Unlocked: How Payroll Congress Turned a First-Time Attendee Into a PayrollOrg Director with Christina Ruderer

Imagine attending Payroll Congress for the very first time and within a year becoming part of the PayrollOrg team responsible for training payroll professionals across the world. That is exactly what happened to Christina Ruderer, CPP, and her story perfectly captures what makes Payroll Congress unlike any other event in the profession.

In this episode of @thepayrollpodcast, Nick Day, CEO of JGA Recruitment, sits down with Christina Ruderer, CPP, Director of Payroll Training at PayrollOrg, to unpack one of the most inspiring career stories in payroll today. From passing her CPP exam in tears to being selected on stage at Congress, to landing a leadership role at PayrollOrg within months, Christina's journey is living proof of what happens when preparation meets opportunity. The conversation also dives deep into what attendees can expect at Payroll Congress 2026 in Nashville, why the connections made at Congress have a compounding effect on your career, and why showing up, even alone and for the first time, could be the single best decision you make this year.

It is not luck.

It is not timing.

It is showing up with intention.

Christina shares how a clear mission, a willingness to step outside her comfort zone, and the right connections at Congress unlocked a career opportunity she had only dared to imagine. Whether you are a first-timer on the fence or a seasoned Congress veteran, this episode will remind you exactly why Payroll Congress remains the most powerful event in the global payroll profession.

This episode is sponsored by Deel

Managing a global team is complex, Deel makes it simpler with payroll, HR, IT, and compliance all in one place. That's why over 35,000 businesses trust Deel to hire, pay, and manage their teams worldwide.

See how Deel works at www.deel.com/nickday

Guest and Host:

Connect with Christina Ruderer, CPP: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-ruderer-cpp-35632032b/

Get your Payroll Congress 2026 tickets here: www.payrollcongress.com

Connect with Nick Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickday/

Find your ideal candidate with our job vacancy system: https://jgarecruitment.ck.page/691ee4537e

Stay tuned for the next episode of The Payroll Podcast, brought to you by Nick Day, CEO at JGA Recruitment, landing soon!

Enjoyed this? Check out our sister podcast @thehrldpodcast for more great content!

Timestamps:

(00:01) Introduction: Christina Ruderer's remarkable Congress-to-career story

(02:14) What does payroll mean to you?

(02:33) From member to certified: Christina's FPC and CPP journey

(05:09) Attending Payroll Congress alone for the very first time

(08:21) The Congress connection that changed everything

(09:20) From first-time attendee to PayrollOrg Director

(11:40) How Congress welcomes introverts and first-timers

(15:26) What Christina is presenting at Congress 2026 and the education lineup

(21:46) Congress traditions: the themed Fête party and what to expect

(27:18) The moment that made the whole trip worth it

(35:11) The Payroll Vault: rapid-fire career advice for 2026

Hashtags: #PayrollCongress #PayrollPodcast #PayrollOrg #CPP #CertifiedPayrollProfessional #PayrollCareers #PayrollProfessionals #PayrollTraining #Nashville2026 #PayrollCommunity #PayrollLeadership #PayrollIndustry #PayrollConference #PayrollGrowth #FutureOfPayroll

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(276)

Talent Retention in Payroll Leadership | Building Careers for 2040 with Troy Markusson

Payroll leadership faces a 2040 crisis that has nothing to do with compliance, technology, or AI. It's our failure to attract, educate, and listen to the next generation of payroll professionals. In t...

9 Sep 52min

Silent Payroll Errors | Why Compliance Blindspots Matter with Jay Crider

Your payroll runs smoothly but that's exactly where payroll compliance risk hides. In this episodeIn this episode of @thepayrollpodcast, Nick Day, CEO of JGA Recruitment Group, sits down with Jay Crid...

1 Sep 54min

AI for Payroll | How Failed Implementations Shape Your Career with Raju Chauhan

AI for payroll is reshaping the profession but failed implementations reveal what truly matters. In this episode of @thepayrollpodcast, Nick Day, CEO of JGA Recruitment, sits down with Raju Chauhan, e...

24 Aug 49min

Building a Strategic Payroll Career | Leadership Beyond Compliance with Jamie Phillips

Payroll careers are often written off as accidents. Someone needed a job, a shared service center needed a body, and thirty years later they never left. But staying in payroll for three decades and be...

17 Aug 43min

Mandatory Payrolling of Benefits, Salary Sacrifice Traps and Zero-Hours Reform

In this episode: Mandatory Payrolling of Benefits, Salary Sacrifice Traps and Zero-Hours Reform | Payroll Question TimePayroll Question Time is brought to you by SD Worx. SD Worx offers smart, tailore...

10 Aug 1h 22min

Is This the End of Country-by-Country Payroll? with Sivanne Fishel

For years, multinational payroll was managed country by country, provider by provider, and spreadsheet by spreadsheet. That model worked when businesses expanded slowly. Global workforces do not expan...

3 Aug 54min

Trust, Transparency & The Future of Payroll | The Payroll Podcast Vault #2

Payroll Has Never Been More Complex. Are You Prepared for What's Next?In this Special Vault edition, Nick Day gathers some of the sharpest minds in global payroll and asks them all the same questions,...

23 Juli 26min

Payroll Is a Strategic Business Function, Not Back Office with Tiana Neal

Most businesses think payroll is simple. Checks go out, employees get paid, and nobody complains. But treating payroll as an administrative task rather than a strategic function is exactly what keeps ...

16 Juli 48min