I am not sure of the benefit of this post other than just to put an observation on record.

The one light bulb moment that put recruiting in perspective for me (although I did not associate it with recruiting at the time) was over a lunch meeting with an IT executive.

I used to sell professional IT services before recruiting. I used to have a team member called a "Managing Consultant" who would go with me on appointments to discuss with prospective customers what resources we had and our capabilities. I soon came to find out that my Managing Consultant (MC) was an absolutely horrible individual who was ubiquitously despised by anyone at her level or below.

As the MC, she was responsible for finding resources within the company to utilize on projects....and recommending hiring of a resource....if the resource could not be found in the company. Of course, she had no hiring authority, just recommendations...IF the need was there. In other words, she had little control over who the company hired.

Almost miraculously, she got a meeting with a high level IT executive in a large company. I was elated and amazed. Apparently, she had been in the business for quite awhile so she met this person at least once, but that he would agree to meet with her was quite another issue.

We met over lunch and as the meeting progressed, I realized why people agreed to meet with her. She would coo, oooh, and aaah about how wonderful they were...and cute (yes, believe it or not...cute) they were. Finally, it came....the clincher.

We all know how volatile IT is, and has been. No matter the level of executive, nobody has job security. Everybody knows this.

Are you ready? Here it is...."Oh, Bob. (generic name) You are wonderful. I WOULD HIRE YOU IN A HEARTBEAT IF YOU EVER BECAME AVAILABLE ON THE JOB MARKET." Bob would then proceed to hem and haw and blush, then offer his resume in case she came across anything good.....or explain how his job was in jeopardy and to please look out for him.

That's it!!!! In today's market, everybody wants to think that someone is watching their back. Her silver bullet....fear.

That is one reason I like recruiting. I can genuinely help just about every level in an organization. Whether it be to find them a career move, find a new job to replace a job that was lost, or to find productive employees who do good work and will make their lives easier. I can be relevant to people on just about every level. That's fun.

I guess there is some advice in this for folks. Align yourself with one or two very good recruiters who are reputable in the industry. Even if you are not looking, you never know what awesome, dream job a recruiter may come across. Be nice. Be nice to everyone...even if you don't need them now.

You know? The stuff you learned in Kindergarten.

- David