Hilary Citarella, '11

Hilary Citarella, ‘11, business administration major with a concentration in finance, secured a full-time job as a recruiter with reputed staffing agency Aerotek last February before she even graduated.

Citarella was first introduced to Aerotek at the Career Development Center’s Health and Science Career Expo.    

“I ultimately decided to join Aerotek because of the growth and earning potential that my position offers,” she said.  “Not only do I get to interact with people all day and use my personality, I get rewarded financially for my hard work.”

As a technical recruiter in the firm’s engineering division, Citarella spends a large part of her day speaking directly with engineers about job placement opportunities.  Her position has opened her eyes to and piqued her interest in an industry that she had little knowledge about beforehand. 

“I never knew what engineering was until I started working at Aerotek,” Citarella said. 

Since then, she has quickly caught up to speed and become confident in her knowledge base.  “Now I am a subject matter expert and can put engineers to work fairly easily,” she said. 

Another aspect of her position that she enjoys is on-site visits. “Being in the engineering division, I get to take tours of my client’s work sites and have seen some amazing manufacturing facilities in the Richmond area.”

Aerotek’s company culture complements Citarella’s personality as well.  She said, “Everyone has a ‘Type A’ personality, so we are all competitive.”

“The culture makes us better and pushes us to do the best job that we can.”

Fueling the competitive atmosphere at Aerotek, Citarella participates in two office-wide goal meetings every day. 

“We track our daily goals so that we all know what each other is working on as far as open job positions at various client companies,” she explained.  “Usually, I am working on one position at a time for one specific client.”

Citarella’s clients provide her with job requirements for each vacancy, and then she goes through a process of funneling qualified candidates.

“In order to find ‘the perfect fit’ [for a client], I phone screen candidates, conduct face-to-face interviews, and perform reference checks,” she explained.

Now settled and thriving in her role, Citarella reflects on how the Robins School of Business helped her adapt when she first joined Aerotek.  

"The Robins School of Business’ demanding classes really helped me prepare for the real world,” she said.  “I approach my job just as if it were the hardest class I had taken; I give 100 percent all the time and know that my hard work will pay off.”

Citarella does not take the knowledge she received in the Robins School for granted in her professional life.

“The education I received at the Robins School of Business was the best thing that has ever happened to me,” she said.  “I am forever grateful to the professors, staff, and other students in the Robins School.”

“Without them, I would not be where I am today.”