A little bit about me

Hey there! I’m Terra (first name rhymes with Sara), Lahrman (last name “ahr” pronounced like Car). 

I live in Dallas, Texas. I can see the lights of downtown from my backyard. I love being in the mix of it all with 8.1 million people in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. If you don’t know Texas, our tagline is “everything is bigger in Texas” and it’s true! The state of Texas is bigger than ever before with 30.5 million people.

Texas is a great place for business too. California leads with 57 Fortune 500 companies, and now Texas is tied with New York for 52 Fortune 500 companies. California is moving in though, as we welcome Tesla, Oracle and HP who have moved their HQs to Texas, and that’s just to name a few. 

While everything is bigger in Texas, the same goes for big personalities. I consider myself one of them. I may be a small-town farm girl from Indiana, but the people and opportunity here in Texas suits me fine. At 19 years old I moved from my small town of 1,000 people to the big city of Dallas. Yet, I brought that foundation with me in every way. We’re known for having a friendly vibe, if you pass on the road or the street, you will get a wave or a friendly hello.

Nothing pleases me more than caring for others. That means all pets and human beings alike. I have two precious fur babies who were rescued, and they are very happy I’m a work-at-home pet mom. What gives me some of my biggest personal satisfaction is my downtown community. I adore those in it and I have a big heart for seniors and those less fortunate. It is part of my great joy to love and support 13 senior ladies in my neighbourhood. I often wonder how I could be so lucky to be a part of such a beautiful community. 

For fun, I love riding my red vespa around town, dining with friends and entertaining at home. I let people borrow anything I have so there seems to be someone coming and going for short spurts. I love music too — right now I’m listening to 21 Pilots and have found a special fascination with the song “routines in the night”. I enjoy going to concerts, next up is Justin Timberlake (again), can’t help it, I’m a super fan… 

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My career in Employer Branding‍

My first job in this industry was with a recruitment marketing/advertising agency, back in the day when we were placing ads in major city markets and placing employment ads on job boards. It was easy then compared to today. The required skills were the ability to type 100 words per minute, to proof ads for hours on end, attention to detail, and friendly, supportive customer service. 

One day, it all evolved and went beyond recruitment marketing. Companies had to compete to find talent and that meant they needed to identify, develop, understand and communicate what made them special and why talent should come to work for them, in short — employer branding was born! 

At that time, I worked for a top global agency called J. Walter Thompson. They knew how to take consumer or commercial brands and integrate them into an employee-friendly communications strategy. Introducing this concept to large organizations and employers was one of the most interesting and challenging things I’ve ever done in my career. From that moment, I knew it was going to be my profession for life. 

What makes it especially exciting and interesting in my mind, is how we use creative to evoke emotion and tell a story that makes up the essence of an organization, and gives candidates a reason to apply and employees to stay. Over the years, I have and continue to encourage young people who start in the industry to stick with it. 

As a BOOM BOOM BOOMERANG - I’m back in The Tank @ Pink Squid. 

In 2021 I started as the VP of US Operations at Pink Squid. I’ve stayed close after a brief departure. During this time, I’ve continually touted the brand and have remained proud of the incredible work for the likes of clients both big and small. 

It’s not just the work or the creativity that keeps me engaged. It’s the people. I’ve been active and supportive of our Talent Brand and Talent Acquisition community. The culture of doing business and supporting others in our TA community is like no other.

I’m so excited to see where else my work at Pink Squid can take me, watch this space for some great work coming up!