Laura Cooper, a California native and recruiting manager at Crescent Solutions, recently took a trip to Denver, Colorado to visit two of her best friends who live there. They went on a steep five-mile hike and when she stood on top of a peak to take a snapshot, she was shaking. Although she is afraid of heights, one of her favorite activities is hiking. She has reasons of her own on why she treks up mountains despite her fears:
“You’ve got to push yourself a little bit,” Laura said.
This sentence alone sums up Laura’s attitude towards life. When she started at Crescent Solutions seven years ago and fresh from graduating Cal State Fullerton, she was in an entirely different role than she is in now. Laura spent time in the HR, payroll, and marketing departments before asking CEO Brian Fischbein to transition her over to recruiting—and she’s been doing it ever since. “It’s something I feel really comfortable in,” she said. “I’m always learning. I never get bored with it because technology’s always changing and the positions I work on are constantly changing.”
One of her fondest memories about her early days at Crescent Solutions happened in the company’s old office in a high-rise building. The cubicles then were tiny, and she remembered that there was barely enough room for senior recruiter David Etnire to push his chair back out from behind his desk. She would laugh whenever she heard him yell out, “Oh God!” David has had his share of laughs with Laura as well.
“Coops is a fantastic recruiter (100 percent trained by myself and Derek Berger), so that should come as no surprise,” said David. “Thank goodness that our HR department doesn’t listen in too much to the conversations being had over at the ‘West Wing.’ She might get into a little trouble! But because they don’t, we have compiled a 20-page list of her most famous quotes and sayings called, “S*** Cooper Says” (book and website coming soon)!”
“Seriously though, Coops is a fantastic recruiter,” he continued. “Her personality is great, she works hard, and she is much loved by her coworkers and her candidates!”
Some of the most fun Laura has had with her coworkers have taken place at their company retreats. However, there was one trip where they had a bit too much fun. A couple of years ago, the team stayed at a house with a basketball court. A few of them lowered the basketball hoop for a slam dunk competition. After about six cocktails, she finally agreed to join in; however, the rim wasn’t weighted, and after she dunked, she held onto the rim, fell over, and tore both her ACL and MCL. She went through knee surgery and after nearly a year of recovery, she bounced back with a similarly positive outlook.
“I’m better now. I’m good and I’m back to dunking.”