Executive What... Part II

For those who have read prologue of this post (http://srikrish.blogspot.com/2008/06/executive-what.html) .. know what pain a recruiter could go through, if he or she fails to explain what executive search is to their respective moms / moms-in-law(new inclusion)! There are many more such seemingly innocent questions that moms have about this (**marked altruistic) profession that leaves one spell bound!

Well.. I managed to explain to my mom that though Govindan and I do similar work.. they are DEFINITELY not the same. So my mom now can explain what "executive search" is!! She can probably talk about retained /contingent / exclusive assignments!! Whoaaa... now that’s a rocket science!

** She now goes out of the way to explain my role to people who make a mistake of asking my whereabouts!

We all live with assumptions. My mom is no exception.. She thinks that her son walks with “free-to-distribute” jobs in his pockets and “Please him… and walk out with a brand new job offer”.

Yet another tele-con transcript: (I’m a silent audience)

Mom: Hello xyz… blah bhah…..

XYZ(My Aunt): blah.. blah… Arun(my cousin) is looking for a job. Ask Sri get him a job. (Arun is a fresh BE grad from Bannariamman Institute of Technology and Science : Read BITS ).

Mom: No problem.. I will ask Sri to get him a job at the earliest!

I wanted to say : (Boing!!!!!!!! Mom.. Also ask her to send her father-in-laws CV too… he is just 74 and can still be placed by Sri).

Aunt: Ok.. I will ask Arun to send his CV to Sri. (after multiple corrections she got my mail id right).

--- End of Call---

Me: Amma… I cant find myself a job if my boss kicks me out and you are propogating me as a job minting machine. I’m no PC Sircar and cant get jobs for ppl from nowhere.

Amma: Sri… you are being mean. I see that you get good jobs for people with huge salaries and you cant even get a job for Arun who almost grew up by your shadow.

I made her sit on the couch and started explaining things again..

Me: Amma… look… I want to redefine my work a bit. So.. erase the previous definitions.

Mom: Now what??

Me: See… I’m like a cashier at a bank. OK??? I have loads of money in my box. I even can count it … but cannot give it to everybody just because they asked me or I’m sitting over a trunk of piled up cash. That how it is!

Mom: Ahh.. I see. But I still cant believe that. You say you placed a CEO the other day. Wont he absorb Arun if you ask that gentleman to do so??

Me: Hmm… I wish I could… but it still doesn’t work that ways.

Me: OK. Let me put it this way. I’m like a Pizza delivery boy. I can carry jobs; smell jobs but cant keep it to my self or give it to my near ones. I need to deliver it to the right door. Else, I loose my job (that too within 30 mins)!!

Mom: You confused me too much… are you a Search guy OR a cashier OR a Pizza boy?

Me: All of them! That exactly what a recruiter is!

Srikrish.