Melanie Szlucha

Drawing on 15+ years of experience as a hiring manager, formed a company with the mission of improving candidates’ presentation skills on resumes and in job interviews.  Works with clients around the world across a variety of fields including: Healthcare, Scientific, Information Technology, Marketing, Public Relations and Executive-Level Finance by researching job descriptions, candidate’s background and target companies. Has also recruited candidates for various positions including: Administrative Assistant, Marketing Associate, Analyst, Customer Service/Account Manager, Legal Assistant, for small to mid-sized businesses.

Account Management / Sales / Operational Management

·       Utilizes consultative selling techniques to assess client’s needs and propose appropriate services.

·       Manages a large portfolio of business clients for recruiting projects and professionals for individual coaching.

·       Negotiates rates, writes contracts and manages accounts receivables.

·       Increased business year over year (when full time) by building a network of satisfied clients who referred additional business.

Business Development and Marketing

·       Grew business through regular attendance at networking events to build relationships.

·       Highly sought presenter / trainer at numerous jobseeker events and panel discussions.

·       Conceptualized and produced 3 successful and unique business networking events to transition social media connections through LinkedIn and Facebook into stronger offline relationships.

·       Initiated and co-produced with 2 other career coaches the area’s first career fair during the 2008 recession. Incorporated 9 presenters, 15 vendors and employers.

A startup division of the company with an innovative strategy of placing association members in roles that align with identified career goals. After 18 months, the model was recognized as not viable and the division was closed.

Account Management

·       Conducted outreach to 20+ members and registered job seekers from the association’s career centers. Interviewed candidates to understand career goals, background and job requirements.

·       Supported candidates by providing coaching and feedback including resume/CV review and interview preparation.

Sales

·       Researched, prospected, emailed and cold called 9K+ employers across the country in the healthcare and legal industries. Leveraged Salesforce.com and SalesLoft for follow-up cadences and tracking.

·       The most successful member of the team in persuading over 65 employers to sign a contingency recruiting agreement. Negotiated terms that aligned with the employer’s expectations while aligning with the company’s profitability goals.

·       Praised by management for frequently suggesting and implementing actionable, tangible improvements to operations, job sourcing and reporting.  

Focused on pre-need sales of cemetery property. Built relationships with family members and clearly articulated the options and complex terminology of the industry.

Account Management / Project Management / Sales

• Primary point of contact with families to handle the logistics behind interring family members. Managed details for 5+ concurrent accounts per week.  

–   Researched cemetery records dating to the early 1900’s to locate available space in family plots.

–   Served as the go-between with families, funeral homes and the in-house grounds team to communicate timing and special requests. Strong conflict-resolution skills and ability to de-escalate challenging situations.

–   Troubleshooted solutions to problems for emotional family members to ensure the day ran smoothly.

–   Managed invoices and accounts receivables for monument purchases and service payments.

• Accomplished selling 3 private estates, each valued at $70K+, in the first 9 months in the position.

Led Human Resource and special projects initiatives. Managed the Human Resources and IT budget. Supervised the Controller and IT Manager.

Special Projects

• During the COVID pandemic, collaborated with the staff to develop policies and procedures that were legally compliant and protected the vulnerable population. Researched and implemented technology that tracked visitor information and temperatures while maintaining HIPAA confidentiality.
• Developed, implemented programs and rewrote job postings which improved the organization’s recruiting strategies to present a more professional image and efficiently attract qualified candidates aligned with the organization’s non-profit mission.
• Integral to the success of online fundraising events during COVID. Researched presentation options and ran the Zoom platform for the high profile events.

Area Director (2013 – 2020)

Managed and advised 6 Director Consultants to coach and support chapter Presidents (business owners) across Fairfield County.

Director Consultant (2012 – 2013)

A trusted advisor and sounding board to 5 chapter Presidents. Oversaw growth of 2 new chapters.

Managed a $2.4 Million portfolio of 30 financial services Fortune 500 clients including: Chase Bank, Bank of America, Fidelity Investments, Wachovia and Merrill Lynch.  Annual contracts ranged from $15,000 to $200,000. Recruited, hired and oversaw a staff of two Account Managers. Hired, trained and managed 2 Account Managers.

Accomplishments

·       Leveraged experience as media buyer to facilitate peer-to-peer relationships and negotiate contracts.

·       Increased sales $50K when clients returned after transitioning to new accounts at their agencies.

·       Quoted in several publications including the Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer as an expert in advertising trends in the Mutual Fund and Consumer Investment categories.

·       Successfully up sold / cross sold clients to add new services, negotiated contract increases an average of 10-40%.