At Raymond, we have outstanding employees, so we decided to feature some of them on our blog. We’d like to highlight Brandon Dighero, Payroll Specialist in Northern California.
Brandon has been with Raymond for five years, is an accomplished Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force and has experience in information security and payroll compliance auditing. He holds a bachelors in economics from St. Mary’s College of California.
Brandon and his wife have two dogs, Moose and Elliott. While Elliott visits the Raymond office from time to time, Moose is a regular, wagging his tail as he brightens everyone’s day.
Moose (left). Elliott (right)
We sat down with Brandon to learn more about him and his time at Raymond… and we even got Moose to bark in with some answers!
What does a typical day look like for you? Every morning, I wake up around 5:30AM to research and trade stocks. Eventually my ‘fur’ children realize I’m up, so I take them outside to feed them and tend to my fruit and vegetable garden. After about two hours of hoping I don’t lose money on the stock market, it’s time to head to the job that never loses money for me; where I process payroll, maintain employee files, and work on whatever special projects I have going on. I work about .7 miles away from the office, so at lunch I like to head home and continue garden work and spend time on my mountain bike or jet ski (if weather permits). After work, I come home to my amazing wife, and we catch up with each other and play with the boys.
Moose: Luckily, I live in a DINK (Dual Income No Kids) household so I’m fortunate to have my personal chefs fix me breakfast as soon as I wake up. Following my meal, I take a nap to prepare for my big day at work. Once Dad puts on his outside legs, I hop out of bed and into the truck.
As soon as I hit the office door, I do roll call and collect my daily wages (treats) from everyone. When the treats run out, I sunbathe in the foyer, with breaks to walk around the office making sure everyone’s morale is up to par.
What’s your idea of a perfect day? I’m not very good at doing “nothing” which causes me to structure my days the way I do. I like to think I structure a perfect day by filling it with all the things I love. I can’t see what else I would want to do other than make money, go fast, and be with my loved ones.
What brought you into the construction industry? It’s a funny story. Straight out of college, I was hired by the company that does Raymond’s DC 16 Taper payroll audits. Being an auditor was challenging. Walking into a new business every day alone, knowing that my presence might be unwelcome, was certainly a unique experience. When I came to the Raymond office for their audit, I noticed the camaraderie and high morale. One day, I was in Raymond’s conference room and one of their estimators said something to me along the lines of, “This looks like it sucks, you really like doing this?” And while I was offended at first, he was right.
This is the day I realized I needed to work with a company where I enjoyed showing up. A month or so later, I noticed Raymond was hiring a payroll specialist. And here I am 😊 One of the best life changing decisions I have made.
What do you like most about working in construction? It reminds me of my time in the military, without politics.
What’s the best thing about your job? Hands down, the people and teams I have the opportunity to work with.
Moose: Don’t get me wrong, treats and fetch are great…. But I do it for the smiles I put on people’s faces.
Q: What is the most challenging part of your job?
Moose: The most challenging part of the job is holding in my excitement for the mail man. People think I hate him, but we’re really good friends.
What is the best advice anyone ever gave you? Life’s too short to be doing things you don’t love.
Moose: “The goal of all life is to have a ball” – Albert Ellis
What do you like doing when you’re not at work? I like a good adventure, whether it’s going on a road trip with the pups and the wife, riding my mountain bike, jet skiing, kayaking, or snowboarding. I also really like growing things. Currently I’m growing broccoli, Bok choy, lettuce, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, parsley, strawberries, eggplant, cucumbers and peppers.
Moose: I enjoy playing fetch, wrestling my brother Elliott, chasing my dad on his bike, and anything that includes water (but not the kind that falls from the sky).
Q: What meal could you eat every day?
Moose: Whatever you’re trying to feed me… except lettuce… I’m not a rabbit.
Before working at Raymond, did you have any other interesting jobs? I was Active-Duty Air Force for about three years. I was fortunate enough to be able to work on jets and travel the world. Over half of that time, I was deployed, so I was able to experience a lot in those short years.
What inspires you? Seeing my loved ones happy and knowing that there is more happiness that I can provide.
How do you balance your career and your family? Bringing my dogs to work and living around the corner helps a lot 😊
What is something people are often surprised to learn about you? Some of you may have noticed that I’m injured a lot. You’d be surprised to learn that I actually try NOT to get hurt.
Moose: Unlike my father, I have an excuse for having a lack of hair, I have alopecia.
Q: What advice do you have for prospective Raymond candidates?
Moose: Puppy eyes works 99.9% of the time.
