One of my favorite movie lines of all time has to be from While You Were Sleeping. The main character (Lucy) is waxing poetic about a comment her dad used to make, ‘Life doesn’t always turn out the way you plan,’ and how she wished she’d realized he was talking about HER life.

I think most of us have experienced something like this; these times when totally random happenstance ends up changing life forever. For me, that moment came when an acquaintance of mine started talking about Ranch Ehrlo. Before these conversations the Ranch wasn’t even a blip on my radar.  I had other plans; plans that seemed pretty super fabulous. It took someone who knew the agency, the incredible people it serves, and the amazing staff who work here for me to realize that yeah, this is the place I want to be.

Since I’ve been here I’ve met so many people who were first introduced to Ranch Ehrlo by family or friends who happen to be employees. Sure, there are lots of people who choose to work here for other reasons (the Ranch’s reputation in the community, the fact that Ranch Ehrlo provides creative and industry-leading treatment and care, or the agency’s status as one of Saskatchewan’s top 20 employers, just as examples). What resonates with me, though, is how many people tell me they decided to work at the Ranch because of the amazing stories they’ve heard from a friend, or the incredibly meaningful work their brother does. As Ranch employees we are all ambassadors. Through our conversations and interactions with the people around us we become, in a way, agency recruiters.

It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. When it comes right down to it, who’s better able to spot a stellar future Ranch employee then a current staffer? You know the kinds of people you want to work with, and the types of personalities needed to help support the youth, adults, and families we serve.  I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts you have a few friends that could fit the role to a tee. And I’ll bet you even more doughnuts that those people wouldn’t ever think about how well they could fit at the Ranch if you don’t let them know.

Sometimes I think about those talks I had all those years ago that ultimately resulted in me deciding that Ranch Ehrlo was my employer of choice. Sometimes I think about what could have happened if I’d never had those conversations: there’s no way I would have found the Ranch on my own.

So I guess the moral of my story (if there has to be a moral) is, tell your friends.  If you know someone who would make an awesome youth care or personal support worker, encourage them to apply. I bet they’ve suffered through years of hearing your Ranch stories; now is the time for them to create some of their own.