TERRA Helped Me Rebuild My Career—And My Life

By TERRA Staffing Group

Posted on January 16, 2024

 

Monica McCrady rejoined the workforce after over 20 years. Finding a new job wasn’t easy, but she didn’t give up and kept pushing forward. 

We’ll let Monica share her story.

My marriage was coming to an abrupt end. My ex-husband and I were together for over 25 years, and it got to a point where he wanted me to cater to him. It was his way or no way. I needed to live my own life. 

After my divorce, I started my life over basically and began looking for work. Truth be told, I felt so out of touch. I’d been a housewife for so many years and I had no idea what to expect in the employment world. I was out of my comfort zone.  

It was really hard. I found that every job I applied for, I was met with closed doors whether it be for my age or something else. I had all this work experience but no certifications behind it. I’d hear, “We need certifications.” I just kept running into a lot of brick walls.  

So I thought, let me go back to what I know, warehouse work, and give TERRA a call since I’ve worked with you guys before. I thought for sure I’d be going back to working in a warehouse, and I was OK with it. I was just happy to be employed again. 

When I came into the Tacoma office, I talked to a recruiter named Bekah Wolken, and it felt really good being able to talk to someone.  

I told her about my experience, that I’m a healthy woman for my age, and that it’d be nice to have a job that doesn’t require me to be so physical. If I could have something that allowed me to flex what I know, I would appreciate that, but I was open to anything. 

I have a lot of experience working with trucks. I’ve worked with truck drivers, I know how trucks need to be loaded properly and what they require to be functional. And I used to work at a distribution center and took care of the truck drivers’ paperwork.  

Sure enough, Bekah found me a job—an office job. I was in shock. 

She told me about this Settlement Processor opening with a freight company and set me up with an interview.  I met with the main supervisor of the entire office, the supervisor that controls logistics, the HR manager and the CFO.  

The interview went well, and later I found out that they were like, ‘We’re keeping her. We gotta have her!’ 

This job fits like a glove! I can’t believe it. My coworkers are great and I really like the work; it’s too good to be true. 

There’s so much for me to learn here, and the more I learn the more exciting it gets to learn even more. I used to do a lot of paperwork using actual paper, for example, and now I use the computer which is a nice change. It’s all the technical aspects of things I’m learning that I really love.  

I also don’t have to deal with the loudness of a warehouse. And instead of going to work wearing work boots and jeans, my wardrobe has changed. In an office, I can dress nicely. It’s like I’m getting my femininity back.  

And the list goes on: I can pay my rent, put gas in my car, I can afford other things, I’ve improved my credit score, and I have a sense of pride in my job.  

So, if you’re looking to get back into the workforce and feel like you have no clue as to what’s going on out there, and asking yourself, ‘How does this work again?’—my advice would be to face your fear because it will go away. And embrace change. 

Congratulations, Monica! We’re so happy we could help you not only rejoin the workforce but also find you a job where your extensive skills and expertise are utilized and makes you feel good.  

Team Up With TERRA

Re-entering the workforce after a long break? We work with many leading companies across a variety of industries and may be able to help.  

Give us a call to connect with a recruiter today or check out our job board! 

Categories: Success Stories

Tags: Success Story, tacoma, Tacoma Jobs

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