All The Singles Ladies

I'm a Recruiter and part of what I do is help people search and land the perfect-fit job.  This process closely mirrors the search for a partner, girl/boyfriend, husband, wife, etc.  Or, at least I think the two processes should mirror one another. 

Here's the deal folks, most people I know are methodical and thorough in evaluating a career move.  They give the move a lot of thought,  have clear requirements, and have some level of self-awareness, as far as their strengths/weaknesses and what they bring to the party for an employer.  On the other hand, these very same people often approach dating and partner choosing as if they were spending a drunken night in Vegas at the craps tables....and they've never played craps before.  But what the hell, they've got a good buzz going, their up $50 and they're willing to see what the night brings.  Don't get me wrong, that's a super fun night, but not the way we identify someone with whom we want to spend the rest of our lives (or next few years).

Now for a little more self disclosure from your sponsor:  I was engaged once before the engagement that lead to my marriage.  I'm not going in to the first engagement and its demise now.  Its Sunday afternoon.  Drilling down on that relationship is more of  a Friday night, bottle of red wine-type of post.  But I bring up my first engagement because in doing a post-mortem analysis,  I realized that if I approached the beginning of the relationship like I would a job search, the relationship wouldn't have progressed too much....Let's just say I probably would have graciously disengaged after the 2nd or 3rd round interview. 

You don't just immediately sign an employment contract with any company that shows interest in your resume, right?  However,  if I'm being completely honest with myself, a large part of the reason I ended up with the fellow is because he showed such a big interest in me.  He pursued me and I was flattered.  So, I didn't do a thorough evaluation of the overall opportunity.  Him being crazy about me was good enough, at least in the beginning.  And after the whole thing ended a few years later and I bounced back from the heartbreak,  I made a DECISION.  And this decision was perhaps one of the most significant ones of my life.  I stuck to it like Elmer's.  I decided I was going to find myself a man.  Specifically, a husband.  So,  I created and executed a man search.

Its a double duty process which can be used for a both a job and a man/woman search.

Here's the breakdown and we'll dive in to specifics of each step in future posts. 

1) Know your resume; know thyself
2) Get clear on your requirements; nice to haves/have to haves
3) Identify what is negotiable
4) Create a diverse search plan; don't rely on one channel
5) Start interviewing
6) Chose the best option
7) Close the deal; accept the offer