John Ashwin
- Recruitment Manager, Human Resources
- Kaspersky Lab
School Information
School: Northern Illinois University
College Major: Pre-Law
Years at College Works: 2006
Career Information
Working For: Kaspersky Lab
Title: Recruitment Manager, Human Resources
Industry: Computer & Network Security
Brief Description of Duties / Responsibilities:
Managing all recruitment activities full-cycle for both the North American and Latin American territories.
What Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?Graduating from Northern Illinois with my Bachelor’s degree and establishing a solid career in Human Resources for a great company like Kaspersky. Everyday, I have the opportunity to help an organization become more efficient as well as help people get jobs.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
Without College Works Painting, I wouldn’t have developed the skills necessary to be a professional and to work with other people.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
I was only a freshman in college when I did College Works Painting, and by the time I finished my internship, I knew what it was like to work 60-70 hours, negotiate and speak with different kinds of people, handle rejection and disappointment, close big deals, produce complicated projects with various moving parts and understand what professionalism and customer service really mean. I got into Recruiting after college, and I was able to build on all of these experiences and reference them whenever a new position or project came up. There was a confidence and level of comfort I had when it came to facing difficult situations that I could have only learned through College Works Painting at such an early stage in my career.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
Thanks for taking a chance on me and providing me with work. I hope I provided you with a good service and that you have not had to worry about painting your house for a long time.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
Business Guru Robert Kiyosaki can say it better than I can: Your success is determined by three things, and they are the size of your dream, the strength of your desire and your ability to handle disappointment along the way. I definitely had a lot of obstacles and disappointments, but I really wanted to succeed and really believed in myself. That combined with the support I got from my DM Brian Allen really did wonders for me.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
Being recommended by a consummate professional like Taylor Duncan has done a lot for my career and credibility, and it has allowed others to notice me and take a chance on me.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Passion, hard work and education are our building blocks for success!
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Be prepared to work 50-60 hours per week, make door-to-door sales a priority, manage your time and don’t forget to do your school work, too.
Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?
You will learn patience, attention to detail, time management, customer service, negotiation, and work ethic, all of which are necessary for Recruitment.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Read full job descriptions, establish good relationships with Hiring Manager, always continue learning, ask good questions, continue building your pipeline, consistently deliver quality candidates to your Hiring Managers and be patient.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
Booking a much needed $10K with 2 weeks left to go before the official deadline for production after several team members were already fired.That experience helped me realize that I can dig myself out of a hole at crunch time. Also, the Paintball event we did was a lot of fun, too.
Last words of wisdom?
Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re correct! Henry Ford