????吉姆?巴頓

????? 所屬公司：David Weekley Homes

????? 最佳雇主公司排名：第13位

????? 職位：銷售顧問(wèn)

????? 年齡：51歲

????吉姆?巴頓自打開始玩林肯積木（Lincoln Log）和樂(lè)高（Lego）時(shí)就喜歡上家裝設(shè)計(jì)了。不過(guò)他不怎么具備當(dāng)好一名建筑師所必需的數(shù)學(xué)才能。大學(xué)畢業(yè)后他先是進(jìn)了廣告圈，但有一次開車穿過(guò)新澤西州時(shí)，他對(duì)建筑和家裝的熱情又重新涌上了心頭。經(jīng)過(guò)一個(gè)新的住房建筑工地并和開發(fā)商聊了聊之后，巴頓突然心血來(lái)潮，決定買兩塊地，打算用自己的業(yè)余水平試著打造從小就有的家居夢(mèng)想。

????這次冒險(xiǎn)經(jīng)歷很值得。巴頓在其中一塊地上造完自己第一座房子并在另一塊地上開工后創(chuàng)辦了自己的建筑公司，主要從事復(fù)古改造的業(yè)務(wù)。這是他實(shí)現(xiàn)設(shè)計(jì)創(chuàng)意的地方，當(dāng)然數(shù)學(xué)就算了。他負(fù)責(zé)制訂設(shè)計(jì)規(guī)劃，一個(gè)建筑師負(fù)責(zé)執(zhí)行。

????巴頓在東北部地區(qū)創(chuàng)業(yè)18年后，到了2006年，他覺得自己得離住在休斯頓的父母近些，于是他就關(guān)停公司搬了家。到了2013年，他又覺得手癢，想重返工作崗位。他的一位老朋友認(rèn)為，巴頓很適合她的老東家，即住房開發(fā)商David Weekley Homes。巴頓后來(lái)回顧說(shuō)：“這有點(diǎn)像被安排去相親。你朋友跟你說(shuō)對(duì)方有多好，但你根本不知道自己會(huì)不會(huì)也這么想。”談了三個(gè)月后，巴頓和DWH公司覺得雙方確實(shí)算是天作之合。

????2013年8月，DWH公司聘請(qǐng)巴頓擔(dān)任“自家地上造房”部門的銷售顧問(wèn)。他所服務(wù)的客戶是那些家里有很多地，想請(qǐng)DWH公司來(lái)造房子的人。這份工作還是讓他有機(jī)會(huì)發(fā)揮一下創(chuàng)意天賦，按客戶的特定要求定制家居裝潢。

????Jim Barton

????? Company: David Weekley Homes

????? Best Companies rank: 13

????? Role: Sales consultant

????? Age: 51

????Jim Barton had loved home design for as long as he could remember, as far back as when he played with Lincoln Logs and Legos. But the math skills he'd need to be an architect weren't nearly as prevalent. He worked in advertising after college, but on a drive through New Jersey, his love of construction and home building resurfaced. After passing a site for new home construction and having a conversation with the developer, Barton decided on somewhat of a whim to purchase two lots and try his amateur hand at his life-long dream.

????The risk was worth it. After building his first home on one lot and flipping the other, Barton started his own home building company that specialized in historic reproductions. It was an outlet for his design ideas, minus the math. He'd draw up the plans; an architect would execute them.

????After 18 years of working for himself in the northeast, Barton decided in 2006 he needed to be closer to his parents in Houston, so he closed his business and moved. In 2013, Barton felt the itch to get back to work. A longtime friend said Barton would be a perfect fit at her former employer, home developer David Weekley Homes. "It was sort of like getting set up on a blind date. Your friend tells you how wonderful Sue is, but you never know if you're going to feel the same way," Barton says. After three months of interviews, Barton and DWH turned out to be a perfect match.

????DWH hired Barton as a sales consultant in August 2013 in its build-on-your-lot division. He works with customers who already own a lot of land and want David Weekley to build a home on it. And he still gets to tap his creative side by customizing a home's finishes to the customer's specifications.