Born in Seoul, South Korea, at 5 years old John’s family immigrated to the United States, settling in the Portland Metro Area in Oregon. Growing up in the Beaverton/Aloha suburb, he spent half of his freshman year at Aloha High School (home of the Warriors) and the remaining 3 ½ years at Sam Barlow High School in Gresham, Oregon (home of the Bruins). The Bruins? “Not coincidentally, the school blatantly ripped off the UCLA Bruin mascot AND fight song. No joke!” admits John.
Prior to coming to Crescent, John worked as a Sales Consultant and Corporate Accounts Associate for Montblanc, part of the Richemont Group, and part-timed as a timepiece repair technician for Time Service, Inc. Currently, he’s a Technical Recruiter at Crescent Solutions and self-proclaimed Technical Sniper on LinkedIn. “Honestly though, I do believe I’m honing the best of my talents to source, recruit, and place the best candidates Crescent Solutions has to offer to our clients,” says John. Things have definitely changed and improved since his first week with us. “My first week I was assigned to read three books in one week to get a crash course on IT recruiting, while everyone else was in Cabo for a week…I felt like Milton in ‘Office Space’” John says. “I also remember failing miserably in full fashion!” adds John. “I believe it was my second or third week and I had found this amazing candidate who got into interview rounds, and an offer within 10 days. Then he flat out refused the offer and went dark on me.” The highs and lows of recruiting. However, his first real placement is now a standout highlight in his mind. “I honestly thought I was trying desperately to get a date with a hot girl from another city. The amount of phone calls, coddling, reassuring, pillow talk, and scheduling was harder than getting my then girlfriend, now wife, to go out with me,” John says through his laughter. “Must have been all those years of practice. I laugh at the similarities everyday.”
John tries to embody Bruce Lee’s mantra “Be like water”. It helps him balance his easy going and relaxed nature while still being extremely persistent and determined. “I’m a bit of hard head,” admits John. “Kind of like if you were to imagine water trying to penetrate into a rock. Not going to happen, right? So it just sits around it, patiently, until it finally gives in and cracks or gets worn down. Good thing is both the water and rock come out of it better objects because the stone became polished and the water full of minerals on the way out… I digress.”
“My office has a glass wall and I can see John directly in front of me,” says Stephanie Le, Director of Operations. “I can’t imagine a more fun person to be able to spy on. As you can see from this photo I snapped in secret, he has altered his desk to be a standing desk. Occasionally he sits on an exercise ball. I think that paints a better picture than my words ever could. In addition to his quirky personality, he exudes a charm that makes everyone…co-workers, clients, and contractors feel comfortable.”
A true Pisces, this people person can get along with anyone, anywhere, anytime. His Aquarius wife definitely agrees. And while kids are in the couple’s “master plan”, for now they are very content parenting their two cats Tempura and Compton, and indulging in all of the the culinary amazingness that this sushi chef of 15 years can provide. John stays active by Track/Road Cycling, building mechanical watches, racing cars and bikes (and winning), cruising on his motorcycles, building LEGOs, recording and creating beats, and doing commercials….seriously. Don’t believe me? Check out some of his videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXpGk4IAtJc&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN9MnC-DVAY&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MryU0Cm4PDA&feature=youtu.b
