Was one hell of a day. I was simply amazed at the way it turned out -So many events happened and I thought I was just crumbling, being torn to pieces, energy being sapped out hour by hour!!
The day started off by a great goof up. A simple click of the button. I was helping coach my colleague draft out a letter to negotiate a better terms & conditions -with a new client we have been interacting with. I wrote out all the arguments on how he should present our case-and instead of forwarding it to my colleague, ooops, the mail was sent right away to the client!!!
Sheepishly dragged myself to office and then came the series of events -
-a candidate who should have joined our client on Monday..and had taken two days time to attend to a personal problem, (He was so unusual himself then...had sounded very cryptic and abrupt- we had sympathised with him...poor chap-somebody in hospital? could we be help....in any way" ). wasnt just picking up his mobile phone despite our desperate attempts.And as it sunk in -that he could be avoiding us, he did pick up the call-after a dozen rings & almost as an afterthought mumbled" I joined another company and so ...."
-an associate from Europe sent in a mail, " you know what, the position we have been working on..Unfortunately the client has come to realize that they ought to prepare more before expanding their business in Hong Kong. Hence the opportunity is not so imminent as we were told. Their scope is to start hiring professionals is around year-end. I hope you can live with such a delay?"
-then came an one-liner from another client -"We have made an offer to him yesterday. He has to decide & confirm". An hour later -in response to the sms, my candidate called back- regretting the offer was in no comparison to three other offers he has bagged in the last week!!!
-the jobsite database we wanted to negotiate for- the guys have hiked their services by 36% over last year-and for a product they had since trimmed off in the new avatar!! ( In a business where one isnt sure of one's revenues, I was banking to keep costs low !&*%) ( Oh..if only the candidate had joined as planned.surely I cd have afforded this-without a blink!!!)
It wasnt even afternoon, and I thought I was getting a headache...or was I sleepy? I actually wanted to hide my head..a la ostrich peacefully unaware of the chaos around!!
Then-came the call from a person we had placed a few weeks back-I had dreaded his call as I had rumours that the project he was hired for..was getting delayed due to some statutory sanctions!! He was just calling to say- 'thanks for the opportunity- I was planning to thank you since the last fortnight, and was too busy to even call you. You know what -there is so much I can learn and the scope is phenomenal- you know-if only one makes things happen..instead of waiting for things to happen! Yes, there was a bit of lull initially-but I have decided to volunteer to do some initiatives!!"
Guess-its all in one's mind?
I read a couple of postings from Marc Andreesens blog . The pieces on personal productivity and the challenges of hiring the right people -are just mindblowing! It isnt surprising why he is so succesful...
An associate from Delhi called up to thank me for some suggestion I had given to him a few months back- he wanted to share his happiness that the formula worked..and I was the first person to know.
Three NRI brothers landed up at my office- we were meeting after 25yrs!! One of them is planning to return to India, and would appreciate my assistance.
An international client -with whom we have been having discussions regarding terms & conditions for almost a month..with translator, interpreter et al, calls in to say -fine " we go ahead- please let me know when can I begin interviewing ?"
The day started off by a great goof up. A simple click of the button. I was helping coach my colleague draft out a letter to negotiate a better terms & conditions -with a new client we have been interacting with. I wrote out all the arguments on how he should present our case-and instead of forwarding it to my colleague, ooops, the mail was sent right away to the client!!!
Sheepishly dragged myself to office and then came the series of events -
-a candidate who should have joined our client on Monday..and had taken two days time to attend to a personal problem, (He was so unusual himself then...had sounded very cryptic and abrupt- we had sympathised with him...poor chap-somebody in hospital? could we be help....in any way" ). wasnt just picking up his mobile phone despite our desperate attempts.And as it sunk in -that he could be avoiding us, he did pick up the call-after a dozen rings & almost as an afterthought mumbled" I joined another company and so ...."
-an associate from Europe sent in a mail, " you know what, the position we have been working on..Unfortunately the client has come to realize that they ought to prepare more before expanding their business in Hong Kong. Hence the opportunity is not so imminent as we were told. Their scope is to start hiring professionals is around year-end. I hope you can live with such a delay?"
-then came an one-liner from another client -"We have made an offer to him yesterday. He has to decide & confirm". An hour later -in response to the sms, my candidate called back- regretting the offer was in no comparison to three other offers he has bagged in the last week!!!
-the jobsite database we wanted to negotiate for- the guys have hiked their services by 36% over last year-and for a product they had since trimmed off in the new avatar!! ( In a business where one isnt sure of one's revenues, I was banking to keep costs low !&*%) ( Oh..if only the candidate had joined as planned.surely I cd have afforded this-without a blink!!!)
It wasnt even afternoon, and I thought I was getting a headache...or was I sleepy? I actually wanted to hide my head..a la ostrich peacefully unaware of the chaos around!!
Then-came the call from a person we had placed a few weeks back-I had dreaded his call as I had rumours that the project he was hired for..was getting delayed due to some statutory sanctions!! He was just calling to say- 'thanks for the opportunity- I was planning to thank you since the last fortnight, and was too busy to even call you. You know what -there is so much I can learn and the scope is phenomenal- you know-if only one makes things happen..instead of waiting for things to happen! Yes, there was a bit of lull initially-but I have decided to volunteer to do some initiatives!!"
Guess-its all in one's mind?
I read a couple of postings from Marc Andreesens blog . The pieces on personal productivity and the challenges of hiring the right people -are just mindblowing! It isnt surprising why he is so succesful...
An associate from Delhi called up to thank me for some suggestion I had given to him a few months back- he wanted to share his happiness that the formula worked..and I was the first person to know.
Three NRI brothers landed up at my office- we were meeting after 25yrs!! One of them is planning to return to India, and would appreciate my assistance.
An international client -with whom we have been having discussions regarding terms & conditions for almost a month..with translator, interpreter et al, calls in to say -fine " we go ahead- please let me know when can I begin interviewing ?"
At Chennai, of the 4 interviews scheduled -three happened- and hey presto- three offers!!
A close pal of mine has just retured from Europe after a professional stint there-and wants to enquire if I would be interested in tying up with a couple of recruiting firms in London-who are possibly open for tie-ups from India!!
As I walk into my house -my kids rush to me -thanking me for reminding the AMC "uncle"- thrilled that their computer is back into action and they have enjoyed the evening -courtesy Ares and a couple of games!! Their glee is much more than the gloom earlier in the day...
A close pal of mine has just retured from Europe after a professional stint there-and wants to enquire if I would be interested in tying up with a couple of recruiting firms in London-who are possibly open for tie-ups from India!!
As I walk into my house -my kids rush to me -thanking me for reminding the AMC "uncle"- thrilled that their computer is back into action and they have enjoyed the evening -courtesy Ares and a couple of games!! Their glee is much more than the gloom earlier in the day...
A roller coaster ride?
PS- looking back, what's so special? Its just like any other day of a recruiter!! Did I hear some one say, "life is what happens to you-while you're busy making other plans"!?
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