God it feels good sometimes to give something or someone the finger who, in a subjective way (this sort of exchange always is) deserved it. Outside of a temporary boost to self-esteem, not much else is achieved. I realised however the difference between sending someone away with a flea in their ear and just being bang out of order rude is that you still feel good, great even, days after the incident. No guilt; just pure satisfaction also known as having the courage of one's convictions.
I'm there. I'm riding that wave of sensible, self respecting boundary setting. Let me explain: I was called out of the blue, which is never a good sign, by a contingency based recruiter who hadn't contacted me once since we initally met months back and I'd signed onto their books. These are the guys whose salaries depend heavily on quantity of vacancies filled, because quality? I ain't seen it yet. The good ones become mentors, career developing partners and the bad ones hang around like a bad stink because their aim is to meet their quota whatever it takes with very little thought or effort put into matching the right people to the right roles. They are not interested in a productive win-win situation, they are only interested in short-term self-serving wins.
Long story short, I was being treated like a commodity - or perhaps to keep this objective - I felt like this was the case. Anyone less experienced might have allowed themselves to be wheeled out to interview to perform like a circus poodle, wasting time, energy, leaking the oil of self-esteem en route for what in the end was a crap job for a bad company.
As the process continued, it became more and more apparent that this particular recruiter hasn't really read my resume. She couldn't have. And if she had and still felt confident about proposing this croc of a vacancy to me, she's even more ruthless than I thought and not in the 'Greed is Good' way. She'd locked in on one of my technical skills and on that basis decided I should see what turned out to be, on referral from industry peers, not a very good place to work. See being in PR, I know that word of mouth is the most powerful medium of all. Not only was this company not getting great reviews, they were getting terrible ones. And most telling of all, they weren't even a PR company! HELLO!!
Despite polite phonecalls and thoughtful e-mails requesting more information on the role, this lady thought she could ignore the detail and push on through. This is a career I'm trying to plan here, not lunch.
The last time I had to consider less than suitable roles was when I had just graduated from college and needed the experience yet this is how I was being made to feel now - 15 years into a very successful run until I moved here...(blah blah you know the story). What a terrible way to do business. I feel for her in a way since she's really quite young and probably doesn't know better. I hope she's grown as much as I have from this experience and we can both put the resulting energy to good use.
In the meantime, I will use the time I'm not wasting on researching for a much more appropriate role I'm at 2nd interview stage with next week. Now, you know not to get excited because I've been here more than a gambler at the casino this past 5 months. Still I said I'd give Canada my best shot and I will.
In the meantime, I have only one thing to say to this recruiter - Skunk off!
3 comments:
I occasionally find it interesting that you characterize your job search as "giving Canada its shot". I have a friend who moved to England to be with her beloved (who is studying there). After many months, she has been unable to find employment in her field. I'm not sure she characterizes it as having anything to do with England. Perhaps you can help her to find a job in England through your network and she can help you to find a job in Canada through her network. How cool would that be -- not about countries but about people helping each other. I'm pumped.
I would be delighted to help in any way I can. My email is nellie94@hotmail.com, please pass this on. I know what you are saying and I'm working on not confusing issues...but I've experienced quite a bit of hostility (job market-wise) based on blatant xenophobia (which is always worse when the chips are down - e.g. recession) and there is not much room for manoeuvre when that occurs. I have to say in my experience the UK has always been more open to foreign skills due to history, geography blah blah. Still, I'm soldiering on but I feel I need to set personal boundaries past which I am not willing to endure. I do need people like you to help me see either side of these jaded blinkers...Thank you...
How can you be foreign to Canada? We are, at our roots, a British colony! I think it is the economy that has unfortunately taken away your chances (as it has many others who strive to find new jobs). I want to prove that Canadians don't practice xenophobia. Let's connect and see how I can prove CANADA to you.
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