Today we’d like to introduce you to Vette Jones.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
While attending Georgia State University, my network count and net worth started building upon many relationships within the Career Center. I was introduced to an organization called NAAAHR (National Association of African American in Human Resources) and became a scholarship recipient among other HR professionals in the industry. Upon graduation, my career goals were far beyond Corporate America. However, I started my first internship with a startup company called Internap Network Services as a Human Resources Representative in the Information Technology department. After learning the business, I self-started my hands into recruitment as there was a huge demand working in the Network Operation Center. I gained advice from many technical hiring managers to gain knowledge of the requirements for each job. I learned about coding languages, databases, software integrations and much more. Furthermore, I started to notice the ratio between the demographics and how men dominated the engineering field. Of course, I had someone working with me that was much senior that soon become my mentor, Marilyn Jackson. We were rated the most two successful women in our company to increase the workforce by 18% annually with African Americans and Hispanics.
A handful of years have passed and I decided to move to Los Angeles to get my hands dirty within the tech, entertainment, and media industries. I started my own tech staffing corporation “JONES & CO. WORKS ” which targets women, minorities, veterans, and graduates in the IT/engineering industry. Meanwhile, I added my best friend Holly Alisha as the Co-Founder to continue this journey and thereafter, our network grew significantly from partnering with coding boot camps, consulting firms, tech organizations to startup companies and corporate industries. After speaking on tech panels, it gave JONES & CO. WORKS a greater outreach to assist employers with screening & sourcing while increasing their diversity numbers. It’s been such an enjoyment to see how engineers are highly satisfied with their new career and the technology itself. We started to see our clientele turnover rate decreased and proud that our strategy has worked for many years.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
How can we make something so challenging look so easy? That is the challenge! As an African American women-owned business, we had to create a bigger voice that speaks on areas that are currently in demand. Our job is for employers to trust JONES & CO. WORKS to successfully fill their openings on a strict deadline, budget, and provide more diverse candidates on a weekly basis. We created this strategy because we wanted to complete something that hasn’t been done before. We have to make sure we comply with employee regulation laws and meet the guidelines of the organization needs.
My advice to other women would be to read books, listen to podcasts, and network to meet the next mentor that shares the same field as you. This will help lead the direction and keep you motivated to make smart decisions!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Jones & Co. Works story. Tell us more about the business.
I am known as the Founder and Sr. Technical recruiter of JONES & CO. WORKS (JCW) which provides technical sourcing and screening within IT, Engineering, Design, QA, Electrical, and Mechanical areas.
It’s women and minority-owned business staffing the technical industry with diversity candidates by 10% of every organization we partner with. We are a niche supplier for thousands of engineers for Direct Hire and Contract placements nationwide.
Our powerful sourcing methods rank the highest as JCW makes an effort to avoid bias, bridge the gender pay gap, and involve employee engagement. We work with a challenging diverse workforce that helps us build a personal touch with every candidate from high caliber degrees to online portfolios.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Yes, I attend many events that covers human resources politics, software solutions, and tech week in surrounding cities. I would recommend attending many relevant events as you can to network by joining “Meetup” and stay up to date with your Linkedin news feed. In addition, reach out to your college/university career center to find the perfect mentor as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jonescompanyworks.com/
- Email: info@jonescompanyworks.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/jonescoworks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonescompanyworks/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jonescoworks
Image Credit:
Karliah Butler, Kenni Lethridge Kaufman
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