I CHOOSE YOU......

And herein lies the rub.... I pride myself in always putting the needs of my candidates first. What would serve their career path the best - no matter who their new offer of employment is through (me or another agency) it makes no difference. I am here to consult to you, advise you and in that, I aim to serve you.

Yet today I have been accused of the exact opposite of what I stand for…

You came to me Mr Candidate, Crying Wolf …. lamenting your lack of “Work Life Balance” and how you do not get to see your family due to all the overtime at your current role. The company culture is not what you thought it would be, in short, I placed you in Hades and your boss is Lucifer incarnate. Due to the fact that I placed you in your current position and that I know you are a great candidate, of course I endeavor to assist you (I was not moved by compassion at all…...as it seems according to LinkedIn, us bottom feeder recruiters, have empty shells where our hearts should be)

So, I secured you an interview with one of the BEST companies in SA (in terms of software dev.) They loved you and wanted to see you for a 2nd interview. 

I am elated for you …... I phoned you to relay the great news and suddenly you can only make next week, maybe, for your 2nd interview. When I explain the urgency from the client to see you (the same urgency I was under the impression that you had) you accuse me of pressurising you into an interview this week to just make a placement fee off you…and that by the way…. you are not moving from your current role until Nov 2017 when you get your bonus.

Really? What the hell just happened? (I do have a 2-year-old that thinks sleep time is the right time for play time, so there is a real chance I actually nodded off in the process)

 Oh, and wait…...there is more….... you tell me, that at any time you can get 4-5 offers on the table…………… maybe you can, but is your arrogance based on the Nobel Price you received for Curing Cancer? Oh wait…...Maybe you just wrote an application that not only can do all my housework with a click of a button, but can mow the lawn and put my kids to bed with a bed time story ( read in the voice of James Earl Jones ) …now THAT’S a winner. Arrogant away, my Dear Fellow.

However, you have missed the point entirely.

Being able to code is only ONE of the things that make you a great candidate and a person that I will choose to represent. Because make no mistake Cupcake...….

I CHOOSE WHO I REPRESENT.

Transparency is key in any and all relationships.

This also ties in very nicely around should one be transparent around earnings and submitting your salary slip in the recruitment process. Many comments thus far on LinkedIn sounding more like my 6-year-old stomping her feet and crossing her arms as I refuse her a cookie then a valid reason to withhold critical information.

Is there any validity in keeping your salary digits secret and what is the potential gain or harm that will ensue from keeping your Two hundred and forty-six rand, forty thousand and seventynine thousand (R246 479 000 – thank you Pres Zuma) secret? 

The main reason cited thus far for keeping salaries private has been a need to be offered what candidates feel they are “worth” i.e a technical unbiased estimation of their skills and then a very subjective price tag placed on those said skills. I’m sure you can see where I’m going with this “Mr. I’m Worth IT “?

I believe that I’m worth a Kazzilion Dollars a year and that Angelina Jolie should move over. My charm, wit, intelligence and sparkling personality is priceless…… not to mention my humbleness. This however is my subjective perception of me (as skewed as it obviously is) ……… and then of course there is also my singing……like an Angel from Heaven or to my husband…. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. 

This is the same obstacle faced when you are asking clients to grade you on your skills alone. Some might esteem your skill set much lower than you do and offer you substantially less than your current CTC and as you would like to keep your earnings private you have just dropped from R800k to R600k in an hour. #HumblePiemuch?

 Or maybe you are lucky and you do sound like one of Heavens Angels, hopefully you did not interview with any financial institutions because unfortunately their auditory processes require 3 months’ payslips - NO PAY SLIP, NO OFFER ……so you have just gone through a momentous WOT (waste of time)

Obviously, there is also the very high and probable chance of being miss-matched should you use an agency. Clients give us a brief and require candidates within certain salary bands as their budgets dictate. You possibly would then go through the whole process just to be declined at the end or to decline an offer yourself due to it being a under offer as you are over budget. Once again, a Giant WOT…Thanks Buddy!

Another Zinger I have read is that candidates do not feel it’s “right” to be offered a standard market related increase. Really? What have you done to be worth more than the market is paying? Do you have anecdotal evidence that will motivate you being worth more than anyone else with your particular skills / years exp? Give me that and I’ll get you more then what the market pays.

Rocket Scientists build Rockets….

I completely understand that there will be instances where you the candidate have been underpaid, by being open and transparent with your recruiter you engender them to “go to bat” for you with the Client. That will be your best chance of success however I will only do that if you showed me YOURS first.

 We have a trust relationship – I trust that you are open and honest in all regards to enable me to get you your dream job. However, without all the facts, there is a real and massive risk that all of the above can happen.

Which is why I said I choose ……Not only do you have to code as if the guy maintaining or testing your code is a violent Psychopath who knows where you live. I also require you to be ethical, transparent, professional with character, as after all………….my name goes on your CV.