Sometimes summer (and life) move so quickly that I need to be reminded to stop and breathe. When I do, I think how grateful I am to the men and women who proudly serve our country; one of which is my father. 

He’s an amazing Dad and has taught me such valuable life lessons. Lessons you can’t fully appreciate until you become wiser and more willing to understand the meaning behind the them.

As the Director of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), I often find that many of my dad's quirky lessons apply to both my personal and professional lives. With that said, I thought I’d share some of his most famous, and sometimes humorous lessons with you. 

1. Watch the Bridges, They Ice up Quick -  It's important to evaluate a situation from all angles. I often think of this when going through a new RPO program implementation. It’s critical each step of the talent selection process is carefully mapped out, so that step-to-step, there are no issues/gaps surrounding the candidate or hiring manager experience.
   
   
2. More hurry…Less Be – If you’re hasty, or rushed you will inevitably need to start all over again. Operate efficiently, with a focus on producing quality work. Pause and think about the ultimate goal, and take the time to outline the plan.
   
   
3. Finish what’s on your plate - Not always a favorite of mine growing up, but I now realize the importance of not being wasteful. I think about my role and the programs I manage. Where do we spend time that doesn’t add much value to our client? Lesson here is take what you need, finish what’s expected of you, don’t waste anything and focus on the scope of your work.
   
   
4. Don’t use someone else’s pencil - This was a big one during my School-aged years. He was always worried; using someone else’s pencil would pass the flu on. This created a sense of responsibility. I always made sure I had a pencil and even a back-up plan if I did happen to lose one along my path. At Yoh, our RPO Programs are our responsibility. We take much pride in ownership of process and creating loyal customers.
   
   
5. Bless yourself when you see a Church – something I still do, my siblings do, and I taught my children to do. It’s about respect for any religion. A reflection of our personal freedom to choose our faith. At Yoh, professional responsibility and respect are keynotes of our culture. Something encouraged and expected from one another.

So amongst the parades, barbecues, music and fireworks… I pause for just a moment, and thank my dad.

This blog was written by Katie Duffy. Katie is a staffing and recruiting professional with more than 15 years of experience in corporate staffing and consulting services. She currently serves as an Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Director for Yoh and leads a full Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) engagement for a global agribusiness company. Katie’s expertise spans operations management; large account development and management; developing and implementing talent strategies; start-up experience; recruiting and resource management; and management of professional recruiting staff.