Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Beware the Roaming Recruiters

I've spoken recently about the possibility of a job change in my future. As of right now, I'm not sure where I stand, but there is one thing I will say, be careful with the recruiters that are out there. Working for a large accounting firm, I typically get random emails and phone messages from job recruiters each week emphasizing that they 'have that special job for you with the right work life balance and high salary.' Having not been in the job market for several years, I thought I would get in touch with one of the random recruiters who contacted me. The guy seemed to be legit and offered a list of some promising job opportunities. I sent him my updated resume and he promised to distribute it to the companies in which I showed interest. Since I carried out this process of communication and requested that my resume be sent, I am still waiting here over 3 weeks later. The guy never emails providing me the status of his so called 'work' on my behalf. I seem to be doing more work than he does. I came to find out that the list of jobs he provided me was simply pulled from Monster. Any idiot could have pulled these job opportunities. I am also having to regularly reach out to him via email to even get a status update. Many times he will wait days to respond only to tell me that he's heard nothing yet and to be patient. He pretty much feeds me typical bullshit. I emailed him tonight to tell him to get his ass into shape or else I'm cutting any ties with him.


My response to this poor recruiter has been justified in the past week or so. I decided about a week ago to post my resume out on Monster for just a few hours. I was amazed to find the demand that my resume created. In a period of less than 8 hours, I received calls and emails from well over 10 recruiters. Many of the recruiters were poor quality like the guy I previously spoke about, but one stood out above the rest. This lady sent me an email telling me that I should be careful about posting my resume on Monster because my current employer may also be looking and would come across my resume (and therefore think that I'm looking for another job). Having respect for her honest response, I took her advice and pulled my resume quickly. This lady has many great employer contacts and was able to quickly set me up an interview with a large Fortune 500 company within 2 or 3 days of our original conversation. I went up to interview with this company yesterday and things appear to be good. There are still several questions I have about this potential company, but that will work itself out over the next few weeks. I'm optimistic that this lady will provide me some other job prospects so that I can have several opportunities to compare.


To sum up this blog entry, be careful who you deal with when you offer yourself up to the many job recruiters out there. Many are simply out there to grab a quick buck with little concern for whether a job truly fits your needs. Also, you shouldn't have to do all the legwork to get a job if you are working with a recruiter. If they are going to earn their percentage (finder's fee), then you shouldn't have to do anything but show up for an interview and decide if you want the job. The best comparison I could make for many job recruiters is to a car salesman...they want to tell you what you want to hear, but then they sell you a cheap piece of shit. Every once in awhile, you might find a diamond in the ruff...look for that diamond.


Currently listening to:


Richard Swift

Dressed Up for the Letdown

Released on: 2-20-07


Monday, March 19, 2007

Wow..Three Months

As anyone that looks at my blog here and there, you likely know that I haven't posted in three months. I've been extremely busy with work, travel, fatherhood, working around the house, etc. Since my last post was before Christmas, I guess a quick summary of my life might be helpful. Here we go (in bullet point format):

- My son gave me his stomach bug the day before Christmas and I spent a large part of my holiday break laying in bed attempting to get better. It made me disgusted because I had several days of PTO set aside...only to spend alot of it sick and in bed.

-Christmas was obviously not very exciting. My wife, child, and I went to my parents house on Christmas day. It was fun to watch my son attempt to tear open wrapping paper. I watched the rest of my family eat alot at dinner while I ate a few bites..damn stomach bug.

-During January, I went to Denver for 2 weeks straight to work on a client. As most of you are aware, the weather in Denver around the holidays was extremely bad...lots and lots of snow. The snow was still there when I got there and we experienced lots of fun delays coming and going from the airport. The roads in Denver were horrible. I followed the Memphis way of driving in ice and snow...drive slow like a granny. Guess I followed the proper method of travel considering most of the people in Denver were doing the same thing I was doing.

- When I came home from the 2 consecutive weeks in Denver, I found that my wife was not doing so hot. Apparently she really enjoyed the 3 weeks she spent with my son during the holidays and along with her bitch of a boss, she really wanted to work towards quitting her job. She went off and on for several weeks about whether to stay at work, but ultimately, this led to a big decision in February.

- In February, my wife had dealt with a manager who really doesn't have the skills to be a manager. She was given her position because of her race and gender. She likes to lord her authority over my wife because my wife won't put up with her shit (and stands up for herself). It's really funny...we had an event at her boss' house several weeks after she was brought in to manage the territory. I noticed how fake she really was. She was way too worried about how other think about her that she comes out as overly fake. I told my wife after the event that her boss was a fake, and it's funny how true I was. I find it frustrating that some companies will promote people who are not qualified. This woman does not have the skill to manage people. She doesn't know how to relate with people. She likes use her authority to make other feel bad. She doesn't realize that ultimately it's the people that work for a manager that decide whether a manager gets promoted. Oh well...she will be revealed for the poor manager that she is in the near future..it's only a matter of time.

- As of right now, we're working toward my wife staying at home in mid-May. I truly hope this will make her happy. I have a feeling that it will. Because of these life altering events, I'm likely going to have to make a big decision. Should I stay at my current job or start looking elsewhere. I currently am weighing both options. Ultimately, either the power of the almighty dollar or my happiness at my job will help lead me to make a decision. I hope that my decision takes into consideration both of these options..my father always told me that there's nothing worse than waking up each day hating your job. Happiness will ultimately win out. It's not smart to make a big life decision with money being the deciding factor.


Well, that's a quick synopsis of my life since the holidays. Maybe I will find time and inspiration to write on this blog more often.


Currently listening to:

Sondre Lerche

Phantom Punch

Released: 2-6-07



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