This J. Kent Placement Snapshot is one that we are very proud of. It’s a story of a long-ago placement and Blakely’s 16 year journey with her employer. That’s not something we see too much of today where the “norm” in terms of tenure is getting shorter and shorter.
Blakely has a BA in Psychology and a minor in Business from the University of Texas at Austin. This education was followed by two years of hospitality experience working at two Colorado ski areas – Crested Butte and Breckenridge. Blakely then moved to Asheville, NC where she made the transition to office administration and spent the next two years as an administrative assistant and office manager in the nonprofit sector. When Blakely first came to J. Kent Staffing in 2003, she had just relocated to Denver from Asheville, NC, with her boyfriend.
Blakely had a creative side to her and was passionate about the arts and music. This made her an excellent candidate for our client, a small, Denver-based graphic design and advertising agency. She started her Administrative Assistant role in December 2003. In this role she was responsible for answering phones, tracking time for billing, coordinating with vendors, running errands, and anything and everything else necessary to support the team.
Our client had stated that they could see this position growing with the ability to take on many other duties over time. That was an understatement, to say the least!
Over the next 16 years, Blakely brought her outstanding work ethic and honed skill set to the company every day, and worked her way up to COO, with part ownership in the company. During that time, both Blakely’s personal life and the company evolved. Blakely got married and had a son (now 8 years old), and the company grew from 17 to 40 employees, including acquiring another advertising agency.
Blakely parted ways with her employer in 2019 and is ready for the next chapter in her successful career, but the experience she gained along the way has been invaluable.