I received an email the other day from LinkedIn pal, Larry Megugorac, who is a Business Development/Sales professional, saying:
“I’ve got to hand to you….I cannot figure out how a former Accountant goes into Recruiting.
Obviously being in sales before-hand helped tremendously. I always thought that Accountants were a conservative group. Recruiters only get paid when they make a successful placement right? I thought Accountants were risk adverse.
I’m glad you proved me wrong! Way to go Valerie!”
I laughed out loud when I read it, because it captures the story of my life. No one ever expects me to have gone from one thing to the next. People who met me when I was a salesperson could not understand why I left to pursue accounting. People who met me as an accountant couldn’t understand how I came out of sales and people who meet me as a recruiter always want to know how a CPA becomes a recruiter.
I don’t mean to imply that I am this big “out-of-the-box” thinker, I just don’t fit IN any box at all! The problem is that, in general, we have a check-box world when it comes to careers. This is especially evident to me in my day job because I recruit in the Accounting & Finance field….trust me. The funny thing is that when I went into accounting, I was somewhat relieved - I would actually be able to check a box! Silly, silly me….
As a recruiter, I occasionally come across people just like me; people who just don’t fit in a box. When I encounter these people I tell them “you have no idea just how much I GET you”. They are relieved to hear it. It also validates me, even though no one ever said that to me as I was struggling.
On the client side, I am actually a little relieved when I get a job order and they tell me they already know that they are looking for a combination of skill sets that doesn’t typically exist. The client looks at me with these inquiring eyes as if to say:
“Do you get what I need here? Do you have the patience to find it?”
So here is my challenge to you. The next time you meet someone whose career you don’t quite understand, remember that there are many people who just cannot easily check a box. Rather than judge them negatively because of it, you should listen to them and let them explain where their value lies with regard to your organization or to your network.
I think ultimately, the real answer to my conundrum lies in the fact that people like me need to build our own boxes, so to speak. My hypothesis is that I am really supposed to be an entrepreneur, but I keep hanging onto the check-box world. This is a question that I am actively exploring right now. In fact this blog is my first baby step in that direction.
In the meantime, my next post will discuss how those of us who deal with this issue must craft our story in order to be effective in a check-box world. Stay tuned!
Valerie,
Your new blog rocks! I’ve just read all five posts in one go, I feel I can relate to every one of them in one way or another. I’m really looking forward to the next post, because I do feel so out of the box myself, even after 30 years.
Great job!
Nadine
Valerie:
Great stuff! Keep up the good work. Tell us more on how you made the transition. I am between gigs now and have thought about recruiting but have come to no firm conclusions yet.
Best regards,
Gerry
Hi Gerry,
I presume you mean the transition from accounting to recruiting? Honestly, that was the easiest transition I’ve made…and as you can see, I’ve made a few of them.
At the end of the day, recruiting is a sales job. Its a GREAT sales job. It is fun and I get to talk to smart people all day, but it has the typical ups and downs of any sales gig. That is the thing you have to be ready to confront. And depending on where you start out recruiting will depend on how much training you get in the “art” of it. Some places just throw the equivalent of a telephone book at you, while others try to train you to the nth degree. If you are new to sales, you might be better off with one of the bigger firms for that simple reason…but be forewarned, the training can be overwhelming and even micro-managed….don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Since I had a background in sales, transitioning to recruiter was very natural for me. I’d say I was meant to do sales, even though sometimes I wish that wasn’t the case. My company tries desperately to micromanage people, but if you show numbers they tend to back off. They want to micromanage because they are usually training people from other industries on how to sell, rather than hiring sales people. This is a HUGE distinction.
The more interesting story is how I left sales to go into accounting. Everyone I knew (except for my Father) really thought I had 4 heads when I explained it to them. I discuss THAT transition in this post:
http://careercourageously.com/wordpress/2008/03/02/feeding-my-inner-geek/
Going into recruiting felt like I was coming home again for me. It just depends on where you are start as to how well you’ll do in recruiting.
Thanks, Nadine! It is nice to know I am not the only one who feels this way!
Great Blog and I usually avoid blogs. I remember my grandmother telling me in my twenties, “Ok, now stay with this career”. I started in advertising and finally decided I wanted my own business and became a massage therapist. After more than a decade, I realized I didn’t want to be an old massage therapist and turned to sales. I have been selling all my life. I had my own gift shop for a few years. Now I am a recruiter. I happen to be a very good one. My only disappointment was realizing I can’t place people with resumes like mine. I can only give them advice.
Hi Audrey,
Ha! I laughed out loud when I read your last line! Brilliant! You are so correct. Being a recruiter and reading all of those accounting & finance resumes has really opened my eyes to the check-box world. I have really come to appreciate those who stay in one industry and the hard work that it takes to rise up the ranks.
I am not surprised that you are very good at recruiting. It makes me wonder if the variety of experience makes us better recruiters….hmmm sounds like a blog post. Stay tuned!
Valerie,
Congratulations on the launch, the site is great! My career has also not been a straight line and so I too completely “get” people who have had a more colorful career journey. Among the best advice I ever got was the opposite of the traditional view “you don’t have to make a career choice for life.” Hearing that freed me to realize that as my life and needs evolved it was fine to allow my career to take a different path too.
I am happily devouring all of your posts and look forward to coming back again and again.
Karen
Hi Karen,
How nice that someone said that to you! I wish there was more room in our world for acceptance of people like you and me. I now find the humor in the whole topic as it relates to my career. I often make jokes about how many “careers ago” something happened in my life. I suspect that some people find this odd, but it is a fact of my life.
I am learning through this blog that there are many people with twisty career paths. I hope that I am able to inspire those who are struggling to find their own path and be a “safe place” to discuss the challenges they might face. I am fine-tuning the follow up post to this, it should be posted later today.
Valerie
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