One of the best parts of Shelly Camp’s job as a JPMorgan Chase executive recruiter is showing new hires around the firm’s recently modernized two million-square-foot Polaris headquarters in Columbus, Ohio, where 10,000 employees work.
Camp, who’s also a rejoiner to the firm, grabs coffees with new hires from the building’s Starbucks, swings by the state-of-the-art cafeteria, and talks about the firm’s rich history. Sometimes, she’ll hear her name called out in passing in the building’s atrium by an employee she placed decades ago.
Camp has a combined 16 years at JPMorgan Chase, having first joined as a recruiter in the mid-1990s. She left in 1999 to recruit for a software company and an IT recruiting firm, then returned as a contractor in 2009. Two years later, she took a full-time recruiter role. Currently Camp recruits hires in marketing and communications.
“Coming back was one of the best decisions I’ve made,” she says. “Some of the best people I know are my co-workers. I love the people. I stay because of the people. I also love the fact that JPMorgan Chase is so engaged in the communities we work in.”
Recruiting for Y2K and mobile apps
Camp, who has a degree in fashion merchandising and promotion, discovered she might be well suited for job in recruiting after a chance encounter at a clothing shop, where she was a manager. When her staff called in sick, Camp helped a customer who needed a suit, taking time to find hosiery and jewelry that complemented the outfit.
The customer was impressed with Camp and connected her to the family-owned recruiting firm she worked for. Camp came on board and recruited temporary clerical candidates for companies for the next few years. “I was recruited to be a recruiter,” she says.
JPMorgan Chase predecessor Chemical Bank was one of Camp’s major clients, and when her client contact was out sick when they were supposed to meet, Camp mailed her a get well card. “She was very taken aback by that, in a good way,” Camps says.
Over half of the temps Camp sent to Chemical became full-time hires, and soon she was asked to work as a contractor, then hired full-time at the firm. She’s worked in a variety of recruiting roles since then. Early on, she helped with technology recruiting at a time when the world was preparing for Y2K, the massive computer system glitch that was thought to occur in the year 2000.
Camp recruited technology hires to build some of the firm’s first mobile banking apps. More recently, she has recruited employees focused on the firm’s new 270 Park Avenue building in New York.
Job search advice for rejoiners
Over the years, Camp has watched JPMorgan Chase evolve, but the people, their passion and employees’ strong work ethic have endured, she says. So has the firm’s culture of doing the right thing and supporting local communities.
Rejoining JPMorgan Chase was like coming home, she says. The biggest lesson she’s learned during her years at the bank is to not fight change. “I learned that change is inevitable,” Camp says, “and you might as well embrace it. Over the course of my career, I’ve learned the most here. I’m such a cheerleader for the firm, and recruiting is my passion.”
Camp is enjoying what’s shaping up to be one of the busiest years she’s seen as a recruiter. For alumni looking to rejoin, Camp recommends connecting with someone they know who currently works at JPMorgan Chase.
“That helps,” she says. “An employee referral is one of the first things I look at.”
Joining the Alumni Talent Network on the alumni site is a good way to indicate what you’re looking for and receive job alerts. Another tip for job seekers is to connect with company recruiters on LinkedIn. Many will have their contact information readily available on their profile, she says.
Always keep your resume and social media—especially LinkedIn—up to date too, says Camp, and never turn down an opportunity to have an exploratory discussion.
Keep a work journal listing special projects you’ve worked on and your transferable skills, she says, especially if you’re trying to make a job change. “Always keep your options open,” adds Camp.
