Operation Phoenix

Though I'm not feeling fully refreshed from the trip to Phoenix, I am already anxious to return. My colleagues and I, the "recruitment team", traveled to Phoenix last week to spend 4 days interviewing bright eyed and bushy tailed soon-to-be graduates for open positions in our department. I love this speed dating conference having attended two years ago as an interviewee in Chicago, as an interviewer last year in Philly, and as an interviewer again this year. While there were definitely some highlights from the actual interviews including "I would love to come to St. Louis so I could possibly meet Nelly and be in one of his videos" or "My brother is gay, but he's not the typical gay...you know, flamboyant, wears pink shirts all the time..." (where are these people's mentors!?) the majority of the fun was had outside the convention center.

The highlights from Phoenix:

• The Suns vs. Mavs game Thursday night. We banged our noisemakers until they popped, screamed until we lost our voices, and cheered the Suns to victory. When in Phoenix...

• The amazing food! Mexican fare at Sam's Cafe, incredible Swordfish at Arrogant Butcher, and the froyo. Gotta love froyo.

• The drinks! My favorite spots being the outdoor patio at the Westin, Copper Blues, and the rooftop revolving bar at the Hyatt. Loved the views of the city.
  

• Downtown Phoenix. Incredibly clean. Ambassadors on street corners to provide directions. The "newness" of everything. Such a change from downtown New Orleans, Memphis, and St. Louis.

• Seeing some of my favorite CSAA people and my mentor, Pojo!

• The many, many laughs with the recruitment team. I got to know my colleagues better, laughed hysterically with them, and developed some great inside jokes.

All in all, a wonderful time in Phoenix. Hopefully, we'll land a good candidate or two from the conference to join our team for next year. And if anyone wants to take a trip to Phoenix, holla. I'm more than happy to return.

Cheers.