Colleague Spotlight
Meet Liz Daugherty

At The Advocates, we know that our success is built on the hard work, dedication and talent of our people. Behind every placement and every client partnership are team members whose hard work, creativity, and commitment to our mission make it all possible. To celebrate that, we launched a Colleague Spotlight series to highlight the individuals who bring our values to life every day.

Today, we are highlighting Liz, our Managing Director of Operations who has been with The Advocates for over fifteen years. Marcus Ollig said, “I wish I could take full credit for hiring Liz, but it was actually my daughter Gabby, who was seven at that time, who helped “interview” her and was her greatest Advocate (pun intended). We initially hired Liz to support our family at a difficult time when we needed a nanny. From there she moved to The Advocates and has now been promoted three times to become our Managing Director of Operations.”

Liz plays a critical role in not only managing our research and databases, but also special projects and daily operations. During her time with The Advocates she has learned multiple roles and taken on many new responsibilities. Over the years, she has developed into a skilled leader, managing employees and handling some of our most challenging assignments. Her contributions are crucial during every step of our recruiting process, but Liz is a standout not only for her impressive contributions but also her deep connection to our mission of bringing empathy, care, and understanding to the recruiting process.

We are grateful for the dedication, leadership, and heart that Liz brings to The Advocates every day.

 

What is your role at The Advocates?

As Managing Director of Operations, I oversee special projects for our clients, such as office openings, research for our clients and for internal purposes, human resources, and daily operations. Additionally, I support our team with internal hiring and training.

 

What stood out to you the most about your hiring process?

I was hired in a nontraditional sense. I started out by supporting our founder, Marcus Ollig and his family, so I was actually interviewed by Marcus and his daughter Gabby, who was seven at the time and really wanted to participate! I was immediately drawn to Gabby and so impressed with her inquisitiveness and confidence for someone at that age. In 2009, I transitioned to working at The Advocates as an administrative assistant before working at Targeted Legal Staffing Solutions (subsidiary company of The Advocates) as an Advocate, then became the Research Director and now am in my current role at The Advocates. What stands out about our internal interviewing process is the Chronological Behavior-based Interview (CBI) which is designed to match a person’s traits to a company’s culture to ensure a long-term fit. We use this same interview with our external candidates.

 

What’s your most memorable moment at work so far?

In general, all the placements I have made, on the candidate side specifically. I really enjoy helping people find not just their next career move, but their long-term home. Also, being able to meet new people, having amazing colleagues, and fostering those great long-term relationships even if they do eventually move on from The Advocates.

 

What part of the mission do you connect with most?

I connect most with two of our core pillars, care and understanding, because establishing and fostering relationships with clients and candidates is so crucial. It’s about bringing empathy to every interaction and understanding what is important and what drives the people we engage with. In understanding what is at the root of our clients’ and candidates’ decisions, we can provide the best guidance and direction.

 

In your own words, describe the importance of the work you do.

Making a career change is one of the biggest life decisions people will make, and I get to work with candidates through every step of that process. I do not take this lightly. It’s critical that I get to know my candidates well, including what drives them and their top traits to make sure I find a long-term “home” for them. I get to provide the same service to our clients to ensure they hire people who will be successful at their firm/corporate department.

 

How have you grown professionally since working here?

As I mentioned earlier, I have worked in various roles at The Advocates. In each role, my responsibilities have grown which has allowed me to get out of my box and boosted my confidence. I have taken on higher-level projects such as office openings in new markets for clients. I have also become more patient and adaptable, specifically in regard to working with people who have different personalities and how to work most effectively with them, whether it is candidates, clients, or colleagues. Additionally, I am now SHRM certified and want to advance my human resource and managerial skills.

 

What is your best success story?

In 2013, we had a client who needed a records manager, someone with quite a bit of experience, for their national firm, and they had been searching on their own for a long time by the time they hired us. There were not any viable candidates in Denver who were doing that type of work, and I found someone from Washington D.C. who had exactly the necessary skillset in our database. I reached out to him and took him through our process, learning that he wanted to relocate to Denver to be near his son and advance in his career. He accepted the position and moved to Denver. It was such a big win for the client because they had been looking for so long, and this candidate was a great match.

 

What has been your greatest accomplishment at work?

This answer is classified because the deal is ongoing, but it’s a very impressive accomplishment, trust me.

 

What advice would you give to someone starting in your role?

Take as much time as they can to read and educate themselves on the market and the legal industry -- it'll take extra work to get up to speed. There will definitely be challenges, and hard times that come up, but stick with it and see it through because this work is so satisfying. The rewards are so high, and in the end it definitely pays off.

 

What do you enjoy most about working with your team?

I really love our team. We work hard and have fun together. They’re reliable, trustworthy, and supportive. We have gotten to know each other and our families well. I think they’re just great people to be around every day.

 

What has been the most fun you’ve had on the job?

Working in the bullpen for Targeted Legal! When I did that full-time, it was the most fun. We were so busy, the work was fast-paced, and I enjoyed talking to many people every day. We listened to each other on the phones, bounced ideas off of each other, and provided support.

We also used to volunteer once a month as a team, and we’re going to bring that back soon. Being able to give back like that and do that all together was very fun and rewarding.

 

What’s something people might be surprised to learn about you?

Two fun facts about me are that I like rock climbing and that my daughter has a guinea pig named Thimble that is litter box trained and free roams in our house.