This Market is Nuts!
We haven’t seen it like this since 1999. The other day we sent a candidate who’s been earning in the $85,000-$95,000 range to three initial interviews on the same day. By 6 PM he had three offers, one from each company. We were unaware he had two previous offers in his pocket when sent to the three interviews we set up on his behalf.
Granted, without doubt, he was a really good candidate! However, three offers on the same day from three different companies that only interviewed him once; that is wild! He ended up taking the offer he thought was best for him; and it was a great offer. I’d love to tell you that we did that for every candidate that came to us, but you know that’s not true. It’s simply that there are more jobs than candidates and really good candidates are difficult to find.
In this market, there are critical lessons for candidates.
The basic lesson for all candidates in this type of economy is to Stay Humble.
Don’t let it go to your head. Even though you may be able to get a number of interviews and even job offers, while this is great and you should take advantage of the opportunities, do not allow your pride to be overinflated. As President Clinton said, “It’s the economy, stupid!” take it in stride.
Find a good job, work really hard, but please understand what goes up always comes down.
I have experienced eight recessions, and each time we have an expansion of the economy, lots of candidates get hired at ridiculous salaries for jobs that they are under-qualified for. Generally, they are hired because companies are making a lot of money and need help. However, if these candidates begin to ‘read their own press clippings’ and believe this will always be the case in landing a great job; until a recession comes along and they are unable to figure out why they were laid off. Followed by multiple months of job searching till they locate their next position.
Remember the saying, “high tide raises all boats.” God bless us all to take advantage of a good economy however, when we are blessed we need to be sure that we accept it with gratitude and humility.
Humility allows you to believe in your God-given talents without thinking it was all because of you or all for you. When blessed with a good economy with new opportunities, this comes with responsibilities to make the most of these openings available by being a blessing to the companies we work for and the communities we support.
