Samantha “Sam” Hartsough
Editor’s Note: The Happy Beginnings series features recent College of Arts & Sciences graduates who are getting started in careers, graduate school and service.
Samantha Hartsough ’16 ’17M is enjoying her second job after graduating with a master’s in Sociology in 2017.
She earned B.A.s in Psychology and Sociology-Criminology from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University.
Her first job, at Robert Half, involved recruiting candidates and placing them at external companies. (See “Sociology and Psychology Alum Enjoys Role as Recruiter.”) Working at OhioGuidestone is very different because she recruits candidates to work for her employer.
In addition, OhioGuidestone is a nonprofit health and human services provider so the roles she recruits for are much different. The candidates she works with here are incredibly passionate. That passion inspires Hartsough every day to keep working hard. She sees each new person she hires into OhioGuidestone as adding another individual to provide important services to the community.
“I may not be on the front lines helping in the community, but I know I’m making a difference. And that makes work fulfilling,” Hartsough says.
Her role at Robert Half provided a crash course in recruiting. That job experience and a supportive boss from an organization with a good reputation helped her to land the job at OhioGuidestone.
Recruiting and… Sociology?
Hartsough goes on to say that the work she does fulfills the sociologist in her.
“Through all the theories I have studied in sociology, I truly believe that OhioGuidestone’s approach to mental health, poverty, children without stable homes, and trauma is the best approach,” she explains.
“We target the root of these issues in an attempt to solve other difficulties in individuals’ lives as well, rather than just putting a Band-aid on the problem. Having the background knowledge from my time at OHIO has definitely helped me to target candidates with the same mindset and passion.”
Her OHIO Experience
She did not intend to go into recruiting when she began college.
It was in grad school that Hartsough found an interest in human resources.
OHIO’s grad program allowed her to explore sociological topics that she was interested in, including the classes Sociology of Work and Sociology of Gender. This exploration enabled her to find her passion for Human Resources, with a focus on remedying discrimination in the workplace.
“Recruiting for OhioGuidestone is the perfect mix of my sociological passions and desire to make a difference.”
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