We were lucky to catch up with The Dreamcatchers recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Marissa and Jamie (aka the dreamcatchers)! Thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?
We have had our work ethic for as long as we can remember. We would be sitting at the diner on a Sunday morning with our father and he would whip out the NY Times classified section (for those who don’t know – that’s where jobs were posted before Indeed and LinkedIn) to show us how thick or thin it was. He owned a staffing firm, Choice Associates, for close to 50 years and placed an ad in that section weekly for many of them. In other words, the thickness of the section dictated how many jobs were available – so in that tiny moment alone, he would teach us a lesson…that the thicker the Times was, the busier HE was. On those pages were open jobs in every and any industry. Listings for receptionists, marketing directors, travel agents, accountants. He would show us how he would peruse the pages to see what jobs he could help fill. And that action alone – filling jobs for companies that otherwise couldn’t fill them themselves – put both us through college.
When not at the diner, we were raised by a full-time substitute teacher who had worked since the day she was able. Her father, our grandfather, owned a dress business and our mom worked for him and then went off to college which was rare during the late 60’s. She got her degree in art and education and worked our entire lives.
Both of our parents worked in industries and positions that were compensated based on the time they spent there – our dad was on commission, and our mom was paid daily as a sub. Because of this, we always understood (probably more than we needed to as kids) the value of a dollar…and more importantly, the value of time…and the ultimate meaning of “time is currency.”
Fast forward many years later and we both spent nearly 2 decades working for the family business – and spent many years in a commission-based industry. Needless to say, we were taught from a young age, and then as adults, the entrepreneurial spirt needed to succeed. And we have brought that spirit and hustle with us as we have built the dreamcatchers.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
We are sisters Marissa Klein and Jamie Sztoser and we know a little something about dreaming BIG. We ran the fashion/media division of their family’s staffing firm in NYC, Choice Associates, for close to 2 decades and built a brand around helping others find their dreamJOB and good energy. Driven by our entrepreneurial spirit, we both also have several successful side-hustles and pride ourselves on inspiring others to chase their dreams. Known in our personal and professional worlds as lightworkers, igniters, and most of all, believers, we are not only dreamers, but we are doers, and people tell us our inspiring energy is contagious.
In 2018, we launched the dreamcatchers podcast (available on all major platforms), to raise our voices and reach a larger audience as career experts and motivational speakers. In the Spring of 2020, we launched the dreamCATCHER method™, a step-by-step process of breaking through the clutter and finding your dreamJOB. Whether a dreamSEEKER (job hunter), dreamPARTNER (a budding small business), or a dreamCREATIVEclient, anyone who hires the dreamcatchers becomes part of the dreamcatchers web and gains access not only to the sisters and their expertise, but also their dreamDIRECTORY, a carefully curated “who’s who” in (almost) every industry.
We are originally from Harrington Park, NJ, a small town in Bergen County. Marissa graduated from the University of Richmond with a degree in business and Jamie from the University of Michigan with a degree in communications. We both spent many years in Manhattan and Hoboken before landing gracefully in Fair Haven, NJ with our families – Marissa with her husband David, their two beautiful dreamers, Sienna and Summer, and their poodle, Gypsy…and Jamie with her husband, also a David, and their two adorable boys, Sam and Elliot.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
This is more than 3 ideas, but here goes:
In this day and age, who you are is what you do…and what you do is who you are. Our career tends to define us. And sometimes we need help clarifying that definition. We have truly always been known as a destination for all things career and community. We act as magnets for questions, ears for grievances, and shoulders for tears and laughs.
In addition to our day jobs, we are both extremely connected to philanthropy, community, and any cause that allows us to take care of others. We are truly opposite but also the same.
Fun fact: as mentioned above, Marissa is a certified psychic medium and has had spiritual gifts since the age of 3. She only started to recognize her gifts/powers after becoming a parent and her teachers all made her realize she used her skills and gifts as a beard in her career, helping guide others in good choices. And once we partnered together to run our business in 2011, the ying-yang of our superpowers became even clearer – Marissa is the one who sees what you should be doing, and Jamie checks the boxes and adds the sparkle to help you get there. Our advice can be rewound, repeated, and replayed to each individual we meet with at any stage of their career. Typically, this advice is most applicable to those on a corporate path – but can be applied to anyone, anywhere.
We debunk professional myths. We deliver an inside look into the recruiting process that many people don’t know about, don’t realize, and don’t know how to capitalize on. It’s a true gift we love to share. Our biggest challenge is giving that gift to a recipient who feels frustrated and betrayed by their job search. Their typical initial reaction is clouded by resistance and fear that everything they’ve done so far has been a waste of time. Nothing is ever a waste of time.
Without fail, our clients experience an “a ha” or a “lightbulb” moment while sitting in our offices. The more people we meet with, the more we realize they are not getting what they need from their career centers, their parents, their HR people, their counselors, their friends, their family and/or any other professional resources at their disposal. They need help and we provide it. This collection of “a ha” moments became our “a ha” moment – our call to action to make our method more accessible to a larger audience.
Our day-jobs have always required us to find open roles, find candidates looking, and fill those open roles with the appropriate candidates. Frankly, that is how we have made a living all these years – by figuratively filling round holes with round pegs. But what about the candidates who did not get hired? What about the candidate who had their resume passed over or rejected? Or who wanted to start their own business? Most recruiters and staffing firm executives would move off these candidates. We never did. Or tried our best not to, even though our business model didn’t compensate us for it.
That’s why we started our podcast in 2018 – so we could reach a larger audience and provide career inspiration as an extension of our already successful staffing business. And this led us to launch our coaching business based on the dreamCATCHER method™.
How would you describe your ideal client?
As mentioned, we really can help anyone looking to catch a dream – small businesses, job seekers, or those looking to add the sparkle with creative work. But lately we’ve been working a lot with new grads.
We call those just starting out dreamBEGINNERS – right at the precipice of their careers, hungry and excited but coachable. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the majority of students don’t utilize their college career center’s most impactful services. Just 25.6% tapped the career center for help with internships, 20.8% took part in mock interviews, and 21.1% visited for networking preparation. Yet graduating seniors who used at least one service—any service—received an average of 1.24 job offers. Career services professionals must communicate the value of these and other career center services to students, certainly, but also parents and other stakeholders who can encourage students to use the services. Additionally, data from the Independent Educational Consultant Association (IECA) shows a 400% increase in the number of independent educational consultants, nationwide, since 2005. The IECA also reported that about 26% of high-achieving students (those who scored at least 1150 out of 1600 on the SAT) “admit” to hiring a private college consultant.
Translation: parents are spending thousands of dollars to get their students into college, but are relying on the colleges and universities to support job search after graduation. But the statistics above prove that it’s not enough. And with insurance expiring at 26, we see even more pressure on kids getting it right. There is only so much cushion for them to be supported.
That’s where we come in. We want to change these statistics. We want to help these students at the key age for starting their careers – during their Junior and Senior years, providing advice through this book and our services to supplement their career centers.
Overall: we believe we can help countless students (and more!) find their light, find their voice, and find their dreamJOB. When in doubt, reach out. If you are looking to catch a dream and feel like you need a little extra, we probably can help you – or know someone who can!
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Photo Credits: Christopher Dennis Photography Emily Billington Photography Marnie Doherty Photography Lara Robby Photography
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