How come it is I love Recruiting

My first thought was, Well ,it's inside and i get to sit down. That has a lot of merit you know when most people who are in some kind of sales are out beating the street, pulling doors and driving throusands of miles to make about one third as much money as a good recruiter makes,

Maybe i love it because I can work at all hours of the day or night with complete flexibility to work when i'm on and walk away from it for a while when it's one of those days that talking to one more person would require hard drugs or a partial lobotomy.

It could be because i love finding things. St Anthony the patron saint of lost things and missing people is my partron Saint. When somebody asks me if i work with other recruiters i always say, "Oh yes, Anthony and i work very closely." "He can find anything or anybody and inspires me all the time about where to find those impossible candidates.". I have never had to introduce Anthony to anybody yet. I sure hope no client insists that i bring him to a meeting and i have to cough up that he is my imaginary friend. I was always the kid at the Easter Egg hunt who found the most eggs and or the golden egg that was the hardest to find. Remeber that one, it had a five or a ten in it. I learned early that if you can find things that nobody else can find it pays off.

Then there is that fixer thingy. Ah yes, mention to me that there is a problem and before anybody clarifies whether they want my help fixing it or they are just blowing off steam , i am already off on a "fix". What could be more fun than getting paid to fix a problem on both sides of an equation, not only get paid for it but be told that one had done a great job... By both parties. It doesn't get any better than that. I love that heroine stuff.

I love logic and negotiation and making things happen. Some people call that sales or manipulation to me that's recruiting. Analyzing people, companies, jobs and making the match that seems like magic when it happens. There is no higher high for me. It's mission accomplished and i get to do another one day after day. I love it because each person and each client and each job are different. It's better than a new crossword puzzle every morning and a lot more appreciated than an audit.

All of us love things that we do well. I found out when i stumbled into recruiting that i'm good at it.. Reading people and figuring out what makes them tick intrigues me and has since the first interview i ever did. I have the ability to get a total stranger to tell me their life story, hopes, dreams and problems. When you know those things you know which doors to open ...or not. I have the ability to get a client to trust me with the long term goals, immediate needs and the secrets i can't even tell a candidate. When you know those things one can make those placements who are still there 30 years later. Looking back on successful efforts that have lasted decades. What's not to love about being a part of that. And they call you every time they need someone. Over the long haul that is winning over and over.

Being a recruiter is fun for me. When what we do is fun it's not work. I even think the disasters and the crazies are fun. What other profession has the constant ups , downs and round and round that we have in recruiting. Never boring, some times insane but never boring.

How would you like to have a job where you could work as much or as little as you want, it's inside, you get to sit down, you get to solve problems, fix things, go on Easter Egg hunts, make things happen, help build companies, get people good jobs and promotions, know the inside scoop, do something different everyday and have the opportunity to make more money than a lot of docs, lawyers, enginers and even the President of the United States? Sounds like a fantasy, doesn't it.

Nope, that's my job, i'm an independent, generalist recruiter. Don't you wish you had a job like mine? You do! Well sit down over here and tell me a little bit about yourself, you might make a great recruiter....and you'll love it.

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Permalink Reply by Cora Mae Lengeman on February 15, 2012 at 11:13am

Well said Sandra! Very similar to my own thoughts - if I could enter the contest!

I love the finding, winning, negotiations and knowing all the secret stuff in companies that no one outside the few in the company know about their growth plans, spinning off a division plan, the upcoming IPO, etc.

What you said is what I'd say - except that I have a stand-up desk.

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on February 15, 2012 at 12:26pm

Thanks Cora. If I thought I had to stand up all day in high heels I might give serious thought to becoming a full time horse trainer. Of course I would starve in the dark so no stand up desk for me. :)

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Permalink Reply by Amber on February 15, 2012 at 1:39pm

Sandra, your posts make me smile (sometimes even laugh out loud!) so I pulled this up to read - it worked, thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on February 15, 2012 at 2:08pm

Thanks Amber, if my ramblings can produce a smile it's a good day. If they produce a real laugh, it's a great day.

Some folks don't find me so funny but there is just no accounting for some folks sense of humor, so screw em'. :)

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Permalink Reply by Casey Kuperus on February 16, 2012 at 2:25pm

Sandra, I come on this site every day hoping you've written something witty....thanks for the laughs! Maybe some day I'll return the favor!

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on February 16, 2012 at 3:57pm

thanks Casey. Let's get together and beat up a bottom feeder or two. It's really fun and about the only recourse we have as a couple of (oh my, how common) generalist, contingecy recruiters.

I promise you that the longer you stay in this business the funnier you get. But keep in mind that looks aren't everything.

You have found your niche, just as i did, fight the good fight, be proud of what you do and never let the high blown hot shots in our industry make you feel like a lesser life form. I am totally convinced they all wear Mickey Mouse underwear and their dogs probably hate them too.

You made my day. thanks. Now i have to go figure out how to say something witty without getting sued. Ha!

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Permalink Reply by Brigadier YR MAINDIRATTA on February 17, 2012 at 1:24am

Sandra,

Without even my realising I have got hooked on to your posts. It is like switching on the TV to watch your faviourate serial day after day; that too with a sense of anticipation as to what is going to happen today, and at the close of the episode you keep thinking what will happen tomorrow. You are a great story teller, who can make even mundane issues interesting.You have a great sense of humour, sometimes biting, but so what; it is still riveting.

Keep writing, keep motivating the Recruiting Fraternity.

Happy Recruiting,

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Permalink Reply by Sandra McCartt on February 17, 2012 at 2:11am

You are too kind,sir. Thank you.

Some folks Keep me around because they enjoy a curiosity . :). Now I have become a recruiting soap opera. Next time somebody asks me what I am doing I am going to tell them I am trying to place Luke and Laura. I may have managed to outlast "as the world turns". Now if I can just outlive all the trite misguided ,junk about "personal branding" by automated tweet I will slip happily into that dark night.

In my world there is no mundane. If it starts out that way, let's mess it up big time so we can have fun fixing it. Sometimes I think recruiting is like flying, long periods of boredom with badly dressed people, interspersed with moments of total high speed panic with one or two well dressed people who can do something.