I never thought I would end up working for a company like AMEND.
I had drunk the corporate kool-aid (like so many other college students).
I was ready to go work for an organization that had a worldwide brand. I figured that a company was large, so it must be successful, and that means it has successful, hard-working individuals within it.
Don’t get me wrong, this is true. I am the child of a 30 + year employee of one of the largest corporations in the world. I have met those hard working, driven, “14-hour work day” corporate types. Even after growing up in that environment, I still questioned what else was out there, and who else was in the working world.
I discovered quickly throughout sports and academia that you are going to have to like the people you are working with IN ADDITION to like what you are doing. You could have the best job in the world, but if you hate the guy next to you, you’re never going to be happy. The culture of a company can make or break your experience. This aspect of a business was incredibly important to me. So, I took this curiosity, and this knowledge of the importance of people to the recruiting cycle.
I was set on doing consulting, but never found that big company that shared the passion and vision of helping others. They said it, and they threw it up on posters, but I never truly felt it. I knew of AMEND through conversations, but I didn’t know what they were about, or what they truly did. And then I heard the story of their name. I can vividly remember my thought process when I heard the story behind the name of AMEND. I thought, “Wow, this sounds like a company I want to work for. They value family, hard work, and changing other people’s lives. I share those same values.”
The story of AMEND’s name told me everything I wanted to know about the company. Family is the most important thing to me, and I knew they viewed life through the same lens. I knew they would be about their career supporting their life and not the other way around. I knew that they would be as concerned about professional growth as they were about personal growth. I knew this was a company where I would be happy.
And then – it got even better!
The reason I went into consulting is because I wanted to help other people by helping their businesses. To me, this would, in-turn, help the community because there would be better suited people to serve and drive community growth. This was why I wanted to do what I have been doing the past 4 months. I wanted to serve others.
During my interview with AMEND, Paul sat there and said the reason why he does what he does is, and I quote: “Our work helps the community. If I help someone save money and time at their company, then they have more time and money to spend. Maybe they are able to go to a Red’s game which then helps that organization. It is a chain reaction effect.” I called my Mom on the way home from the interview and told her that it was so cool to hear that they shared the identical values I did.
I knew AMEND was for me.
I still battled with going through the process of the corporate giants, however I had this gut feeling that AMEND was my home. Throughout it all, those values, and the reasoning behind AMEND stuck with me. That vision, and that foundation of the company is why I chose AMEND.
