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I did not tell my parents when I was 5 that someday I was going to be a recruiter. After high school I didn’t try to find Recruiting 101 classes. And when I graduated college I wasn’t applying for work at every local recruiting firm I could find. I fell into it. Just like a lot of us. I didn’t want to really sell anything I told myself. Yet every job has a selling side involved, I just didn’t see it. I was actually doing quite well for myself. I was in the restaurant industry working my way up to general manager of 2 very upscale, top rated, and wildly popular places. Celebrities knew my name. I worked a ton of hours and loved it. But it did catch up with me. My social life was inside the business and I got the itch to do more. I took the LSAT’s (law school tests) did OK, and was accepted into a couple of schools. But the cost, and the reality that it was not what I really wanted drove me away. I never went. Whew.

A steady customer and I got to know each other, Shawn. He ate out every weekend and always talked with me about his business, recruiting. He really loved it and from all indications made a good deal of money at it. He told me that he never thought this is what he was meant to be and that intrigued me. He told me he worked hard, but did work less hours then I did. I was up to 80 hours a week for quite some time by then. But what I really liked was that he treated recruiting like his profession. He was proud of it and the success he found.

Shawn told me I should come in and talk to his boss. In the late summer of 1996 I took him up on the offer after some time thinking, not really sure if I wanted to sway from the path I was on. I was doing good after all, and I had offers to move up in the business I was established in. After a couple of months I arranged my first send out/interview, me. When I walked in I was intimidated right away. The company was a room of about 30 recruiters. The phones were ringing constantly and the sound level of everyone talking created an energy that I only felt on a fully booked Saturday night at the restaurant. Wow, this was cool I thought to myself as we walked to an office. After some of the most grueling interview questions, mostly about me personally and my decision making, I was offered a second interview. I know it was because of Shawn I am sure, and I accepted it. Turns out Shawn was the top producer at the company, and one of the top in the nation. When I came back I met the owner, Joe Pendergrast, a great man. He and Larry offered me a starting job for half my current salary but some enticing commissions. I accepted after some thought. It was a big step for me but it felt like the right timing. I was a poor kid that made his way up the ladder and starting over was a bit scary. But I always liked taking chances and seeing what I can do with them.

Continue reading “My Steps To Becoming A Recruiter”