintain a work-life balance as a woman and mother in the workforce. The panelists stressed that being organized and proactive in terms of meal planning and activities is extremely important. Additionally, Caroll questioned Pauline about how she felt about having a working mother when it was not so traditional for mothers to work in the community. Pauline responded honestly that it took some getting used to, as most of her friendsâ moms were home when they got off the school bus. However, Pauline said that her mother was probably more attentive and available than those other moms. Cindy was determined to spend quality time with her family!
In terms of fear of changing a position, Pauline noted that you need to evaluate your general happiness in a position. Cindy shared that you always want to be able to learn and grow at your job.
Imparting very valuable information, Cindy and Pauline shared their five top interviewing tips. (See above.) They also shared key resume tips and general advice. The panelists stressed that it is important to be energetic when interviewing for a positionâshowing that you are motivated is key. It is also essential to prepare before an interview, researching both the company and position you are applying for.
Additionally, the panelists stressed that you should never stop learning and obtaining new skills. Cindy emphatically mentioned that she was fueled by people who doubted that she could achieve something in the workplaceâshe made it her goal to prove those people wrong by learning and being diligent!
If you missed this inspirational program, you can still watch it on PROPELâs Instagram @PropelNetwork!
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