Originally Published February 6, 2018
Have you ever met someone who instantly strikes you as an authentic person, someone who does not hide behind a facade? How about a person who you can instantly tell they have a passion for excellence? If you get a chance to work with Julie George (https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-george-37078a1/), that is exactly what you will experience.
Julie is a successful small-business owner (http://www.thejagwiregroup.com/) and has been in business for herself since 2005. Her company focuses on recruiting for companies who need to fulfill a role in the support, management, implementation, or optimizing Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solutions. Julie places fulltime employees as well as provides staff augmentation resources for Business Application Packages such as: Oracle’s eBusiness, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards (both WorldSoftware and EnterpriseOne), SAP, Microsoft, and Epicor, just to name a few.
She stands-out in the recruiting business because she does not cut corners. Julie is very careful to interview the company needing staff to make sure she fully understands the job duties, but she does not stop there. Julie strives to gain insight into the corporate culture, personalities of the hiring management personnel, and an understanding of personalities acceptable to the open opportunities. She also takes the time to know the people she is placing into these roles. When you are working with Julie, you will be well informed. Friends who have recently been in the job market have mentioned just how much better prepared they are for an interview with Julie as their recruiter than they have ever been with others who have tried to place them.
Julie also takes the time to follow up on someone she has placed (3 to 6 months after placement), ensuring both the company and the employee still believe it is a good match. This is an example of the passion for excellence that drive Julie’s success.
When asked, what success means to her, Julie had a few things to share:
Financial viability was her first focus. She states she is able to make a profit, maintain self-sufficiency, and has used very little debt. She is of the mindset that worrying about financial stability creates additional problems and distracts focus from the real reason for being in business
Being successful as a female business owner is important to her. She shared how her dad was instrumental in helping her understand how to operate in business. He was crucial in formulating her attitude that what matters in business is getting the job done. Set aside whether someone is a man or woman, focus on excellence at work.
Julie was very clear, in a service-oriented business like recruiting, her reputation is very important. It takes diligence and patience to ensure the branding of your company is positive. This means building relationships is a cornerstone of success. With this, she must ensure she is placing the right people in the right roles. If a company is not authentic or transparent, then they may not be the best fit as a client. If a job seeker has a bad attitude or poor work-ethic it would be best to not attempt to place them.
Julie shared insight into two key role models for her success in work. First was Ed McVaney, who was the “Edward” behind the name JD Edwards. Julie was working at JD Edwards when OneWorld was first released as a software. This was the company’s step into “client/server” software. She was a client manager working directly with Ed McVaney to ensure client satisfaction. These were difficult times as the software was new and there was a lot of pressure to help clients with successful implementations. Ed coached Julie through the process, with true hands-on assistance to help Julie learn patience, perseverance, and passion to help ensure clients were being satisfied.
The other role model Julie mentioned was her dad. Not only did he teach her to be gender-neutral in business, but he also helped her understand we all must realize we can be replaced. It is important to consistently be pursuing excellence. He helped her understand how to cut through the minutia, which can crowd out the true focus, and make sure she would succeed in becoming self-sufficient.
Julie is very personable and approachable. Her genuine care for those around her is noticeable from the first time we had a chance to speak. Thank you Julie, for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me.
Footnote:
To follow the author on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddrthomsen/
For more information on the GSI where Todd is a Sr. Client Success Manager - https://www.getgsi.com/