Candidates message to Sue Hand

 ..As a recruiter you can feel like the job never is accomplished, one req opens one closes, one candidate lands an interview another falls short.  However, I always try to do what is best for the company, hiring team and the Candidate -- do they qualify, do they truly have a passion for the role, will this be a great match? etc....  Often we never get feedback.

Today, I was feeling a bit down, my last day of a short term contract at a former employer Digitas, and a cold fall day.  An email from a star candidate appeared.  It was a candidate that I found through boolean search for a CMS role.  I needed that niche candidate that borders on Web Development, Creative Architecture, plus Content Management and Business accumen.  I found this really different online resume, followed it up with a phone call and landed an interview.  The candidate made it to a potential offer phase, but the team won't be ready to make a decision this week.  So I left the candidate in the hands of my successor.  I also wrote the candidate and followed up with a phone message.  Shortly after wrapping up the loose ends, I got the following message!  It made my day, year, and effort just feel right.

Thank you Awesome Candidate not only for the compliment, thoughtfulness, and time....but for giving me a bit of sunshine on a cold fall day.

 Candidates EMAIL Message to Susan Hand:
Over the years I've grown antennae for what others might call omens but I refer to as "cosmic coincidence." Believe me, I was in no mood for job search when you turned up; I had actually decided that I'd keep the focus on Maria's situation and back off the job search for a week or two. But the way you approached was odd, it made those antennae vibrate: this woman dances to different music than your average corporate recruiter, and that search that led her to the blog couldn't have been a drop kick, the damned thing gets barely a dozen page views a day...something is going on here, something unique and perhaps serendipitous...and her last name, a colloquial synonym for "help" or "helping," and its associations with the idea of guidance and direction. In other words, your appearance made sense at a level that included but also surpassed intellectual and material realms.

So I followed this "Hand" because I felt the presence of real leadership. Now I can count on one hand the number of natural leaders I've encountered in my 20-odd years in corporate America, and you're now among them. That's why I followed you.

Let's stay in touch no matter what becomes of this thing with Digitas. Every so often I head up that way to visit my I Ching teachers in Stow, MA, so maybe we can get to meet one day. In any event, and again regardless of the outcome of this thing, I remain grateful.