Every associate has a story of his or her journey to Conduent. Szabolcs “Szabi” Vasilescu took a unique path to his first Conduent job, a temporary position in late 2020 within Payment Card Services, a business unit within Government Solutions. Today he’s a Learning and Development Manager supporting our work for New Jersey’s child support division. His relatively short time at Conduent is another proof point showing how determination and an eager willingness to learn new things can help associates thrive.

Szabi’s journey began in 2017 when he arrived in the United States from Romania. He didn’t bring much with him beyond a drive to succeed and a desire to learn and try new things. His first job was in a hotel in Pennsylvania. He started working in housekeeping before moving to a job in the kitchen. One of the managers admired his tenacity and work ethic and taught him most of the service jobs at the hotel, everything from working the front desk, to concierge, even maintaining the pool. When the pandemic hit, he was furloughed, one of many across the globe not sure where to turn.

In late 2020, a friend gave him a referral for a position at Conduent, a temporary contract role. Szabi jumped at the opportunity to support payment card holders as a phone rep. He quickly excelled.

“By that time, I had a pretty strong background in hospitality, and that made it easy for me to interact with customers on the phone. Within about six months I moved up to a team lead role that eventually transitioned to a regular employee position. I consider myself one of those people who always wants to try something new. Each opportunity includes a chance to learn new things, and that’s something I enjoy, at work and away from work,” Szabi said.

Within a year, a new opportunity opened. He moved to a position supporting the New Jersey State Disbursement Unit’s child support division. He became a supervisor for a new site in Middletown, Pennsylvania, and immersed himself in learning the new supervisory role and the job his team would be doing in the new office. Some organizational and priority shifts within his division set Szabi on another new path that resulted in his current Learning and Development Manager role.

“My time at Conduent has been an amazing experience, and I feel such a strong sense of appreciation and loyalty. When I interviewed for my first temporary job, I remember thinking that people like me don’t get good jobs. I emigrated to the U.S. and thought I would be stuck in a kitchen, and no one would see any value in me. But someone took a chance on me, and I gave 110 percent back. That set me up for success, and that’s why I’ve been able to succeed here,” he said.

“My advice would be to ask questions – don’t be afraid to ask questions, and always grab the opportunity to learn something new. And don’t be afraid to reach out to people, across the company, if you have questions, want to understand something better. Everyone has always been so positive and willing to help. It is so wonderful to see that everyone here has the same mission in mind, to deliver the same high level of service to everyone, internally and externally, all the way down. I’ve definitely achieved a lot since I moved here, and I’m very thankful to a lot of people. And I’m proud of myself, and very thankful to Conduent”, Szabi said.