Recruiter at Link Staffing Services
Former Marine Corps sergeant recruits veterans for Link Staffing Services.
by Warren Duffie

Professional accomplishments take many forms: a successful presentation, a multimillion-dollar deal, an idea that saves your company bundles of money.

While these are all impressive, imagine the thrill experienced by Chris Katthage for his achievement – building a department from scratch. Katthage (along with a co-worker who’s a former Coast Guardsman) oversees recruiting for Link Staffing Services, Inc. Based in Houston, Link Staffing provides crafts, trades, light industrial and general labor employees to industrial companies.

Katthage’s job is three-fold: recruit skilled and unskilled craftsmen and tradesmen (including machinists, welders, and mechanics) for temp-to-hire jobs; perform headhunting services for “white-collar” positions at client companies; and seek individuals to fill internal positions at Link Staffing (e.g., branch managers and customer service managers).

On the Job
The former Marine begins his day at 8 a.m., checking e-mail, reviewing submitted résumés and scanning through client requests. He spends most of his day conducting telephone interviews with potential employees, arranging background checks and drug tests, and meeting with clients regarding employment needs.

“We started this department six months ago,” Katthage says. “Before, each branch office handled its own recruiting. Now we have a central operation generating great results – on average, we place 20 to 25 people in jobs each month.”

What type of employee does Katthage seek? Veterans, of course.

“Since we serve the construction and industrial fields,” he says, “we need people with experience in mechanics, avionics, hydraulics and electronics. We definitely want to talk to military veterans. We can find you work.”

From Parades to Grenades
Katthage’s job is a complete departure from his military career. Though prohibited to say exactly what he did, he disclosed that he served with various Small Tactical Assault (STA) units. This is no surprise considering his family ties.

“My family is from South Africa [they came to the U.S. in 1994], and my father served in the South African Special Forces,” he says. “I always wanted to be part of an elite military unit, and by the time I graduated from high school in 2000, I was running with a bad crowd and needed discipline. So I joined the Marine Corps.”

After boot camp, Katthage was assigned to the illustrious Silent Drill Team at the Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C. For a year, he performed in parades for various dignitaries, executives and world leaders, making numerous appearances at the White House.

“It was fun, but it was ‘poster boy’ work,” Katthage says. “It was like a 9-to-5 job, and that’s not why I joined the Marine Corps.”

Craving action, he joined the “fleet infantry” and served at Camp Lejeune and in Okinawa before being assigned to Iraq as part of the pre-invasion force. Arriving in Kuwait City a couple of months before the March 2003 invasion, Katthage and his unit pushed north, “establishing every base and tent city you now see in Iraq.” The unit’s duties consisted of setting up the camps, providing security detail, gathering area intelligence, and going on convoys.

Returning stateside in November 2003, Katthage was stationed in Japan, where he decided to leave the military in 2004: “I couldn’t see myself as a lifer in what I was doing. A lot of your time as a Marine is ‘hurry up and wait.’ I wanted a job where I would be doing something all of the time.”

The Transition
After taking numerous transition, résumé-writing and interviewing classes, Katthage traveled to Houston to attend a Marine for Life luncheon with local companies — scoring a job as a loan officer with Ameriquest Mortgage. Meanwhile, to better interact with civilians in a social setting, he worked nights as a bartender.

“As a bartender, I was making between $300 and $400 a night,” Katthage says. “And with my job at Ameriquest I made $47,000 in nine months. I completely eclipsed my Marine Corps pay.”

But the good times turned sour in 2005, when Ameriquest — after settling several large lawsuits stemming from charges of gouging customers — laid off many employees, eventually closing all of its retail operations.

Katthage’s girlfriend (whom he later married) had family connections with Link Staffing and helped him secure a job as a branch manager. He excelled and within a few months was tasked with building the recruitment department.

“This is a great company to work for,” he says. “The benefits are great. There are bonuses and profit-sharing, to name a few. Veterans would fit in well here, whether they’re hired by us or one of our clients. We stress discipline, integrity and commitment.”

Katthage’s Advice

Have a place to live when you get out. “Set up your home base and get established first. Then start looking for a job. This will remove a lot of stress from the process.”

Don’t look for a job too early. “Give yourself the chance to reconnect with family and relax for a bit. That way you can recharge.

Call Link Staffing. “We’re always looking for veteran employees.”