RACHELLE MERCANTORIS

HR/RECRUITING

TALENT ACQUISITION SPECIALIST| CDM NY

Sana Sourivongs: What is your job like?

Rachelle Mercantoris: Every day changes! Usually I manage 8-15 positions, so my day is a mixture of reaching out to candidates, sorting through people who have applied, reaching out to people to schedule interviews, getting candidate feedback from hiring managers, and presenting offers. Some weeks I’ll be talking on the phone all day and other weeks it’s just a lot of scheduling.

SS: How did you get into your position?

RM: So nobody wakes up and says they want to be a recruiter! They don’t always have the best reputation. I went to school for marketing and took a job out of college doing sales. I absolutely hated it. It was cold-calling and people hanging up on you, so I knew I wanted to try something different. I applied to a bunch of different places and ended up getting an interview for a sourcing specialist for an oncology focused research organization.

It’s a really small shop and I was shadowing a recruiter that had been doing HR for 10 years. She was amazing! I knew I wanted to get into recruiting. I stumbled upon the CDM Group, which appealed to me because it was still pharmaceutical but in advertising, which was more appealing to me since I studied marketing in school.

SS: What are the biggest challenges you have in your position?

RM: You’re dealing with people. They’re unpredictable! It’s challenging because all advertising agencies are fighting for the same talent, so it’s difficult to find the very best people for each position. Sometimes you deal with crazy people, but other times I’ll have a conversation with a candidate that’s so amazing that it restores all your faith in humanity!

SS: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

RM: Whenever I speak to a candidate and knowing that they’re the one for the agency! Also giving people offers is great because so many people, especially entry-level, because they’re excited for the opportunity. It’s so fun and rewarding!

I also really like working in healthcare because our agency worked on a drug that my mom took while she had breast cancer. She was the first woman in the state of North Carolina to take it at Stage 3 all the way through and it’s the only reason why she lived. We’re playing a part in the drug’s impact! We’re making sure doctors are aware that it’s available and that patients know what the side effects are. It’s cool to have a hand in that even though I’m not directly creating the material for the drug – I’m helping find good people to be creative and relay that important message.

SS: What changes do you think need to be made to the industry?

RM: I would love to see more entry-level creative being hired and mentored. I also love diversity and inclusion. Nowadays agencies are trying to fix this issue, but as HR we can always be doing more.