By Celinda Appleby

After my participation in the RecruitDC Career Development Panel, I took the time to reflect on both my presentations and all of the others.  What I love about attending the RecruitDC conference and mini- networking events is that I am guaranteed to walk away reenergized to approach my career in a different way and with new friends.  The social aspect of RecruitDC may be my favorite part; the ability to connect with like-minded individuals is really important not just for sanity but for personal growth. Often times, my peers (me included) feel like we as Recruiters and Sourcers are stuck in a life of recruiting; chasing the candidates and closing the deals. But I want to take the time to refocus on the fact that you can take destiny into your own hands. You can walk away from a RecruitDC event and look at recruiting in a whole different way.

That happened to me, 2.5 years ago at a Spring RecruitDC event at the Gartner Building. It was my very first RecruitDC conference. The closing keynote was about Social Recruiting and I recall being one of three people in the room that was not using it for talent attraction (at least being honest and not raising their hands).  I took over 10 pages of notes and left that conference full of curiosity and excitement for this new sourcing avenue. The impact of that one keynote turned my entire career around.  I would never have imagined the career I have now, before that RecruitDC conference.  It wasn’t an easy path, but without the information, the knowledge sharing and the network I depended on it wouldn’t have even been possible.

I want to empower everyone with taking the time to reflect on the lessons learned and the connections made at RecruitDC last week. Dedicate an hour to strategizing your career. Incorporate the key takeaways that can influence the way you run your desk. Reach out to the people that really resonated with you and invite them to your networks.  There may not be a clear career path for us Recruiters, but find a way to make yourself invaluable and directly impact your customers. This can apply for both agency and corporate enterprises, as we are all in the same industry.

Celinda Appleby is the Employer Branding, Digital & Social Media Program Manager, HR Global Operations, Americas Staffing Organization for HP.  Follow Celinda at @CelindaAppleby.