Meet Our Founder

Meet Our Managing Director

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About Hayley D. Jameson

When you work with HDJ & Associates, chances are you'll get to know founder Hayley Jameson. There are barely enough hours in the day for Hayley. In addition to managing the daily operations of HDJ & Associates and interacting with clients and candidates alike, The Pennsylvania State University graduate and mother of young children is an active volunteer in several community organizations. She is an active board member of both the Pauline Auberle Foundation (www.auberle.org), and the Partnering Agencies for Children to Keep Reading (PACK) Advisory Board. Hayley is also a dedicated volunteer with Myriam's, a women's shelter home, and with The Zach Attack (www.nathansbattle.com), a charity dedicated to supporting a Pittsburgh-area child afflicted with Late Infantile Batten's Disease.

Hayley can be counted among the who's who in the Pittsburgh business scene, as well. She is the co-founder and managing director of JUNTOS, a local networking group. Hayley also participates as an active member of the Pittsburgh Technology Council and Shared Ideas for Success, a women's entrepreneurial network. She has been honored with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Community Champion award and the Pittsburgh Business Times' Fast Tracker award. She was chosen to be a keynote speaker at the Penn State Professional Women's Network of New York, and has been a frequent co-host and guest speaker at Entrepreneurial Thursdays (www.jessicaleesong.com), a weekly networking event for Pittsburgh entrepreneurs.

Hayley is also a sports enthusiast who has run five marathons and competed in ten triathlons, including two in 2005 alone. Her interests range from competitive team sports to more extreme activities, including sky diving and white water kayaking.

In her spare time, Hayley enjoys watching paint dry.

 

Q&A with Hayley

How did you get into the recruiting and placement business?

Ironically enough, I was recruited into the business. In the early ‘90s, I was hired to be a recruiter for a small company here in Pittsburgh . After spending several years learning everything I never wanted to do in a company, I was offered the opportunity to start and manage a franchised IT staffing firm. I did that for several more years, before opening HDJ & Associates in 1999. We now have six very successful years under our belt, with our eyes firmly focused on the continued growth of the company.

Why your own business?

After managing several IT staffing firms, I basically decided I could do it on my own. I had a great network of clients and candidates, and I knew that with the support of my family and friends, I could start a very successful placement firm. My father always taught me to live by the motto, “Ready, Fire, Aim.” In other words, most people do too much analyzing, and hesitate to act. I firmly believe that most decisions are not 100% right or 100% wrong. Making a decision and getting on with the task is the most important thing. So I decided to, as they say, “go for it!”

Running my own business also permits me to pursue my interests in nonprofit and community work and, most important to me, allows me to be more involved with my family. As a female business owner with a husband and young children, the balance between work, home and community involvement is crucial to me. With HDJ & Associates, I have the flexibility to maintain that balance, while remaining involved with the things I love.

Why do you enjoy working in the recruiting and placement industry?

Because I love matchmaking! I've been known to do a little matchmaking in my personal life, and recruiting and professional placement are, to me, a form of professional matchmaking. I do it because I love people, and I take great pleasure in ensuring that I'm making successful matches when I place a candidate into a client's site.

And the name HDJ & Associates? Obviously your initials, but was it your first choice?

Absolutely not! (Laughing) When I decided to open the firm, my family and I sat down and made lists of possible names. The names ran the gamut. Some were really offbeat, others were more conservative. I had a few favorites, but it was a difficult decision. Selecting HDJ & Associates was actually the result of a conversation I had with my brother, who convinced me that as the owner of a placement firm, I was really selling myself and my abilities to make successful placements. HDJ, it was.

I still kind of wish it was Mudpie, though. (Laughing) That was one of my favorites in the running!