LaMarca of Massey Knakal discusses first job experience

Name: Gia LaMarca Title: Partner, Senior Vice President of Human Resources Company Name: Massey Knakal Realty Services Years in Commercial Real Estate: 15 In the last 12 months, which project, transaction, honor or accomplishment are you most proud of and why? Being named the second female Partner in the history of the company. It was an honor to be recognized for my efforts and contributions to the firm's growth and success. What were your biggest fears when you started out in your profession? I vividly remember being offered the opportunity and as exciting as the prospect was, I was apprehensive of how I would handle the responsibility of starting a department for the company while managing a full-time academic schedule. This, on top of being an economics major with no prior human resources / recruiting experience, would be a challenge. It was a year of working around the clock to sustain both successfully but it was well worth it. What was your first job and what did you learn from it? My first real job was a summer internship with a major publishing/advertising company. The head of the team thought I was right out of college when, in fact, I was in high school which she learned my last day. That said, the workload and tasks were challenging and I quickly learned you needed to try to problem solve on your own and couldn't do so without possessing focus and a strong work ethic. The head of the department and her entire team were females who instilled discipline, drive, and the importance of working as a team towards a common goal. What are you doing differently in 2014 that has had positive impact on your career? Expanding our HR Team. For the past 9 years, the team consisted of only two full-time staff with part-time support. In 2014, we doubled the size of the team, adding two more full-time members and extra part-time assistance. We intend on bringing two additional full-time members by year end. With over 200 employees, further developing the department was critical to maintain the growth of the firm. It has made a major impact on hiring which is one of the firm's number one initiatives.