Kayla Clahassey

As a recent college graduate in 2012, Kayla Clahassey was waiting tables at an Atlanta restaurant when she encountered a group from Randstad that had come in for a celebration. Among them was the regional director of the southeast, who invited her to call the next day. Clahassey stayed in contact over the next four months, eventually coming on board to be a recruiter.

Her journey took her to two other staffing firms before returning her to Randstad in 2015. During 2020, she led the Atlanta branch, overseeing a team that grew its major accounts portfolio revenue by 15%; gross profit on those accounts rose by 10%. The growth came even amid the difficult year as Clahassey moved to find new customers. In February of this year, she became solutions field director of Randstad Technologies.

“I love what I do,” she says. The creativity and being able to build relationships and solve problems are fun for her. “Be intentional in your conversations with clients you are talking to,” and listen to how they solve problems, she says.

For example, she had been trying to reach one customer for over a year when she discovered the person liked hip hop music. Clahassey’s own brother is a rapper, and she developed a rap specifically for the customer, opening the door for a meeting and an introduction to the client company’s executive team.

Her advice to others joining the staffing industry is to be resilient and creative. And if you’re the hardest worker in the room, you are sure to get noticed, she says.