I looked for a job for about 6 months, at a time, and before that, about 3 months, making 9 in total months of job searching. As a college graduate, in the field of IT, I submitted resume after resume, went to job fairs, the whole works. It wasn't until I got a call From Keara Sullivan, that this all changed. She gave me a screening interview a few days later, to assess what my strengths and weaknesses were and to get a good feel of my personality. When she told me that she would try to find me a good fit, I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical. That normally means, "We'll sit your resume over here on the stack and call you in a year." But I found out quickly, that although she may have had many people relying on her to find them a 'perfect fit', she made sure to put a face on every one of us. Every time I finished talking with her, in person, or over the phone, she ended the conversation with, "Let me get with the manager tomorrow", or "I'm meeting with him today, and will certainly pass on your resume." It made me feel like someone was genuinely lobbying for my success, and for the success of the company for which she was screening.
Even on the day of my actual job interview (that she had set up for me), there was another person on-site (Casey), giving me the pep talk of encouragement, making sure that I knew I was ready--she even sat in on the interview to make sure everything went well. After the interview was over, she conversed with the hiring managers immediately afterwards to find out how I did (so I didn't have to wait several days to hear back). I got on the phone with Keara, because she wanted to know how I thought I did, and more importantly, HOW I FELT about the interview and the interviewers.
In short, they made me feel human. And that is more than any resume, suit and tie, degree, or word of recommendation can ever do. They put a face to job hunting and remained professional, courteous, and efficient.
Thanks to them, I now work as a contract employee for the Fortune 500 company, Rockwell Collins.
From the bottom of my heart, I publicly thank you.