“It’s kinda like a race – but without cars and stuff.”

This is how my soon-to-be 9 year old son summed up what my day looks like today. I was grabbing my first cup of coffee (trying the Hawaiian Kona from Sam’s Club – first bag – it’s kind of mild…..) and he asked me what was happening.

He’s seen me in action enough to understand what I do. (He’s either going to follow in my footsteps or be an astronaut.)

When he asked “Why are you in a hurry” it was a great chance for me to bring our real lives in as an example which I just love to do!

“Son – remember a while back when we went to put new tires on the truck?”

“Yep. That was cool.”

“It sure was. But remember how the guy had to check to make sure they had the tires I wanted ‘in stock’ before he could ring up the sale? And as soon as he typed into his computer – the computer let him know there were 4 available?

“I think so.”

“Well – guess what? That company called me yesterday. They use a particular software on their computers to keep track of all that stuff. It’s called JD Edwards.” I could see he was getting the picture. He knows what software is – and that the people I work with are experts at it. I went on to further explain “They have some stuff they need someone to come in and work on. It will help their computers work better – and it’s really important. They aren’t going to hire someone – they just want to ‘borrow’ somebody for a few months. If I can locate a contractor with that very specific background – then the very place we bought tires from will then be a customer of ours. Isn’t that cool?”

I could tell he was soaking it all in.

I wrapped up my short explanation of why I was in a hurry. “The thing is though – since this will be the first time I’ve worked with this tire company – there are a few other recruiters like me who are also hurrying this morning too. We’re all trying to be the first one to present a qualified candidate to them.”

“Oh. I get it. It’s kinda like a race – but without cars and stuff!”

Yep. It sure is.

Originally posted on my personal blog - www.jerrytherecruiter.com