Jeannine Parise, CXO at VMS Accelerators
Years in staffing: 18
Fun fact: Like most staffing professionals, Jeannine “ended up” in the industry unexpectedly. She was working on a project for E&Y Consulting in Mountain View, CA that was undersold without the option to raise pricing or profitability. Jeannine suggested that they let her sell Y2K add-on work which was trending at the time and was turned down to be assigned to another project. Confident that she could sell the project and staff it, she took the chance to seize the opportunity and started Foundation Systems at that point. She sold Foundation Systems after 9 years and recognition on the Inc. 500 list. Her next adventure came immediately after – getting married in Italy and starting a family. Fast forward 5 years and she has 4 children under 5 and a new company that’s quickly moving out of infancy – VMS Accelerators.
It’s always exciting to talk to entrepreneurial women that are leading something they’re passionate about – and Jeannine definitely falls in that category! We were initially connected after I heard multiple people sharing glowing reviews about the VMSA Conference and I was excited to learn more about what prompted her to launch this initiative and how she stays energized with so much on her plate!
What’s the best advice you’ve received recently and why?
Anger is the mask of fear. My colleague, Jim Coughlin, always says this to me when I’m angry. He is a lot wiser and calmer than me. This may be due to his consistent yoga practice. His advice always causes me to stop, look inward and question, “What AM I afraid of?” Usually the answer is… I fear that I may fail. That helps me put things into perspective and move forward in a positive and calmer way.
What keeps you excited about the staffing industry?
I’m most excited now that I am growing my second business in the staffing industry called VMS Accelerators (VMSA). Starting a business is risky, but I knew there was an opportunity in the market. I am really excited about the innovative things we are doing to advance the careers of staffing professionals and improve the efficiencies of organizations working through MSP/VMS programs. For example, we conduct on-site and online global training programs, execute consulting projects and of course, there is our conference called VMSA Live. Through this journey, I am learning how to work on the most important things first and let the rest melt away – you have to when you are growing a business from scratch and helping with the growth of 4 kids (from scratch too)!
What would you say to women (or anyone) just starting their staffing career?
Work diligently at finding what makes you happy and try to do that all day long.
Are you an industry veteran that’s excited to share your lessons with the next generation of staffing leaders? Share your insights as part of this #womenINstaffing Wednesday series. Contact me to learn more.
Confused on the hashtag (#) in the title of this series? Let me know if you’d like to join a virtual roundtable with a few other female staffing execs to discuss the power of Twitter to build your personal brand.
