I think a lot of people don't understand what we do, or how we work.  Which is why I got a cranky email on Friday from a guy who couldn't believe I called him and emailed him at work.

Which made me laugh, and then I thought about it all weekend.  Then I wrote this and I'm still thinking about how recruiters are perceived. 

You don't have to read the whole thing (but you can) - here is the money quote:

I know that many people  don't understand what a recruiter does.  Many folks think we wait for people to decide to make a move from a position and then, once that decision has been made, we offer up  a buffet of opportunities, which is one way we work.  The other way is that we catch the eye of someone who is good at what they do, who is also happily ensconced in a position and we plant the seed that something better might be out there.  The first way we work is passive.  The second way is active, muscular - and it risks rejection and offense.  But I am at my best when I am a verb - when I carefully, respectfully, interrupt people to offer them something they may desire, when I "recruit".

There are enough of us that only work in way number one that a lot of people think anything else is a deviation.  I just thought I'd share this because I have perhaps had too much coffee and am thinking about our industry.  I just don't think way # two can ever be automated out of existence.  Which is, I suppose, why I focus on it so much.

I just thought I'd share with my brethren and sistren. I've been mostly absent for awhile, but like a bad penny, I pop up.

Cheers!

Lisa