North Bay Woman

S P R I N G 2 0 1 9 | NORTH BAY WOMAN 35 As he fi lled out the paperwork, she dis- covered that he had fallen on extremely hard times. He once had a good job, but now was just scraping by, living in a homeless shelter. "He ended up getting placed and got a job. When I (left that job) many years later, he was still there," Serres says. "They said he was their best em- ployee ever." The man later returned and thanked her for changing his life's course. "It just hit me at how powerful our role is in helping people and the impact we're making on their life," she says. "He did it all, we just opened the door and made that connection." This experience was a precursor to Serres' growing passion for the power of relationships. The newly appointed president of Star Staffi ng, Serres, 33, has nurtured a business that thrives on connections. Serres feels like she found her calling without looking for it. As a high school student, her primary focus for employ- ment was to fi nd something that would keep her weekends free. She eventually found a position as a receptionist at a job placement company. What was supposed to be just a job ended up forming her mission. "All of a sudden, I just started learning and this whole new Nicole just arrived," Serres says. Her position as a receptionist led to becoming a job recruiter, which paved the path for her to join Star Staffi ng at 24 years old and become vice president and co-owner just one year later. And then there's the book. "A lot of people were asking career advice and how I got to where I was at such a young age," Serres says. Understanding the limitations of her time, she realized she couldn't help everybody individually — which is what gave her a much broader idea. "I can have one-on-one conversations, or I could write a book." "From Receptionist to Boss" is her guide on how to accomplish goals, present your best self, and advance your career, using Serres' own journey for examples and inspiration. An Ama- zon bestseller, the book has a conver- sational tone while encouraging the reader to make big changes. Serres' dedicated work ethic and drive were taught to her at an early age. "It came from how I was raised, and my family always had a positive outlook. They believed that through hard work you can accomplish great things," Serres says. "I think my dad is a catalyst for that. I watched him go to work every day, working really hard. When things didn't go well, he still went to work the next day. He instilled in me that you can always be better." Serres adopted her father's lessons in her own business, seeing ways to work smarter and be more effi cient. Describ- ing herself as a naturally competitive person, she challenges herself through the accomplishments of others, and fi nds inspiration and empowerment in others' achievements. "You are who you surround your- self with," she says. "Why wouldn't you want to surround yourself with dominant women that are kicking butt so that you can learn and get better instead of distancing yourself and living in a pity party?" Serres acknowledges how easy it is to fall into negativity over seeing other people succeed. Her solution is to shift her perspective. "I don't know their story; I only know mine," she says. "When you really dive deep, their life probably has tons of struggles, you have no idea what they've gone through, what they've overcome. So we shouldn't be wishing that we're anybody, we should just continue to learn and be better individuals." Serres' position as president of Star Staffi ng isn't her only new role. In September, she married John Serres, a blueberry farmer at his family-owned company, Serres Ranch Blueberries. "We got married at John's family's estate in Sonoma, at their ranch. It was absolutely beautiful. I wanted to bring glitz and glam to the country, because I really wanted it to be a unique setting of us joining together." She admits to being nervous, wishing that they could have had two wed- dings — a practice run to get out all the jitters, and then the real wedding ' It's easier to fi nd a perfect attitude than it is to fi nd a perfect job.' – Nicole Serres Nicole Serres walks outside Star Staffi ng's Petaluma offi ce. (Bottom) Inspiration comes from within and from reminders around her offi ce. - Photos by Stuart Lirette

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