I Hit my Lucky Number This Friday.

Any time i have to pick a number between 1 and 10 i pick 7. I always have. I don't know why it just is what it is. I like the way 7 looks when i write it or type it.

For years i had 7 recruiters on staff. When one quit or i fired one i would hire one more, never over 7 and never under 7. If somebody came along who wanted to join the team i had to tell them that they would have to wait until somebody moved, quit or died then i would give them a call. I once called a guy and asked him if he was still ready to join the team. He asked me if somebody had died. Nope, one just quit but if she hadn't i was about to kill her so i guess it's sort of the same thing. I will kill myself to make 7 placements a month. It's a simple metric for all you metric freaks. If i don't hit 7 by the third week i'll give away one or two just to be sure i hit the number. If i close 7..finito..sorry it's over for a few days until the calendar flips. Anything over 7 would upset the balance.

I have 7 horses. There are 7 cats at the barn, when one disappears i go find another one. When we are over run with kitty babies i find new homes for all but 7. At one point i had 7 dogs between home and the country but dogs need more attention and they make more noise than cats, horses and recruiters so there are 3 dogs, but they are all big dogs so they take as much time as 7 and eat as much as 7 so it balances.

Thank God i don't have 7 kids and i haven't been married 7 times. Those last two 7's would not only have been unlucky they would have been insane.

On Friday September 9, 2011 i will hit the big 7. As in 70 years old. I love the way that looks when i type it. Sure is better than seeing it in an obit, n'est pas. Everybody i know is all worried about being old themselves and can't figure out why my bio rhythms are off the top of the chart. I don't know maybe i feel like i'm lucky to have lived this long and hit the magic lucky number. (There were some folks who would have made book at several points that i would never get there for lots of funny reasons). Crazy horses, crazy friends, crazy candidates, crazy clients and always being the one who says, "What the hell, let's give it a try, what's the worst thing that can happen?"

So i can't answer why i am so excited about 70 but it's just cool, fun, exciting heady stuff to see that number in print or tell somebody and they look shocked or say, "you can't be that old". Good genes will do it every time. Thanks mom i won 50 bucks this week saying, "Ya wanna bet?" (And by the way the avatar pic is three years old, taken by my grand daughter with her cell phone lest you think it's a glam shot).

So i have been trying to figure out why i feel that way when everybody else is freaking out about being old at 50 or 55, god forbid they live to be 70, they will be hanging in a tree like dried up fruit or trying to remember the number for "Life Alert" or getting quotes on a "Hover Round." I have been thinking about being 70 and here is what occurs to me.

I have been a recruiter exactly half of my life. Now think about that. There may be others that can say that but maybe not many who can say that at 70 they have worked in the same place for half of their whole life. Hell maybe there are lot who have or will but it sounds nifty to me that i started in this business when i was 35 and i've been recruiting for 35 years. I quit counting how many people i have placed when i hit 3000. The total number didn't mean anything but 7 a month does. Besides, recruiting is inside and one can sit down, so until i start drooling on my keyboard who knows how long i will continue to flesh peddle. I just got really good at this stuff about 15 years ago and i get better at it with each passing year. I don't mind telling a client that they are way off base. Clients are like buses if you miss one there will be another one along sooner rather than later. I take care of my clients, if they don't take care of me feed em' fish heads and let them cut their wisdom teeth on somebody else. I have those bite scars i got when i thought the client was always right.

I think it is hilarious that if i go out with somebody who is 50 to 55 there are folks who would call me a Cougar. Ya gotta love that one.

At my age sexual harrassment is a compliment so quit all your whining about who made a comment about your fanny or patted you on the arm and said you looked hot. The last time somebody told me i looked hot i thought they meant i was having a hotflash. I have learned to say "Thank you, you don't look so bad yourself for an old dude." Course they can't hear me so the neat thing about being 70 is you can say anything you want to , to an old dude and he can't hear you so if you smile when you say it the old fools think you like them.

So for those of you who are just starting in recruiting or those who think 10 or 15 years is a long time. Stay with it kids. The longer you are in this industry the better you get. Anybody can stand on the top of the mountain and tell you how great they are but make it through the valleys and enjoy the mountain tops cause there will be another valley and another mountain top and maybe someday when you hit your lucky 7 you will be as excited about this industry as i remain after spending exactly half my life in it.

The next time you have one of those candidates who is freaking out about their age tell them you know a "cougar recruiter" who might be able to help somebody their age if they don't mind working with an older woman. Ha! Let's Roll. Places to go, people to see and money to be made. It's easy to follow me on twitter but trying to follow me around on any given day, be ready to come early, stay late and pack a lunch.

Comment by Tracey Cress on September 8, 2011 at 11:39am: If this is what 70 looks like and acts like, I'm in!!!!! :)

Happy Birthday Sandra!!!

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 8, 2011 at 11:46am: @Melissa, That is the supreme compliment but be careful what you wish for you might just get it. If you started late in recruiting it only means you have some good business experience to bring to the table. Just remember that recruiters are a lot like Luby's cafeteria. We are only as good as the last meal we had there so when you find a good candidate or close a placement call it good and get up and go do another one. History is just dandy but the one you do tomorrow is the one that counts. It's my take that we start a new job every day. That is what makes this job better than any job on the planet. We bring our experience from the last one to the next one but there is no resting on your accomplishments. Each one is just a building block for the next one.

@ Pamela I bet you do based on what we know about each other you will probably look better. :) Working with the legal eagles with either keep you on your toes or make a totally law abiding citizen out of one. I love it when the legals get hot when somebody tries to negotiate with them and how they sputter when one asks them if it isn't what they do to negotiate with the rest of the world.

@Boorman It will make my day when you get rid of that hat. I am meeting with a client today that i made my first placement with in 1978. One of the staff accountants (new grad) i placed with them is now the CFO. I have about 30 to 40 clients who have been in the fold for over 20 years. New ones come along all the time as the result of referrals from the older ones and from people i have placed as they move from one company to the next. I am on my third generation of candidates in the same family with some candidates. Some funny stories about that too.

Before i started as a recruiter i was an accountant in a family owned business in cattle and oil and gas investments. Prior to that i was business manager of a TV station that was a CBS affiliate. I have been the oldest living freshman at WTAM three different times. When i take on a new industry i go back to school and take all the core classes in that major. I have enough college hours for a PhD but no degree because as a generalist in all things i didn't want to bother with taking PE and some boring math classes. My majors have been journalism, accounting, psychology and animal science/equine option. I am a certified animal cruelty investigator certified to testify in court and a professional model and image consultant. A life long Texan steel magnolia and ya don't wear your cowboy lid with a tshirt you duck. : Thanks for the good wishes.

I have never been very into birthdays but for some reason i love this one. My great grand sons refer to me as the dragon lady because i demand no hats in the house gentlemen and you best comb your hair and use the correct fork or you won't live long enough around me to have that baseball cap jerked off your head and smacked with it. John Deere Green is a sexy color but if God had meant for you to wear a baseball cap you would have been born into a family of baseball players.

Comment by Elvie Pope on September 8, 2011 at 11:55am: Happy, Happy Birthday Sandra! You are such an encouragement. I love reading your comments and learn something valuable from you each time. "Flesh Peddle" - I love that term - I guess that's what we sort of do as recruiters. Have a great birthday. I hope I look as good as you when I turn 70!

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 8, 2011 at 11:56am: @Tracey It is and it should be. It's my take that there is no reason for people to go into the dumper when they get old enough to have any sense. My grandmother was 105 when she left us. At 97 she told the doctor to quit bothering her about her health. If she did have a stroke or something obviously she wasn't going to be on life support very long. Her sense of humor was a trip. She came to Texas in a covered wagon got a college degree and rode a horse to several country schools to teach kids while having nine kids of her own. If my longevity comes close to hers i could end up being the oldest living recruiter in captivity. Can anyone imagine how salty i might become in another 20 years of listening to "innovators tell me agency recruiting is dead".

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 8, 2011 at 12:12pm: Thanks so much Elvie, i think as we become experienced in this industry it comes with the responsibility to encourage our colleagues, stand up for what's right, call bullshit when it smells like it and admit it when we find ourselves out on the end of limb and hear the sound of a saw.

How bout body snatcher. :) My tips for looking decent. Don't stay up all night more than two or three times a week and stay out of the damn sun and tanning salons. UV rays are the enemy.

Comment by lisa rokusek on September 8, 2011 at 1:51pm: Happy Happy Sandra. Much respect and affection from me to you.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 8, 2011 at 3:07pm: @Lisa, right back at you girlfriend and thanks so much. Just keep those praying mantis things to yourself. :)

@Bill, Grin, groan, thanks for the happys but i keep telling you that there is a reason why all those people in Aftica walk.