Recruiter by day and champion stein-holder by night, Julia McLemore, isn’t lacking in the talent department. As EverCheck’s and CE Broker’s dedicated talent acquisition specialist, Julia grows our team, brings us together and delivers that all-too-important first impression that gives candidates the sense that this is where they want to be.
Since she came on board a little more than a year ago, Julia stumbled into one of EverCheck’s highest growth years on record. But the high staffing demand proved that Julia had an eye for the type of talent we look for and an empathetic approach to recruitment that helps set us apart as a great company to engage with, regardless of whether you get the offer.We sat down with Julia to learn what it’s like to be the first face of EverCheck, her passion for bringing people together, and how it feels to have fulfilled her lifelong dream of living in Evergreen, Colorado.
Q | Congrats on one year! Tell us a little about life before EverCheck.
A | Before EverCheck, I worked as the Volunteer Manager for a local invertebrate zoo. What kind of animals are at an invertebrate zoo, you may ask? If it doesn’t have a spine, it’s there.
As enchanting as it sounds, the workload that comes with non-profits is grueling. I knew that I was reaching the point of burnout.
But I discovered that the skills needed for managing volunteers for a non-profit are very similar to those needed to be a recruiter. So I was able to easily relay my knowledge from my previous jobs to a recruiting position with EverCheck.
Q | You’re known by your Boulder colleagues as the “fun coordinator.” What motivates you to bring your team together as you do, and what are some of the activities you’ve coordinated that people really enjoy?
A | I’ve found that people want to spend time together outside of the office. At the office, it’s very much about the work we do - our crew is very focused. But we all enjoy each other’s company, so we make a point to spend time together in a different environment. We’ll grab dinner together, we’ll do yoga, or we’ll go for a hike! We volunteered together last fall at an organic farm and have plans for more group volunteer projects in the future. Anything that allows us to connect outside of the office. I think that time is actually what makes us such a close-knit group.
Q | What do you love most about your job? The least?
A | I always get to talk to new and interesting people. The people I interview are smart, and they have wildly diverse and fascinating backgrounds. That’s probably my favorite - getting to meet such great people.
Some of the time, I deliver fantastic news. You got the job! But there are only so many positions compared to the great candidates I meet, so I sometimes have to be the bearer of bad news.
But even with the so-called “lows,” I’ve found that closing the loop matters. I make a point to reach out to each and every applicant to bring their journey with us full circle. I remember, as a job-seeker myself - applicants pour hours of time into resumes and cover letters, and oftentimes they won’t even hear back from companies they’ve applied to.
Having a sense of empathy and saying “no” kindly brings integrity to this process and helps us build relationships with people as we grow in the future. You never know what opportunities might arise months or even years down the road!
"Simply treating applicants with kindness and respect
has yielded very positive feedback."
Q | Bringing the right people together is an important part of your role. What qualities do you look for when determining whether a candidate would be a good fit?
A | Well, the roles' qualities usually come directly from the hiring manager. It takes a very different set of skills to be in Quality Assurance than it does to be in Marketing, for instance. So I work very closely with our managers, and I have to say they’re all very good at identifying what qualities make their teams tick.
Regardless of the position, though, it’s essential that the person’s core values align with ours. I’ve always thought the “Pursue Growth and Learning” value was one of the more telling ones. When I ask someone what they do outside of work for personal growth and development, it’s very obvious to me who’s passionate about the idea of constant growth and learning and who maybe doesn’t place as much value on that.
"Our core values are the foundation
of our company’s culture."
Q | Part of your job, really, is “selling” EverCheck to candidates. After all, interviews go both ways. What are some things that excite you and the candidates most excited about working here?
A | Luckily, I work at a place I’m truly enthusiastic about. So when candidates want to know why I like working at EverCheck, I’m like - how much time do you have?
I make a point to talk to the people who are in a particular department to see what they enjoy about the job, too. It’s one thing to love the company, but you must also love the work. So I take the time to almost interview staff members to see what about the actual work they enjoy.
Across the board, candidates get really excited about our commitment to our values, particularly our commitment to Living Balanced. A lot of companies talk the talk when it comes to work/life balance, but it’s a lot harder to walk the walk. Here, we live and breathe our core values, and we’re always looking for new ways to grow with our values as a foundation. For instance, we introduced the new Volunteer Time Off program just this year. What a cool new benefit! Many of our team outings that we were doing on our own time were centered around volunteering, so this just means we now get paid for it!
"It’s obvious everyone here really cares and
I think any candidate who checks out our website,
blog, social media, etc., get the sense that we’re
all here for the right reasons."
Q | You’re about to be a new mom - congratulations! What are you most looking forward to?
A | I’m most excited about seeing my husband be a dad - I think he will be the best dad in the world. Now that we live up in the mountains, we have an opportunity to give our kids a really fun childhood. We get to raise our child outdoors - biking, hiking, skiing, and doing all of the activities that we love. There’s even a sledding hill right by our house.
Q | Where are you from originally? What drew you to the Colorado mountains?
A | I’m originally from New Mexico, but growing up, my Dad and I would take road trips to Colorado. I remember being 15, driving through Evergreen and thinking, “this is where I wanna live - this is where I’m going to end up.” So it’s pretty surreal that we now have a house in Evergreen.
"It feels like I’m coming
full circle on my goals."
Q | What’s in your headphones throughout the day?
A | When I’m really trying to concentrate, I tend to want quiet. Otherwise, it’s podcasts all day. Podcasts about true crime or science are my bread and butter.
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