Getting to Know Jessica Ray

September 1, 2011

This week, OpenView Labs welcomes its newest member, Jessica Ray, to the team!  Jessica joins OpenView as a Recruiting Analyst on our People team, and will be supporting recruitment initiatives at our portfolio companies across the country.

Jessica was most recently working as a recruiter for Pegasystems in Cambridge.  Before joining Pegasystems, Jessica worked for two executive search firms– Cook Associates and J. Robert Scott– as a Researcher.  Jessica graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Marketing, and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Human Resources at Suffolk University.

10 Questions with Jessica Ray – OpenView Labs, Recruiting Analyst

 

1. Tell us about yourself—Twitter style (in 140 characters or less).  

J:Mass-native, and a true foodie, with a heart for dessert and a passion for recruiting, practicing yoga and running, and an avid movie goer.

[Editor’s note: Follow Jessica on Twitter: @RayJessicaG]

2. What are you most looking forward to about working at OpenView?

J: I’m really looking forward to working with our portfolio companies to build outstanding teams to support them at a critical and exciting stage in their development.  I’m also excited to be working with a great group of people who are all truly passionate about what they do while adding value to our portfolio companies.

3. What do you think will be your biggest challenge? 

J: Most recently, I have been focused on identifying and recruiting hands-on technical talent for a 25 year-old software company.  I’m looking forward to the challenge of shifting gears outside of this realm, focusing on a variety of roles, including sales, marketing and product management, while accurately assessing candidates that are not only the most qualified but who also have the right attitude and mindset for successfully adding value within an expansion stage company.

4. What do you enjoy the most about recruiting?

For me, the most satisfying part of my role as a recruiter is to make the match between an exciting opportunity and a great candidate.  Finding out what motivates the candidate and assessing if this is a great fit from both sides  is something that I truly love about my job, while also knowing that this person is going to be able to really add great value to the hiring manager’s team and the organization.  I also truly enjoy developing and refining recruitment strategies in order to make that great match, whether it be defining a target company list, working the job specification and profile, or creating new messaging tactics.

5. What is the last book you read?

J: I just finished Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell.  I also jumped on the bandwagon to read The Help by Kathryn Stockett (before seeing the movie), and I was so happy that I did – great read!

6. If you had to eat one type of food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

J: It would have to be French Fries and if I can pick an entire meal, it would be cheeseburgers, fries and a milkshake.  I’m also hoping that if this were to ever happen, calories would not need to be considered.

7. What is your favorite neighborhood in Boston? 

J: My favorite neighborhoods are in Brookline – Coolidge Corner, Brookline Village and Washington Square (which now makes the top of the list since it’s now also “home”).

8. What are your hobbies outside of work?

J: Baking, practicing yoga (power, heated, vinyasa), running, and trying new restaurants.

9. If Hollywood made a movie about your life, which actor would play you in the lead role? 

J: Anne Hathaway – she’s a little nerdy, awkward and goofy, but I think in a cute, loveable sort of way.

10. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

J: When I was really young, I wanted to be an artist and, later on, I wanted to be a TV news anchor or a music video producer.

VP, Human Capital

<strong>Diana Martz</strong> is Vice President, Human Capital at<a href="http://www.ta.com/">TA Associates</a>. She was previously the Director of Talent at OpenView.