On this National Best Friend’s Day in the US, Ashley and Kelsey share their friendship origin story and how it brought them together at Indeed
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My best friend and I could not have more different backgrounds, but yet somehow we still found each other. I’ve always worked in an office setting – even in high school I worked at my local police department.
Kelsey worked in retail and then helped get a small local newspaper off the ground. She is outdoorsy and I am more indoorsy. I like the book, she’d rather watch the movie. She wants pineapple on her pizza and I’d rather have hot dogs. But one thing we have always agreed on is we both want to have fulfilling careers in a space that helps people in a big way.
She found her calling in Coordination and Communications. I found mine in Project Management and Employer Brand, yet somehow all this led to me working with my BFF at a job I love.
Two stories become one
Ashley: Picture it: it’s 2012 in Tomball, Texas, I’m meeting my sister for dinner and she brings a friend. That friend was Kelsey Smith, who would one day become the Office Coordinator for the Austin Domain office at Indeed. But that’s getting ahead. Kelsey and I knew we were destined to be BFFs when our very first selfie that night was perfect – one and done. How often does that happen?
Kelsey: As soon as I met Ashley I knew we were kindred spirits. We tell the story of that first selfie so often it’s like a physical relic of our past. And like so many relics of the past; it didn’t hold up well. (Insert joke about old iPhone cameras.)
Ashley: Fast forward to 2014 when I first learned about Indeed (as an employer) on a date with Maurice Kennedy (Mo to most everyone). He told me about his job and how amazing the company was to work for. I couldn’t believe how well they treated their employees, it was completely foreign to me.
I knew I wanted to work there just from how he described the mission and culture – the benefits were icing on the cake. I am forever grateful to him for introducing me to the best company I’ve ever worked for. While Mo and I weren’t destined to be, working at Indeed was. In 2016, I joined the Hire team.
A dream come true
Kelsey: In 2014, I moved to Austin and became Ashley’s roommate. One night after being out on a date, she came home super excited and I expected her to tell me she found her soulmate, but instead she couldn’t stop talking about this tech company called Indeed; a company I had never heard of. It would be another 2 years before she became an Indeedian, but she never lost sight of that goal.
Ashley: Kelsey was there for every part of my journey from the interviews, to the offer, to having lunch with me at the Champions office my first week. One major benefit I was able to share with her right away was the job seeker resources at Indeed.
We have a significant age difference, so she was just starting her career path and being able to help her in her journey was a great feeling. (There were also snacks for the road when she’d come for lunch, but that’s just my maternal instinct kicking in.)
Lunch buddy for life
Kelsey: Once she started at Indeed in 2016, I was along for the ride right from the start. I remember the first time I had lunch with her at the Champions office, I immediately noticed (besides the incredible snacks!) how confident, excited, and most importantly, how happy she was to be there.
Ashley: Later in 2016, Indeed participated in their first Pride Parade in Austin and guess who marched with me? Kelsey! She was even my date to the 2019 Holiday Party where she fell in love with the shrimp. There isn’t really an aspect of my 5 years at Indeed that Kelsey has not been part of, so it was only natural to refer her when the Office Coordinator position opened up.
Friends Indeed
Kelsey: Even though I’m still finding glitter in my car, marching in the Parade and dancing the night away with Ashley and her team was incredible. I couldn’t even imagine that one day some of these folks would also be my co-workers. After 5 years at Indeed, Ashley is still so passionate about the mission and her team, she referred me for the Office Coordinator position at the Domain office.
I decided to go for it and after many rounds of interviews, I got the best call ever: I was now an Indeedian! Of course, the first person I told was Ashley (don’t tell my husband!).
Ashley: For me, the best part of her joining Indeed is that we’re just a Slack away from each other. When you start a new job or move to a new city, just knowing one person can make all the difference. Now that we work at the same company it feels like a whole new side of our friendship is blooming.
Kelsey: I’ve always said that I felt like I have been a part of this journey with her, but now I can truly say we are in this together. Two months later, I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished and can’t wait to see where Indeed takes us next.
Ashley: Although we don’t work together directly, I have been able to help her with general Indeed knowledge and processes. She even used me as a guinea pig for her first onboarding presentation and I noticed one of the slides had outdated content from my team. I was able to get her an updated slide right away and it felt awesome to kind of partner on a project.
Kelsey’s first 60 Days in Data
713 emails
3 New Hire Orientation presentations
2 Virtual Happy Hours
1 BFF photoshoot in our I Help People Get Jobs shirts
We’d like to leave you with this, our favorite toast:
“There are good ships,
and there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships, are friendships,
And may they always be.”
Cheers to all of the BFFs this National Best Friends Day. If Indeed sounds like a place you and your BFF would like to work, check out our open roles at indeed.jobs.
