A Summer of Learning and Growing with Gavin Hite

Making a career pivot is often a challenging process for many adults. How can I apply my current experience to a new field? What place will be the best fit for me and my strengths?

Switching from a career in baseball recruiting, Gavin Hite, intern for the Talent Acquisition team, found the answers to those questions during his summer at DriveTime.

“I’ve done so much within a matter of months and have gained so much insight into talent acquisition as a career.”

Where It All Started

Born and raised in Auburn, Washington, Gavin Hite has always had a passion for sports and helping people. Naturally, that led to a life spent in team environments, playing sports professionally and then leading them.

“I played practically every sport growing up. I started playing baseball in kindergarten and continued to play throughout college at New Mexico Highlands University, where I am currently finishing up a business degree,” Gavin shared.

Touching on his growth to a leadership role, Gavin’s role as a coach has been a consistent part of his life.

“I wasn’t always on the corporate side. For the last six years, I’ve been coaching college baseball and working as a recruiting coordinator for athletes at a couple different colleges,” Gavin explained. “I get to use the best parts of myself to help someone else. It’s a rewarding experience.”

Still, Gavin remains a pillar in his local community, continuing to balance coaching on his off time in addition to his role at DriveTime.

Making The Pivot

When asked about his switch to corporate recruiting, Gavin shared that it was an easy transition.

“I’m doing a lot of work that I’m familiar with. I’ve transitioned from finding young athletes a college to play at, to career-seeking adults looking to work at the DriveTime family of brands. It’s a different pool of people, but the learning curve hasn’t been difficult,” he shared.

Most people are familiar with the interview process, but often as an applicant. Gavin plays a fundamental role in the behind-the-scenes process of recruitment. As the talent acquisition intern, Gavin is the bridge that helps bring talented, fresh faces into our business.

“My day-to-day tasks involve helping our recruiters schedule interviews for incoming corporate talent at our home offices in Tempe and Dallas. On average, I probably schedule forty to fifty interviews a week. During one particularly busy period, I scheduled eighty-six interviews,” Gavin shared.

In addition to being the forefront of our recruiting process, Gavin has also spent this summer finding new ways to expand and grow DriveTime’s university relations program.

“Throughout the last few months, I’ve been looking at schools across the nation for our company to collaborate with to simultaneously build new partnerships and get automotive and technical talent into our doors,” Gavin explained. “It’s been a fun ride, applying what I already know from recruiting at the college level and turning it into funneling talent here at DriveTime.”

Accompanying that research was a department-wide presentation, where Gavin presented his findings of multiple different colleges in different states for DriveTime to partner with. In his stay here at DriveTime, Gavin has not only learned about the ins and outs of talent acquisition but has also played a role in both developing and improving its current operating system.

Doing More Than Learning

When asked about some of his takeaways from his summer internship, Gavin cited DriveTime’s company culture and the relationships he built here as the most memorable parts of his summer.

“I’ve built long-lasting connections not just with my team but within the department as a whole,” he shared. “DriveTime truly cares about its people and provides the best of best when it comes to company culture.”

In addition to building long-lasting connections, Gavin also highlighted DriveTime’s resources as another fundamental part of his summer.

“I’ve received an endless amount of help and insight from my team; there’s a lot of opportunity to grow and learn here,” Gavin shared.

Future Plans

As Gavin moves forward in his career, his ultimate goals and aspirations demonstrate a dedication to more than self-improvement, but also the betterment of those around him.

“My goal is to have a leadership role down the line. I’m a big believer in servant leadership and helping others is something I would like to do as a recruiter,” Gavin shared.

But for now, Gavin will continue to learn and grow with his team at DriveTime, who he’s incredibly grateful for.

“Working at DriveTime has been nothing short of spectacular. It sounds cliche, but it’s the truth. I can’t thank my team enough for helping me make the most out of this great opportunity.”