Our History
I founded CWP in 1993, but the story goes back even further than that. My grandfather came here as a Polish immigrant through Ellis Island, so my dad was a first generation American, and he struggled, as a lot of folks like that did. He ended up working at a company in Cleveland, Ohio, a factory called the American Crucible. And dad worked there for 40 years. His title while he was there was pump assembler. Not a very fancy title, not a very fancy paycheck, believe me, to go along with that. But dad was one of those “blue collar, give you the shirt off his back” type of guys. I always tell people that if you could imagine combining Andy Griffith with Jimmy Stewart (from It's a Wonderful Life), that's pretty much my dad.
His factory was only 10 minutes from the house, so every now and then one of us four kids would take him lunch. When it was my turn, I can remember being there and looking around and seeing all the machines, and the sparks… and the smoke… and the banging, and you could even taste the metal in the air. And it scared the heck out of me. But I think that was pretty much part of dad's plan. He always said he wanted more for us. From his sons, he wanted two things. He said, “I want my sons to wear suits to work every day. And I also want them to never forget to look out for the little guy”. You just don't forget lessons like that.
So years later, when I'm a hiring authority for a billion-dollar company here in Dayton, Ohio, (where I wore a suit every day), I was covering 28 states. And that's a lot of turf for one fella to cover. So, I hired recruiting firms to help me out. Actually, hired about a dozen of them. I called them headhunters, I called them worse things than that, actually, but I’ll save that for another time. As a hiring manager, I found recruiters pretty tough to work with. They promised a lot, but really, they ended up wasting a lot of my time. It seems like the focus was more on “let's just make a buck” versus “let's help Ed build his business”. It was pretty frustrating. I couldn't find any loyalty in the industry, I couldn't even find basic competence.
Fast forward a few years, because that company I worked for got bought out, so I went back to college for another degree, this time in electrical engineering. Once I graduated… I had all these degrees and no job. So I had to use a recruiter again, this time to help me personally find a job.
One firm asked me, “why don't you work here as a recruiter for us, and in the meantime, you can find a job for yourself”. It sounded like a good idea, and what could it hurt? I ended up managing their technical recruiting efforts for 22 offices.
Now I had seen the recruiting world from every angle.
One as a client firm that hired recruiters,
Two as just a person looking for a job that went to a recruiter for help,
and three, now as a recruiter and recruiting manager.
It was very clear to me after seeing it from all these different directions that in the recruiting industry - there was a huge disconnect. Nobody liked anybody else, they didn't trust each other. It was all based on volume instead of quality. It was all about collecting fees instead of helping people fix their talent headaches.
And that's when I had my “A HA!” moment. I was going to start a recruiting firm. I was going to start one based on character, not volume. One where people actually wanted to work with us - time and time again.
The industry needed a hero, and by hero, I just mean somebody who's vulnerable, who listens, and who cares, because that's really what it takes to excel in this. You're talking to people about their lives, careers and livelihood. It's important stuff, and you need to be invested in it. Otherwise, you're just a salesman in my opinion.
So now I had to name my new firm, and that was going to be easy. I knew I wanted to name it after my dad, the guy that taught me all about character, honesty, religion, family. But “Chester's Recruiting” just didn't have the sound that I was looking for, that panache. So, I decided to use my dad's initials, Chester Walter Piergies – CWP. I named the company, CWP.
Our Leadership
Ed Piergies - President & Founder
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B.S. in Electrical Engineering
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B.A. in Business Management,
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A.S. in General Business
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Past Adjunct Professor at Wright State University.
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Best Selling Author
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Kentucky Colonel
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Quilly Award Recipient
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Tau Bet Pi, Ambition in Motion Mentor
B.S. in Electrical Engineering
Terri Jenkins - Managing Partner
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More than 15 years’ professional recruiting experience
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Industries: Civil Engineering, Legal, Construction, Renewable Energy, Defense and Aerospace, Software/IT and more
Zuzu - Team Grief Counselor
"In a word, working with CWP was "Flawless"...I was not thinking of pursuing another job opportunity...almost cut the conversation short...CWP did not promise or sugar coat things...they followed up with emails and phone calls to keep me up to speed.
CWP also helped with negotiations, what question to ask, interviewing techniques and even the dreaded letter of resignation to my employer. I truly felt CWP was working for me and my interests. I've been at my new job for 9 weeks and I have to say it was the best decision I could have made."
"Believe me, I had never considered myself anything more than an average engineer and it makes me feel good to hear that I have made others happy by simply doing what I do. I now have a better understanding of where my career can go. It has opened my eyes to the fact that I may have a long term future as an engineer (as berfore I thought I wanted to get out).
Allowed me to realize my own worth (which will be positive for me moving forward - I see it as motivation to become more than I ever expected to become in the field of engineering). By chance, good luck or whatever you would like to call it, you and your company have definitely played a role in changing my life in a very positive way and for that I again must say that I am sincerely appreciative. Please, keep up the good work!"
"After deflecting nurmerous phone calls from recruiters over many years I', still amazed how this process actually started. I don't know why, but, I just felt comfortable talking with CWP. At first, I thought it was just a friendly chat and maybe I'd glean some good intel on my local market. But, as things progressed, I was almost suprised to find how interested I was in the new situtation. Top notch! Professional! And I still don't know how you found me."
"The time you both spent coming to our office to understand our culture really paid off with the very first guy you placed with us. Your candidate is just a great fit. It seems like he has been here forever...and he's only been here for a month. Great fit and we really appreciate your efforts to find us just the right guy."
I can’t rave enough about CWP Technical. Ed is the most knowledgeable and approachable person ever. His guidance and insight were invaluable. He is very respectful and candid at the same time. I have always enjoyed our conversation and every time we spoke, I always took a piece of advice or learning afterwards. Ed was instrumental throughout the entire process. He kept me motivated and focused. I am certainly grateful and thankful to CWP Technical for trusting me and giving me this exciting opportunity to further enhance my career