During my career I was always looking ahead and thinking about the future of my profession. How was it changing? Did I want to transition to something new? What would I be doing in 5 – 10 years and how would I get there?

I moved from the radio and television news business, became the Press Secretary for the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, and the Media Relations and Law Enforcement Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office in Connecticut. This experience served me well in my next public relations job at a nonprofit health care organization.

My soul-searching started again about 7 years ago. The media and PR business was changing, nonprofits were struggling, and I wanted something that would be more stable and personally rewarding.  I wanted to find my perfect “encore career” and happily, I did.

Earlier in my career when I was in charge of hiring, I excelled at finding talent. In fact, many of the people I hired went on to bigger and better opportunities and are still enjoying much success.  For years and to this day, friends and colleagues ask for my advice and help in finding a new job; how to write a compelling resume; or how to go about changing careers.  And there it was!! My “aha” moment!

I decided to make the transition to the field of recruiting and human resources. I went back to school and earned a Certificate in Human Resource Management from the University of St. Joseph in Connecticut.  After working for a year with a large international staffing company, I learned that WAHVE was looking for a Placement Specialist to match vintage insurance professionals with agencies and companies in need of talented people.  WAHVE’s mission and vision so impressed me and the job sounded like it was written just for me.  Besides, I’m Vintage myself!

I joined WAHVE in the spring of 2012.  Although I’d never worked in the insurance business, I studied, Googled, interviewed and listened to my clients and candidates.  I learned what our clients needed; what our candidates had to offer and made great matches.

We were a very small company then, just starting out. Today I’m totally amazed at how much we’ve grown.  I was the only Placement Specialist then and today we are a Placement Team of 6. WOW! And more than 350 “wahves” are working in jobs across the country.

I love hearing from our wahves and clients about how well things are going for them.  A client with an agency in Georgia who had just hired her 5^th wahve exclaimed, “You always find the best people for us!”  Just last week, one of my favorite wahves (just kidding – they’re all my favorites!!) sent me a note saying she was “living the dream and loving it!”

Along with fulfilling my passion for helping people find jobs, WAHVE offers me the opportunity to work from home, from my car or wherever I am.  And the perks are many!!  My home office is filled with my favorite paintings and artwork and I can work standing up.  I don’t miss risking my life driving in the snow trying to get to the office on time and I can’t count the hours I used to spend in my car commuting to and from work.  Now I have this extra time to do something productive or fun or learn something new – like how to speak Italian!  My husband and I decided to try the “snowbird life” and are spending our second winter enjoying the warmth and sunshine in Florida.  We surely don’t miss the cold and snow in the Northeast!

I recently reduced my hours so we could spend more time enjoying our hobbies, traveling and starting some new ventures.  I am now officially “pre-tired,” working part-time for the first time in my life.  Thanks to WAHVE, you can count me as one of the thousands of baby boomers who still enjoys working and making a difference for others.

I too am living the dream and loving it!

– Delcie Thibault

Making Wahves

This post is part of our Making Wahves series that highlights members of the WAHVE team.