They say there are two seasons in Washington state: Rainy season and Construction season. Although I have heard that slogan used for other areas in the country, it is particularly true in The State of Liquid Sunshine.

Driving home from work, I found myself approaching a construction site. Noting the neon orange signs, traffic cones, and large portable reader board lit up with orange lights asking me to merge left, I dutifully signaled, cleared, and proceeded to change lanes. Now I was stopped in a line of cars at one of the many five minute stop light sequences in and around the area. I jokingly refer to my hometown as the Land of Long Lights. After giving myself a pedicure, checking my bank account balance and vacuuming out the inside of my car while waiting for the light to change (okay, you got me, I only applied some lip gloss), I noticed an irritating "I'm Backing Up" Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeeep sequence. Looking to my right, I saw a bulldozer traveling in my general direction and occupying the lane that I had just merged out of.

Mildly interested, I watched the bulldozer and my brain registered the persistent warning of its slow but steady approach. The light turned green and I proceeded forward, approaching the intersection. As I did so, I noticed that the tone of the Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeeep had changed. The closer I got to the bulldozer, the pitch of the tone got a bit higher and then, when I was right next to it, the tone changed mid-way and lowered, similar to a teen-age boy's voice slipping and cracking when he goes through puberty. As I passed the bulldozer, the tones changed completely into very low but still irritating Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeeeps, and was a clear indicator that I was now in no danger of being mowed down by the intrepid 'dozer.

I've had this happen with job searches before. You start out - everything's great. You have the "high tone" buzz of the assignment, learning about the company culture, their requirements, networking for candidates, interviewing / prepping / presenting some really excellent possibilities for the company. The tone gets a little higher - you are almost at the zenith of the tone progression. Interviews have been conducted, candidates are excited, hiring managers are enthusiastic, and then all of a sudden - almost without warning, contact becomes sporadic, intermittent, elusive. The tone of the search changes and the next thing you know, the only tone you hear is the dead silence of your office phone in response to the numerous voice mails you've left for the hiring manager regarding what the next step is.

The search, as with the bulldozer, has passed you by - inexplicably - and you are left wondering what happened.

Thankfully we have an excellent relationship with our clients and this rarely happens. In truth - it should never happen. Recruiters and companies should go into the hiring process as partners. We are working on your behalf to find you excellent candidates for an opportunity in your company. This is business - it's not personal. If your budget tightens up, if you have a candidate you've turned over on your own, if you really just think I'm missing the mark - please, communicate with me. As difficult as it can be to hear this type of feedback, at least it's communication and I know where I stand. I can let my candidates know where they stand. And I know where you stand.

And all of this with the added benefit of not having to hear the irritating Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeep Beeeeeeeep of a bulldozer that's just passed you by.