Michelle Fox '16 @ Quicken Loans

My family was all born and raised in the Detroit, Michigan area. When I was selected to the Quicken Loans externship, I was so excited when I realized that their headquarters were located in Downtown Detroit Michigan. I visit Michigan every year because my grandma still lives just outside of the city. When telling my friends that I was selected to an externship in Detroit, their reactions were either very surprised or concerned for my safety. Detroit notoriously has had a bad reputation but from visiting frequently I was excited that I able to return to Detroit because it was like I was able to return home.

I met my host, Laneisha Gunn and the Gettysburg Alum, Lauren Giorgio, who introduced me to the Human Resources recruiting team who I would be working with for the week. First, I had the chance to get acquainted with the company by learning about their industry. According to Inside Mortgage Finance, Quarter 1, 2014, Quicken Loans is the #1 online lender and the 2nd largest retail mortgage lender in the U.S. Quicken Loans is ranked in the top 30 companies on FORTUNE Magazine’s annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” list for the last 12 years.

These are just a few of their accomplishments. These show how accomplished Quicken is and also how much they value their team members. During my visit I heard many team members say “We work hard and play hard” referring to the free slurpees, coffee, and snacks that each company kitchen has, as well as the freedom of doing whatever makes them happy. People ride scooters in the office, take a break to play video games in the lounge, or play basketball on the court located in the middle of one of the floors. At first, I was shocked by how laid back the work environment was; I didn’t understand how anyone was able to be productive. Then I slowly witnessed that people were so comfortable and relaxed that this allows them to perform to the best of their ability creating very productive team members.

During the week I also had the ability to be involved in a tour of the company buildings for high school students in the Detroit area. Dan Gilbert, the CEO of the company, has made revitalizing Detroit one of his current main focuses. The company wishes to re-establish Detroit and change their notoriously bad reputation. The tour for the high school students was important to inspire them about potential careers and inform them about how to make steps in the right direction. This is just one example of the many initiatives the company is taking to redefine Detroit.

I also was able to gain experience that can be used for my career by following multiple people on the Human Resources teams. I was able to listen in to an Interview Screening Specialist’s phone conversations. Her job was to call potential candidates and have a quick conversation with potential team members to initially evaluate them before continuing on with the recruiting process. I also sat with a Mortgage Banker Interview Screening Specialist and learned what to look for in a candidate for that position, an extremely vital one to the company. I was able to learn how to look for people to fill very specific jobs that can be hard to fill from a Talent Sourcing Strategist. I sat with a relocation specialist who helps make plans for the relocation of newly hired team members; she also works to help approve the finances behind it. I was able to help my department with registration of a company wide event, which was an educational bus tour of Detroit to learn the history of the city they are working in. All of these experiences allowed me to grown personally and professionally. I gained a lot of knowledge about the career path that I hope I am able to pursue. This week with Quicken Loans was an amazing opportunity in an up and coming location. I owe a special thank you to Laneisha Gunn, Lauren Giorgio, and Quicken Loans.