Brands. Football. Talent. Travel. Shoes. Careers. Mad Men. Wine & Cheese. Technology. Summer. Jeopardy! Dry Wit. Not necessarily in that order. Susan D. Strayer is a talent, brand and careers aficionado who has lived in start-ups, high-growth and mature companies from professional services to hospitality. She works in the intersection of where business meets behavior–where who we are and how we behave, drives how and where we do business. Talent + brand is a powerful thing.

After getting fired from her first job as a 13-year-old snack bar attendant, Susan got her first W-2 at the tender age of 14 and hasn’t stopped working since. She’s been a lifeguard, cashier, head cashier, after-school aide, customer service manager, waitress, PR intern, camp counselor, admissions marketer, college orientation leader, cold caller, swim teacher, babysitter and peer counselor. And that was all before she finished college. Since then, three degrees, thirteen years, hundreds of companies and two books later, her coffee-induced work ethic is spurred by authentic people, new music, true focus, and a splash of Philadelphia-born honesty.

From career coaching to recruiting strategy to social media, Susan has experience with in-house corporate HR and recruiting leadership roles, as a Fortune 500 consultant, and as a career and brand coach. She’s held positions with companies such as Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton, Arthur Andersen and The Home Depot and has consulted for hundreds of Fortune 500 organizations. Her perspective is unique having worked in all aspects of the organizational life-cycle in start-up ventures, high-growth organizations and mature billion-dollar companies.

She currently works all over the Washington, DC-metro area and lives Old Town, Alexandria, just over the bridge from Washington, DC. You can find her and say hello at Exaqueo, or at @SusanStrayer. P.S.: If you want the fancy, full resume and corporate head-shot, head on over to LinkedIn

Read Susan Strayer’s post on HRExaminer here »