From Talent Acquisition To Corporate Communications

In June of 2009, I attended ERE's Social Recruiting Summit at Google in Mountain View, CA. The speakers, sessions, attendees, conversations and inspiring location reinforced my desire for a career in social media. It was the first time that I coordinated a tweetup. At the time, I was a recruiter for an agency with co-workers and a boss who were like family to me. There were many talented recruiters who were out of work. I debated if I was ungrateful for my current employment and if it was the right time to take a risk to follow my passions.

In the end, I had to follow my heart, face my fears and take calculated risks towards my professional goals. Through meetings with trusted colleagues, mentors and industry leaders, I left recruiting to focus full-time on delivering social media training and solutions. Since then, I've had many personal and professional successes and failures. Earlier this year, I joined Waste Management (WM), a Fortune 200 corporation with 1500 job openings in the U.S. and Canada.

Today, I'm grateful to announce another transition. I've accepted a new role within WM. My title is Manager, Social Media. I'm part of an extraordinary Corporate Communications team. It is bittersweet, since I truly enjoyed working on a daily basis with the first-class Talent Acquisition group at WM. Now I am responsible for all social media platforms, monitoring for our internal and external communication channels and engaging target audiences. It is an honor to represent Waste Management during the company's time of transformational change and growth. I am humbled and indebted for the innovative leadership driving positive change at WM.

Thank you to my friends, colleagues, mentors and family for their unconditional support. I wish you and your loved ones a prosperous and healthy 2012. Keep paying it forward!