Marie
When Marie’s previous employer made a series of significant cultural changes, she decided it was time to pursue new career opportunities. She put her resume online, as she says, “just to see if I’d have any bites. I got a bite, and it was a really good one!” That “bite” came from Kendra Palmer, Sr. Staffing Manager in Leddy Group’s Engineering division. Marie had found a previous role in Florida with a different staffing agency, so she was familiar with what agencies do, “but Leddy Group is pretty remarkable,” she says. “The way Kendra approached me and asked me good questions, about what my needs and wants were, and what I was looking for, was important to me.” Marie’s wish list was to work in her state – New Hampshire – at a company without a pressure-cooker environment. “I wanted to remove stress from my body; I was working 7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day, and totally exhausted all the time. It was a high-pressure job where the rules and policies were unfair because they were different for everyone. I told Kendra I want to work for a smaller company, a good company that had good history, one that takes care of their employees, where you’re not just a number, per se.”
Right away, Kendra knew she had an incredible candidate in Marie, and a great opportunity to share with her. Kendra remarks, “Marie is very enthusiastic about her work. I could hear the smile in her voice when she spoke about the work she has done and the teams she worked with. Marie is detail-oriented, well-versed in documentation, and was interested in working at a company where she would be making a significant contribution – which made the job a great fit for her and vice versa!” The potential job was as a Quality Assurance Specialist at a medical device manufacturer just 20 minutes from her home. “I reviewed the information that Kendra sent me, and when she contacted me a couple of days later, I said it seems like this job is made for me!” says Marie. She completed three interviews, two virtually and one in person. Only two days after her final interview, Kendra shared the good news: Marie had been offered the role. “If I had been driving, I probably would have gone off the road, I was so surprised,” Marie laughs.
Marie started her new job as a Quality Assurance Specialist in June of 2024. Each day, she works on a variety of vital quality tasks: she ensures everything is correct and in place for ISO audits, works on instructions for the manufacturing floor, and addresses customer complaints with corrective actions. She serves as backup for the quality inspection team, filling in if someone is out of the office. Marie stops by the shipping and receiving department to ensure outgoing shipments are correct and have all the necessary data. She also goes down to the manufacturing floor to verify accuracy of paperwork and familiarize herself with the parts and the employees. Marie says, “It’s really neat to see the new products – it’s constantly changing.” As Marie’s previous experience was primarily in aerospace, she is learning a lot about the medical industry, but as she puts it, “No matter how I look at it, quality is quality. It’s still saving a person’s life. I just want to know it all now. I take pride in my work and learn something new every day.”
Her new employer’s small company environment is exactly what Marie was seeking. “They do so much for their people. You’re not just an employee here,” she says. “First of all, you’re needed because there are only 80 people. Everyone is trained very well on the position they’re on. Everything we do here is plastic, but it goes into someone’s body or a lifesaving machine. For instance, it goes into a catheter, or a heart monitor, or is used to treat Parkinson’s disease. Each piece is made precisely for each customer, and measured with calipers, micrometers, magnifiers, inspected to ensure nothing is ripped or torn, no foreign object debris. Everyone here knows how important what they do is.” She was accustomed to working in the heat and noise of the manufacturing floor environment, but says, “Here I get my own office upstairs, and it’s so quiet.” She loves her boss, describing her as “very down to earth, very family oriented.” In addition, the company offers a variety of employee perks, like regularly scheduled fun outings and a professional massage therapist offering free 10-minute back massages every other week. “And weekly, our cafeteria is packed full of fresh fruit,” says Marie. “People really love it. The culture here is magnificent and rare.”
This new opportunity has been life-changing for Marie. She shares, “It’s kind of sappy, but the past couple years have been really rough for me. I’ve been going through a lot of sadness. And when I got this opportunity, it put a smile on my face. It happened at the best time of my life, and I couldn’t ask for anything more, to be honest. The timing was almost too good to be true.” Marie owes it to Kendra for her good fortune and great new career. “Kendra was going to get me this job, plain and simple. I could feel it in my bones. She kept in contact every step of the way. She goes above and beyond. She’s good people.” When asked if she’d recommend working with Leddy Group to other job seekers, she exclaimed, “Are you kidding? Yes! Of course I would. Look at me! I am so proud of where I am today, thanks to Kendra at Leddy Group.”
