Recruiter's Couch

Hello.  This is the Helpdesk.  What can I do for you?

I am not getting satisfaction from my job.  Also, I think I am not making enough money.

Hmm.  Well, when was the last time you were satisfied?  Can you remember what you were doing at the time?

Sure, I was on vacation.  That was satisfying.

Okay.  How about before that?

Oh yeah.  I was working on a special project.  We were doing a corporate fundraiser.  I got to work with different people and we managed to reach our goal.  It was super fun. 

That sounds highly functional.  Could you recreate that situation?

No.  It’s an annual thing. Sigh.

You mentioned that the money was not working any more either.  Do you know when that crashed?

No, it just seems to have come to a halt.  Nothing has really changed. 

Maybe it’s time to do some upgrades.  When was the last time you changed your operating system or did a system update?

Oh gee.  I don’t know.  I think it’s been a while.

It sounds to me like that’s what we need to do.  I’ll need to take a look at your education, the jobs you have done and of course, your network.  Could you get all that ready, say, by Tuesday?

If that does not work, we may have to do a cold reset and that could be expensive.  I’d like to troubleshoot one part at a time.

So, let’s set up that appointment and I’ll jump on your resume for a quick look around.

 Okay.  I won’t lose any of my stuff, will I?

No, we should be able to preserve everything.  We’ll just tighten it up, do the latest updates and get it ready to handle some real career action.

Wow.  That sounds great.  Can you take a look at my iphone? It has not been the same since I threw it at my boss.

I know I am always crowing about getting out of your everyday hamster wheel.  It’s refreshing to get out of the routine and slide off the beaten track, if only for an evening. It can be hard to do but it’s worth it.

My sister gave me an early birthday gift: an evening with Margaret Atwood at the Metro Reference Library.  I had to leave my office at the crack of five to get to the subway to hook up with my mom who was going with me.

The whole drive in, I was thinking that I was going to be late which led to questioning why I had agreed to it in the first place.  I was in a pretty negative head space when I get to the subway.  All I could think about what the work I could have been finishing. 

As I parked the car, I looked down at the clock.  I was right on time.  I found a parking spot.  The train was waiting for me.  Things were looking up.

I gave my head a shake, took a deep breath and got on the train.  (Looking back, the deep breath on the subway car was maybe not as cleansing as one might expect, but nevertheless)

We got to the library, had a glass of wine and some snacks and then sat listening to Ms Atwood read.  We were in the second row.  Very close.

Then the very charming Ian Brown asked her a bunch of questions about the future, the environment and the process of writing

I have to be honest here:  I have never finished one of her books.  They just never really appealed to me but listening to her in person:  wow.  She is funny and warm.  She knows a lot about a lot of stuff.

It was quite an enchanting feeling to be so close to someone who is so influential.  I also wrote down a bunch of things she said and they have been rolling around in my mind all week.

I walked back outside the library and took another deep breath.  I had been off the hamster wheel for two hours and it felt great.

So thanks, Kate and Mom for the break.  I am going to pay it forward and invite someone else to get off their hamster wheel.  Anyone care to join me?

Employment relationships come in many varieties.  It used to be that you got a job, you got a paycheque, you got promoted, you retired.

Then bonuses came along.  People gave up part of their base salary for the potential of a larger and larger bonus.  We saw extreme examples of this on Wall Street when traders worked for a base salary of $1 ( yes, $1) and a potential bonus of $500,000.

The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.

Then there is the more dramatic kind of variable pay where someone’s whole compensation package is based on commission.  This is very common for realtors.  It’s also not uncommon in the recruiting business.  It promotes a kind of feast or famine lifestyle.  I heard someone describe it this way: “Sometimes we eat steak and sometimes we eat Kraft dinner”.

In a role that has commission, there is usually the potential for a higher financial reward but the onus is on you to make that happen.  It will not be automatically deposited into your bank account week after week.

Now we see contracted employment relationships where someone is hired to perform a service for a fixed term or a specific project.  In other words, everyone understands from the get-go that the gig is going to end.

As the employee, you are taking on the risk of finding what to do next.  In exchange for taking that risk, you are generally paid a premium; perhaps 20-30% more than you would in a permanent job.

Many people thrive in that kind of situation.  They like having different projects and they get used to a higher pay rate.

But it comes at a cost and not just that the job will end.  As a contractor, you may also have to manage your benefits, your vacation and your retirement plans.

So, there can be more money, but there is more risk and a lot more obligation.

Here’s the take-away:  don’t go swooning after the dangling money carrot, if you aren’t prepared to take the responsibility for not only washing it and cutting it up but figuring out how to grow more carrots.

You know your occupation has made it, when it is the role of the main character in a current and sexy Hollywood movie.

I was in a turkey stupor on the couch last night when I came across the movie Friends with Benefits starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. 

Slightly glazed over, I thought I heard Mila Kunis say she was a head hunter.   I sat up (slightly) and grabbed the remote and hit rewind.  Did she say head hunter?  Yes, it turns out that she did.  A head hunter in New York City, no less.

That had my attention.  She was introducing Justin Timberlake to a new opportunity.  In english: she was pitching him on a changing jobs for something better.

Maybe I have been working in the wrong vertical all along…..none of the candidates I have worked with resembled Justin Timberlake.  I am not saying that nuclear design engineers and project planners lack charisma but I’m not sure any of them would ever fit the criteria for “sexy”.

To be fair, I don’t much resemble Mila Kunis either.  I’m quite a bit taller.

So I guess its true, the grass is always more sparkly in Hollywood.  For now, I will just keep trucking along in non-sexy, non-glamorous but extremely satisfying role as head hunter to the non-celebrities.

Happy New Year!