Susan Hanley - Signature Landscapes

This was a much anticipated seminar by all students. Signature Landscapes has done more for our program than any company in the Horticulture industry. They need interns and we need internships. They love our program and the hands-on emphasis we have. They also love the energy and good ideas our students have. Susan Hanley is the head of Human Resources at Signature, and is in charge of hiring.

The first thing she talked about during her presentation was the phenomenon of the Teflon grad. These graduates find a company to work at and quickly move on to the next one for an unknown reason. They are coated with a non-stick material.

The reasons she has found for the Teflon grad:

• Too high of expectations when starting a job (They think they will be a project manager in 3 weeks and they don't become one.)
• Sticker Shock (They didn't do their homework in looking at the price of a bag of groceries, gallon of gas, and the cost of living. Now they can't afford to have that job in that location.)
• Home sick blues (They miss their mom and call every day.)

Then she suggested ways to help us as generation Y to avoid being the Teflon grad. First of all, we need to disprove the stigma given to generation Y. We need to be hard workers, lack entitlement, and use our techno savvy skills for good and improving the companies we work for. We can avoid the 3 reasons she gave for the Teflon grad by asking the company we are interviewing with important, relevant questions. She said to ask, "Where will this company be in five years? What promotions will I have access to? Will you pay for any certification I complete? How often do you get together with employees outside of work? What associations are you a part of and are you active in those?" This will help you to realize your potential growth in the company and prepare you for the company culture and expectations.

Next she talked about Signature's culture. Their unofficial slogan is, "We work hard and have fun doing it." The interns they take on during the year hop around to every part of the company to get a good feel about each aspect. They do expect hard workers and a good number of hours every week, but you are not giving your life for your job. She said they realize that you need a life outside of work. Signature is involved in the community, in PLANET and in Career Days at many universities. Some of the skills Signature is drawn towards include critical thinking, leadership, flexibility, patience, humility, honesty, and integrity.

Finally, she talked about Mike Ethington who is an alumni of our program who has been working at Signature since his internship there about 3 years ago. Susan suggested that if we really wanted to know the reality of a company we should talk to a new hire (like Mike), not a recruiter (like her). New hires are more likely to be honest and not sugar coat reality. Mike and other successful employees grow their division, love their job, work hard and are honest.

If you are interested in Signature, contact Susan Hanley at susan.hanley@signaturels.com or call her phone at 425-868-5885.