Meet David Warren: “I’d Recommend Grafton to Anyone Who’s Ready to Take Action.”

Post written by Richard Lewis, Vice President, Staffing Services

When I first interviewed David Warren, he had a certain salary goal in mind for his future.

He knew it wouldn’t come easy or that he would start in a position that paid him in line with that goal, but he was committed to working his way up.

He began his career at Ceva as a Tech 1, then he supported Document Control with SOP and Production Record processing, and eventually worked his way up to the Document Control Supervisor, which came with benefits and the responsibilities of leadership.

When I asked David about his experience at Grafton he said it had a “family” feel.

He felt we were a team working toward his goals and that Grafton made the process easy for him. It was a new and refreshing experience.

The impact on his career?  He said without Grafton he would’ve never made it with a company like Ceva because he didn’t have the education or the background to sell himself using just a resume.

He needed Grafton to help tell his story for him. 

And now, here’s more of David’s story, from the man himself…

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My experience with Grafton was a positive experience all the way around. I had used previous agencies before at different times in my work history, but Grafton was different.

I had worked with a different staffing company prior to coming to Grafton and I’ll just say that experience wasn’t a memorable one.

In visiting with previous agencies, we never really made a good connection.

Because of that, we were unable to successfully exchange information in a way that would allow me to be a good fit for a future employer. In that situation, both parties dropped the ball.

When I got to the Grafton office and had the opportunity to meet Teri and Richard, I was coming in completely willing and open-minded to what they had to offer.

I wasn’t coming from a science-based background (I was a Bail Bondsman/Bounty Hunter for an agency in Johnson County) but had various work experience that could be beneficial to the right group.

Not only did Grafton want to help me find work, they wanted to learn more about me. That information allowed them to put me in the right place at Ceva.

I went through the JCCC training at an odd time. I was no longer assisting as a Lab Tech in Marek’s Lab and had since been moved to the Central Services Group (Nitro Team) by the time I went to the training.

I had a different perspective by that time because I’d been through the lab and was learning hands-on things that I didn’t know.

The classroom experience cleared up some things that I knew, yet didn’t fully understand. What was wonderful was that our class experienced a contamination which allowed our group to do some root cause analysis – just like we had to do at Ceva.

I don’t know what order would’ve worked better – being exposed to the information before entering the lab or going to the lab and then entering the classroom.

What I do know is that I appreciated meeting and learning from Dr. Wolfgram and being educated by the curriculum that Grafton/Ceva had put in place.

Without Grafton, I wouldn’t be at Ceva! The training helped give me a better grasp for the attention to detail, the aseptic technique, the incubation, all the variables that the lab tech needs to be mindful of in the process of biologic, vaccine manufacturing.

Based on my experience, my suggestions for anyone searching for their next opportunity would be the following:

• Be open-minded to the suggestions being presented.
• Be involved with the agency. Get to know them. Let them know you.
• Communicate often with the agency. Understand that they’re on your team too.

I’d recommend Grafton to anyone who’s ready to take action.

I still have a great relationship with Teri, Richard and Grafton. If I, or someone I know, needed their help, I’m confident they would do whatever it took to provide assistance.