Wonolo
Please introduce yourself.
Hi, my name is Jessica Munford I’m the Director of Marketplace for Wonolo. I’m based in Nashville, Tennessee, and working from home during the COVID-19 shelter in place. My job is to help make sure that we have a healthy balance in the markets that we serve. Making sure that we have lots of Requestors posting jobs and lots of great Wonoloers who want to go to work.
What events in your life have brought you to your current role today?
I have a film degree from the University of Central Florida. I have a good friend who referred me to a traditional staffing company. She thought it would be something I would really enjoy doing. I remember thinking, I don’t get it. Why do you need people to find your people? I went ahead and interviewed. I was really amazed by this industry that exists with so much opportunity. Seventeen years later, I’m still in the staffing world. I came to Wonolo about a year ago. I really wanted the opportunity to try to do things differently and help innovate the staffing industry. I love the idea of democratizing work and giving people an opportunity to work. Maybe they can’t commit 40 hours, but that’s okay. That’s what really attracted me to Wonolo.
When you have to make a difficult decision, what do you lean on?
When I have to make a difficult decision, I try to think through all of the potential outcomes of the different paths I could choose and who would be impacted in those decisions. I also very much believe in the notion of a board of personal directors. My best friend, my sister, my husband, and the people that I work with at Wonolo are the ones I lean on. Chances are, if I’m faced with a difficult decision, somebody else has been through that scenario before and may have some perspective that I haven’t thought of.
What is one life advice you can give to anyone?
The life advice that I would share would be to always ask yourself: How can I get better? How can I improve? How can I learn and grow every day? I feel like it’s our job on Earth to be able to become the best people that we can be. A lot of people exist in sort of this quiet misery because they’re afraid of giving up what they have for the potential of what could be. My advice is just to go for it, even though it might not end up the way that you’d hope. Chances are you won’t be sorry that you did.
Please finish this sentence: If you really knew me, you would know that…
If you really knew me, you’d know that I hate being on video and will probably never, ever look at this. You’ll also know that I’m not the most gregarious person. I probably don’t know everybody’s name when I walk into a room. I’m not going to be the one to close down the bar. But, I do care very deeply about the people that are around me. I will do anything for the people I love and I really want to make an impact every single day. It’s why I love working at Wonolo because I have that opportunity.
