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When I was a child, I had a recurring dream that I was escorting people over a rickety foot bridge spanning a great crevasse (think Indiana Jones in “The Temple of Doom”). Sometimes the journey partners were children, sometimes they were elderly. The dream was the same….my job was to take people from where they were to where they wanted to be.  This dream inspired me to get a degree in Psychology and pursue the field of Social Work.  Very quickly I realized that my desire to “save the world” and get RESULTS for individuals was going to go unsatisfied in this field of endeavor.  I decided to bring my skills of influence, persuasion, and my insight into human behavior and what each individual needs to excel into the corporate sector.

I began my corporate experience in sales for Columbia Pictures Publications, which led me to meet my husband at a trade show, and we relocated to Seattle.  Upon arriving in Seattle, I responded to an advertisement in the paper that was being filled by a Staffing Agency.  The position I interviewed for was not a fit.  At the end of the interview, the interviewer said, “How would you like to be a “headhunter?”  I said, ”Excuse me?  A WHAT???” She said, "A Headhunter…what we do is affectionately called “head hunting. Your background is so unique with a degree in Psychology and keen understanding of people coupled with your passion for RESULTS, I think you would be EXCELLENT in our industry!”  So thus began my career in the recruiting world in 1989.   

I quickly realized I had some special “magic” in making matches.  I possessed an uncanny ability to reduce turnover for the company and increase job satisfaction for the individual by combining my training and innate intuitive abilities.  My metrics for retention far exceeded those of my peers.  I was asked to write White Papers and train others on my techniques.  Essentially my “magic” was to pay less attention to previous industries and jobs held and more attention to personality, values, behavioral style, and motivation:  All factors that the traditional matching of resumes to job descriptions can’t uncover. 

Fifteen years later, I found myself in my dream company, but got transferred into the wrong job as part of downsizing.  The result was that I failed for the first time in my life. I was devastated!  The next position I took was the perfect dream job, but the wrong corporate culture.  I am a change agent and I was in a company where all major decisions were made at a corporate level 3,000 miles away.  I felt like a race horse at a starting gate that was stuck.  I pushed and pushed and ended up hurting myself! The result was that I was in the top 15% of performers, but I was MISERABLE!  So the supposed “expert” on matching individuals with corporate companies failed to ask the right questions in the interview to ensure that the culture was a right fit for my personality and passion!  If it could happen to me it could happen to anyone! 

So many people are miserable in their job or love their job but the company does not energize them.   This discovery set me on the path to reinvent myself as a “heart hunter” with a focus on working with individuals to discover their passion, their purpose and the place that they can prosper. The bridge dream has come true:  I am taking executives from where they are to where they want to be in their careers!