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Meet Susan (Kang) Nam, As Rare as a Pink Olive
By Dave Mendoza, Partner, RecruitingBlogs.com/Affiliate Partner JobMachine Inc.
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Susan (Kang) Nam is a newbie interested in the sourcing and recruiting industry via utilizing social media, focused on exploring various industries. She is currently working for her sister's boutique, Pink Olive Inc.
She is currently serving as a member of board of directors - a VP role at Harvard Club of Andover Inc. She is also actively participating in both on/off sites committees (i.e. Binghamton Planning Committee among other fundraising charity organizations) Previously, Susan held recruiting role at Harvard University. She holds a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and further explored and pursued graduate studies at University of Rhode Island (for Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology), Columbia University - Teacher's college, Brown University extension programs, Harvard University - Harvard Graduate School of Education master of education courses, Harvard business courses and programs affiliates via extension. Both her senior thesis and masters thesis studies were in the areas of behavioral medicine and leadership.
In the future, she hopes to extend herself in Asia (specifically in Korea and Japan) and to further promote open talent development outreach through utilizing various social media platforms along with emphasis on building positive personal/professional brand in corporate organizations.
Q&A with Susan (Kang) Nam
Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world.
Susan: We reside in north of Boston for the past 10 years. My husband KJ (Kyung Jun Nam) is a design engineer and most of his extended family resides in South Korea and majority of his family members are educators. We have a very active social life as we love to spend our summers in either Cape (deep fishing) or Florida (of course, Walt Disney world ventures) and during winter months at Killington Vermont and various locations in NH to ski. Our family life revolves around many travels to NJ and NYC as my extended family resides there. My second sister Jenna's passion is in missionary outreach via Arab world missions and she has recently come back from a long extended trip from countries in Europe and Morocco lending her efforts to spread the word of gospel. My youngest sister Grace is the owner of 2 boutiques "Pink Olive boutique" in east village, NYC & Park Slope Brooklyn. We value each other greatly ~ and yes.. we do have our "moments" :) but love each other with all our hearts. As for Education ~ all of us sisters attended colleges for our undergraduate education in NY (me - SUNY at Binghamton, Jenna - NYU, Grace - Cornell) and we are quite different in so many ways and yet the same despite our various talents and interests. Prior to living & studying in the east coast, we grew up residing in Seoul Korea, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Northern California (San Jose & Cupertino).
As the eldest daughter in the family my priority for anything in life goes out to being there for my family - both immediate and extended - as I strongly feel responsible to make sure all of their needs are met in a timely manner. My parents are consistently my primary role models as they continue to live to their fullest despite their recent health scare / obstacles. They continue to impact and shape my life. My dad, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Engineering, former mechanical engineer, entrepreneur and sales executive traveled worldwide prior to his retirement. My mom, graduated from Ewha Womans University with a degree in Korean literature, a stay home mom for us 3 girls and recently finished her Ph.D. in Theology and now an associate pastor at Flushing, Queens NY. My other extended family resides in Korea, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong and various states across the US. My background is somewhat unique as I continue to seek out my heritage and aspire to learn new information about my family. We value and honor family, faith, education, personal relationships and community. I talk about Education and Faith quite a bit because we value it probably more than anything else.
Our daughter Katie is 7 years old and we hope to continue her languages in Korean & French. and yes.. we do have pets (our daughter's fish family - Aqua plus, Raymond, Gabriella and Hello Kitty) ;)
My passion lies in classical piano as I have been playing this instrument since age 4. My other interests are providing nonprofit organizations with their fundraising efforts (in education, charity, esp. for missionaries and cancer research - esp in colon, prostate and breast cancer). I do admire creative people.. especially designers, entrepreneurs, and passionate individuals who work hard every single day to balance their lives. Currently volunteering via various club positions via my Alma maters and other non-profit networking organizations. I admire edgy, passionate, idealistic professionals who work hard to achieve their dreams. Lastly, I do have other various interests in so many however one I can say for sure ~ I aspire to race cars one day (not sure what my parents would say about this ;)
Six Degrees: How many years have you been a recruiter?
Susan: I am a newbie and continue to learn and exploring the industry as of this summer/fall of 2008. My last full time recruiting related position was 7 years ago.
Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter?
Susan: I started out in the Harvard Central HR recruiting team at Harvard Employment office 7 years ago. I was working as a technical editing staff support for the Harvard Economics Department at the time after I left NYC (with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Institutional Consulting Group at the World Trade Center). I met the Director of HR via taking her HR course at Harvard and soon after the position became available so I applied for the position and honored to join the team. The Central recruiting team's duties included consulting with rest of the Harvard University recruiting community providing recruiting related information. My niche was in internet recruiting where I dealt with vendors, consulted with advertising executives, and Harvard recruiters to provide cost-effective recruiting strategies for Harvard schools. I was able to write up a grant proposal to cater to their requests, comments to provide additional funds prior to leaving the University to raise my child. I was also very excited about contributing to the diversity outreach by working along with TEAM Harvard organizations (i.e. NAAAP). In the past 7 years, I did have the opportunity to explore few options however I have not had the opportunity to seek out my interest in recruiting as a career until summer of 2008 for various personal/family reasons.
Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career?
Susan: I would have to say when I first met the recruiter at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. His positive & proactive attitude inspired me greatly and it helped me to refocus and started to explore the "idea" of recruiting full time - back in '98.
Six Degrees: Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after?
Susan: Yes so far I would have to say my role model has been Polly Price, previously Chief HR Officer at Harvard University. I first connected with her after reading a Harvard Gazette article on Diversity at Harvard. I was quite taken away with her approaches, her immediate attention to personal connection and integrity. I aspire her not for her accomplishments only but her character is remarkable and I truly honor what she has to say (both personally and professionally). I seek out for other mentors as I continue to explore the recruiting industry. I would have to say Kevin Wheeler - interested in his international recruiting outreach & cultural difference information via ERE and sourcing strategists (so many out there however look forward to learning more about Shally Steckerl, and community builders, movers and shakers - I have to say Jason Davis. I am humbled by their leadership, ideas and vision on the industry.
Six Degrees: Tell us about your job:
Susan: I support my sister Grace's boutique - Pink Olive boutique - for various responsibilities but most importantly value her talent, her ability to expand her passion in unique products, vendor selection and talent development. I will help her out with whatever she needs. That goes 100% as well with my other sister Jenna's ventures in missionary support.
Six Degrees: What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples?
Susan: For sure, Lockheed Strategic Sourcing Team information via Bill Murphy. I look forward to hearing more of their successes. I met Bill Murphy virtually via Jason Davis's Ning site - Recruitingblogs.com.
Six Degrees: In what aspects are Lockheed’s Strategic Sourcing Team superior?
Susan: Organization, Missions, Practicality & strategic sourcing focused approach.
Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why?
Susan: I believe Social Media will have a very strong role in changing the recruiting industry as a whole. Also, along with the present state of Economy - very disturbing and yet I do believe there is lot to be done to transformed the world and anticipate a strong impact on recruiting industry near future(will elaborate as I continue to explore).
Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there?
Susan: My next career goal is to extend myself to the world of sourcing and recruiting in a corporate setting - still exploring at this time. What do I need to do to get there? Well, I will continue to explore options, obtain further training and most importantly network and establishing a personal relationship using various social media tools, gadgets and platforms. I find it extremely helpful, not only valuable but also a great way to build the relationship to get to the next course in my career.
RecruitingBlogs.com Profile
Linkedin Profile
Email Susan
Susan (Kang) Nam is a newbie interested in the sourcing and recruiting industry via utilizing social media, focused on exploring various industries. She is currently working for her sister's boutique, Pink Olive Inc.
She is currently serving as a member of board of directors - a VP role at Harvard Club of Andover Inc. She is also actively participating in both on/off sites committees (i.e. Binghamton Planning Committee among other fundraising charity organizations) Previously, Susan held recruiting role at Harvard University. She holds a BA in Psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and further explored and pursued graduate studies at University of Rhode Island (for Ph.D. program in Clinical Psychology), Columbia University - Teacher's college, Brown University extension programs, Harvard University - Harvard Graduate School of Education master of education courses, Harvard business courses and programs affiliates via extension. Both her senior thesis and masters thesis studies were in the areas of behavioral medicine and leadership.
In the future, she hopes to extend herself in Asia (specifically in Korea and Japan) and to further promote open talent development outreach through utilizing various social media platforms along with emphasis on building positive personal/professional brand in corporate organizations.
Six Degrees: Tell us of your home world.
Susan: We reside in north of Boston for the past 10 years. My husband KJ (Kyung Jun Nam) is a design engineer and most of his extended family resides in South Korea and majority of his family members are educators. We have a very active social life as we love to spend our summers in either Cape (deep fishing) or Florida (of course, Walt Disney world ventures) and during winter months at Killington Vermont and various locations in NH to ski. Our family life revolves around many travels to NJ and NYC as my extended family resides there. My second sister Jenna's passion is in missionary outreach via Arab world missions and she has recently come back from a long extended trip from countries in Europe and Morocco lending her efforts to spread the word of gospel. My youngest sister Grace is the owner of 2 boutiques "Pink Olive boutique" in east village, NYC & Park Slope Brooklyn. We value each other greatly ~ and yes.. we do have our "moments" :) but love each other with all our hearts. As for Education ~ all of us sisters attended colleges for our undergraduate education in NY (me - SUNY at Binghamton, Jenna - NYU, Grace - Cornell) and we are quite different in so many ways and yet the same despite our various talents and interests. Prior to living & studying in the east coast, we grew up residing in Seoul Korea, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Northern California (San Jose & Cupertino).
As the eldest daughter in the family my priority for anything in life goes out to being there for my family - both immediate and extended - as I strongly feel responsible to make sure all of their needs are met in a timely manner. My parents are consistently my primary role models as they continue to live to their fullest despite their recent health scare / obstacles. They continue to impact and shape my life. My dad, graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in Engineering, former mechanical engineer, entrepreneur and sales executive traveled worldwide prior to his retirement. My mom, graduated from Ewha Womans University with a degree in Korean literature, a stay home mom for us 3 girls and recently finished her Ph.D. in Theology and now an associate pastor at Flushing, Queens NY. My other extended family resides in Korea, Japan, Germany, Hong Kong and various states across the US. My background is somewhat unique as I continue to seek out my heritage and aspire to learn new information about my family. We value and honor family, faith, education, personal relationships and community. I talk about Education and Faith quite a bit because we value it probably more than anything else.
Our daughter Katie is 7 years old and we hope to continue her languages in Korean & French. and yes.. we do have pets (our daughter's fish family - Aqua plus, Raymond, Gabriella and Hello Kitty) ;)
My passion lies in classical piano as I have been playing this instrument since age 4. My other interests are providing nonprofit organizations with their fundraising efforts (in education, charity, esp. for missionaries and cancer research - esp in colon, prostate and breast cancer). I do admire creative people.. especially designers, entrepreneurs, and passionate individuals who work hard every single day to balance their lives. Currently volunteering via various club positions via my Alma maters and other non-profit networking organizations. I admire edgy, passionate, idealistic professionals who work hard to achieve their dreams. Lastly, I do have other various interests in so many however one I can say for sure ~ I aspire to race cars one day (not sure what my parents would say about this ;)
Six Degrees: How many years have you been a recruiter?
Susan: I am a newbie and continue to learn and exploring the industry as of this summer/fall of 2008. My last full time recruiting related position was 7 years ago.
Six Degrees: How did you get started as a recruiter?
Susan: I started out in the Harvard Central HR recruiting team at Harvard Employment office 7 years ago. I was working as a technical editing staff support for the Harvard Economics Department at the time after I left NYC (with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Institutional Consulting Group at the World Trade Center). I met the Director of HR via taking her HR course at Harvard and soon after the position became available so I applied for the position and honored to join the team. The Central recruiting team's duties included consulting with rest of the Harvard University recruiting community providing recruiting related information. My niche was in internet recruiting where I dealt with vendors, consulted with advertising executives, and Harvard recruiters to provide cost-effective recruiting strategies for Harvard schools. I was able to write up a grant proposal to cater to their requests, comments to provide additional funds prior to leaving the University to raise my child. I was also very excited about contributing to the diversity outreach by working along with TEAM Harvard organizations (i.e. NAAAP). In the past 7 years, I did have the opportunity to explore few options however I have not had the opportunity to seek out my interest in recruiting as a career until summer of 2008 for various personal/family reasons.
Six Degrees: What single event had the most impact on your sourcing/recruiting career?
Susan: I would have to say when I first met the recruiter at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. His positive & proactive attitude inspired me greatly and it helped me to refocus and started to explore the "idea" of recruiting full time - back in '98.
Six Degrees: Do you have a mentor to whom you attribute your overall outlook on recruitment, capabilities, and/or model your career after?
Susan: Yes so far I would have to say my role model has been Polly Price, previously Chief HR Officer at Harvard University. I first connected with her after reading a Harvard Gazette article on Diversity at Harvard. I was quite taken away with her approaches, her immediate attention to personal connection and integrity. I aspire her not for her accomplishments only but her character is remarkable and I truly honor what she has to say (both personally and professionally). I seek out for other mentors as I continue to explore the recruiting industry. I would have to say Kevin Wheeler - interested in his international recruiting outreach & cultural difference information via ERE and sourcing strategists (so many out there however look forward to learning more about Shally Steckerl, and community builders, movers and shakers - I have to say Jason Davis. I am humbled by their leadership, ideas and vision on the industry.
Six Degrees: Tell us about your job:
Susan: I support my sister Grace's boutique - Pink Olive boutique - for various responsibilities but most importantly value her talent, her ability to expand her passion in unique products, vendor selection and talent development. I will help her out with whatever she needs. That goes 100% as well with my other sister Jenna's ventures in missionary support.
Six Degrees: What other companies' recruiting operations do you admire or have heard are best-practice examples?
Susan: For sure, Lockheed Strategic Sourcing Team information via Bill Murphy. I look forward to hearing more of their successes. I met Bill Murphy virtually via Jason Davis's Ning site - Recruitingblogs.com.
Six Degrees: In what aspects are Lockheed’s Strategic Sourcing Team superior?
Susan: Organization, Missions, Practicality & strategic sourcing focused approach.
Six Degrees: What recent general news story or industry trend do you feel will have an impact on your work in the future? Why?
Susan: I believe Social Media will have a very strong role in changing the recruiting industry as a whole. Also, along with the present state of Economy - very disturbing and yet I do believe there is lot to be done to transformed the world and anticipate a strong impact on recruiting industry near future(will elaborate as I continue to explore).
Six Degrees: What is your next career goal? What do you need to do to get there?
Susan: My next career goal is to extend myself to the world of sourcing and recruiting in a corporate setting - still exploring at this time. What do I need to do to get there? Well, I will continue to explore options, obtain further training and most importantly network and establishing a personal relationship using various social media tools, gadgets and platforms. I find it extremely helpful, not only valuable but also a great way to build the relationship to get to the next course in my career.
Views: 931
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Recruiting Animal on
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Whatever Maren said, I agree
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Permalink Reply by Brad Hogenmiller on
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Welcome Susan! The more the merrier!
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Permalink Reply by Heather Gardner on
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Great member showcase this week Dave! Thanks for sharing Susan's story....you are awesome and so is Susan! It's what makes this recruiting community the best of the best.
Thanks again for another great post!
Heather
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Permalink Reply by Susan Kang Nam on
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Thank you guys ~ I am humbled by your comments and special thanks to Dave Mendoza for featuring me this week. I look forward to continue networking ~ Best! Susan ;)
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Thanks Maren & Rayanne ~ what can I say.. I can't wait either.. and look forward to it.. continue to learn & grow.. honored and happy to be part of this community. Best! xoxo~ Susan
Maren Hogan said:Susan, what a varied and accomplished woman you are. Thanks Dave for showing what different backgrounds we all come from. I can't wait to see what you will do in the world of recruiting.
Rayanne said:I was so excited to see Susan KN profiled here this morning. Thanks Dave. It was great to read about this side of Susan, of which I had no idea. This forum allows us to view the individual facets of each person.
The student, daughter, sister, wife and mother. I wish Susan the best of luck in everything...
Can't wait for RF '09...
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Permalink Reply by Sally Raade on
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Aloha Susan,
I'm so proud of you. You are really famous now....will you remember us, those who knew you before you got famous? Kidding aside, it's great to see you in the spot light..you have always be the spot light of our friendship! Keep up with the exploring! I've found my passion...and I hope that you will find your place in our recruiting world! This world is fun and challenging at the same time. When we can make a difference in someone's career or a company's search for execellance in their human resources, we made this world a better place.
I'm working on being famous...but wait...I would rather be rich by helping others so I can do good things for my family, friends and to the causes that matters to me. In reality, I rather help those who want to do good in this world. I don't really want all those people taking pictures of me since sometimes...I don't always look cute!
Mahalo!
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Oh Sally - LOL.. you are a riot.. I appreciated your friendship from get-go.. when I first joined recruitingblogs.com end of May of this year. Your friendly gesture, smiles and caring attitude always helped me to come back to the site and continue to network. You have a great spirit, heart and intellect.. I'd doubt you will not be successful. Congrats on your placement yesterday and can't wait to hear more of your success stories - p.s. what do you mean you don't look cute every hour of the day LOL - we are "woman".. we can look as we please.. and just smile ~ xo! with gratitude, Susan
Sally Raade said:Aloha Susan,
I'm so proud of you. You are really famous now....will you remember us, those who knew you before you got famous? Kidding aside, it's great to see you in the spot light..you have always be the spot light of our friendship! Keep up with the exploring! I've found my passion...and I hope that you will find your place in our recruiting world! This world is fun and challenging at the same time. When we can make a difference in someone's career or a company's search for execellance in their human resources, we made this world a better place.
I'm working on being famous...but wait...I would rather be rich by helping others so I can do good things for my family, friends and to the causes that matters to me. In reality, I rather help those who want to do good in this world. I don't really want all those people taking pictures of me since sometimes...I don't always look cute!
Mahalo!
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You are such a sweetheart ;) thx Carolyn.. and just accepted your FB add~ KIT ~ xo!
Carolyn said:Hey Susan and Dave, what a great post!! Thank you for sharing this, it was great to learn more about you Susan, through reading this post. Susan, I am sure you are going to make a great Corporate Recruiter! You seem to be very smart and good at keeping in touch with people :)
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oh.. Craig.. what can I say - kudos for all you do ~ seriously.. you are passionate, energetic.. and you have so much energy for recruiting. I look forward to learning more about you very soon -- Thanks Craig - will definitely be in touch! talk soon ~ Best, Susan :)
craig silverman said:Susan is a dynamo! I met her in Toronto and look forward to working with her in the future. Thanks to Dave Mendoza and his sixdegrees for sharing her story with the recruiting community.
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Permalink Reply by Karen Swim on
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Thanks to Superstar Heather Gardner, I have had the pleasure of becoming friends with Susan. She is accomplished, inquisitive, gracious and so passionate about making a difference in the world. Thank you so much Dave for showcasing Susan and validating the diversity and wealth of talent in this incredible community.
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Oh sweet Karen ~ your words are like music here.. thank you ~ you have such a way about you too..kindred spirit.. the way you promote & write.. and interact with others on twitter. I'm thankful to Heather Gardner for introducing us via twitter - and can't wait to meet you both near future ~ xo! Best ~ Susan
Karen Swim said:Thanks to Superstar Heather Gardner, I have had the pleasure of becoming friends with Susan. She is accomplished, inquisitive, gracious and so passionate about making a difference in the world. Thank you so much Dave for showcasing Susan and validating the diversity and wealth of talent in this incredible community.
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Permalink Reply by Suzanne Dodge on
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Susan is beautiful inside and out! When I first starting following her on Twitter, I could sense how classy and upbeat she was. Without knowing anything about her, I just liked her energy. Thanks for sharing your story and including the great photographs (I'd post my pics a lot too if I looked like Susan!) Susan calls herself a "newbie", but I've already learned a lot from her and look forward to her links/ideas every day. While many are negative and fearful lately on some social media sites, Susan always has words of encouragement and motivation. The best part is you can tell she genuinely means it. Great choice for a featured member on this site.
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