Hunting Heads

Chose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life. - Confucius 

I received a voice mail on my mobile from a Head Hunter or, the more politically correct - Recruiter, the other day while at work. I waited to return the call on my way home from the office because I consider it unethical to discuss a position with a different company while on my current company's time. This is the second Head Hunter I have talked to this year after a number of fallow years indicating to me that the job market in improving. The position, which someone who supposedly knew me told her I would be good for, was as a Product Manager in Indiana. I found that kind of odd because anyone that knows me would know that a Product Manager roles is more Marketing focused and the work I like is on the Product Development side in Engineering. Also, Indiana? Really? Other than the mountain biking mecca that is Brown County, why would anyone want to spend extended time in Indiana?

With that part of the conversation put to bed, she asked what kind of work I am interested in and asked what I would require in a salary to change jobs. While that may seem like two separate questions, they are for me, two sides of the same coin. If the work is similar to what I am doing now, then a substantial salary jump would be required to entice me away from my current company. I work for a company where I am comfortable and enjoy my coworkers, a company that and has a large global presence which opens opportunities around the world, opportunities very few companies can offer. Unfortunately, those opportunities are few and far between these days which is why I took the time to talk with this recruiter. I do have dreams and thought, maybe, she might have something which would match my aspirations.

If the recruiter had an offer for an opportunity that would tap into a passion of mine or one in which I would have the opportunity to make a significant impact on others or if the work would make a difference in the world, my salary requirements would be less. I want a job that I enjoy so much it never seems like I am working, a job I love so much that I would pay to do it.

The type of work I would like, I told her, is one with a leadership position that requires working in a global context with people grounded in cultures that are not US based. Leadership and developing leaders is one of my passions and working with other cultures is another. Leadership is a topic I have been fascinated with since my first leadership position as a supervisor and is the subject I read about most frequently. I frequently look for ways to grow my leadership abilities and to help others grow theirs. I also love to learn how people in other cultures operate, to understand how their actions tie back to their underlying values, to travel to their land and experience the ebb and flow of their lives, and how I can adjust my behaviors to most effectively work in their cultural context.


Combine the leadership and cultural awareness and travel with my predilection for starting new initiatives, and we have a match made in Heaven, more accurately, that would be bringing Heaven down to Earth for me. I told her, ideally, I would like to help companies start new programs in other parts of the world that would make a difference in the lives of the people. I had such an opportunity with my current company five years ago when I was a project leader for a team that started co-developing software in India. The initiative stretched me in many ways, I grew in directions I had not even considered before taking on this challenge. I can honestly say, it was one of the most exciting experiences in my career. Since that time, I have felt frozen out of the program primarily because another, higher ranking manager has the responsibility for our overall offshore program.

She said she would be on the lookout for opportunities that would fit me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I want a job so exciting that it will be my last thought before I shut my eyes, the one that will have me jumping out of bed in the morning before the alarm, the job I love so much it will feel like I never have to work another day in my life.