#PRGer Spotlight: Corey Newman
What is your background, in a nutshell?
I graduated from Kelley School of Business, Bloomington with a degree in marketing and accounting, and went on to obtain my CPA. I started my career at RSM in Chicago, from there I worked for Hyatt Hotels where I helped to take them public on their SEC reporting team. It was then I decided I did not want to pursue a career in accounting any longer. After much thought, I pursued a substantial pivot and began a new career in recruiting. From there, it has been an absolute ride – serving in roles ranging from Vice President, Division Director, to now Practice Leader at Platinum Recruiting Group.
You built the consulting practice at PRG, tell me a little more about what attracted you to that experience?
Landing here was one of those small world stories. Initially, I was drawn to the entrepreneurial environment that PRG embodies. I was also attracted to the ability to stand up a consulting practice, because we did not offer that service when I came onboard. I saw that as a good opportunity for both PRG and myself. Beyond that, I was excited to relocate from Chicago to Indianapolis as it seemed like such a great city to raise to a family. I am happy to say the growth of our consulting practice has been tremendous, and we just added Michele to the team.
What is the scope on contract recruitment?
I support our clients by identifying accounting, finance, and HR-related professionals in situations where our clients are not looking to hire someone permanently. So, I help to fill gaps! It can be straight forward, in the case of a maternity or medical leave or more strategically, in cases where we help clients identify such resources for areas where subject matter expertise is needed. For example, if we have a client who is looking to transact their business, we can provide a skilled contractor to come in and guide them through that process. Or say a client is implementing an ERP system, or a massive systems implementation or migration that will take their day-to-day accounting and finance folks away. We can step in and provide the needed man-power to help during that transition.
What is your favorite part of working at PRG?
Hands down, the people – it is probably not even close. We operate as a team, and we are here to support each other. There is a strong focus on collaboration, there is a deep sense of communal support that we have for each other. We take every opportunity to celebrate our successes, which also makes it a fun place to be. Additionally, I also really enjoy the freedom and flexibility to operate my division.
Do you have a hero?
I would say I have a concept of a hero, and that is an individual who shows leadership and does not allow people around them to fail. So, anybody that fits that profile would be a hero to me. Other than that, my parents gave me an education, and my wife is a hero for putting up with me.
Talk about the lessons learned from your career change?
I had the emotional intelligence to understand that I needed to make a change in my life, professionally, and I executed on it. Whereas I think a lot of folks have much more uncertainty and trepidation about change. The people that I represent, from a talent standpoint, are themselves in transition, typically – whether they recognize the need for a change or are in a less controllable situation like job loss. So, for me, it is, it’s coaching people through some of the certain things that are inherent to change and being in their corner as an advocate.
Being able to effectively coach people through career transitions is what I do for a living, so having gone through the process myself allows for a very real sense of empathy and understanding.
What is your go-to advice for any job seeker:
In college I had a professor that said if you are one of the top three people that does anything, you are going to make a lot of money. But I think to get to that point, you must understand yourself. And if you are lying to yourself, then you are lying to your future and you will not get to where you want to be.