The Show Goes On

I woke up this morning and went about my day as I normally would. Checked my facebook, watched some TV, listened to music, planned out my run. I always sleep with my phone on silent, I need as much beauty rest as I can get, ya know? I was surprised when at least an hour or so after I  had woken up I had a missed call and voicemail - from my Mom.

Shit.

I hate voicemails. They scare me. Some of the crappiest news I have ever received was through voicemail. "It's over", "Your friend killed himself", "Honey, the cops called the house looking for you", "Your mom has stage 4 breast cancer" (ok - that wasn't a voicemail, but it was fucking TERRIBLE), "Dad is in jail again", "Honey, the cops came to the house looking for you and your brother! What did you guys do this time?!"

Okay, so I threw in the parts about the cops calling/looking for me for some comic relief. Don't get me wrong, it's all true. Oh and for the record, I have never been arrested, plead guilty, or plead no contest to a criminal offense either felony or misdemeanor. I have had one speeding ticket. 87 in a 55. Whoops.

So anyways, I have this voicemail from my mom and I'm nervous that it is bad news. Yup. It was. My uncle died this morning - in his bed, suddenly. Ugh, how awful is that.

I got off the phone and sat in my bed thinking for a bit. I didn't cry or get upset, I actually just got really angry. So I threw sneakers on and went off on my run.

I'm not talking about your typical, Saturday, sunny morning jog. I was running, aggressively! I didn't have any direction, I just kept going. I didn't slow down on the hills to keep my pace, I sprinted up them. I didn't wave, smile, or head nod to anyone. I didn't ask people to politely excuse me, I ran right through the dumb chicks taking up the entire sidewalk with their leggings and uggs and longchamp bags. I didn't have a direction, but I sure had a purpose. I kept running until my lungs burned, until my calfs ached, until my knees felt like they were going to give out. And then, about halfway down Brighton Ave, I stopped as abruptly as I had started. Seriously, I just straight up hit the brakes out of nowhere. I bent over, heaving, staring at the ground, hanging onto my knees for support, and I felt okay. I got it all out of my system and I knew everything was going to okay. I walked the rest of the way home.

So that was my morning. However, I would really like to write about a revelation I had yesterday. It was my favorite day of the week of course. Fridays just make everything better! Food tastes better, coffee gives you more energy, candidates seem less annoying - because it's practically the weekend baby! I also like Fridays because we have meetings that are a very nice way to break up the day.

During one meeting, one of our main discussions was to focus on our "ratio" of 8:5:1. I am a recruiter, so basically what this means is that for every 8 candidates that pass my interview, 5 of them will pass the hiring manager's interview, and out of all 8, only one will get hired.

I started thinking about this. They pass my interviews - why don't they pass the hiring manager's? And even when they make it to their second or third interviews, sometimes they still don't get hired. Why is that? I know that I only reach out to the most qualified candidates who look great on paper and are located in the area of the opening. They have the skill set, the experience, they're receptive - but not all of them make it all the way through to the end. As I was pondering this I thought:

Holy effing shit. THIS IS MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!!!! This is my dating fucking life as a single girl in Boston. The parallel between my job and my personal life astounded me.

Since I have moved here I have gone out initially with guys that seem great. They're good looking, have some direction in their life, live close by, etc. etc. Then things start popping up on the second or third dates (or the first). Maybe they talk way too much about themselves, or they really don't have a job, or they're still in college. Or they become a stage five clinger, wanting to be facebook official after the first date - HA, I don't think so!! Some have had terrible manners, or make it way too obvious why they are really there and ask if I would like to go now? (no!!!!)

Of the first date "screenings", a few have made it on to second round interviews. A couple made it to third or fourth - but it didn't work out. For one for of these candidates there is a very particular reason, but for his sake (he doesn't read this, but still) I won't disclose, but I will say this - LOL!!!!! One has made it past even third or fourth!

Seriously dating is like interviewing. A person may look spectacular on paper, but there is so much more to it than that. You need to have chemistry, a connection, similar interests, a matching sense of humor. You need to get along with each other's friends, each other's family. It helps if you have the same work schedules, similar goals. There is so much to it. I guess that is what the purpose of dating is. As my best friend Smashley says, you need to kiss all of the frogs to find your prince. I guess you could say I am just conducting interviews until I find the right hire. I'm not in any rush at all, so until then, I'm just having fun and enjoying the ride.