Meet Our Recruiter

Christiana Simpson serves as the senior specialized recruiter for University Advancement. She brings more than 20 years of broad experience to the role, in areas such as recruitment, onboarding, and retention.

What does a specialized recruiter do?

I collaborate with advancement department heads and senior management to understand each department’s current and future staffing needs—and then I help develop a plan to ensure that the department attracts the right talent in the right roles. 

So what happens behind the scenes?

Lots of little things. Job analysis and description, marketing efforts to attract the best candidates, interview coordination, compliance, and much more—as well as keeping track of recruitment metrics to make sure we’re achieving our goals.

What are the advantages to having a dedicated expert in this role?

Because I have a wide view of advancement’s overall talent needs, I can help managers make more strategic hiring decisions. A candidate may not be a perfect fit for the position they applied for but may be ideal for a different role. So we can find and place the best people, whether they’re referrals, external candidates, or internal candidates.

What qualities do you look for in a job candidate?

Candidates who are curious, flexible, self-motivated, and who thrive in a collaborative team environment always stand out. People who understand the importance of building and developing relationships are also highly valued. Those skills will take you very far no matter what role you’re in. Prior advancement experience is not always required.