So, the holidays are over and I find myself tooling around the office again, trying to remember what my direct dial number is and freezing my baguettes off (it’s actually like 36 degrees in Atlanta today). I learned a few things over the past couple of weeks such as:

My father will begin 1 of every 3 sentences with “that just didn’t happen back in my day.” He will also try to convince me and my brother that when he was 20 years-old, he could run faster than Deon Sanders in his prime. C’mon dad… really?

The Clemson Tiger football team will lose at least 3 games per year by 3 points or fewer. And, furthermore, they will successfully give me a near heart attack at least twice. Oh, and they will never again win 10 games or more in a season. And, finally, screw them… they almost ruined my New Year’s Eve!

Having to take down Christmas decorations is exactly the reason as to why I don’t put them up in the first place. My parents keep 5 Christmas trees in the house… FIVE! And, they’re all fake and have to fit back into tiny, tiny boxes. Guess whose job that is? That’s right… dad’s! Merry Christmas old man! Now get to work!

Rekindling lost relationships with those we never truly forgot about is something to smile about. It always seems that the holiday season makes friends of out strangers who were once friends. Hmmm, sounds like the lyrics to some moody EMO song. If only I was 21 and full of angst again!

Not exactly a long laundry list of epiphanies I know… but I do what I can with my tiny little brain.

In the recruiting world, the first week back from holiday vacation is typically spent on one thing; setting the upcoming year’s goals. Obviously we are a money-oriented entity, so it’s important to have reason to come to work… and, that reason is bringing in money. And – I think I’ve told you this before – we make money by placing people with your agency. My goals for the year are directly related to my ability to work seamlessly with you and your organization.

It’s just as important for you to set hiring goals as an organization. Usually January finds advertising agencies with a brand new heaping handful of brand new budgeted hiring dollars. Let me be the first to offer my assistance in helping you spend said dollars. Now is the time when agencies need to be productive about putting a plan together regarding the next year’s hiring. I know you may not have any openings that are screaming to be filled right this minute, but it helps us to know what you are anticipating over the months to come. I always have a card collection of stellar candidates in my back pocket that might be a good fit for your agency. And, if I know ahead of time what you need… I’ll keep ‘em warm for ya. See how nice I am? You feel me… don’tcha dawg?!?

One other thing that I wanted to mention: It helps us to know what clients you are going after as well. Candidates are just as interested in possible business coming in as they are in the business that already exists. Sometimes it even helps you in the hiring process for candidates to see how aggressively you are targeting some high-dollar clients. Of course, if you don’t get them or the deal falls through, we have to cut off a finger. But, hey, you take risks in this business or you aren’t doing it right!

It’s a new year, so let’s be friends. I don’t like it when we fight. I just wanna cuddle…maybe spoon. We can come up with pet names for each other. We can send each other text messages to let each other know how in love we are. I think we’re all on the same page…right…RIGHT? I love you…

“Tutu? Looks more like a four-four.”
My father’s funniest quote ever regarding a rather chubby ballerina

[tags]hiring, candidate, recruiting, agency, hiring revolution[/tags]