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 Chris Brablc on September 9, 2011 at 11:02am: Happy Birthday Sandra! Great post!

Comment by Jacob S. Madsen on September 9, 2011 at 11:20am: And all the way from old London Sandra, - just to make this a worldwide celebration many many congrats from an avid follower of your posts, since I first came across you, - hope you day s magnificent. Your clarity, your take and your way of communicating is something to behold and you have over the times provided some very inspirational 'spot on's' combined with huge roars of laughter (I am knownin the office as the one coming out with 'funny noises' - many stemming from reading your posts. Please please please wonderful lady keep it up, - you provide p e r s p e c t i v e

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 9, 2011 at 11:56am: @Tom Thank you so much my friend and thank you for sharing your writing and HR/recruiting expertise with me so many times. As to Henry. I did consider him but decided he was a little old for me and those tights were just more than i could handle. If i date a guy in tights i want him to be a dancer. Peace out :)

@Chris - Thank you and thank you for your informative posts.

@Jacob -I love knowing that i can create noise. I seem to have the ability to make people spit their coffee all over their desk with some of my outlandish thought process when i take pen in hand. I mean how could one not have a skewed perspective when one looks at the world through a time tunnel. If i can inspire anyone to do anything it would be , "take a step back and look at things and people who cross your path. If you can't eat it, drink it, date it, scratch it behind the ear, laugh at it or place it someplace and make money why fool with it." Just regift it to somebody you don't like and let them wonder why. In the whole big scheme of things all this stuff everybody gets so twisted up about is going to change tomorrow. Thanks for making my day international. I guess there really is life outside the state of Texas. Not sure why but ok i accept that it happens. :)

@Boorman -I thank you and the state of Texas thanks you. I promise never to wear a Bowler and insult England.

Comment by Peter Ceccarelli on September 9, 2011 at 2:25pm: I just love you! Happy birthday my dear friend. Amazing post. Your best ever and you've had some great ones! Let's chat live soon!

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 9, 2011 at 2:34pm: Peter, i miss you so. The ladies said to tell you hello, they love Texas and are much adored by everyone who sees them. Will call you soon. Connect with Amy Ala here she is in your city and she is a great one. I mentioned you to her last week. Thanks for such a nice comment and good wishes.

For you who do not know Peter, he is a recruiter, HR Director and kick ass artist/chef and animal lover. It doesn't get any better than that.

Comment by Peter Ceccarelli on September 9, 2011 at 3:53pm: I'll ring you over the weekend. The first weekend I've had to myself all summer!

Comment by Nick Lagos on September 9, 2011 at 4:23pm: Happy Birthday Sandra!

Your well thought out blogs and comments shared with humor and witticism are such a pleasure to read. You educate, inspire, entertain and contribute selflessly and courageously. I’m honored to be in the same industry with you. Thank You for being… You!

Comment by Sandra McCartt on September 9, 2011 at 4:41pm: @Peter that would be the greatest b'day present ever. Look forward to catching up.

@Nick, Flattery will get you everywhere with me. Did you ever consider that courage could mistaken for stupidity in lots of cases. Somebody once told me i could lead the charge of the light brigade. I was rolling around in that thinking it was the worlds greatest compliment until somebody else whispered in my ear that i must have forgotten that the Light Brigade died to a man. So of course i had to go tell the guy who told me i could lead the brigade that he was an asshole. Seems like i sould have been clever enough to come up with something better than gutter talk since i'm so cute but let's face it ..he got me.

I return the sentiment of being honored to be in the same industry as you my friend. Don't know how i could be anything but me. I've tried once in a while and it was real boring, people thought i was sick or something.