A company is only as good as the employees who build it, and TheLadders is no exception. We’re proud to have an extrordinary pool of talent in our New York office, and we’d love for you to get to know some of our awesome teammates who make TheLadders the leading job-matching service for career-driven professionals. Here’s a quick Q&A with Rakib Azad.

How long have you been with TheLadders?

Just over two weeks.

What is your title at TheLadders and what are your responsibilities?

Sr. Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis. I will be overseeing the financial budgeting, forecasting, and analysis for the overall business, while also analyzing everything in between for key business insights.

What’s your favorite part about working at TheLadders?

I have not been here long enough to make the full determination, but so far I really like the think big (e.g. Big Data) culture and mentality.

When you’re not working, you can be found…?

I can be found at a sporting or any other random event in the city, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, gym, or at my home desk reading or working on my blog.

What is your favorite hangout in the neighborhood surrounding 137 Varick?

Not exactly in the immediate vicinity, but I enjoy several spots in the MacDougal/Bleecker St. area.

What’s the one tech device you couldn’t live without, and why?

Definitely my iPhone (and any future smartphone I may own), because I feel like the world is at my fingertips.

If you could meet any musician (dead or alive), who would it be?

Kurt Cobain

What mobile app do you use the most?

Tons of news sites, Facebook, and ESPN Score Center

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Astronaut (my goal now is to take a Virgin Space ride one day)

If you didn’t work in an office, what would be your alternate-universe occupation?

Unrealistically, 2^nd base for the NY Mets (even though they stink), somewhat realistically, an international diplomat

Rakib Azad is the Sr. Manager of Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) at TheLadders. Besides a deeply held interest  in making sense out of numbers, he enjoys soaking in experiences, knowledge, and food  from every corner of NYC and whenever possible, a trip somewhere around the world.  

Being a huge fan of the rock band Foo Fighters, I recently purchased their entire discography on vinyl. Vinyl? Why vinyl? I know, I know, why vinyl?! You see, I am passionate about quality, and I am one of those folks that believe true quality music is heard best off a vinyl record. For me, quality is above all else.

That’s why I am really excited about what I’m doing here at TheLadders. I work with our Job Analysts to continue to post only quality jobs on our site. We go over thousands of jobs daily to make sure they meet our professional standards, are aesthetically pleasing, are shown to the right audience, and are categorized correctly. I have even worked with our Employer Relations team, who is responsible for vetting all employers that join TheLadders, ensuring that only legitimate sources are able to post positions and search for candidates. We pride ourselves in finding the right person for the right job, which is why we maintain high quality assurance of all job listings on our site.

We know how difficult and stressful the job search can be. Everyone here in our Stevie-award-winning Job Search Support Center is here to help. We do this through quality work, whether it’s through live chat, phone conversations or timely email exchanges.

Now, excuse me while I take a listen to some sweet jams by the Foo Fighters. Should I start with Burning Bridges, Stacked Actors, Summer’s End, All My Life, or my new favorite, Arlandria? Decisions, decisions…

Brenden Sparnroft is a member of the Job Search Support Center at TheLadders. For more than two years, he has been working with our job seekers to help them progress to the next step in their careers. Come summer, you can usually find Brenden barbecuing with his friends and family. 

Last Thursday, I spent two days in Raleigh, NC, at the Internet Summit 2012 where I spoke on two panels: “Designing and Optimizing for Multiple Screens” and “Internet Entrepreneurship.”

The most exciting part of my trip was that it was the first time in 20 years that I returned to the “scene of the crime.” This is a story that very few people know about me – one that took place long before my time as COO and Co-founder of TheLadders.

In 1993, I was a freshman at the University of Colmar, in Alsace, France, studying economics and business. I quickly realized that as a Frenchman preparing for a career in business, I had to speak English fluently if I wanted to be successful. Since I am not the type of person who can master a foreign language via classroom study alone, I engineered a bold move. I decided that I was going to spend the summer working in the United States and, therefore, learn English there. Like I usually do, I approached it with a sink-or-swim mentality.

Through a student organization’s intermediary, I was able to secure a working permit for the summer. I bought a round-trip ticket between Paris and New York, but first needed to decide on a final destination. As a teenager, I had already traveled with my family to the West Coast, so I targeted the East Coast. Strategically, I decided to avoid cosmopolitan areas for fear of working with too many foreigners, hence limiting my language practice. Therefore, I ruled out New York City, Boston, Washington D.C., Miami and Atlanta. In fact, I narrowed my options to Upstate New York, Vermont or the Carolinas. Because it was the summer, I also was seeking proximity to the beach to enjoy the warm weekends. Raleigh, North Carolina seemed to match everything I was looking for. Even though it’s not right on the water, it’s only a two-hour drive to the beach. I was sold!

In June of that year, I boarded a plane from Paris to New York. When I got to the Big Apple, I spent my first night at Columbia University before jumping on a 12-hour Greyhound Bus to Raleigh. At the time, I had very little: $300 in cash, two bags and a piece of paper saying that the McDonald’s at 3710 Western Boulevard was willing to hire international students for the summer.

When the bus finally arrived in Raleigh, the first thing I did was find a place that I could afford for one night; I knew no one and had no place to go. After I checked in to the hotel, I walked to McDonald’s, letter in hand, and asked the store manager for a job. Because I needed the money to survive on my own, I was anxious to get started and requested a start date of the very next day.

I needed to improve my English before being allowed a customer-facing job at the counter, so I spent a memorable summer in the kitchen flipping burgers and pancakes. When the manager kindly offered to introduce me to other employees, one of them offered me a room to sublet for the summer. I had a job, a summer home and an opportunity to practice English every day with Americans. Life was good.

I ended up spending the whole summer there before returning to school in France. Those two months in Raleigh became a life-changing experience for me, a truly pivotal movement that later gave me the confidence at age 22 to permanently move to New York City. The rest, as they say, is history!

For the past 16 years, I have traveled extensively across the United States visiting many cities and states, but last Thursday was especially meaningful…to come back for the first time to where it all began!

Alex Douzet is Co-Founder and COO of TheLadders. In this role, Alex is responsible for the company strategy, global business operations, and product development.

While the worst of Hurricane Sandy is behind us, the Tri-State Area has a long road ahead until relative normalcy is restored. Devastation has wreaked havoc upon our shores, lives and homes have been tragically lost, and cherished times have been etched into our memories forever.

But as Americans continue to prove, tumultuous times bring us closer together. After our COO and Co-founder, Alex Douzet, published his blog post last week, we have received an overwhelming response of concern and well wishes from our members, clients and friends. The comments below, and many like them, have brought us hope and gratitude. We are very thankful for each and every one of your thoughts and prayers.

I’m happy to report that power has been restored to TheLadders’ headquarters in lower Manhattan, and our staff is excited and relieved to be back onsite as of this morning. What’s more, I’m so proud to be a part of a team that, despite their personal experiences with Hurricane Sandy, came together to help each other and service our customers to the best of our ability. While our office at 137 Varick Street remained closed due to loss of power all last week, our IT team worked relentlessly to provide remote access to the entire company, and those who could work, did work – a lot. Customer service remained available to help our customers on both email and live chat and all other departments proceeded as usual, in very unusual circumstances.

Kudos to the entire team for their effort, endurance and determination during, and in the wake of, Hurricane Sandy.

Outstanding Mr. Douzet!! It is people like yourself (and team) that make quality businesses what they are….successful. May God, the father, keep a close watch out over you, your family and your work family at “TheLadders” until this monumental tragedy has subsided, in Jesus name, Amen.

- Todd P.

Dear Alex, My thoughts are with you and your members. Please let me know if I can assist in anyway, really and sincerely.

- S. Rezani

Prayers and thoughts are with all of your team impacted by this unbelievable storm. It is a time for family and taking care of each other. Job searches are small compared to the challenges you all are facing. God Bless and may everyone be safe and comforted soon. I would love to land a new job, but respectfully, I want the lives of your staff to get back on track, as well. Many prayers and thoughts of hope.

- Tony E.

I really appreciate the update. God bless TheLadders HQ team in the lower Manhattan area. Our prayers are with you and your families.

- Rich

To Alex, the Staff at TheLadders and our extended family affected by this week’s weather, Our hearts and hopes go out to you! We empathize with the challenges, inconveniences and the sad losses that you are enduring from Hurricane Sandy’s devastation. It is our hope that you are all safe and your challenges are easily overcome.

- George

Thank you so much for getting in touch with all of us under these conditions and continuing to provide support and help to us. It should be us who live on the West Coast  to provide support to you. My positive thoughts and blessings to you and your employees and company and all those affected by this storm. I know that you can ride this challenge.

- Jolin C.

I just hope all are safe after such a terrible storm.  I live in CA, but grew up in NJ.  My heart is broken to see my Jersey Shore so terribly hit hard.  I feel for all you!!

- Michele S.

Patty Youngclaus is the associate manager of public relations at TheLadders. Outside of work, Patty enjoys going to the beach, playing softball and being around family and friends. Once football season begins, her weekends (and sometimes Thursdays, Mondays and Saturdays) are reserved for the New York Giants.

Last Tuesday, I was a keynote speaker at the Digital East 2012 conference, where I presented “CEO or Ironman: Driving Success at the Bottom Line and Finish line.”

Here are my 7 Rules for Successful Entrepreneurship:

1. Fear: The odds are against you; most start-ups will fail. However, passion will prevail. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. If you are passionate about your endeavors, you are more likely to succeed.

2. Dream: Dreams become goals; goals become projects. If you don’t first have a vision, your plans are less likely to succeed.

3. Commit: Commit first plan second. Quit your day job now!

4. Resilience: Decide to finish what you start. Stick with it. Get up again…and again. Expect that things will go wrong, but persevere in the face of adversity.

5. Aim High: If you aim low, you’ll land low. Aiming high will not guarantee your success, but it increases its likelihood.

6. Hours: Expect to put in the time to succeed. If you want to work a 40-hour week, being an entrepreneur may not be for you.

7. Leadership: The vision — the idea — is yours. Only you can convince others to join your effort, and only your vision and leadership will attract top talent to your cause. Colin Powell said, “Leadership is the art of accomplishing more than the science of management says is possible.”

Either/Or versus And: The Either/Or paradigm involves the mindset of “constraints” – time, funding, workforce, etc. How do you manage to find 20 additional hours per week to train for the Ironman when you are a husband, father, and business executive? Learn to say the most powerful word in the world: AND.

Ironman and Entrepreneurship reveal your DNA. After completing my first Ironman competition, I understood that I really can do anything. Going from “Either/Or” to “And” involves a mind-shift. As I said in the presentation, I am Alex Douzet. I am a husband, and a father, and a COO, and an entrepreneur…and an Ironman.

 Alex Douzet is Co-Founder and COO of TheLadders. In this role, Alex is responsible for the company strategy, global business operations, and product development.

I am a father, husband, entrepreneur, triathlete, and COO of TheLadders, a company that I co-founded nine years ago with Marc Cenedella and Andrew Koch. Throughout my life, I always have been an athlete and have been inspired by people who achieve their dreams. However, I only became a triathlete at 34-years-old when my friends, Dave and Alain, convinced me to join them (along with 20 other triathletes from TheLadders) in the annual New York City Olympic Triathlon.

On August 11, 2012, I competed in the Ironman U.S. Championship in New York City. For the past 35 years, Ironman has been regarded as the pinnacle among all endurance sports, consisting of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile marathon. A competitor who finishes in less than 17 hours is called an Ironman. What I find pretty cool is that there are more Ivy League MBAs in the world than Ironmen.

As I began my research about the tribulations of an Ironman, I realized there were multiple challenges with the race. In addition to the physical challenge, there is also a mental and time-management challenge: an Ironman race requires a six-month training program with an average of 12 hours per week. Where would I find the time? By my estimation, I would need to take a six-month sabbatical from work simply to train. As my former executive coach used to say to me: “Alex, you are a victim of the either/or syndrome. You think you can either be an entrepreneur or an Ironman, but not both. You must learn to say AND.” I wanted to be a chief executive and an Ironman.

Here are the lessons I learned from being an Ironman that also apply to launching a startup and building it into a successful enterprise:

Make your dreams become goals:

As children, we are all told to dream about the future and imagine what we want to be when we grow up. As we become adults, our dreams take the form of goals. We want to meet our goals to finish something we started, and live a life that is full and meaningful. This is why some of us are crazy enough to believe we can change the world.  I was crazy enough to believe I could change the job market and finish an Ironman.

Commit first and then figure out the plan:

I signed up for my first Ironman U.S. Championship in August 2011. It sold out in 11 minutes. By the time I received confirmation that I was accepted, I had about four months to figure out a plan before the grueling six-month training program started. Unlike most people, I opted not to hire a coach. Instead, I researched and designed my own training program and nutritional plan. That way, I could own both the success and the failure. When you start a company, you do not hire McKinsey or Bill Gates to write your business plan.

Aim high:

I think too many people are afraid to fail and, as a bi-product of their fears, don’t strive to achieve. The real issue is that these people miss out on a key life discovery. Failure is an essential part of the learning process and one of the best ways to learn. For Ironman, my goal wasn’t just to finish, I wanted to finish within 13 hours and be in the top 50^th percentile in the race. I aimed high and pushed myself hard. The same mantra applies to a startup: if your goals are to just survive and build a company with only five people because that is what you are comfortable with, then you never will build a $1billion company and have a successful IPO.

Put in the hours:

We all hate the concept of working long hours for the sake of face time. In 2002, I held a summer M&A job in Investment Banking in London, working 90 hours every week, and I learned how inefficient face time could be. That said, you cannot build a successful company if you and your team work from 9 to 5. If you do not work at least 60 hours a week, you are not going to make it to the top. Same with Ironman. Ironman requires 12 hours a week of training for 6 months. That is just the basics to finish. If you want to have a good finish time, you will have to put it more hours. There is no way around it.

The mind controls the body, so master controlling the mind:

It is said that your mind controls your body, but have you ever really experienced this relationship in a challenging situation? Ironman teaches you these survival skills. I completed Ironman NYC in 12:12:21 seconds. I ran the first half of the marathon in 2 hours and 14 minutes, at which point, I was on pace to break 12 hours. Then, approximately 10 hours into Ironman, my body gave up. I was paralyzed at mile 16 with 10 miles to go.

No one would have blamed or criticized me for giving up right there, but I told myself that quitting was not an option. As long as the clock did not read “17:00:00,” and I had one ounce of energy left in me, I was going to move my legs forward one way or another, regardless of pain. That is when my brain took over, and showed my body who was in charge. The same mentality applies to building a company. As long as you have one dollar in the bank, you can be successful, even though everyone around you may quit.

Watching our healthy heroes duke it out in the Olympics has further reinforced how important it is to increase your body intelligence and foster personal health.

Fitness and motion have always been my passion, but imprisoned by the confines of an ergonomically correct chair for 8+ hours a day leaves little opportunity for exercise. These healthy ideals inspired me to request having my desk raised, to which TheLadders kindly accommodated, and now my dreary desk has transformed into a productive playground. Standing while working initiated a series of healthy work habits, including daily sprints up the building stair well, workouts on our pull-up/dip machine, and more nutritious lunches, usually homemade.

In his blog, The Blog of Time Ferriss: Experiments in Lifestyle Design, American author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss highlights many options to incorporate into your office lifestyle to ensure that the majority of your daily waking hours are not spent cultivating poor fitness. Be sure to explore if your employer permits some of the practices that TheLadders encourages:

• A raised desk to promote more movement
• A workout/stretch space for opportunities to loosen up
• Nutritious food alternatives (if your company provides food)
• Healthy competition (TheLadders’ employees are currently competing to lose weight in their own version of the “Biggest Loser”)
• A humidifier near your work area for easier breathing during sinus seasons

There are countless possibilities. The key is to discover the options your company supports, and take advantage of them today!

Kean Gardner is an Account Manager of Recruiter Relations for TheLadders who loves to ensure that every recruiter knows how to find, and connect with, the best candidates for their jobs. He also loves to rip holes in the dance floor and educate on healthy living. 

TheLadders blog is always sharing great stories about how our team helps our members, but we’re also proud of the accomplishments our team make out of the office. Today, I’d like to share with you a story about Michael Castro. Mike first started at TheLadders almost 2 years ago as a Job Search Advisor. It was his job to help TheLadders members use the site and to find the right jobs for the right person.

But Mike had a talent and passion that we didn’t know about.

Mike is an amazing and talented filmmaker. When he isn’t writing or performing his own music, he’s shooting videos and films on his Canon 5D. TheLadders first saw his talents come to life when Anita Samojednik, TheLadders VP of Customer Operations, had Mike make a film about his fellow Job Search Advisors for a QTF (Quarterly Talk Forum) meeting. Everyone was blown away by the quality and style of the video. I’ve personally worked in film and video with top commercial directors, and I was overwhelmed. TheLadders had a top director and editor in our midst. TheLadders CEO & Founder Marc Cenedella made it clear we needed to put his talents to good use. Mike moved over to TheLadders UX group, and over the past year has shot and edited over 15 videos. You can see all of his work for TheLadders on our YouTube channel – combined his TheLadders videos have almost 50,000 views.

Recently, Mike submitted a short film to the LA Comedy Shorts Festival. TheLadders is proud of our talented editor and producer, Michael Castro. Please watch and witness the talent we see everyday.

A short film by Mayfair Jollies.

“Love D.O.A.”

Written by Jason Resnikoff & Shalani Tripathi
Directed, shot and edited by Mike Castro
Produced by Joe O’Brien, Mike Castro and Jason Resnikoff

Starring:
Jason Resnikoff
Shalini Tripathi
Maegan Pachomski
Paolo Po
Joe O’Brien

Featuring the music of Steve Mahoney (“Ever the Optimist”) and The Lesser Ghost. Also featuring ambient sounds by Kevin MacLeod.

Todd Hoza is Creative Director of TheLadders. When he’s not busy helping build the brand from the inside out, he’s taking credit for all the great work his talented team creates.

Let me try a phrase on you:

Unlimited Vacation.

That’s right. I said unlimited vacation. I’m sure you can’t wrap your brain around that. I couldn’t either, at first. But it’s true. When you work at TheLadders, you get unlimited vacation days.

It’s a groundbreaking philosophy. But… how can we do it?

Simple: We don’t hire slackers. We hire people who want to do awesome work, and want to come in every day and kick some ass. TheLadders HR and executives know that we’re not going to abuse that policy.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t use it. I recently took advantage of our unlimited vacation and headed off to Australia and New Zealand.

For a month.

A whole, consecutive four weeks. I’m not a tenured professor on sabbatical—but I took three consecutive weeks last year, too. So I wrapped up my projects and assigned coverage to my amazing team (thanks guys!), and packed my bags.

Not to sound trite, but it was the trip of a lifetime. I started with two weeks in Australia: First, the cultural capital of Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road. Next, the diverse neighborhoods and iconic sights of Sydney—take an $11 ferry ride to Manley Beach if you ever go, you’ll get great shots of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.

Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge, from the Manley Ferry. Sydney, Australia.

I capped off my Aussie visit with a dive on the Great Barrier Reef that opened my eyes to a breathtaking world, and was an experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

My best shot from the dive on the Great Barrier Reef. Nemo!

I followed that up with some family time, as my sister currently lives in New Zealand. She’s a doctor at a small hospital in a remote—but very friendly—town called Balclutha.

My mom also flew in—it was Thanksgiving week, after all! From Queenstown to Dunedin, we toured the whole South Island, stopping at my sister’s house to celebrate the holiday—turkey was actually hard to find!—with some other Americans that worked with my sister. (And some new Kiwi friends!)

As we toured, we drove past skyscraping mountains and rolling, grass-covered hills and pastures reminiscent of the Scottish countryside. (The running joke in the car: Look! Sheep!) A boat cruise through the idyllic glacial fiord of Milford Sound—complete with a pod of dolphins who took a liking to our boat—was the highlight.

Milford Sound National Park, on the South Island of New Zealand.

Then we flew up to the North Island. We visited Rotorua, which everyone in New Zealand calls “RotoVegas.” (Kiwis are super nice and Rotorua was fun and beautiful, but clearly not many Kiwis have been to the real Vegas.)

Eventually, I ended my trip in the beautiful harbor city of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest, with 1.2 million residents. (As we drove past sheep farm after sheep farm, I had to remind myself the whole country had less than half of New York City’s population.)

I’ve only been back to work for two days. But I definitely understand the real reason we have unlimited vacation: It’s the way I feel right now. I’m rested, re-energized, ready to get back to work and kick some ass.

Bill Beard is the Associate Creative Director of Copy for TheLadders. He (obviously) loves to travel, always has ESPN.com open, and always takes the cheese option when it’s offered.

Job seekers, recruiters and hiring executives have an increasing number of options to choose from when seeking their next great move/perfect candidate. We believe TheLadders is uniquely positioned to help both sides of the ecosystem achieve success. TheLadders invented the first job site for $100k+ job seekers 8 years ago. And, this year, TheLadders turned the industry on its head (again) by launching the first “job offer guarantee.”

So how did TheLadders invent an offering like Signature, our coach-led program proven so effective we guarantee the outcome? Eight years of data serving the $100k+ segment definitely helped. Latest technology and academic research didn’t hurt either. Our near-famous, unlimited snack area? Maybe.

I’d argue the differentiator is our people. People who are smart & incredibly passionate about careers. People who understand success occurs at the intersection of technology and people (yes, I’ve been reading the Steve Job biography). People who put job seekers success first. That’s what we mean with our new tagline, Your Career Is Our Job™.

We believe in our people so much, we looked internally when developing our new tagline and brand promise. Yes, we validated the heck out of it externally – but the important takeaway is the idea started right here. And when we had to showcase our new tagline at our 9/20 NYSE event, we again turned to our colleagues. Enjoy a video created in-house by the UX team’s Mike Castro (who was once a Job Search Advisor) with support from Todd Hoza (our creative director) and Kate Addicott (our copywriter and tweet-miser of @TheLadders).

We enjoyed making the video. Hope you enjoy watching it.

Nicholas Karrat is Vice President of Marketing for TheLadders.com. He’s passionate about building great brands (e.g., TheLadders), traveling with his family and October baseball. He’s been waiting ~20 years for “the call” from the Yankees…any minute…