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December 17, 2007
This Week’s Boston’s
Future Leader
Eileen Habelow
Title:
Regional VP & Director
Company:
Randstad
USA
Education: B.S. & M.S. – Syracuse
University, Ph.D. – Temple University in
Educational Psychology
A native of Pennsylvania and
Delaware, Eileen lived in 7 states after college
but calls Boston her “new-found ‘home’ and
favorite so far!” She began her career at AT&T,
started her own HR consulting company as she
started her family, and transitioned back to the
corporate world full-time in the staffing
business in 2000. As a mother of three, Eileen
calls family her “cornerstone,” and is thankful
to be in a career that combines her passions for
organizational management, education, and
helping people.
PG: What is the
coolest part of your job?
EH: I love that we put
people to work! I am excited that my company
helps people find a new career or even simply
find a job to achieve financial goals. We work
with some of the best employers in New England,
which makes it even more exciting to find people
work in great companies.
PG: If you were
recruiting someone to work for you, what would
be your number one selling point about Randstad?
EH: To work for
Randstad you have to like talking with people
and asking tons of questions to understand their
operating reality: If you’re interviewing a
candidate you have to understand what they want
to achieve and in what types of environments
they thrive, and if you’re talking with a
potential client you have to ask lots of
questions to understand exactly where the pain
is. It’s a fascinating industry because you get
to talk with so many different company leaders
in so many different types of companies.
PG: What is your
favorite thing about working in Boston?
EH: Every time I drive
down Storrow Drive, I think ‘Wow, what a great
city to live in’. I think Boston is beautiful. I
also enjoy bragging about our knowledge economy
and all of the amazing things that this region
discovers and builds every day. Our educational
opportunities are something to be proud of.
PG: Favorite place to
take a client for lunch?
EH: My team teases me
relentlessly because if I had a choice I would
go to the Border Café in Harvard Square every
afternoon for lunch. However, when I have to
take someone to a fancier restaurant, I do enjoy
the Harvest restaurant – also in Harvard Square.
PG: If you could have
any job in Boston, other than your own, what
would it be and why?
EH: I would be excited
to lead any team that drives our region’s
success in producing talent for the marketplace.
We have such a wealth of fabulous school
systems, university systems, and companies – we
have a unique opportunity to be a leader in
figuring out how education, industry, and
government work together to drive
accomplishment. Okay, if I am really honest, I
would like to work for the Red Sox in whatever
capacity they would have me!
PG: Where do you see
yourself in 10 years?
EH: Professionally, I
prefer to let the market lead me… I remain
flexible at all times.
PG: Favorite place to
relax after a long day or week?
EH: I love to have a
big crowd over to the house to watch the Sox or
the Pats playing in a big game. We love to be
the host family for the sports happy hour! Now,
if I could do that somewhere on the Cape… that
would be the ultimate.
PG: What’s the best
piece of career advice you have ever received?
EH: If you keep
following one person from company to company or
job to job, you will never get to where YOU are
supposed to be… you will always be one step
behind someone else. At some point, make your
own path.
PG: Best place for an
after work drink?
EH: Number 9 Park is
the first place someone took me when I was
exploring the move to Boston and I have loved it
ever since!
PG: Who do you admire
in the business world?
EH: People who can
consistently balance the criticality of an
important job and the long-term value of a great
family life…
PG: How can young
professionals expand their networks and increase
their impact in Boston?
EH: I believe in
networking without necessarily trying to
“achieve” something on every encounter is a
great way to meet people who may or may not be
influential for you at the first meeting, but
who knows about the future. My goal is simply to
meet different people wherever I go – at some
point in life, many of these encounters will
become very important or even valuable to me,
professionally or personally. However, if I went
to every event looking for only the next best
business contact, I think it would begin to
become too much a part of “working” and not
enough a part of just getting to meet new
people, period.
PG: What reading
material is on your nightstand?
EH: Alan Greenspan’s
The Age of Turbulence, a John Grisham
novel, and my Bible. It all depends on what mood
I am in when it’s time to fall asleep! ____________________________________________________
For more information on the
Boston’s Future Leaders Program, please contact
Jody Kieval,
director of member services.
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