Congratulations, You're Hired! – Walrath Recruiting

Haley Francis '26 was looking for an internship without much luck, but then the internship came looking for her.

Haley first enrolled at Siena as a psychology major, but discovered she wasn't interested in clinical research. She pivoted to management, with a concentration in strategic human resources, when a professor encouraged her to explore HR because of its blend of business and psychology. She took a human resources class, then a second, with Deb Kelly, J.D., associate professor of management, and loved it. Haley was thrilled to have found her calling, but next she needed an internship.

"I knew I wanted to be in HR, but there weren't a lot of internships out there," Haley said. "But then Professor Kelly invited two representatives from Walrath Recruiting to speak to our class. They talked about their jobs, and they also mentioned that they were looking for an intern."

That was last spring. Haley applied a few days later, got a call back the following day, and she had an offer by the end of the week. The internship led to a full-time job offer in December, Francis graduated in January, and she started her career as an assistant recruiter earlier this year. Earlier this month, she was promoted to recruiter.

Siena alumna Renée Walrath founded Walrath Recruiting in 2010. Their mission is to "connect exceptional talent with opportunities that drive success across New York's Capital Region and beyond." You would expect that a firm specializing in job placement would be particularly adept at making successful hires internally. They are - and Walrath almost exclusively hires Saints. All but one of the employees on staff graduated from Siena.

"I love it there. It's a fast-paced environment. There's always something to do. I don't like being bored, and I never am."

As a recruiter, Haley is entrusted with a job opening from a client. She reaches out to qualified candidates, first by sourcing their internal database then by combing LinkedIn and Indeed, and develops a candidate pool. She then vets the candidates and manages coordination all the way through an offer letter. Walrath Recruiting specializes in accounting, finance, engineering, construction, legal, HR, sales, IT/tech, and medical industries.

"It's really rewarding to connect a person with the right job. In order to get promoted, I had to place someone in a position. This month, I've already placed three. The first one was really exciting. It was someone we had in our database, and when a new position opened up, it worked out. We do a one-week check-in call after they start, and he loves it."

This past spring, Haley was back in Professor Kelly's classroom (below), but this time as the employer. She explained her job and also mentioned that Walrath was looking for an intern. Madison Fiske '27 stepped into the role through the Siena pipeline.

"It was so fun being back in Deb's class," said Haley. "She's the best. Everything I learned about HR, I learned from her. She's been an amazing resource."

Haley can now be a resource, too. It's free to join the Walrath database, and Siena resumes will always bubble to the top. So if you're looking for a job and want Haley to keep an eye out for you, send her an email at [email protected].