Kristin Haverlock
You never know where a simple “hello” will take you.
Kristin Haverlock (She/Her) is a colleague in the creative industry. She’s a business analyst for one of the leading creative staffing firms, Creative Circle. But that’s not how I know her. Kristin was also a fellow commuter on the King County Metro Transit 301 bus route for many years. While commuting on the 301, I’d often see Kristin engaged in a friendly chat with another rider. Eventually fate put two empty seats together and we met. Over the years, Kristin and I would catch up on family, cycling, and the world of work during our commute.
The pandemic put a hard stop to our commuter conversations in March of 2020, so I reached out recently via LinkedIn to see what Kristin was up to and learn how things are evolving in the creative staffing business. Here’s what I learned during our chat at Walnut Street Coffee in Edmonds.
1) The world has gotten smaller: Companies don’t need talent to be in their local area anymore and candidates can work from almost anywhere. The candidate databases at staffing firms have traditionally been regional, but the industry is transforming to support clients with talent nationally, even globally. It’s a whole new (smaller) world.
2) Left brain + right brain = invaluable skills: Kristin was a journalist and a graphic designer early in her career, but it wasn’t until she combined her creative sensibility and exceptional people skills with her technical acumen and organizational prowess that she really shined in her current role as a business analyst. She is a vital link between the teams that build critical business systems and the people who use them. So, you somewhere-in-between folks talent wise, there’s a place for you.
3) Live out here, not in there: Ironically for a post on LinkedIn, we both agreed that it’s tempting to spend a lot of time looking at your phone or screen. Technology connects us to the wider world and the many people in our lives. But it can also make our personal world feel smaller and more isolating. Kristin consciously puts her phone down to look up and live life that out here, in the physical world, making an effort to connect with people and share a smile or a moment of kindness.
That's what Kristin did on the bus all those years, and by doing so she has made my life brighter and better. I'm sure I am not the only one. That’s just one of the good places things can go from a simple “hello” on the bus ride home. Thank you Kristin for being you and for taking time out to reconnect!
#staffingagency #creative #businessanalytics #commuting #coffee#thankyou