Recruiting is the greatest job on earth. (well, for this guy at least)

I wanted to add on to my “bio” from last week by talking a bit about how I got into recruiting and why I enjoy it so much. I feel so fortunate to have found a career that I really do feel is the perfect fit in so many ways.

So as I mentioned before, I started my career as a consultant with a firm called BORN – hired right out of school in 1999. Obviously we were in the midst of the dot-com boom and companies were feverishly bringing on people with computer science degrees but not a whole lot of actual experience. In my case, I wasn’t even that good of a developer at all! I loved the consulting world right away and loved our business, I just wasn’t that great at what I did.

After leaving BORN in 2001, I got into sales and business development which was definitely more “me” – in the sense that I was interacting with people the majority of the day. I’m really, really competitive, and you have to be in order to succeed in sales. What was missing for me, however, was that while I liked the companies I was selling for, it was hard for me to be passionate about IT Training (though there is something altruistic about helping companies work to improve the technical skills of their employees) and medical device repair.

My big “break” so to speak came in January of 2004, as a former colleague of mine at BORN hired me on to be the full-time recruiter for Shavlik, a security software and services company here in Roseville. The rest, as they say, is history.

As I enter my 6th year of recruiting, I grow more and more enamored with what I do. I love this role and feel it’s been a great calling. Just the right fit for how I’m wired I guess – here’s why:

1) I really, truly enjoy finding “the right job for the right person, and vice versa.” If this isn’t one of the things that get you jazzed about recruiting, it’s not the right career. Luckily, it’s one of the things I enjoy the most about the role. It’s easy to be passionate about this part of the job because it allows me to actually make an impact in the lives of the folks I work with.

2) I love building things. By that I mean – building teams, companies, etc. (quite frankly I’m horrible at building other physical things – decks, model cars, Legos, and such) It’s been fun to see on a regular basis how my efforts have impacted the growth of a company (and of course, the people I’ve been fortunate enough to work with).

3) I’m still competitive as heck. One route you can go with recruiting is the “corporate” route which typically falls more under the HR category. I have all the respect in the world for those who are in HR, but for now it’s not the right fit for me – I see myself as more a “business development” guy. Which is why recruiting in the world I do is so appealing. I love being the company that can win an opportunity and to win the services of the talented prospects I work with (thus, beating the competition). Along with finding a great home for the people I work with, bringing in talented individuals to help grow our company (and beating out other firms) makes the role extremely fun.

4) I LOVE the IT & Management Consulting world. It’s a business I’ve been with most of my career and one I see myself with a long time. It’s a fun industry, especially when working with a company that aligns itself with great clients, talented people, and fun projects.

5) More than anything else, I LOVE networking. Let’s face it, there was no way I was ever going to be the most talented developer around. I’m not organized enough to be a strong project manager. I’m definitely not wired to be in any kind of “blue collar” job (as my wife would attest to). And let’s face it, my professional athletic aspirations disappeared at a VERY young age. But if there’s one thing I’m pretty good at, it’s networking with people. Well, thankfully, it’s something you need to be to succeed in this role.

As you can tell, I’m pretty jazzed by what I do. My professional goals for now are simple… yeah it would be easy to say “I’d like to find the perfect position for every single person I work with” but I realize that in some cases the timing doesn’t work out. So I will say I have two goals: I’d love to be one of the first guys you’d think of calling when you are looking for a new IT opportunity, or one of the first guys you’d think of referring a friend or colleague to. Pretty simple, actually!

I have been fortunate enough to have helped two great companies (Shavlik and Hollstadt & Associates) grow and am even more excited to work with Tech-Pro as we enter what hopes to be an exciting time for our company. We’ve got some great momentum heading into 2009 with clients old and new, and I’m optimistic we’ll be seeing a lot of opportunities to pass along to the wonderful folks I’ve had the opportunity to meet with since joining the firm in October!