Meet Kimberly Shapiro of Sage Search Partners in Plano

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Shapiro.

Kimberly, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began my adult life as a teenage statistic. I was a 17-year-old single mom – had my first daughter on the first day of my senior year in high school. Fast forward two years, I was married (to my daughter’s father), with two kids living in a small rural farm town in Iowa. I didn’t even have a vehicle of my own. I would actually take the kids to the grocery store in a wagon that I would pull down the center of Main street.

My life was beginning to look grim. I had dropped out of college, I didn’t have a job, no prospects of a place to even work, no car… I couldn’t believe I had allowed myself to get into this situation. It was in church one Sunday morning when I had an epiphany. The message seemed to be sent to me directly from God. It was, “God gave you free will. If you are unhappy, unfulfilled, etc., you have the power to change your circumstances, the question is – do you have the courage?” Luckily, a few weeks before this pivotal Sunday morning, my parents had helped me get a car of my own. It was that very Sunday after church that I went home and packed as much as I could of mine and the kids things into the car. I woke my husband up from his late Sunday afternoon slumber and said, “I leaving, I’m taking the kids to Texas.”

Upon to my arrival in Texas, the first thing I had to do was find a job. This was a challenge for a young, non-degreed, single mom of two very young kids. I landed a job as a customer service rep with a credit card company. Shortly after I was hired by a large, public firm, Transamerica Real Estate Tax Service as an Administrative Assistant. I began taking college courses again while working with Transamerica and discovered I really loved my Accounting courses. I asked (begged) an Accounting Manager with Transamerica to give me a shot (what did he have to lose – you can always fire me I reminded). That was the beginning of my 10+ years in Accounting. In 2008, I chose to leave the Accounting field and join a global recruiting firm placing Accounting & Finance professionals.

This is where my love of career coaching, mentoring and leadership was developed. I have spent the last 10+ years not only helping DFW’s talented professionals find new opportunities but additionally, guide and mentor those who needed assistance in their search. This was in the form of resume writing, interview coaching, professional presentation, and brand development. Most important, coaching women on finding confidence, learning how to truly love themselves, and define what they want and help develop a plan to get it.

Last year (2018) alongside a partner, I launched a podcast, Big Girl Pants podcast where we discuss women’s issues, balancing work and family, and interviewing DFW’s hidden treasures (local entrepreneurs, authors, health and fitness guru’s, financial advisors with a heart for helping women, etc.).

This past year has been especially exciting as I was invited to join the world of public speaking. This has become a new passion. The message is simple, finding success and happiness in a chaotic world. The world is what we make it. We choose to move forward, or we choose to stay stuck. We choose to be thankful, or we choose to complain, we choose to compliment, or we choose to criticize.

We can choose to be happy and we can choose to change.

My passion, my purpose, my desire is to spread a little joy in this world. To help another person find their “happy” by realizing it’s all about perspective, gratitude and the ability to fully understand that you and you alone have the power to change your circumstances if you choose to. The choice is truly yours.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Two of the most challenging obstacles were hands down, being a single mother and not having a college degree. While I did eventually complete my degree, the majority of my career was as a non-degreed professional. That puts you in a league of your own. You are forced to work harder and smarter, as you have something to prove constantly telling yourself – you are worthy of that promotion, you are just as smart, just as capable, and you want it just as badly.

I did eventually remarry, removing me from the “single mom” status allowing me the flexibility to work longer hours, and even leave roles that perhaps weren’t placing me on the path to success. I had a clear vision of what I wanted and a few of the roles I had accepted were not going to get me there.

Additionally, attempting to climb the ranks in the Accounting field can be a real challenge without the credentials that most employers seek. I was able to make it to a leadership role and was very proud of my accomplishments, however, I knew my passion was helping people. I wanted to help people just like me. I love working with people that are smart, capable, and ready to conquer the world – they just need a little direction. I help people uncover/discover that direction, build a roadmap, and begin the journey.

Please tell us about Sage Search Partners.
Sage Search Partners is an Executive Search Firm and Temporary Staffing Service that specializes in Accounting & Finance roles from clerk to CFO.

I am the VP of Talent Solutions and lead the Temporary and Management Consulting team. I was hired to launch this newly created division within the organization.

This firm is second to none, this is the epitome of a heart and soul environment. Sage was founded on the idea that people are the heart of an organization. That’s why we focus on our people. If we take care of our people, they’ll take care of our clients and Sage Search will be serving DFW for decades to come.

Clarity, Integrity, Trust, and Discipline are not just words on our website, they are the values we live by.

We understand how clarity creates a culture of transparency and authenticity. We fully embrace the concept that integrity and trust are the epitome of a thriving environment focused on growth and superior service to our clients. We know that discipline is how we tie it all together.

The podcast, career coaching, and public speaking all tie back to my primary career in the staffing industry and have positioned me well to help others reach their maximum potential and capitalize on their talents. I’m a firm believer that passion projects (paid or unpaid) make you a more productive employee. When you spend time developing yourself, you lose the image of monotony and learn to see your career through a different lens. You are able to give more without feeling like your soul is slowly dying…you’re fully engaged and completely committed because you are allowing yourself to be a part of something that’s all yours, something you created. I have never felt more engaged and more fulfilled in my career than I do today. I fully attribute that to the podcast, career coaching, and public speaking opportunities.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I had a wonderful, healthy, loving family and childhood.   My parents have been married for almost 50 years.  I was raised with a mentally challenged sister, teaching me acceptance and patience from a very young age.  I knew my great-grandparents well, I knew their stories.   My childhood is filled with memories of camping, weekend sight-seeing adventures with my spontaneous parents, traveling, vacations – all in all a “normal” loving environment.  I attribute my success to the fact that I never stopped having fun and exploring (even if it was exploring and learning more about myself), my adventurous spirit is a little different than my parents, but valuable nonetheless.   I’ve always been a happy person.  I think that’s been wildly instrumental in my ability to power through the low times.   I used say to myself when I was feeling down, even as a kid, “chin up”.   It came from my grandmother and kind of stuck.

Contact Info:

• Address: 6080 Tennyson Parkway, Ste 150 Plano, TX 75023
• Website: www.biggirlpantspod.com, www.sage-search.com, www.kimberlydshapiro.com
• Phone: 972-693-7616
• Email: kshapiro@sage-search.com
• Instagram: biggirlpantspod
• Facebook: Biggirlpantspod
• Twitter: biggirlpantspo1

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