Jeff Paarlberg is the Branch Manager for Johnson Service Group’s Jacksonville, FL office. He’s been with JSG for over eight years now. We sat down with him and asked him a few questions about him, his team in Jacksonville, and his career. Check out what he had to say.
You have a very diverse work history. Tell us about your journey into the Staffing & Recruiting industry?
I was actually a student-athlete for the University of Illinois where I played baseball. After graduation, I wanted to go to dental school. After a while, I decided that being a dentist wasn’t the path for me and I moved back home to the Chicago area. Shortly after, my now wife and I decided to move to Florida to avoid the windy city and find a new home to settle down in. I met some guys working for JSG while playing on a softball team and I was eventually asked to join the JSG team in Florida.
At the time, the Florida office was in its infancy. They didn’t have a ton of business and they were just getting started. And there were just three of us on the team when I started.
You have been the Branch Manager for the Jacksonville office for nearly 5 years now. Tell us a little about your team and how it’s grown over the years?
It’s interesting to think how the Jacksonville office, as well as JSG as a company, has grown and changed over the years. When I first started at JSG, I was running a full desk. I was working as a Business Development Manager as well as doing some recruiting. We identified an opportunity sourcing for managed service provider (MSP) positions. At the time, it was really an untapped market for JSG. We started there and it really helped us grow our business. We eventually landed a big energy account and it remains one of JSG’s largest accounts to this day.
After we continued to grow through the years, our office needed a leader and I was gratefully given the opportunity to lead the team in Jacksonville. We started with three people and now we have 11 on our team and looking to keep growing.
What are the goals for the Jacksonville office in 2019?
Our goal is to continue becoming the most trusted partner for our clients and employer for our consultants. And as a leader, it’s always my goal to see everyone on my team achieve their personal goals. I always strive to do whatever I can to help them reach their goals because when they hit their personal goals, the Jacksonville office hits our goals.
Is there one piece of advice that you would like to give to all of your clients in this candidate-driven job market?
If I could tell all my clients one thing, it would be to trust in our partnership. We’re here to help guide them through this low supply/high demand market. For certain skillsets, we face the dilemma of a price tag for the “perfect” candidate vs. the skills of a candidate that fits a certain budget. And these two things can sometimes be pretty far apart. We understand your bottom line is important. However, sometimes a higher salary is necessary to get the best candidates to join your team!
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