American Staffing Association: to organize a TEDx event like three times. They declined me three separate times, but I was like, I want to do this. And eventually they finally was like, okay, you're serious. You're gonna keep applying. We're gonna give you an opportunity to host an event. Even accepting that first recruiting role, I had no idea how hard implementation truly was going to be and didn't really realize that, ⁓ I was gonna, like 330 days on a roll really meant I was living in places for months and months at a time. Welcome to the E2E podcast where we take you on a leadership and career journey from entry level to executive. My name is Leith and helping me take you on that journey today is Haley Jones, Director of Member Engagement at the American Staffing Association. How are you doing today, Haley? I'm good. Thank you for having me I'm excited for today's conversation. Yeah, yeah, me too. When we first decided to come up with this idea for who we wanted to have on, it came around the topic of National Volunteer Week and we wanted to figure out Who is somebody that represents what a good, what a involved volunteer is at ASA and somebody who has an impact on their career? And you all suggested, the membership team suggested we interview our guest today, Celeste. So tell us a little bit about our guest today. Yes. So today we're joined by Celeste Randall, VP of Solutions Design and Service Delivery at Staffmark. Celeste began her career in staffing in 2017 and she has quickly become a recognized voice in the industry. I saw someone refer to it on LinkedIn as a meteoric rise. So Celeste was named to the SIA 40 under 40 list in 2024, and she's a past recipient of our ASA Women in Leadership Scholarship. She's also deeply involved with us, serving in a couple of different volunteer roles, including membership committee chair for 2026. And she's also been a member, still is a member of the Staff and Technology Task Force. Celeste has also been a speaker on the keynote stage at Staffing World, and she helped spark conversations around tech in our industry, including being the originator of the idea for AI and Staffing Week. So Celeste, thanks for joining us and welcome to the E2E Podcast. That was quite the intro, Hayley. I just feel like I'm just going to just snap just that one little part, but I'm so excited to join. We're excited to have you. I think we picked you because you really have had a meteoric rise and I've gotten to know you through ⁓ your volunteering with us, but I just think it's been fun to watch your journey. So I'm excited to talk about it with you today. So first question I've got for you is we know you got your start in staffing in 2017 after working in call center sales. But what initially drew you into staffing and what made you decide this is an industry that you want to build your career in? So like so many, feel like staffing chose me. ⁓ I had been in call center sales since I was 16 and I sold everything. And after a while, I was like the go-to person that everyone was going to about like, hey, how do I get a job where you're working? So was helping people with applications, with their interviews. So eventually I was like, you know what? I've pretty much have sold everything now, want to sell opportunity. So I wanted to become a recruiter and y'all, I wanted to become a recruiter so bad. I no doubt probably applied for over a hundred jobs on every platform. And when I say it was rejection after rejection after rejection, and even so that it was almost sometimes even a bait and switch where people will bring me in for a recruiter role. And as soon as they saw that sales experience call center experience, they're like, Hey, we know that you wanted recruiting, ⁓ but what do you think about this? And it was just so demoralizing until one day I just got a response from a company I had never heard about and they were asking me to meet them at a Starbucks. So I was like, you know what? At this point, this is the only company that's even trying to give me a chance to recruit and not sell. So I was like, I'll take the chance. And lo and behold, it was with one of the biggest staffing agencies in the United States. They were looking for a traveling implementation manager. The reason why it was met in Starbucks was because for implementation, they normally would build from ground up in remote places. And that pretty much started my trajectory with staffing. So I went from never recruiting staffing and to straight on the road across the country, 330 days out of the year. recruiting and building implementations for some of the biggest companies in just in the world. it's so it was, it was all the rejection I always say was protection in a good direction. if I can chose me, had no other choice, it's becoming the best choice that I could have been given I would say at the time in 2017. And the fact that it was like almost been 10 years is crazy. Yeah, that's awesome. I always say working in association management. That's not something we've all necessarily seek out to do. And I always say like, ⁓ I fell into this. And I hear that a lot with staffing too. I feel like there's just a lot of parallels, but I love that origin story. So you've accomplished a lot in your career. ⁓ You spoke at the keynote panel a couple of years ago at Staffing World. You've been in part of the mentoring program here. You got involved with TEDx, which I definitely want to talk about in a bit. But how have you managed to navigate and build your confidence finding your voice in a space where you might often be arguably the youngest person in the room? To be honest, and this is not cliche because I'm on this podcast, Diana will have heard me say it a million times. I think finding my confidence, the trajectory started when I was selected as an ASA Women in Leadership Scholarship winner. Because at that time, I didn't think I had a voice. I didn't think No, I, and it's not being cliche, but it really was at that time because I was surrounded and immersed by so many powerful women and also allies and men as well, who basically all look different, spoke different, had different personalities. And they kept feeding into not just me, but everyone else in our scholarship cohort that, Hey, you are important. You do have a voice. People want to hear you. you're credible. It was all of those things. And that entire year, I call it the Miss America run because that entire year was probably one of the most ⁓ transformative years of my life as a career. Because before then, to be, it sounds crazy, but I was extremely introverted. I was not like a really big networker. didn't know, I barely had ⁓ colleagues or friends inside of the companies I worked for, let alone outside. And so if it really wasn't for ASA, it kind of pushed you out there, you had no choice. Like you had to either sink or swim or learn to accept all the love and learn to accept all the networking. So what helped me get that confidence was being surrounded by many people who already had confidence, but also who gave us a peek into the fact that some of them were faking it. Some of them were scared. I think the year it was, promise you, the year we got to go to staffing world, my first staffing world was probably the, it probably was made for my cohort because it was all about overcoming fear and just walking into a room, even if you're scared and showing up. So I think that's where a lot of my confidence stemmed was from, I hate to say it, but it was from the validation from getting the award, but also being surrounded by like the most amazing women in leadership. All of them were amazing and they spoke so much life and the entire ASA. Literally, I could name like four or five people on an ASA team who would just check in, who would volunteer us to do certain things like podcasts or to speak on panels virtually and things. So it just came with time. And now I think after a while, I'm just like, you know what, do it scared, feel the fear, do it anyway. And that's the vibes now, I would say. Can I say I'm shocked that you were ever an introvert? That you would ever describe yourself as one. If you would have saw the difference between me day one of Thrive to day two, it was night and day difference. Because I was just like kind of in my own corner. I was like, didn't, I didn't want to talk to people. And then I just heard all the people speaking at Thrive. And I was just like, I'm about to walk into these rooms and just speak to everyone. And it literally, it was like a switch, quick thought. I'm so happy I got to get that experience. That's why I'm just like such a huge proponent of people being involved with ASA because... it will put you in positions to grow more than you probably would have without it. Yeah. The energy at Thrive is crazy. mean, as an ally, as a man, seeing that from the outside, it's such an incredible thing to see. like you said, hearing stories like you just said, where it really changed your career, structure of your career, it's amazing to hear. I can see and feel the energy when we're there at Thrive. Definitely. was electric. It was so great. I said your group in particular was lightning in a bottle that year. There's something about that group that just gelled so well together. But I love that you all just poured into each other. Cause it is one of these kinds of programs too, I think are you get, you get out what you put into it too. And you do have to put yourself out there, but kudos. I truly, if anyone ever said to me, did you know Celeste was an introvert? I'd say Celeste who? Cause not this girl. It was funny. I was like, now I feel like I've, you know, broken out of my shell a little bit. And also just being more comfortable with it's like many times now when I go out and I'm talking to people, I feel like I'm just talking to my people because we're all in same industry. We have similar things being able to a lot of the networking calls and the sector calls have allowed me to just meet more people. even outside of my necessarily company. And so now if I walk in an area in a room, I probably know someone. And because we've had more transparent conversations, I know I'm like, okay, I know there's probably more people in here who is just as nervous as me to talk to someone. So I'll make it a point to go see someone who's standing by themselves or that, because I'm like, you know what, you'll be my person here. I think just all of those things ASA has allowed. to expand your network, expand my network, but also just ⁓ put me in positions to hear more transparent things from people so that I'm like, ⁓ it's not just me. Like, I'm not the only person here nervous, I'm sure. Did you ever, as someone, because like what I've only ever seen truly is just this confident version of you, but was there ever a point where you felt like you had imposter syndrome and, or feeling like you didn't belong in a room? And if so, like how? How do you deal with that, should say? I feel that even today, like there's times where it really ebbs and flows. There's times because since I won the scholarship, I've been promoted into a new position. And that position at the time was me coming from being a peer to actually being a leader over peers. And that was an insane transition for a year. And then not only that, being bumped up to VP level in an organ, like one of the top. staffing organizations in the world, I'm surrounded by people with like insane careers who've done insane things and they've been in the industry for 10, 20, 30 years and I respect them so much. And then there's times where I'm invited to be on the same call, have same decision making with all of them. And I'm like, am I really supposed to be here? So I... would say I struggle with that daily, but you know what gets me out of it is like there's work to be done. And one thing I've never, ever, ever doubted myself on is if I could do the work. And I think that's what has kind of kept me kind of coming back is the fact that I can do the work. You put me in the room. will understand whatever we're talking about. If we need, if it's something about servicing a client or helping close a sale or helping create a process, I know I can do that. And then. that kind of helps me realize I'm like, hey, if I just look at people as people and also like, hey, we're all here to do a job and we're all here to accomplish something. And if I don't doubt myself in my ability to accomplish something, why do I doubt that I should be here? But that's as I'm saying that is also a prep talk to me as well, because I literally just had a similar thing happen earlier this week where I was like, ⁓ y'all want me to lead this one? Okay, cool, I'll do it. But yeah, so if. for anyone out there who, I even hate saying imposter, but if you're feeling like that, just realize probably every single person in the room is feeling like that at one point in time. And that also just helps like humanize everyone and not to throw out thrive again, but that's also something that many of the thrive speakers at the time spoke about. And so you had these CEOs on stage talking about how they felt like being, like they at times felt like they were imposters and they felt like they didn't belong. And I was like, okay, if they feel like this then. That means I can't, it's okay to feel like this, just get over that hump and sit there and be present. And also realize that I think another thing is with Deliberate Wesley, she said this to me because I was feeling it a lot around the time where I first got the award in ASA and SIA 40 under 40. She was like, listen, even if you have to take yourself out of it, it's no longer about you necessarily because there's other people who now are looking at you or. they're gonna get fired by you. So when I go to staffing world and not even gonna, y'all know I get emotional sometimes, but when I go to staffing world, there's women and also men coming up to me and they're basically saying like, hey, I heard you say this and it helped me do this. I remember one lady, it was at the ending keynote and the speaker at the time, she was asking for volunteers to come on stage. And just previous to that, I had said something about where I was scared to go on the stage and I was like, I'm gonna go up there anyway. And I remember this lady walking out of the audience and I could tell that she was terrified and she walked on that stage. And when she came off, I asked the volunteer to participate, you know, in the keynote. And when she walked off the stage, she stopped by my table I was sitting at and she gave me a hug and she was like, I got up there because you said that you were getting your butt on that stage, even if you were scared. So I got up there. And when I tell you, Haley, I was over there just crying. I was like, Lord. So I was like, yeah, doesn't imposter or not, it just no longer, if you take yourself out of it, that's why I tell myself, I'm like, it's not about you anymore. Like go up there and just show people that it's perfectly fine to do it, even if you're scared, even if you feel like maybe you don't belong because guess what? You were asked to be here. So. Yeah, absolutely. I always say, ⁓ I hope to, or I try to practice to see myself the way other people see me through their lens. because I'm like you, I'm like, why are they asking me to do this or whatever it is? And then someone else is like, well, why not? And so I completely, I'm with you on there. I completely understand. I love that. I know exactly who you're talking about. remember that keynote. That's awesome. So speaking of keynotes, I want to talk about TEDx because I think that's such a cool opportunity that you got to do. And like you said, I mean, you are young. You have done a lot of stuff in a short amount of time, but. how did you get to partner with TEDx? And if you like, let's talk a little bit about what that event was for, I know it was an event for women specifically in Texas. So I've, for years, I've always envisioned being on a TEDx stage, not necessarily as a speaker, but just being a part of an event that highlights amazing ideas and innovation. And I'll be honest, just between us, I applied to organize a TEDx event like three times. They declined me three separate times. But I was like, I want to do this. And eventually they finally was like, okay, you're serious. You're going to keep applying. We're going to give you an opportunity to host an event. And I live in the Addison, Texas area. It's a very unique neighborhood of Dallas. And at the time I... had just been, again, really immersed with a lot of women in staffing. Well, just women in general, but many of them are in staffing. And many of the women actually served on the committee to plan the TEDx Addison Women event. And so it just became, because A, I got accepted, finally and approved to do it. B, I was really just in a mode of wanting to give more people a stage, similar to how ASA allowed me to get a stage in the past. And I wanted to host something that was kind of outside of the realm of staffing in a sense. Like I wanted it to be just an event for anyone and everyone. And it started with just asking for volunteers to see if people were interested. And then next thing you know, I had people wanting to sign up and we had like 10, 15 people who wanted to be a part of it. Then we started getting tons of partnerships from huge brands and events and... Even the Addison Performing Arts Center, wanted to get involved. So it was just a myriad of people who wanted to do the same thing, which was give people a voice, give the women in DFW somewhere to go to be heard. And the stories that were shared during that event were like some of the most, another time, similar to Thrive Eggs, when it just was very transformative from people talking about business, but also personal life, to we had a teacher who was talking about just some of the things that are happening in the education system in Texas. So really how it came about was just wanting to create a platform and really also just this weird need to always wanting to plan and set up something really, really complex. Because what I did learn working with TEDx was that there is a lot of rules and regulations. They have bylaws that are literally probably a hundred pages long. And I learned more about production and stage design and just... event organization and permits that I could probably learn in a lifetime. So it was a very fun experience. That's awesome. You'll have a different view of staffing world now. Yeah. And all the planning that goes into it. ⁓ indeed. I do so much now. Like I just even see now like, okay, no wonder they start planning this a year, two years in advance and picking the selection because we only had a hundred. We recapped at a hundred attendees and I couldn't even imagine. have I already had a lot of respect for it, but now I'm just gonna be looking at the stages and I'm like, I wonder what type of lighting they're using. I'm like, this what kind of stage? Like, is this stage? I even looked at, I think, some of the stage design from ⁓ Staffing World and I was like, yeah, we can't do that yet, but this is really cool. I used to watch my younger brother and I used to be both very into WWE wrestling. then as I, and I don't watch it anymore, but ⁓ when I got into my job and I started understanding all that goes into event planning, all I could think about was like, how much does that pyro cost? How much does it cost for this entrance? Like budget must be huge and they do this every week. so much the letters like that's what like you know like the big foam letters that a lot of yes yeah that was that was probably the most shocking out of everything to me and I was like wow and I also didn't know there was a million types of mics and it was a lot learning so I'm excited I don't know I'll talk to Diana I don't know if my membership committee duties has anything to do with production backstage but I'm like I'm for me and coach something you mentioned that I love that you mentioned now twice is experiences where you wanted it so bad and you applied a couple of times and you got rejected, but you still kept going. And I think that's an incredible skill to have that I think is a testament to your success now. But I want you to dive into that philosophy a little bit more because I think, especially in today's job market, for example, people are struggling to get jobs. It's hard to find a new job out there. So how do you keep going when, when it gets tough, when you feel like it's impossible, when you feel like all that work is worthless, how do you keep going? You know what, like, honestly, you just, I'm normally really good at picking up on themes in my life. And you just kind of highlighted something for me that I don't even think that I was aware of. not to get like too deep and too like interpersonal life. But growing up, I was surrounded by things that I just knew I did not want to part in. And so for me, it was no other choice. I was like, either I have to be successful or this is the only thing that's left. And so. I just had that drive of just knowing that if I do not do what I want so bad and if I don't keep going for it, then the only alternative is to be stuck in situations that are leading, I hate to say it, nowhere for me at the time. I always, this is probably not even a good reference, but I always think about 50 Cent's album, Get Rich or Die Trying, and I'm not trying to get rich, but it's basically like that's how it felt to me. So when I say I wanted to be a recruiter, or I wanted to host a TEDx event, the alternative for me would have been not being a recruiter. So not being able to continue doing that path that I want so bad, or not ever being able to host an event that I know would be really critical and instrumental in my life. So when I think of that, it's just, ask people, like, how much do you want it and what happens if you don't get it? And if not getting it is not an option. then it no longer becomes an option. And the way that I look at rejection is that a lot of times you're only gonna get one yes anyway. So that means every single no that you get just ups your probability of getting to your yes. So I don't know if it's gonna take 10 yeses to get, I mean, 10 nos to get me my first yes or five, but I do know that the odds are it may not be on the first try. And that means I just marked that one off. So I think it's just out of survival and also I just have this really innate fear of mediocrity and I hate to say it, it's just of wasting a lot of the effort and time that my dad and my family put into me. And I have nieces who look at me who are both very young and we're from an extremely small town. Nacogdoches, Texas, less than 30,000 people, the oldest town in Texas. And there's so many people in my community, but in my family. So if I say that I'm going to do something, I'm not only just doing it for me, I'm like, I'm also having to prove to them that they can do it. because if not, they can also fall into the same cycle that I also was trying to get out of as a child. So there's no, for me, it's just not an option. And if I don't, and here's the thing, if I do get rejected and I don't continue after it, that just tells me I didn't want it. Like that maybe that was just, you know, that was just something that I was interested in at the time. But if I really want it, then I'm going to keep going. And I just have to have faith in myself that it's going to happen. And if I don't have faith that it's going to happen, that means I probably shouldn't be going after it anyway, if that makes sense. Absolutely. Yeah. I really admire your drive. And you have a, I'm going to use a word that one of my college teammates' dads used on me, but he called it ferocity. And I, and I just, I, you are, you are such a hard worker and you, you know, there's people who say so-and-so is lucky they're in X position, but it's like no, so-and-so worked their tail off to get to that point. And like, and I can tell that you, you have done that as well and successfully. Thank you. I like that word for Rossidy. But yes, I always say it's a mix of a lot of hard work and good people recognizing that good hard work because you know, there's people who work super hard and maybe don't get in the right opportunities. But I will, I have learned to not discount like how hard I've had to work because it's been hard and it's been a lot of days. There's been time, like I remember when I even accepting that first recruiting role, I had no idea. how hard implementation truly was going to be and didn't really realize that, ⁓ I was gonna like 330 days on a roll really meant I was living in places for months and months at a time, not seeing family, not seeing friends, but I got to see the ins and outs of light industrial staffing in a way that not many people get to. And I am forever thankful for that opportunity, but those are probably the hardest three years of my life till this date outside of some of the costs in a word. That first job was hard too, but that's just me yelling at you. I was a telemarketer. I'm sorry. I would have yelled at you. Somewhere, somewhere someone's like, I recognize that voice. Sometimes I would have a call again and again. I'm like, I'm so sorry, but I really need to sell you this internet. Well, let's, let's switch gears just a tiny bit. So you've been volunteering with us, I believe now it's been at least four years between the two committees. But you kind of fell into it through after getting the Women in Leadership Scholarship. But how would you say the volunteer experience has impacted your career or even your leadership development? So for me, volunteering has allowed me to be... has, okay. So volunteering has affected my professional development and my leadership acumen, everything, I would say more so than... many things in my life, I would say. So mainly because for one, when you volunteer, you are now surrounded by other people who also are volunteers. And by design, in my opinion, if you're volunteering to be a part of a committee or something with the American Staffing Association, that already tells me you're really interested in growth. You're probably very nearly an expert in your field. You... care about staffing industry as a whole, and you either have something to say or you really want to affect change. So imagine now being surrounded by 20 of those type of peoples. By design, you're going to be affected. Every single time I get on a volunteer call or a committee call, I am taking notes. There are so many great ideas because to me, these are, it's almost like the meeting of the minds of our industry who are in. So not only am I taking notes, I'm learning about different sectors. I'm learning about healthcare, I'm learning about education. I'm learning about different strategies that small firms, medium-sized firms, large firms are using and how they correlate. So it's literally just a, I can't even explain in a sense, it's more so just an opportunity to really just get so much information and exposure. So from that, I would say just being a part of just being a volunteer has allowed me to just expand my entire staffing acumen outside of light industrial, but also get so many ideas on how to do things differently and things to try. And also it's given me a lot of amazing call like peers and friends that I can call on in the industry now. And then also if you're a committee member or your leader, you're going to be tapped to do things that maybe are outside of your comfort zone. Hey, facilitate this panel. remember my first time facilitating any call. nerve wracking, had no idea what to do. And Haley, I think it was you who gave me the best tip that I use to this day. Ask a question, wait seven seconds. Yes, I can't even take credit for that tip, because I took it from someone on my team. Well, you told me and I will, anytime I'm facilitating, just know that's in my head. I'm like, okay, one, two, three, but that facilitating those types of meetings has also made me a better presenter with my, like my real nine to five job. I wish it was nine to five, nine to whatever. but ⁓ facilitating, but then also being able to speak on actual panels. those are different things that you can use in your own professional development. And then I would say being a part of the tech task force, my job, although it's part of implementation, it's operations, is not on paper, strictly technology. So there are things that I'm an extreme tech enthusiast. By volunteering, it allows me to be even more actively involved in conversations around technology that maybe I don't even get to have in my normal day-to-day job, but it keeps me on par with both. So it's almost an extension in my opinion. It's an extension of my current role by, and it allows me to deal, I don't know the word, but it allows me to be involved in other things that I'm interested in, not only what's just on paper for my current role. Absolutely. I love that answer. All right, we've got one final question for you. So looking back on your career so far, if you were going to go back and give your entry-level self from 2017 one piece of advice, or maybe your 16-year-old self, what would it be? Ooh, ⁓ my gosh. It would be, honestly, I would tell her to keep the mindset that she has today because honestly, Ironically, Haley, I feel like my 16 year old self would probably give myself more advice today. Cause sometimes I look back and I wonder, I'm like, how can I capture that level of ambition and ferocity that she had? Because if it wasn't for her at 16 or 17, I wouldn't be where I am today at 32. And so I would, the advice that I would give to her is that, it's all going to work out. You know, it's going to work out even if it's hard right now, it's going to get much harder. Trust me over the years. but just keep that mindset and just be resilient and believe in yourself. And I may even tell her just dream bigger because I feel like maybe if I dreamed even bigger then who knows where I would be today, but I wouldn't even give her advice because ironically I feel like my 16, 17 year old self was even more so aligned with who I wanted to be than I am today. So I would just probably thank her for anything. Now anybody give me an emotional again because shock. for 16, you think I'm like that? I think I was pretty much set on being a mogul in New York City at 16 and 17, but I ended up in Dallas, which is 10 times better. So. I love that. Well, Celeste, thank you so much for joining us today and for sharing your story with us. It is super inspiring to hear everything and how you've built your career. And also just the fact that you give back to the industry through volunteering with us. just, we appreciate you. big fan obviously. So I just thank you for being here today. No, thank you. And I always tell, like I tell my team because I pushed him to get involved. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. get, and honestly, I feel like I get 10 times more from being involved than I probably give in. And so I am just thankful that I've been able to meet you and so many other members of the American Staffing Association. The last four years y'all have kind of been, you know, locking key with me and helping. So, you know, I won't call it a meteo... a meteo... what is it? Mediocrite rise? Meteoric rise? If it is, honestly, it's been pushed by the ASA and the entire team if I'm being completely transparent. So, thank you all. That's awesome. And I agree with Hayley. I'm a big fan, too. I'm just meeting you for the first time today, but your whole story, your whole energy is so inspiring. It makes me want to be more ambitious and try harder. Now I'm at y'all emo after y'all got me pumped up. I'm I did this. we're glad you did too. Come back any time. We're so happy that you came through. It was awesome. Okay. We will be releasing new episodes of the ETE Podcast on the first and third Tuesday of every single month. So be sure to subscribe to us on your favorite platform. If you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review. Thank you again to our incredible guest, Celeste Randall, and we will see you next time on the ETE Podcast.