Recruiting is a demanding profession, which frequently requires early morning coffee meetings, after-hours phone calls, and "putting out fires." Sometimes we get caught up in the day-to-day aspects of our job and forget that we really are making a difference in people's lives. Here at Vaco, we are in the business of helping people with their livelihoods. And it's a good business to be in. Thank you to our partners, both clients and candidates, who frequently remind us of this with their warmth and gratitude. Following are two recent stories of how we've impacted the lives of others, and in turn, have been reminded of how their appreciation is just as impactful to us.

Vaco was recently referred by a past client to the COO of a growing apparel company. The COO had three urgent positions to fill, all requiring experience in their industry. Within one week, we helped them to find their new controller. The controller had been referred to us by a client who attended grad school with her husband, once again reminding us that our long-time relationships are at the core value of Vaco and what makes our network the best. With the new controller in place, the firm was ready to hire a manager. We had the good fortune to be introduced to an outgoing and engaging manager with five years of industry experience. At one of those requisite early morning coffee meetings, we met with her to make sure the opportunity matched with her needs as well. The barista at the coffee shop didn't close the lid of her mocha so she started the meeting off with hot mocha dumping all over her suit and burning her! We joked with her, "now we really have to find you a job." Well, last night we were thrilled to call her (one of those requisite after-hour calls) and offer her the position at the growing apparel company. The candidate was so happy that she literally squealed with delight. She then exclaimed, "This is the happiest day of my life!" Her enthusiasm and true delight will for a long time remind us just how lucky we are to be in the business of recruiting.

Vaco strives to set itself apart from other recruiting firms by truly listening to and understanding the needs of our clients and candidates. We believe in long-term relationships, not one-time deals. We were recently assisting a long-term, repeat client with a staff accountant position. The position was tough to fill given the demanding hours required in the position as well as a unique cultural fit. Vaco partnered with a top-notch candidate who was looking to transition from public accounting into private industry - and luckily he fit the cultural bill perfectly. After many rounds of interviews with the client, an offer was extended. At this point our staff accountant candidate had a competing offer. We worked very closely with him to re-evaluate the initial goals of his search as well as his career path far into the future. Together, we decided that the competitor's opportunity more closely mirrored what he sought. It's hard to have a placement not go through after so much time is invested, however, it would have been harder to live with making an improper recommendation to our candidate who placed his full trust in us. His thanks was conveyed in the following email, reaffirming that we did the right thing:

"Although things probably didn't turn out the way you would have preferred, I want you to know how much I appreciate all of your efforts. This was essentially my first voyage in job hunting and I would have been lost without your direction. I think you are absolutely great at what you do and I feel very fortunate to have had all of your support in this process."

And thanks to all our clients and candidates for making this job so much fun!