Northwest Arkansas Business Journal 2009 Fast 15: Rashad Delph

Rashad Delph, 26
Account Manager of Recruiting
Tyson Foods Inc., Springdale

Claim to Fame: Has been promoted three times since starting his career as a recruiter at Tyson Foods in 2005.

Next Step: “The next move for me will probably be looking at either going into another field of human resources or taking a role where I can work with international human resources more.”

Rashad Delph’s passion is working with people.

While still in college, Delph landed an internship with the human resources department of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

After graduating from the University of Arkansas in 2004 with a degree in business administration and human resource management, he went to work as a recruiter for Tyson Foods, where he’s been promoted three times in the past three years.

He now manages all of college relations within the organization and takes pride in helping recent graduates start their careers.

“I love being able to take people starting from college and help them mold their career, get them a jump-start in the professional world,” he said. “I think for me the biggest success is in growing and developing other people.”

Delph said one thing he would change about the traditional workplace is the 8 to 5 schedule.

“If people could work outside of the regular office setting, I think it would open up a lot of different thought patterns,” he said. “I wouldn’t take away everyone being able to work together, but not having those normal restrictive hours would help out a lot.”

Delph said he sees the advantages of modern technology in recruiting college graduates but also understands the importance of one-on-one interaction.

Tyson uses social networking sites like Facebook to communicate with students, he said, but being able to talk to them face-to-face is still important.

Delph grew up in North Little Rock and attended the University of Arkansas at the urging of family members, including uncle Marvin Delph, the former Razorback basketball player.

“My grandfather said the most important thing you can have on your resume is a Razorback,” he said.

Being a people person, one of Delph’s passions is traveling around the world.

“One of my fascinations is learning different cultures outside of the United States,” he said.

Broderick Daniels, director of human resources at the Democrat-Gazette called Delph “very intelligent, detail oriented and eager to learn.”

“He has a very good understanding of the human resources tenants and how to apply them,” Daniels said.

(RELATED: Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s 15 Young Pros on the Fast Track)