The application
Am I set out for this?
Hi everyone! My name is Raneem Basheer and I am Adecco Canada’s 2022 CEO for One Month (C1M). Two years ago, I saw a post on LinkedIn about the C1M program and thought there was no way I could apply, mainly because I thought I would actually have to lead the company for a month (spoiler: you don’t!).
Fast forward to March 2022, I was nearing the end of my Chemical Engineering degree at the University of Toronto and itching for a unique learning opportunity that would give me insights into the business world from a leadership perspective. That’s when I saw the C1M job posting on LinkedIn and this time, I didn’t hesitate to apply. I submitted my resume and completed some aptitude tests, all the while thinking this was a long shot.
A few weeks later, I received a call letting me know I made it to the Top 3 in Canada—I was in shock and said “sounds good” on the phone way too many times! I was told I would have to complete 5 bootcamp challenges within the next 2 weeks and present them to the Canadian Leadership Team (CLT). This also happened to overlap with my finals week at university, so it was challenging to prioritize, but thankfully in the end I was selected to be the 2022 C1M.
The internship
Am I really shadowing the CEO?
At the start of my first 1-on-1 meeting with Janelle Bieler (President of Adecco Canada) and a CLT member, I smiled, introduced myself and hit the mute button. After that, they dove right into a management issue that had been escalating—I was shocked. Of course, I read the C1M job description and understood that I would be shadowing the CEO, but, in that moment, I realized I was shadowing the CEO.
Final debrief over lunch with President Janelle Bieler
Although I had no context for the conversation, I started noting down everything I heard. I didn’t know if I was writing down the names of people, companies or cities, but after that meeting I decided to challenge myself to learn as much as I could in each of these meetings. I was not used to this learning style—there was no structured lesson plan.
Throughout the month, I attended a variety of meetings with CLT members, clients and recruiters and I developed a flow. I would take notes and categorize them into insights, questions and thoughts which I would then discuss with Janelle during our regular check-ins. Week after week, the puzzle pieces started to come together and I was gaining invaluable insights into the role of a CEO and the staffing industry as a whole.
Dinner with the Canadian Leadership Team
The learnings part I
What is a CEO?
After shadowing Janelle for a month, I found that her role involved a balance of day-to-day operational problem solving and people management.
Janelle led Adecco through a great deal of transformation during her 1+ year in Canada, but she has been able to adapt quickly and gain her team’s trust by exhibiting some key characteristics:
- Collaboration – she always asks her team, “What do you think?” and provides guidance where necessary which shows them she trusts their opinions.
- Empathy – she listens to hear and not just to respond which creates a safe environment where people feel comfortable opening up.
- Emotional Intelligence – she processes high-emotion situations calmly and focuses on what can be learned from a mistake instead of dwelling on it.
CN Tower dinner with the Adecco USA team
The learnings part II
Staffing agencies have more than just temporary roles?
As for the staffing industry, I had little knowledge about it before applying to C1M. During my internship, I got a behind-the-scenes view of operations at Adecco and was surprised to learn about:
- Diversity of Talent Solutions – Adecco not only provides temporary roles within 15+ industries, but they also offer permanent roles, onsite managed services, recruitment consulting and more.
- Involvement in Associate Experience – The work doesn’t stop when a candidate secures a job. Adecco genuinely cares about their associates’ experience and actively cultivates relationships to provide upskilling, wage growth and other professional development opportunities.
- Partnership with Clients – Adecco doesn’t just send a list of potential candidates to clients. Rather, they collaborate closely with clients to ensure their hiring needs are met and that their candidate attraction and retention strategies are as effective as possible.
The takeaway
Should you apply to CEO for One Month?
Yes! No matter your experiences or skills, Adecco is in the business of putting people first. They are professionals at recognizing and investing in potential. Don’t hold yourself back because of your own self-doubt, you won’t find another way to learn from and be coached by a CEO.
Read more about the CEO for One Month here (and check back often for 2023 competition updates)!
Thank you!
- Thank you to Janelle for reminding me of the value I brought to the table and for answering every question I had, from what an acronym stood for to how to approach complex managerial issues.
- Thank you to the CLT for constantly encouraging me to share my perspective.
- Thank you to every person I met for being so welcoming and excited about C1M.
- Thank you to Adecco for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!