Douglas Panozzo, 33 

Production Manager

Hogan Design and Construction / Geneva, Ill.

 A Leap of Faith: 

After five years at an IT company, I was ready to spread my wings. It was a big corporation and I felt limited. We had a kid and that job had been good for our family, but we were in a good position for me to take a risk and look for something else. I put my resume online. A week later my wife found out she was pregnant with our second child, and I took my resume down.

We had a kid and that job had been good for our family, but we were in a good position for me to take a risk and look for something else.

As much as I was ready to move on, it wasn’t worth the risk when we would be needing the money. Some time went by, and I was content with my decision when I got a call from Hogan Design and Construction. Apparently, they’d seen my resume in that small window of time I’d put it up. They wanted to meet. The offer was to be project manager, which was a step back from running a team of project managers. But it was an obvious fit—apart from the first day when I showed up wearing a tie only to find out I was the only person in the company wearing a tie. Today I am a proud production manager for the company and haven’t worn a tie since. 

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