The empty chair.  The "no hire".  Let me tell you, it happens.  There are some positions that are just not going to get filled.  You can argue with me until you are blue in the face, but it is the honest truth. I wish it weren't true, but it is a cold hard fact.

How can you identify an unfillable requisition?  As a recruiter, what are the signs of a…

Willie Nelson.  A living legend.  As a person born and raised in Austin, TX, I have heard his songs played on the radio for as long as I have been alive.  Now a lot of musicians come and go, but not Willie.  He has stood the test of time.  My grandparents, parents, and even my kids have heard him.  There is something special about Willie Nelson, and on April 29, 2013…

Twitterland is a real place.  Well, that is what I keep telling myself.  There are people from all over the world there.  It is like having them next door to you.  No time zones, and instant communication. All you need to go there is a computer or a smart phone.  Before you go to Twitterland though, understand it is hard to get out of this place.  You can get lost…

In November 2012, I wrote a post called Whiskey, Wine and Root Beer http://wthomsonjr.com/november-2012/whiskey-wine-and-root-beer/ .  It was a fan favorite, and still to this day one of my favorite posts.  This weekend  my family and I  made the drive down to Carrizo Springs, TX again. …

I hear it too often.  Why hasn’t this position been filled?  We just aren’t getting enough candidates.  The candidates aren’t strong enough.  I was the perfect fit for the job, why wasn’t I invited back for another interview?

See, as a recruiter I am the middleman between the manager and the client/company and getting someone hired or not.  I am the…

I have always been a fan of music.  I love all kinds.  I appreciate artists and their uniqueness.  I guess I have always been that way.  I can listen to Waylon Jennings "Ramblin' Man" one minute, "Kashmir" by Led Zepplin another, and then find myself dialed into XM Radio listening to The Highway all day long. 

I was a music fanatic growing up.  Listening to…

Yesterday I listened to the Animal show and he had two guests.  The first one was Bill Vick. Bill has been in the industry a long time and is very well respected in the recruiting industry.  I learned a lot from listening to him and appreciated his insight. Recruiters who have been in the game a long time, and new recruiters all took away something positive from what he said.  It is rare day when Animal and his audience are silenced and hanging on to the next word that comes out of the…

What gets you up out of bed every morning? What makes today different than yesterday? What drives you to succeed in life? What are you looking for out of life?



You could take these series of questions and answer them in a number of different ways. Your answer could be based upon your career, your family, or they could be taken into talking about your spiritual beliefs.



For the purpose of this blog, lets talk about your career. Specifically, lets talk about recruiting.…

On Wednesday, March 21st I did it.  I went on The Recruiting Animal Show.  If you listened to it, then you know both Animal and I had some pretty rough reviews and our scores had us both failing. Let me say this, listening back to it, I thought it was better than the reviews.  But hey- it is what it is.  Right? I went way out of my comfort zone to do something I had…

Today I went to the Apple outlet store in Austin. Apple has created something that is so different than anyone else. They are the pioneers. Sales people aren't paid a commission, and people are randomly walking through the store. If you need help, you ask for it. If you don't and just want to browse the store, they will gladly answer your question. There is no pressure to…

"Stand up when you talk!  Talk loudly into the phone!  Act excited when you are talking to a candidate!  I could care less what you did last night!  It is 7:00 a.m. and it is go time!  We have reqs to fill!"

Can anybody relate?  Can anyone remember?  Voice mail- forget about it.  "WILL- PICK UP ON 55, JASON- CALL ON 57, SCOTT- Jim Lewis is on…

I wish I could tell you I have had only a couple of jobs in my career.  Truth being told, there is nothing further from the truth.  It took much longer than I would have ever anticipated to find my niche.  When I graduated from college, I had no idea what I wanted to be "when I grew up".  Eighteen years later, I am closer, but a curve ball could come at me at any…

Okay, I give in.  I am going to give you the secrets. I've been the sales person.  I've been the senior recruiter.  I have been the account manager.  I have been the corporate recruiter.  I went back to school to get a Master's Degree and have some HR sense. I have even been a VP of HR's right hand person. 

Recently, I have had a lot of people in…

Superbowl Sunday was yesterday and it got me thinking about things.  I thought about Colin Kaepernik.  I thought about Steve Biscotti.  I thought about John Elway. I thought about all of the sports figures that I have watched throughout my life.  I also thought about the ones I have read about that were before my time.  I thought about what it must feel like to reach the pinnacle of your career.  Some reach it early; some reach it multiple times, some reach it…

Sometimes I feel like talking about recruiting.  After all, it is my profession and I truly love what I do.  I like talking about trends, recruiting topics, and sometimes I just like to vent about what happened with candidates and managers.  That being said, there are only so many things you can talk about in recruiting.  Recently, my eyes have begun to…

My father is a dentist.  No one likes going to the dentist.  It usually costs a lot of money, and without a doubt, there are varying degrees of pain.  A toothache is awful and the thought of someone working on that tooth is like fingernails on a chalkboard.  Being unemployed is not fun.  It is not any different than getting a tooth pulled.   

One thing…

It was the middle of December, right before the Christmas break, when my wife and I went out for dinner with friends to celebrate a birthday.  Getting out of the house is a big event for both of us.  Having 2 young children keeps our lives pretty busy, and we were looking forward to having a night away from our day-to-day activities.

When we got to the…

One thing I have learned over the years is that TOMORROW will never be the same as TODAY.  What do I mean by this?  Just because everything is perfect in your world today, doesn't mean that everything can't change quickly.  You could be the top of your game with your company and your personal life, but chances are that circumstances will change!  Some of these…

January is a big month in the Thomson household.  It kind of sucks to tell you the truth, simply because we all have birthdays at the same time.  My wife, brother, sister-in-law and me all have our birthdays in January.  To make it even more complicated, my wife and I are both hitting the 4 -oh this year.  Yea, 40.  Laura's birthday is January 19th, and mine is the…

Are you a likable employee?  Are you a likable person?  Do you compliment others?  Do you genuinely care about others well being?  Are you someone else's confidant?  Do you encourage others to do their best?  When you smile, do you mean it?  

Simple questions.  Hard answers. I'm not talking about Facebook likable, but truly likable. If you…