For me the toughest decision was whether to find him a job myself or show him how to do it. Given I really admire Kevin, for a lot of reasons, I decided to take the hard decision and to slow down and show him. {the old give a man a fish... argument}.
This was not an easy decision for me because I know I'm prolonging his pain. I thought hard about the fact that I'm giving up a $30K fee to boot but given the cost cutting measures in most companies I didn't want him to get stuck in the middle. I respect my time and the effort I go through with every project I complete so I won't give a way my time or "sell" him at a discount against candidates who are freely available on the street. Employers naturally always look at "available" people first - as they should - but it can take weeks or months before the hiring manager realizes that the perfect candidate just isn't available. I don't want him stuck in that situation - because I can wait.
So, I came up with a compromise for myself that I'm comfortable with and I think he is too. I made him an offer that I hope he won't refuse. I'm making myself available to him every day in exchange for him allowing me to blog about it. I'll know tomorrow if he takes me up on the offer. I'll blog about it regardless of whether he decides to blog back. i trust our personal friendship will survive the honesty [both ways!].
Why did I do this? Because I'm "popular" again. Everyone suddenly wants 15 minutes of my time. Family and friends are important but recruiting is a business. I wrote a book the last time [2001] life went sideways and I was amazed at how many people called me to ask for help BUT hadn't taken the time to read the book first [both Career Guide for the High Tech Professional and Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters are available in most public libraries]. Is this just a natural PANIC reaction?
I wonder other recruiters faced with the same issue are doing? I'd like to hear how other recruiters are dealig with this.
