Testimonials
From our clients:
Barry Personnel Resources, Inc. is one of Chicago’s most proven successes at providing the best fit human resources to any business challenge. Peg Barry, founder and president, is a powerful leader whose determined focus and commitment to excellence has earned her the reputation of not only exceeding her client’s requirements, but of inspiring those who are chosen to fill her client’s positions. I highly recommend this insightful, high-energy company as a prime resource for any business. Peg is an unending inspiration to me.
Therese Rowley, Ph.D.
Human Resources can be one intimidating field. Where does a young professional start when they are inexperienced and saddled with so many areas to learn: recruitment, employee benefits, labor relations, worker’s compensation, etc.? Well, when I was twenty-four and starting out, I was fortunate to find a strategic partner in the recruitment area that I respected and could learn and grow from, but, more importantly, who understood my needs and told it to me straight! That partner was Peg Barry, founder and president of Barry Personnel Resources. For eleven years in Chicago, I relied on Peg’s wisdom and expertise in helping me identify the right hire for very challenging positions. And I loved her sense of humor and individualism. I am now in Boston, but after fourteen years of knowing Peg Barry, I am still referring clients and candidates to her.
Integrity, insight, and humor! Peg has the winning combination!
CALL HER TODAY!
Laurie Fontaine
I have known Peg Barry for almost 20 years and have found her judgment of people and her professionalism outstanding. I have admired Peg and her dedication and commitment to her industry through various economic cycles. No matter where we are on the cycle, Peg rolls with it and develops the appropriate services and/or angle to serve her customers during those times. I have found Peg to be very entrepreneurial, yet cautious, a good combination of traits for a business owner. As far as the placements she has provided for me, I can only say that Peg is the only service provider who has been able to satisfy my requirements and stand behind her placements. Barry Personnel is the only choice for me.
Linda Day, CPM, CCIM
President
B.W. Phillips Realty Partners, LLC
430 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60611
The service I received from Peg was phenomenal. As an entrepreneur in a
growing business, I needed an excellent assistant that could keep pace with
my demanding schedule. Peg helped me find the perfect individual for this
position. Barry Personal Resources is a superior company that knows how to
sort through the candidates to find the diamonds in the rough. I give Peg
Barry my highest recommendation.
Lee Neubecker
Peg is intelligent, focused and honorable. She cares about her customer and her customer’s needs and expectations. She cares about the people she searches out and places with her customers. Most importantly, Peg has a unique priority in matching the right candidate with the right customer so that both sides like the fit.
Joe Meyer
Director, Treasury Operations
FMC Technologies, Inc.
I have been a big fan of Peg’s for many years. I suppose I am one of the links in her chain of connections. I was first referred to Peg by a mutual friend about seven years ago. I’m in the property management field. Since then, I have moved from one property to another, but I always used Barry Personnel for any of my staffing needs. I’m very comfortable working with Peg. I know that she’ll know exactly the kind of person to send me. In fact, I’ve been able to refer others to her who have also become loyal, satisfied clients. Other temp agencies pale in comparison to working with Peg. She’s a vibrant, engaging business owner and I actually look forward to her phone calls. She’s a real blast!
Mary McQuillan
Assistant Vice President
Draper and Kramer
Over the past 10 years, I’ve trusted Peg Barry’s instinct on the candidate’s ability to successfully fit in our culture. My goal of seeking candidates who aspire to provide legal services rather than just seek a job in a law firm, is aligned with the placement criteria Peg herself aspires to provide her clients.
Larry Fujara
Executive Director
Pattishall, McAuliffe
Peg is an amazing matchmaker! She took the time to really understand the dynamic of our firm and sought to find our diamond in the rough. Sonja is awesome!
They say true love is hard to find. Finding a motivated, dedicated, and creative administrative staff person is even harder. Peg labored to make the right match for us.
To a small firm like ours, utilizing an employment company to hire our one administrative staff person was a large expenditure. But we began to see the benefits immediately. Peg sat down with us to gain a full understanding of our unique needs. She sent us amazing candidates and we unexpectedly found it difficult to choose among them. Again, Peg worked closely with us to make our final decision. Their services are priceless! Not only did we find the right staff person, she has been exceeding our expectations every day!”
Gina Marotta
Thomas M. Breen & Associates
I’ve known and worked with Peg Barry for over a decade. Peg is successful because she listens first and she listens well. Once she’s confirmed the type of candidate I’m looking for, she’s efficient, objective and effective in her search. The business climate changes, but Peg’s professionalism, integrity, and quality results do not.
Laurie Ruth
The condominium management business is difficult on the best of days. It becomes even more difficult when your trained staff members are out sick or on leave for any length of time. Finding capable, part-time assistance had been almost impossible. That is, until I started doing business with Barry Personnel Resources, Inc.
I was referred to Peg Barry through a colleague. When I first contacted Peg in 1996 to fill a specific position, she provided me with an excellent employee. Her candidate was intelligent, personable, well-groomed and quickly learned the nuances of the position.
I have continued to use Barry Personnel Resources with great results for both temporary and permanent positions within my company. After nine years of successful placements from Barry Personnel Resources, I would strongly recommend them to any company doing business in the condominium management field.
Hank Binswanger
Dear Ms. Barry,
On behalf of our BostonCoach Team, I wanted you to know how grateful we are that we found your agency. As you will recall, I enlisted your help in recruiting core management and supervisory personnel that would become instrumental in getting a new ground transportation business off the ground in Chicagoland. Coming into a marketplace that contained seasoned and long-standing competition and being successful at the venture was a huge undertaking. The only way it would work was to have a solid business plan and staff it with a competent and inspired team of key people. I relied heavily on your organization to find these unique people and you really came through.
We are down the road a few years and our company has grown to become a top five company in Chicago and a top fifty company in our industry in the U.S. We are exceeding 150 employees and growing comfortably. Your/our original team is still in place and you would be proud to know that they, too, have grown.
As I reflect back on those first critical days, I think of you and your team and how much of a contribution came from Barry Personnel Resources. I thank you for making a plan (a dream) become reality.
Best Personal Regards,
Paul Jasko
Region General Manager
BostonCoach
From our employees:
“What can I say about Peg Barry and her company? A lot!!!
When I first moved to the city over 11 years ago, I was right out of college and had no experience in the workforce. Looking to get a job, I called a lot of employment agencies to help me with my job search.
Those agencies treated me like I was a nobody who didn’t know anything about anything. Well, that might have been partly true but I did have a brain and an education and a positive attitude that I would be a good asset for any company that would hire me. So instead of building me up, they tore me down and made me feel worthless and helpless.
Well, that all changed when I found Barry Personnel’s advertisement in the Reader. Thinking that they wouldn’t be any different than the other agencies. I went in apprehensive with my guard up. Boy, was I surprised! The second I stepped foot in her office, I knew things were different. I was greeted with a warm smile and attention that immediately put me at ease (which is important since nerves can get the best of you when interviewing). Instead of the “take a number and have a seat” mentality, it appeared as if they were pleased to have me there. When we began discussing my limited qualifications, they never blinked an eye. I was told, “you have to start somewhere and everybody has something to offer.” In a nutshell, I was treated with respect. I felt like I won the employment agency lottery.
Barry Personnel worked with me on my resume writing skills, my interviewing skills, my computer skills and more importantly, my confidence in my abilities and myself. Before long, I was employed in a great company that was happy to have someone with my skills at my level. A perfect match.
I always kept contact with Barry Personnel thru the years. A couple years after getting the job, I was promoted in my company to the position in charge of hiring employees, among other things. So naturally, I turned to the one agency I could trust to bring me quality people, Barry Personnel. Knowing my own background, I knew Peg would find only star quality employees. See most agencies only focus on what’s on paper, i.e. what you have done, not what you could become. And some agencies may help you with your interviewing or resume writing skills. While Barry Personnel does all of that (quite well I might add), Barry Personnel goes a step beyond to look at the person and find the best possible fit between an individual’s potential and a company’s needs.
To summarize, if someone could give you the winning numbers in the lottery, you would play, right? Well, why gamble? Barry Personnel has the winning candidates that will allow your company to hit the employee jackpot.”
Tina Sipes, C.P.A.
March 28, 2004 was my 10th anniversary at a local bank. This is a record for me! I have Peg Barry of Barry Personnel Resources, Inc. to thank for this job.
Ten years ago, I needed a job change. A co-worker told me about Barry Personnel, and I called. It was one of the best decisions I ever made. When I met Peg, there was an immediate connection. She worked around my tough schedule – making time to meet with me before work, during my lunch hour, and after hours. Because of her experience, Peg found the perfect job match for me. I received background information on the company, the job responsibilities and expectations, the working environment, the people, salary and benefits. Peg gave me time to think about it before pursuing the position. Peg coached me through the entire process and I was well prepared to interview for the job. She followed-up with me every step of the way – after every interview, when I gave notice, and after I started the new job.
The last 10 years have gone by very quickly. After four years with the bank, I moved into a new position and was promoted to officer in September 1999. I immediately called Peg to tell her about my promotion and thank her once again for her assistance in obtaining this job. In fact, we have kept in contact since that first meeting. Peg is a friend and mentor and has definitely made a difference in my life.
Jeannine Sulkowski
Working for Peg, for Barry Personnel Resources, is finding that fit where everything you’ve ever dreamed to find in a job all comes together. With Peg, I found mutual and unyielding respect. I was endlessly amazed by how much and how fast I learned and was encouraged to use my knowledge in a way that developed my own style as a business woman and as a human. I learned how to consider multiple perspectives on an issue, to expand creatively, to understand the history of what makes things work well, to recognize cause and effect. I have never before and probably will never again work in another office that is run in such a way that every single element works in harmony. That comes from Peg and flows throughout Barry Personnel Resources.
Kim Johnson
I learned more in the four years working in Peg’s office than I can list, but here are some of the more simple and important things that stand out from those years.
- Everyone has a story to tell. We respected each person and their story when they came into our office looking for a new job. This can be a very stressful and intimidating process, something that the hiring person can easily forget since they are on the “comfortable” side of the interview. Not only has Peg always been compassionate (without being condescending) during this process, but almost daily I would see people leaving her office feeling confident and hopeful about their professional as well as personal lives.
- If it’s not broke—don’t fix it! Sounds simple enough. Appears simple enough at BPR. But most of these seamless systems took years to perfect and they are what allow Peg to work her “magic” with people (instead of getting bogged down with “reinventing the wheel” each morning). Small business owners know how important these systems are for efficient offices. If they don’t know, they should take a lesson from Peg.
- There is a time to be serious and a time to be silly. Both are important for success at BPR. We have been known to work our tails off all day and then laugh for hours.
Rachel McCracken
Peg, I wanted to thank you for your support and interest in my career search. I am so glad that through a mix up I was able to meet you! You have a wonderful company. A tribute to the people who run it, your philosophy and standards. You really did give me hope and I believe good luck! I was discouraged with the people I had met in my job search. You guys showed me that there are people out there with the same ideas as I had! Then things started to pick up and now I have a job! I will be working at an architectural design firm where I will be able to utilize my creative experience and managing crazy deadlines etc.!! I plan to stop by some time to say hello & keep in touch.
Thanks again for your advice & humor!!
Carla Fremlin
It has been my privilege to represent Barry Personnel Resources as its employee. While other employers and agencies looked cynically at my unique qualifications, Peg Barry and her staff welcomed them. During my tenure as a relief/temporary staffer, I always found Barry Personnel to be professional, flexible and with equally honed senses of responsibility and humor. The staff’s responsiveness and sensitivity to my needs made me feel like a valued employee from the start. My temporary position evolved into a full-time opportunity, and I left the Barry roster knowing that their door will always be open for me, as a colleague and as a friend.
Chris Maycock
Administrative Coordinator
South Commons Condominium Association
|
|