Love More Than Your Job At CDW
The title says it all; loving who you work with plays a huge role in loving where you work, and that’s why at CDW, we take pride in our people, our CDW family. The success of our team is fueled by our relationships with each other—the ways we lift each other up, collaborate, celebrate milestones, win together, and support one another each and every day.
We are more than coworkers. We are mentors. We are leaders. We are family. We value each other’s dreams, joys and aspirations while fostering our relationships within our community and our people. This Valentine’s Day, we caught up with a few CDW coworkers to share their stories on friendships, family, and love. Because here at CDW, we get loving more than your job.
Blake and I grew up, two of six kids, raised on the meaning of love and hard work. While we never went without, our parents expected that we achieve more than they had. They asked that each of us kids strive to be better every day while also being a better person to others.
When I decided to change careers from teaching to sales, I sought somewhere that was both intrinsically and extrinsically motivating and rewarding. Over time, as I honed my abilities and opened myself to our customers and coworkers, CDW challenged and supported me. The culture here felt like home with folks always willing to help when I put in the effort.
Proud of CDW, I shared stories of failure and success with Blake during his studies at Arizona State. The culture cultivated by our leadership and peers, convinced him to interview for an internship with CDW last year. Blake shares, “Britt encouraged me to apply for the summer internship because I study Business/Entrepreneurship. During my experience, I learned that CDW provides great opportunities for growth and investments in training incoming Account Representatives. The proactive approach to developing CDW coworkers, the encouragement of a work hard/play hard mentality, and the family-like inclusive culture sold me on committing to CDW post-graduation. I am grateful to be part of the CDW family!”
I started at CDW in 2004 at the build of CDW’s Legal team. I saw the decision to join the company as an exciting opportunity to bring my experience to the team, but to also further develop with a company and department that was innovative and growing. Later in my career, I brought my daughter, Olivia, to Bring Your Kids to Work Day. “Hearing my mom’s stories about the culture and her coworkers left a lasting impression. I knew those traits would be very important for me to find as I started my job search” shared Olivia.
Fast forward to 2017 when Olivia graduated college and found an opportunity on CDW’s Benefits and Operations team. As her parent, it is exciting to see her at the front end of her career learning and growing in her role from a vantage point that most may not see. Olivia shares, “My mom has always been my role model. She strives to be her best and do her best every day, in all facets of her life. Her positive attitude and willingness to help others encourages me to be a better person."
We all want to see our children succeed and most importantly, enjoy what they do! I’m so proud of Olivia and what she has accomplished. I know I am biased, but in my opinion, CDW is lucky to have her!
It all started in 1998 when we both were starting our careers at CDW in the same department (Recruiting & Training for Sales). We sat near each other and became work associates and then friends – sharing a love for sarcasm and scary movies. Over the course of our years here at CDW, we’d go to golf outings and dinners together and even started a movie club – it helped us build a solid friendship over time. As our careers moved forward, so did our personal lives where we each became moms at the same time, both having boys in 2005 and then later having girls at the same time in 2008. Our families became close as well – taking our kids to the zoo, aquarium and celebrating the 4th of July together.
As our kids grew older, our responsibilities shifted and our friendship changed. But now we make the time to hang out and stay involved in each other’s lives – and our work lives. We are grateful for CDW and for this department that truly fosters long-term relationships. We would learn from each other, and because we are friends, be completely comfortable in giving one another feedback – navigate the unknown, bounce ideas and trust that there was no agenda, no judging – simply solid advice from someone who wants to lift you up. We can’t imagine the past 22 years without the people here.
We met in 2015 back when I first joined a sales team. Just as I was coming to the sales floor, Angela was moving desks and we sat right next to each other. That is where it all began! Five years later, we are now recently married, new home owners and excited for the next chapter of our lives.
It is great working with my partner. We are not on the same sales team, and are on different sides of the office, so we only see each other when we walk over to one other. But sometimes, when you need that 5-10 minute brain refresher, there is nothing better than walking over and seeing your best friend and significant other. There is a feeling of warmth and comfort that comes with that. Being an Executive Account Manager I only need to come in the office 1-2 times per week, but because she is there, I find myself typically coming in more.
CDW strongly supports these types of relationships. I look at our office and I see many couples that started together at CDW or met each other through CDW. We are talking about 10+ relationships here - (yes I counted)! At our wedding, we had 25+ CDW coworkers. People who watched us grow together and now have become very dear to our everyday lives. As I look I back over the past five years, the best decision I ever made was CDW. It put my life in a direction I was looking for and helped me achieve all personal goals along with my career ones. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I found love, happiness, and a home here at CDW.
We met at CDW and have known each other for 15+ years working on multiple teams. We play basketball, watch football, occasionally go golfing and once a quarter, enjoy a nice steak dinner. For fun, we would play basketball on sponsored coworker leagues at the fitness center in Vernon Hills. Before we all started getting injured, we played together for about 4-5 seasons, winning a couple of championships! CDW is so supportive in encouraging coworkers to truly join forces and participate in team events/outings in and outside the office.
We’ve also been a part of similar Business Resource Groups and have built mentorships and relationships with other coworkers. Those groups really encourage career development and growth which is something we all truly value. It has definitely nurtured the team building and supportive feeling that CDW celebrates.
Rondell shares, “It’s great working together. We have a bond where we can all talk to each other about different obstacles that we face, our goals for the future and give advice when we need it. Some people don’t have that and I know I’m blessed to say that I do.”
CDW Coworkers
The title says it all; loving who you work with plays a huge role in loving where you work, and that’s why at CDW, we take pride in our people, our CDW family. The success of our team is fueled by our relationships with each other—the ways we lift each other up, collaborate, celebrate milestones, win together, and support one another each and every day.
We are more than coworkers. We are mentors. We are leaders. We are family. We value each other’s dreams, joys and aspirations while fostering our relationships within our community and our people. This Valentine’s Day, we caught up with a few CDW coworkers to share their stories on friendships, family, and love. Because here at CDW, we get loving more than your job.
Blake and I grew up, two of six kids, raised on the meaning of love and hard work. While we never went without, our parents expected that we achieve more than they had. They asked that each of us kids strive to be better every day while also being a better person to others.
When I decided to change careers from teaching to sales, I sought somewhere that was both intrinsically and extrinsically motivating and rewarding. Over time, as I honed my abilities and opened myself to our customers and coworkers, CDW challenged and supported me. The culture here felt like home with folks always willing to help when I put in the effort.
Proud of CDW, I shared stories of failure and success with Blake during his studies at Arizona State. The culture cultivated by our leadership and peers, convinced him to interview for an internship with CDW last year. Blake shares, “Britt encouraged me to apply for the summer internship because I study Business/Entrepreneurship. During my experience, I learned that CDW provides great opportunities for growth and investments in training incoming Account Representatives. The proactive approach to developing CDW coworkers, the encouragement of a work hard/play hard mentality, and the family-like inclusive culture sold me on committing to CDW post-graduation. I am grateful to be part of the CDW family!”
I started at CDW in 2004 at the build of CDW’s Legal team. I saw the decision to join the company as an exciting opportunity to bring my experience to the team, but to also further develop with a company and department that was innovative and growing. Later in my career, I brought my daughter, Olivia, to Bring Your Kids to Work Day. “Hearing my mom’s stories about the culture and her coworkers left a lasting impression. I knew those traits would be very important for me to find as I started my job search” shared Olivia.
Fast forward to 2017 when Olivia graduated college and found an opportunity on CDW’s Benefits and Operations team. As her parent, it is exciting to see her at the front end of her career learning and growing in her role from a vantage point that most may not see. Olivia shares, “My mom has always been my role model. She strives to be her best and do her best every day, in all facets of her life. Her positive attitude and willingness to help others encourages me to be a better person."
We all want to see our children succeed and most importantly, enjoy what they do! I’m so proud of Olivia and what she has accomplished. I know I am biased, but in my opinion, CDW is lucky to have her!
It all started in 1998 when we both were starting our careers at CDW in the same department (Recruiting & Training for Sales). We sat near each other and became work associates and then friends – sharing a love for sarcasm and scary movies. Over the course of our years here at CDW, we’d go to golf outings and dinners together and even started a movie club – it helped us build a solid friendship over time. As our careers moved forward, so did our personal lives where we each became moms at the same time, both having boys in 2005 and then later having girls at the same time in 2008. Our families became close as well – taking our kids to the zoo, aquarium and celebrating the 4th of July together.
As our kids grew older, our responsibilities shifted and our friendship changed. But now we make the time to hang out and stay involved in each other’s lives – and our work lives. We are grateful for CDW and for this department that truly fosters long-term relationships. We would learn from each other, and because we are friends, be completely comfortable in giving one another feedback – navigate the unknown, bounce ideas and trust that there was no agenda, no judging – simply solid advice from someone who wants to lift you up. We can’t imagine the past 22 years without the people here.
We met in 2015 back when I first joined a sales team. Just as I was coming to the sales floor, Angela was moving desks and we sat right next to each other. That is where it all began! Five years later, we are now recently married, new home owners and excited for the next chapter of our lives.
It is great working with my partner. We are not on the same sales team, and are on different sides of the office, so we only see each other when we walk over to one other. But sometimes, when you need that 5-10 minute brain refresher, there is nothing better than walking over and seeing your best friend and significant other. There is a feeling of warmth and comfort that comes with that. Being an Executive Account Manager I only need to come in the office 1-2 times per week, but because she is there, I find myself typically coming in more.
CDW strongly supports these types of relationships. I look at our office and I see many couples that started together at CDW or met each other through CDW. We are talking about 10+ relationships here - (yes I counted)! At our wedding, we had 25+ CDW coworkers. People who watched us grow together and now have become very dear to our everyday lives. As I look I back over the past five years, the best decision I ever made was CDW. It put my life in a direction I was looking for and helped me achieve all personal goals along with my career ones. I couldn’t ask for anything more. I found love, happiness, and a home here at CDW.
We met at CDW and have known each other for 15+ years working on multiple teams. We play basketball, watch football, occasionally go golfing and once a quarter, enjoy a nice steak dinner. For fun, we would play basketball on sponsored coworker leagues at the fitness center in Vernon Hills. Before we all started getting injured, we played together for about 4-5 seasons, winning a couple of championships! CDW is so supportive in encouraging coworkers to truly join forces and participate in team events/outings in and outside the office.
We’ve also been a part of similar Business Resource Groups and have built mentorships and relationships with other coworkers. Those groups really encourage career development and growth which is something we all truly value. It has definitely nurtured the team building and supportive feeling that CDW celebrates.
Rondell shares, “It’s great working together. We have a bond where we can all talk to each other about different obstacles that we face, our goals for the future and give advice when we need it. Some people don’t have that and I know I’m blessed to say that I do.”
CDW Coworkers
