At Raymond, we have outstanding employees, so we decided to feature some of them on our blog. Our next Employee Spotlight features Jacob Rechsteiner, Project Manager for Raymond’s San Diego region. Jacob has been in the construction industry for 22 years on and off, and with Raymond for nine. He is currently running two casino resort projects in Southern California.
We sat down with Jacob to learn more about him and his time at Raymond.
What brought you into the construction industry? I was looking for a job to pay the bills while finishing school. My old soccer coach was a foreman at the time and got me into the trades. It was a huge change to my lifestyle but putting in an honest, hard day’s work was worth it. I liked the work so much I ended up staying in the industry even though I went to school for a different profession.
What do you think is the most important change happening in the construction industry today? Technology. It will always change and advance and it’s fun learning new and innovative methods to doing my job.
Have there been any challenges on your current projects, and how have they been overcome? Fly-by design changes and fluid schedules. Communication and teamwork within our own team, and with the client, has been the best way to work through these challenges.
What’s the best thing about your job? The people.
What is the most challenging part of your job? The people.😊
What do you like doing when you’re not at work? I recently hung up my coach’s whistle this past December from club soccer, which I had been doing for over eight years. I love coaching, but it was time for me to move on. Since then, I’ve been in a ‘trying to figure out what to do with my time now’ phase. Pretty much anything and everything that my kids are interested in is what I do with my free time ranging from sports, music, Pokémon, and video games. They’re only young once, so I don’t want to miss out on anything. And, I finally have a gym partner with my oldest, which has been very nice!
Have you had any challenges in your life that you’ve overcome that you want to share? My wife being pregnant while I was deployed to Iraq stands out as one of the more challenging times of my life.
What inspires you? Striving to be better than what I am today, and of course my family.
How do you balance your career and your family? Raymond plays a huge part in allowing me to have the opportunity to balance my career and family. The fact that Raymond pushes a family first mentality allows me to have the mindset that I can do things with my family without worrying about my job status. It’s a huge relief from experiences I’ve had with other companies.
What’s one thing you couldn’t live without? My family and tacos.
