From South Jersey to Fordham

Written 2010 - Ken Sundheim

Ken Sundheim - Brief Bio of Where I Grew Up, Influences, etc.

I founded this recruiting firm at age 25 with no experience.

When I say "no experience," I mean after having quit my first job, not long after graduating from Fordham University in the Bronx, with a New York CIty rent around $1500, which was quite lavish with $0 annual salary.

I remember feeling very empty the day I turned 24 years old. I graduated college just 90 days before and felt that I was a failure. Therefore I did what every young kid would do and began interviewing right away.

Since I was very good at interviewing, and a hard worker, I got an interview with Bloomberg a few days after I was pushed out of my corporate sales job. When you're at that junior level, Bloomberg does mass interviews with a bunch of other people who look like the same people that have been in your class from kindergarten to college graduation.

They had a refreshments area where they had young Bloomberg hires mingling with us before we had an interview with a few people who at the time I figured were important, so maybe middle managers. I remember all the talking stopped and they lined us up to do interviews in back offices with two people who proved to be... well, I'll redact my opinions for legal reasons.

Right before I went back to interview with the two managers, a Bloomberg employee about my age walked right up to me. He told me I looked nervous and that I'd probably not get the job.

Being the competitive person I am, not only did I walk away from an offer that was indeed forthcoming, despite my conversational partner's best prognostications -- I made about 50 times more money than the person and have a much cooler job.

A few days after my Bloomberg interviewing, I decided not to go through with the job, but to strike out on my own.

Try explaining to parents who just paid for private education (and they did hook up a studio apartment near NYU for two semesters) that you want to open up a staffing company instead a work of Bloomberg.

A few days later, KAS was started in an apartment that was 600 square feet. Looking back, I was a kid who was able to rely on above-average cold calling skills until the business would need someone of substance.

Time passed, mistakes were made, lessons learned...

By my 30th birthday, three of my executive recruitment employees have offices bigger than that apartment.

The thing is, it would be naïve to brag about this, if I didn't make it clear that the only thing that has changed at my firm is working Internet and land lines, Starbucks coffee as opposed to what was lying on the counter from two days before, and an atmosphere that is hell-bent on constant progress.

A kid from Toms River New Jersey, who got B's in high school, and smoked cigarettes at varsity tennis practice, has the same mentality now as he did back then and the same drive... And it's been 74 days since my last Parliament cigarette.

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