Diary of a Recruiter

Okay, so given the first half of the first Quarter of 2011, the job market appears to be showing signs of improvement.  The day I returned from Christmas break (Jan. 3), I received and filled three contract orders.  I honestly hadn’t seen anything like that for years.  This general momentum has been continuous for the last seven weeks now… with few pockets of downtime and many hours of insanity.  It’s stressful, but it’s exciting.   The old “good problem to have” adage.

Due to the current surge, I feel like my head is on a swivel right now.  I make a CONSCIOUS effort to return all calls and emails, but I am human and I simply drop the ball sometimes.  The reality is, recruiters are VERY client-driven at this time.  Our focus must be on the live, “hit ‘em hard, hit ‘em fast” job orders.  And sometimes the search is highly specific and targeted, making it that much more of a challenge.  Priority is critical for us right now… and there are just certain things we are forced to keep on the back burner for the time being.  Sometimes this can last longer than we like.  And I speak for many professionals in my industry when I say this is not intentional.

Well one guy [we'll call him John] decided he needed to take this personally… and what he said just put me over the edge.

The day after I responded to this, I felt somewhat regretful… I don’t like losing my cool, especially in this arena.  In seven years of sales & recruiting, there was only one other time I lost it like that.  I promised myself that would never happen again.  And then I thought… as long as I’m passionate about what I do, this kind of thing will likely occur on a few more occasions!

—–Original Message—–

From: John

Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011

To: Cococcia, Bret

Subject: 3rd Email

Bret,

Should I take it that you aren’t interested in helping me since I didn’t

accept the first offer from Paladin and that’s why I get no response

from you?

I would have thought you would want to help me get a position paying as

much as possible.

Just curious why you haven’t responded to my other email?

Thanks,

John

TO WHICH MY RESPONSE WAS…

Hi John,

This is not intentional.  I can say with absolute conviction that this has

been the busiest week I have had in YEARS.  All of my attention had been

focused on three particular job orders for the past 9 days now.  I have

NUMEROUS emails in my inbox that I have not a chance to follow up on…

not just yours.

And for what it’s worth, John, I tried contacting you SEVERAL times about a job three months ago — to no avail.  You did not respond to any of MY

emails or phone calls in a timely manner.  I felt like I was “chasing”

you, and after awhile, determined it was an ineffectual use of my time.

I really wish candidates understood how incredibly busy recruiters can

get.  I guarantee you that 99% of the time, that ‘lack of communication’

is not deliberate.  Do you honestly think that I would hold a “grudge?”

That I am that immature?  I’m far beyond that, John.

-B 

Reason 1:

You’re typically one of three categories:  Low, Medium, and High.

The “Low” people are the ones who do just that.  They lay low.  They are there to see the speaker and/or presentation.

The “Medium” folks are the ones who will CHOOSE who they want to speak to.

The “High” category is for the ones who will talk to ANYBODY.

It’s the “mixing” of these categories that can make things interesting.

Reason 2:

At many networking events, there’s too much variety in the industries involved.  If you invite marketing analysts, and real estate salesmen, and chiropractors, and tattoo artists; and expect a lot of business to be exchanged… you’re probably wrong.  Keep It Simple Stupid.

Reason 3:

It’s uncomfortable–and difficult–to smoothly “end” a conversation you’re having with a “mixed-category” person.  This whole scenario is just counter-productive for both parties. And someone always ends up saying something awesome, like, “Hey, nice talking to you… I gotta, uh… I gotta find the mens/ladies room.”

Feel free to add to this list…

Some positive things happened at work today.  As a recruiter (or any type of salesperson for that matter), your job is a constant emotional roller coaster.  I never “planned” to recruit for a living, but things happen, and here I am.  For the last three and a half years, my job has been to provide companies with talent.  This has officially become my “livelihood”; my clients rely on me, my company relies on me, my boss relies on me, and most of all, I rely on myself.  And this has been the case–in some capacity–for almost 12 years.  I have good days, average days, and at times, really bad days.  Today was a very good day.  Did I land a hire?  No.  Did I make promising headway with a client or two?  Abso-friggin-lutely.  The funny thing about recruiting is, just when you think you’re dead in the water, something can happen that changes your entire perspective… and takes you from 0-60 in one email, or one ring of the phone.  Conversely, the exact opposite can happen just as quickly… and all you want to do is go home and challenge whether or not it’s in your best interest to continue doing what you’re doing.

Since working in sales & recruiting (which technically began in July, 2004) I can’t even count the number of times I have thought about heading in a different direction… taking on a new industry… doing something more “creative.”  And then I get sucked back in.  I can’t help but ask myself… Am I lazy? Am I not proactive enough to actually commit to making a change?  And then I wonder… Is a higher power trying to tell me something?  Maybe it’s time for me to stop trying to escape from what is inevitable, and dare I say, appropriate?

The reality is this:  For the most part, I enjoy getting up and going to work in the morning.  I enjoy communicating with various personalities from various backgrounds.  I enjoy building professional relationships — and at times, building genuine friendships from these relationships.  I like getting people excited about things.  I like building the confidence of others, and giving them hope.  This is a tough time economically… for candidates and clients alike.  I feel like it’s my duty to call people back, respond to all emails (though I’m human and fall short at times), and give them the minimal courtesy of “contact.”  I expect the same from my clients, but some are simply better than others when it comes to communication.  Does it frustrate the hell out of me?  Yes.  Mainly because I feel obligated to treat my candidates the way I would like to be treated.  Does it make me want to quit my job?  No.

Obviously, I want to be successful.  I want to make money, and more importantly, I want to be happy.  And I see no reason why I can’t have both.  For right now, I am enjoying the journey… and THAT is the most important thing.  This is a lesson I have learned from my father, and a question I will continue to ask myself for many years to come.  AM I ENJOYING THE JOURNEY?

Are you?