Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna Fitzgerald.
Donna, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I came from a large Boston family, where having a strong work ethic was always something to strive for. I was fortunate enough to attend college, get a degree and find a job as soon as I graduated. While I worked for a number of organizations, I also dreamt of owning my own business one day. During those early years, my career included working on labor management relations in local government, and human resources and staffing in the private sector. Through these experiences, I gained as much knowledge of the employment industry I could and from all different perspectives, from recruiting the best people, to hiring and firing employees. I thought about what was good in the staffing industry and what I would change if I ever was in the position to do so. From a business prospective, I always believed the customer came first.
On a personal note, I’ve also been very progressive and wanted to make sure that any business venture I embarked on would also include the values and attitudes I embraced. I wanted to make sure I was able to place candidates in settings where they would succeed.
In 1998, I was able to open the doors to my downtown Boston staffing agency, Contemporaries, Inc. Since the beginning, the firm has placed hundreds of thousands of individuals in all types of positions. Many of our customers have been with us for years because of the quality of our contract staff and the extra value they bring to every job and assignment.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As a woman small business owner, not everything has gone smoothly. Especially at the beginning when I was looking for seed money to launch my dream. I approached some 10 people for help in financing and all 10 turned me down. After my first year in business, with sales exceeding a million dollars, nine of the 10 asked if they could invest in my successful business venture, and I was able to turn all of them down. By then, I was able to secure an SBA loan. With help from my sister Patty, and a small circle of friends, I was able to initially finance Contemporaries. Since then, fiscally we have been in great shape. I really do feel a tremendous sense of responsibility to the people who work for my agency. Every time we succeed in making a new placement or securing a new client, I feel it’s a win for everyone.
In this business, I believe that reputation really means something and that’s why I’ve added all kinds of additional proprietary testing mechanisms to make sure we place the right person in the right position the first time around.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Contemporaries, Inc. – what should we know?
Contemporaries is much more about quality than quantity. While we’ve had a very steady stream of candidates and clients over the nearly 20 years I’ve been in operation, we have always focused on making sure we make the right match for the candidate and the client. Our candidates provide extra value to our clients and their projects. In most cases we exceed all expectations. The client is happy because turnover is timely and expensive, and the candidate is happy because most of our temps move on to permanent positions in the organizations where we placed them.
We are the “go to” agency for a lot of Greater Boston area clients and organizations because we get it right the first time around. We go the extra distance to ensure the match is a good one, right from the start. And, we go well beyond the resume to make sure both candidate and client enjoy success in the placement.
Our specialty is providing the best IT, administrative, finance, customer service, and creative services, temporary, temp-to-perm, and direct hire staff in Boston. Most of the Contemporaries candidates also have many additional talents, skills, and experiences than what is called for in the client request, and that is why these individuals add extra value.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Very few people succeed without any outside help. I’m no different. The biggest supporters and cheerleaders for me and Contemporaries have been my staff, family members, and a small circle of friends.
My mother, the late Elizabeth (Fitzgerald) and my best friend and sister, the late Joanie (Fitzgerald), never grew tired of hearing stories about my business. The two, along with my children Rory and Siobhan, and other sisters, Patty and Katie, all celebrated each business victory together. I’ve also been very fortunate to have exceptional clients who went out of their way to make sure Contemporaries was given a seat at the table. As a small woman-owned Boston business it wouldn’t be unheard for large organizations to simply go with a large cookie-cutter type employment agencies, and forget about us. But clients I consider real superstars were individuals including Eugene (Gene) Pasto, Joe Coen, and Eileen Kaminsky who all made sure that Contemporaries was given the opportunity to provide staffing services to their organizations.
My own employees, including the late Cullen Buckland, Michael Durickas, Koreena Geisler-Wagner, Sarah LeGrand, Tuoyang Mu, Janet Nagle, and Samantha Scott have also been tremendously supportive. With each new position, candidate, and match, we all share in the victory, and sometimes even celebrate with our own “happy dance.”
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bostoncontemporaries.com/
- Phone: 617-723-9797
- Email: staffing@bostoncontemporaries.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/BostonContemporaries/
- Twitter: @therightmatch
- Other: www.linkedin.com/company/contemporaries-
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