Spherion Mid Ohio VP reflects on life and career in the U.S. since relocating from Scotland 25 years ago

When Ann Smith, Vice President of Spherion Mid Ohio, moved to the United States from Scotland, she wasn’t sure what she would do in terms of her career. Prior work for the UK Government left her starting over, from scratch, after relocating to the US and wanting to get out of government work.

In 1996, her husband was offered a job opportunity to work in Mansfield for two years. They felt they were too young to not take the opportunity. 

“We thought we would maybe regret it,” Smith said. “Never, ever, have I come over to this side of the world; when we vacation or take holidays it had always been in Europe. But then I thought, ‘Well let's do it. We've got nothing to hold us back.’”

Now, 25 years later and with American-born children, they’ve continued to live a happy, fulfilling life as permanent residents in Mansfield, though they’ve had to work for it. 

Smith felt lost in the beginning in terms of finding her sense of belonging in the community. While her husband had a steady job, she was left wondering how to be more active and involved within her new cultural and environmental setting.

After successfully obtaining her workers permit in 1998, Smith walked into Spherion Mid Ohio, eager to find a job. She was well aware of similar companies existing while she was in Scotland and decided to walk in and see if she could find temporary work.  

Within two years of working part-time jobs through the help of Spherion Mid Ohio, a job opened up within the company for a front desk receptionist; Ann knew this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up.

“I've done a lot of office work and have a lot of different skills; I started internally with Spherion and just worked my way up from the very front desk to, now, the vice president 25 years later,” Smith said.

“What I love is the variety and just dealing with people and knowing that you made a difference for them and that we listen to them,” Smith said. "We're just not throwing people into places. We take pride in partnering with the clients that we have here because they do care; they are safe.”

Smith and her husband will soon have to decide whether they want to retire in Mansfield, move back to Scotland, or start a new chapter of their lives in a brand new location they would call “Home”.

Smith says that she does not regret the time she’s spent here and has enjoyed working at Spherion Mid Ohio to make people in the community’s lives better. 

“This is our mission,” Smith said. “Our job is finding people jobs. We love what we do and that's what we live and breathe every day. That's what makes Spherion different.”