It was her search to regain a life outside of work that led Adeline to make a career change. The place she chose was Vanguard Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics where she is Surgery Coordinator. “I knew I was going to work here,” says Adeline about the moment she read the job posting on Indeed. After her first career in restaurant management and her second career at the University of Michigan Hospital, Adeline was seeking a role at a place that would allow her more of a work-life balance. As a single mom, she knows the value of providing for her family while still having time to spend with them. Her search was on to bring her skills and her talent to a company that felt like the right match. What was it about that job posting that made Adeline certain Vanguard was the place to build her next professional home? “The company’s values and goals connected with me. They care for their patients and they care for their employees.”

Adeline started out at age eighteen as a waitress. “I needed jobs that would help me off-set the costs of attending college. Being a waitress at Max & Erma’s was one of three jobs at I had at that time,” says Adeline. Her hard work and ability to go above and beyond meant she had the opportunity to work in many different capacities. She was a cook, a bartender, and a shift supervisor. Adeline also was the mom of a young daughter at that time. She was asked to be in the management and training program based on her performance at the restaurant. Because it would offer her the chance to have more employee benefits and a pay increase, she agreed to join the program. “I worked my way to a General Manager position, which was goal I had at the time. I was putting in 60 to 70 hours of work a week. When that location ended up closing as part of this restaurant chain shutting down most operations in Michigan, I was more than ready to find something else. I had no personal life in that career,” explains Adeline.

This took her next to the medical field working in patient services. “I knew the next career I had would have to provide me a work-life balance, that is all I wanted,” says Adeline about next career goals. As she was promoted to different positions, she became a new patient care coordinator for cancer care. Adeline was part of the clinical trial program for that department at the University of Michigan Hospital. “These were terminal patients and this was a last resort chance for them. Patients would get referred and we would literally see them within a week or two. I took this very seriously,” says Adeline. She found that she could do this important and fulfilling work and still have a life outside work. A personal life where she could make plans, take vacations, and enjoy dinner with her daughter. This reinforced the importance she places on being able to have a healthy balance between her professional and personal time.

“I love, love helping people. That is my biggest thing,” says Adeline. This desire to help others while living a life she wants did come with some trade-offs for her. One significant factor for people that attain a level of professional success is the income that comes with that promotion track. When Adeline explains her approach to changing her career to one that allows her to help others and spend more time outside of work, she explains the adjustments she made. “I budget my groceries differently; I look carefully at how I spend any extra money. It matters more to me to have that time with my daughter than to make that extra money,” Adeline states. She keeps a job in the restaurant business in order to supplement her income, for things like travel to see her family. Her schedule at Vanguard, four and half days a week, allows her this flexibility and the option to still protect her personal time.

“I genuinely felt like I was being interviewed by people that care about me as a person, not just as a future employee. I met people that loved their job, loved taking care of their patients like I do,” explains Adeline about her experience in the multiple interviews she had as part of the hiring process at Vanguard. The same things Adeline teaches her daughter about possibilities applies to anyone looking to make a career change that better meets their personal values. “You can have anything you want in life if you put your mind to it and work for it. There is no time limit to achieving your goals,” states Adeline. At Vanguard Plastic Surgery & Aesthetics and Vanguard Skin Specialists, Adeline has been able to marry her driving mission to help people and to be a participant in her own life, on her own terms.