Stephanie Amos

All-In at Acara: Stephanie Amos’ Journey from Retail to Recruiting

As one of Acara’s most consistent and highest-performing recruiters, Stephanie Amos was always destined for a talent acquisition role—it just took her some time to find her niche. After a successful stint as a retail manager at one of Buffalo’s most premier clothing stores, Stephanie landed a job with Acara—and hasn’t looked back since.

In the latest edition of our “All-In at Acara” series, learn how Stephanie’s impressive interpersonal skills and customer service savviness have helped her to flourish in her role as a Senior Recruitment Specialist with Acara.

Aspirations in academia

During my early adolescent years, I had always dreamed about becoming a teacher. I loved interacting with kids and wanted to help positively shape young minds through education. I enrolled in SUNY Buffalo State’s Special Education and Teaching program, where I received my Bachelor’s degree. But after I graduated from college, teaching jobs were tough to come by in the Western New York area. I worked as a student teacher for several months and loved the experience, but I soon realized that my professional dream of becoming a full-time teacher might be improbable.

Training at Tony Walker & Co.

As I was interviewing and applying for teaching positions, I continued my job as a Fashion Consultant at Tony Walker & Co.—a local Buffalo retail showroom. This role helped me gain valuable customer service skills by teaching me how to provide an exceptional experience to each customer that walked into our store. Shortly into my tenure at Tony Walker, I was promoted to Women’s Assistant Manager, which added new duties to my plate. Not only was I in charge of leading the women’s department, but I also was responsible for generating reports and tracking sales numbers.

From retail to recruiting

While my experiences in retail were rewarding, they also left me wanting something more from my professional career. I heard an ad on the radio one day about recruiting jobs that were available at Acara (at the time, Superior Group). Even though I had no past recruitment experience and didn’t have a complete understanding of how the industry worked, I submitted my resume for the job and landed an interview. During our conversation, Acara was able to recognize the foundational managerial skills and transferrable abilities that I had picked up from my retail job days and thought that my skills would translate to recruiting. Over five years later, I guess they were right!

A passion for placing candidates

Joining the recruitment team at Acara has enabled me to make lasting connections with both candidates and customers across the country. I love getting to know the businesses that we work with and understanding how they’re making a positive difference every day. I think I’m different than most other recruiters because I won’t simply submit a candidate for a job just because they meet the qualifications for the position. I’m committed to finding the right fit and ensuring that both the candidate and the company are set up for long-term success. To me, that lasting connection is so important.

Lighting the competitive fire

Before taking this recruiting job with Acara, I would’ve never considered myself to be a competitive person. Yet the talent acquisition industry as a whole can be pretty cutthroat. To succeed in this position, I knew I had to “up my game”—and I’ve done just that. I’m lucky to be recognized as a top performer on our team, but my success hasn’t come easy. In recruiting, you’re constantly learning from other recruiters and picking up on things you need to improve on. Having a thick skin and a growth mindset is imperative for any recruitment specialist.

Acara in one word

Acara is all about opportunity. Not only was I given an opportunity to succeed with the company, but we provide candidates with opportunities of their own. I’ve learned that at Acara, hard work equals more chances to grow. Our team consistently proves our worth to our clients by connecting them with quality candidates that can support their businesses. We’re establishing a culture where people are excited and motivated to come to work—and I’m thrilled to be a part of this group. Our team is growing naturally and organically, which makes our success so much fun to watch.

Out-of-office passions

I come from a small, tight-knit family, so a lot of my time outside of work is spent with my parents and my brother—especially since my brother and his wife just had a new baby. I’m also fortunate to have a closer group of friends that love to get out and travel as much as we can. One place that’s on my travel wish list is visiting the mountains in rural Japan. My boyfriend and I are obsessed with Japanese culture, so getting to experience it firsthand would be an incredible experience. After getting home from work, you can usually find me unwinding with a glass of red wine under my covered backyard porch. It’s my happy place!

To learn more about Stephanie Amos, connect with her on LinkedIn.

Interested in finding out more about Stephanie and the rest of our Acara team? Check out other editions of our “All-In at Acara” series on our blog here.

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