This week's Blog Swap post is from Julian and Shannon at Exceler8.
It's an honor to be part of Steven's Asia Pacific Headhunter blog this week as part of Recruiting.com's blog swap . As guest authors, our job is to write content along the lines that you would normally find here. In our case we're not recruiters or a recruiting consultant like Steven - our core business is interactive marketing with a focus on recruitment. In our business we use technology - like blogs - and great ideas to connect companies with employees. When you spend so much time looking for 'what's next', it's pretty easy to get caught up in the latest technology and lose track of the human element. But I do have a connection with Steven's part of the world - professionally with the power of recruiting and geographically with the Asia-Pacific region - and it takes me back 30 years.
In New Jersey in 1975, I was six. My dad taught media studies at a local college and my mom took care of my brother and I while making ends meet doing all sorts of part-time jobs. My favorite of her endeavors was the paper route. On our daily rounds, I got to fold papers in our '63 Chrysler and bung them out the window as my mum sped (and I mean sped) by the houses and over the hills. If I did a really good job, my mum would take me over a series of three hills that, when taken with enough speed, induced a roller coaster-like experience. We didn't ever get airborne but we came damn close.
Around the same time, my mum and dad were both getting antsy to travel, so they started looking for interesting places to live abroad. They favored Australia and New Zealand the most. Not long after that Dad saw some job ads in the New York Times for a couple of University teaching positions - one in Brisbane and another in Perth. Soon Dad was talking with college recruiters, finding out more about Australia - the Universities and the teaching positions. At the time, Australian Uni's were heavily recruiting academics from America and Europe to quickly raise the level of secondary education in Australia. The Aussie recruiters travelled all the way to NYC to interview candidates like my Dad. He was offered the job in Perth (and the one in Brisbane) and before long we were having a yard sale and selling the '63 Chrysler.
The faculty in Perth was over 80% foreign. Dad signed up for a two year commitment, after which we would be free to return to America. My folks looked at this as sort of a gap year - an amazing chance to broaden their personal horizons and careers. For the Universities, using quality foreign Professors as mentors and examples for Australian teachers WORKED; and, the quality of education did in fact rise. The Australian students, the college lecturers, and the professors from abroad were all beneficiaries. Once the two years were up, the vast majority of the foreign Professors returned to their home country, but a select few opted to stay on. My family remained and I had the opportunity to live in Australia for 10 years before moving back to America. While I had big wide-eyed geek dreams of Silicon Valley - my brother, mum, and dad never came back to the U.S.
That idea that my parents had about a different life, in a different place, became a reality because of a job ad in a newspaper and the recruiters that my father worked with. The stakes were high all the way around, as these recruiters weren't just pitching jobs - they were pitching a whole new life. They were on the front lines of an innovative recruiting strategy and they made it happen. Our entire family history changed because of them and we've had an amazingly rich experience living abroad. From the professional side, a lot of good came from Australia's educational outsourcing strategy and the Aussie schools should be applauded for their vision.
As a recruiter or hiring manager, you should never underestimate the impact that you have in someone's life or the company you're working for. Your actions, making not just a good match - but a great one, for that new Java programmer from Hong Kong whose dream it is to work in Silicon Valley, or vice versa, WILL fundamentally alter that person's life forever. It will also shape the company you place that Java programmer in - just like the recruiting strategy I shared with you did for higher education in Australia. Don't let the experiences of a few fill your mind with doubt and negativity. Acquiring the best people for your organization is vital for our collective economies, companies, and lives.
You never know where and when your life will take an unexpected turn. One day you could be a kid in New Jersey in your mom's big ol' '63 Chrysler and the next playing Aussie Rules Football in a Perth suburb, cricket in Bangalore, or handling a baseball bat for the first time in Kansas City.
You said it right! Headhunters could also be called Dream Cathers..so how do I get access to TAPH's sites to get my dream 'catched'?
Posted by: Annie Thien | Tuesday, January 05, 2010 at 01:28 AM