I love a good tear-jerker. And as we approach the holidays, I start to get that itch (my husband calls it the “Christmas onslaught”) for the sentimental movies, the cozy get-togethers, and the sweet holiday songs about gathering with family and friends.
If you’re like me, then you’ll enjoy reading these next three stories about some really great activity that my work on LinkedIn has recently generated. As we roll into Thanksgiving week, these stories will warm the cockles of your heart and give you that feeling of hope that this time of year always seems to inspire.
In this first tale, let’s head back to May of 2018…
I was working on a recruiting project for a client for an extremely technical role. This position required someone with a very specific set of skills and an even more exceptional personality worthy of this company’s culture and heading up their exciting new projects. As the hiring manager and I discussed the possibilities, I came across someone’s LinkedIn profile who was an absolute perfect fit. He ticked all of the boxes in skills and expertise and, admittedly, we were pumped about this superstar we had discovered on Linkedin. But alas, after reaching out, he let me know that he was not looking for a change and was happy in his current role. It was not meant to be.
Or was it? Fast forward to late August and guess who pops up in my Inbox… If you guessed the superstar, you are correct! He had decided to begin a search and was hoping that I would keep an eye out for any opportunities that would be a good fit. What he didn’t know was that, while the position that I contacted him about previously had been filled, my client was preparing to open a similar position in the 4th quarter! Oh superstar – you have skills, you have talent and YOU HAVE TIMING!
With a few brief conversations with my client, they decided to bring the superstar in immediately to begin conversations about this new role. And here we are, on the week before Thanksgiving, and an offer is imminent.
Wonderful, joyous proof that if a candidate utilizes all of his or her resources, and a company has their forecasting in place, then a simple, well-meaning recruiter from the eastern shore of Maryland can make magic happen.
And in our second tale, get ready to laugh and cry right along with me….
I wrote a recent blog post about The Hypocrisy of Recruiters that examined and picked apart some of the less desirable tendencies of the people in my field. It was a venting piece, and I was fired up! On that fateful morning when the post hit everyone’s inboxes, I wondered how it would be received and if I might get some backlash from my network. But what to my wondering eyes should appear… A wonderfully encouraging and supportive email from a recruiting colleague in the Baltimore area, whom I had never met before! She read my post and decided to reach out to connect and “talk shop.”
Needless to say, our first conversation was delightful. We discussed our roles, our challenges and how very much we enjoy our jobs. It was wonderful to widen my circle and learn about someone new. And, we have tentative plans to get together again in January!
In our final tale, we discover someone that might just change the world…
I’ve recently been working on a medical search, and learning so much about the surgical field; the demands, the worry, and the compassion that motivates medical professionals to do what they do every day.
In visiting LinkedIn profiles to find prospective candidates, I’ve reviewed the Profiles of Residents, right on through to M.D.’s that have 30+ years of experience and are now seeking hospital leadership roles. I didn’t know it, but one of these doctors recently saw that I had visited his profile, and he decided to check me out as well.
His story is inspiring. A Resident and passionate healthcare professional, he is creating a product that addresses our current opioid crisis and could potentially be made available to anyone that is prescribed pain medication. His grant is currently being reviewed by the NIH. He is smart, humble, thoughtful and driven.
In creating a plan for designing and building this product, he will need a team of equally driven and passionate engineers and professionals. We are exploring the different ways that I can support him in identifying the key players for his team. Of all of the recruiting projects and all of the wonderful clients that we work with each year, this project will be a particularly special way to begin 2019 and contribute to a groundbreaking initiative in medicine.
So there you have it! Friendships forged, new opportunities on the horizon and new projects to begin, all made possible by LinkedIn with a little help from open-minded, conscientious people that are doing good things in the world. How are you using LinkedIn to make new connections and forge new outcomes?
