I pledge allegiance to The Force....

Some say it takes a certain kind of crazy to working in technology staffing (or any type of staffing/human trafficking ring, for that matter) and I absolutely agree. Not many people in my industry grew up wanting to be a recruiter. I know I didn’t. (We’ve already covered my wacky childhood ambitions in earlier posts….I had my sights on much cooler things…) When I started my sentence at Kforce I wasn’t sure what to expect. For all purposes, Kforce was my first real job and to say that I wasn’t intimidated by the massiveness of this company would be a HUGE lie. I assumed that everyone at The Force was assigned a little barcode on their first day and when the powers that be were done with you, the floor would open up and your fancy rolling chair would disappear into Kforce oblivion where you would then be turned into glue.

My first week at Kforce was interesting. I was assigned to our “Search” team (full desk, direct hire) and I didn’t know what in the world was going on. I knew nothing (seriously, NOTHING) about technology and I was put in a corner and told to recruit Java people. “Java???? What in the hell is Java?”, I thought. After a day or so of calling these mysterious Java people and sounding absolutely retarded, I decided that I was going to recruit .Net people instead. To my pea-sized woman brain (its science) this seemed the better route to go. Fortunately, I was right and I started to have more fun in my little cube. I actually met one of my best friends on my second .Net recruiting call. He took pity on me and took me under his dev wing. Slowly but surely, I was becoming less and less clueless. (Thank God for Luis.) In any event, after I got on the .Net train, I started to love my job more and more. The people I worked with weren’t half bad either. I was starting to bond with the other people on the tech team and I quickly saw what a great group of people I worked with. We were all in this crazy staffing thing together. But still, I thought, there was no way the entire company could be as cool as my immediate group of Kforcers. We all had a bond. We had matching barcode tattoos.

About a month or so after joined the staffing elite, my personal life hit the skids. I was getting a divorce. I tried to handle this as quietly (and quickly) as possible but at some point I had to be out of the office to deal with all of the fun and excitement that accompanies the big D. Being the newbie to the Orlando clan, I was very nervous about how my latest adventure would interfere with the staffing arts. Not only was I surprised with the support of local management, I also had quite a few cheerleaders at corporate. I was encouraged to take as much time as I needed to get things situated, to mourn (…or celebrate), and just to get my life squared away. I was assured that my fancy rolling chair would still be there waiting for me and that I would be granted a stay of execution. Little did I know, this was just a preview of how great Kforce is as an organization; apparently, the awesomeness was not limited to just the local Orlando office.

In the months to come, I was continually surprised with how great, supportive, and accommodating everyone at Kforce was. Whether I was in need of something small, some additional training and support, someone to vent to, or some major accommodations, my direct boss, along with my Market VP, National Champs, etc. were right there to help. A few months before my one year mark, my father, who had been ill with cancer for a few years, took a turn for the worse. As soon as I mentioned this to my boss, he immediately went to work getting me set up to work remotely and told me to go home to be with my dad. I didn’t have to ask permission and I didn’t have to worry about my job and what would become of it. Everyone assured me that I could take as much time as I needed and the important thing was to be home with my dad. He ended up passing away a couple of weeks later and I am forever grateful to The Force for their understanding and compassion. Now, in all fairness, I’m sure that most companies would allow their employee to go home and be with family during something like this. I get that. What I’m not certain about is that most companies would tell said employee to take off as much time before and after and really mean it. I received no guilt trips, no stressful conversations about my numbers (or lack thereof), and no whip cracking when I returned. And once again, my rolling chair was still there.

Two more years have passed and I am still impressed with The Force.

I am asked a lot why I love working for Kforce so much and for me that answer is pretty simple. Kforce is very big on taking care of their people and that message starts from the very top. Whether you be a Kforce internal employee or a contractor, we try to treat everyone like family. Crap happens, of course, but at then end of the day, Kforce is a company that (TRULY) cares and tries to do the right thing. Though we are a sales organization, we are not run by a heavy hand and we are encouraged to have a life outside of our jobs…just not during prime time. All in all, The Force is made up of people that really like what they do, the industries they represent, and transferring their passion to others with the staffing bug…and I’m so proud to be apart of that.

So, Dave Dunkel, if you are reading this…(or your assistant…or your assistant’s assistant), hats off to you for growing such a great company and placing an emphasis on values that really matter. I always say that I will never leave this place unless someone packs my desk up for me…so…please…stay away…and leave me and my rolling chair in peace. :)

Booyakasha! Today we's goin' to talk about interviewin'

Job interviews can be a lot like being on Da Ali G Show. You think you know what you are getting into and then the interviewer throws something in about drug-sniffing dogs and WMD and completely messes you up. Next thing you know, you are tripping all over yourself and your interview ends…and you do not have a job.

Ok, so maybe the drug and WMD talk is a bit of a stretch but you know what I’m getting at. Job interviews have a tendency to be stressful anyway (even when you think you are prepared) but can quickly go downhill if you aren’t acquainted with the ABC’s of interviewing.

There is no earthly reason why KForce should have hired me; I bombed not only one interview, but both of them. To be honest, I stumbled upon KForce on accident. I had just finished school and was working as a paralegal (for my ex-husband’s friend so I’m not even sure it counts as a j-o-b…) and I was beyond bored and didn’t really know what I wanted to with myself. I was a Forensic Science major in college (following my dream to be a deer when I grew up, I decided to be a medical examiner) but eventually decided that I did not want to work with dead people and bugs. I don’t think I am too high maintenance but that was still a little too gross for me at the end of the day. My buddy, Thomas (now in our Denver office), worked at KForce and for some reason, thought I’d be a good fit so he floated my resume over to the Director of the Tech team, where they had a few openings. Sounded good to me, I thought, though I really had no idea what KForce was and what the entire staffing industry was about. In fact, other than Thomas, the only other person I met in staffing was wildly obnoxious and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work with his “kind”. Besides, I was already obnoxious enough; I didn’t need any help in that department. A few days after Thomas gave my resume to my now old boss, I got a call from the KForce internal recruiter, Sean. Apparently, they were interested enough to interview me and we set a time for the following day.

I’d like to say that I rocked the phone screen, but that’d be a lie. I’m pretty sure I bored the living hell out of Sean. We talked about running for a few minutes (good job getting me to warm up to you, Sean) and then he asked me, “So why do you want to get into staffing?”

“Ummmmmmm….” Why can’t you phone a friend on questions like this???? I thought to myself, “Because I want a job…” but I had enough sense (thank God for small miracles) not to say that. Instead I said something super lame and we chatted for a few more minutes and hung up. I was pretty sure KForce was going to shred my resume and I’d never be invited to join the world of the staffing elite.

And then, I got a second interview request and this time it was a face to face request with the two managers in the local Orlando office. I was as excited as a clueless 23 year old could be and started to do the natural thing…plan my outfit (not a suit, by the way, mistake number one…). The day of the interview rolled around and I did a little research, put on my most professional looking getup, and made the mistake of letting my ex-husband drive me to the interview…at the Bank of America building. He let me out on the curb (such a gentleman) at the BOA building and I quickly realized that KForce was nowhere to be found. My first thought was, “Boiler room, I knew it!!” and was quickly followed by, “Megan, you’re an idiot. You wrote down the wrong info.” I called The Force and realized that KForce was actually in the AmSouth building a couple of blocks down the road. Naturally, this would not have been the end of the world but…I was already five minutes late and it was insanely hot so I was guaranteed to show up sweaty and gross. Not so awesome. In any event, I hoofed it down the road, arrived 15 minutes late, visibly flustered.

Things did not get better. I was off my game (What game??? Who am I kidding???) and I had nothing to contribute. I had no questions to ask, I was horribly timid, and I didn’t know jack about technology. I thought I was almost done with the interview and I could go lick my wounds privately and then I was put to “the question”….

“So, Forensic Science?? What prompted that?”

Ok, how do I answer this and not sound like a complete freak????? Ah, I know.

“I wanted to be a coroner and I love crime scenes….”

WTF? Yeah, I really said that. There was a dead silence and then it got worse.

My interview eventually ended and I went home to fasten my noose. Then, I got a phone call and they wanted to hire me! Apparently, KForce was looking for a 23 year old flake that had not-so-secret dreams of working with dead people and I was the answer to their prayers. Never mind the fact that I was late, not in a suit, had nothing to contribute, didn’t engage the interviewer, was extremely boring, and had the communication skills of a four year old. They wanted to hire me!!!!

I accepted and rode off into the KForce sunset and for some reason, they have kept me around.

I lucked out BIG TIME (partially because I was an internal referral and partially because I was young and blonde) and they took a chance on me even though I sucked. Thank goodness they did because I can’t imagine doing anything else (and I’m not just saying that because “Big Brother” might be reading this). I will never leave this place unless my desk is packed up for me (please do not get any ideas, boss man) and during the course of my KForce dog years, I have learned a thing or two about interviewing.

Here is my top ten list of interviewing tips for a successful (or at the very least, less crappy) interview:

1)Don’t dress like a fool. Suits, suits, suits. I know some of you might disagree with me, but for an interview, wearing a suit is a must. You can wear your short shorts and flip flops when you have the job and they say it is ok…and not until then. And when I say “suit”, I mean a dark suit. Everyone wants to express themselves and get creative, but an interview is not the time.
2)Research the company. Know what they do. Be prepared to talk about what they do and why it appeals to you. Also know a little about the people that will be interviewing you.
3)Have a list of questions prepared for the interviewer. Even though “Ummmm” and “I don’t know” worked for me, it probably won’t work for you. Hell, it barely worked for me…and I’m a cute girl.
4)Write down a list of questions you think they will ask you and practice your answers beforehand…so when they ask about WMD you’ll be ready for it.
5)Be engaging. Don’t yawn. Don’t act disinterested. At the same time, don’t get overly emotional. Stay cool, calm, and collected always.
6)If you want the job, say so. If they say, “No”, storm out. Kidding.
7)Be on time. No, scratch that. Be a little early….but leave the tent and sleeping bag at home.
8)Do a drive-by the night before. Know where you are going so you aren’t cursing the day MapQuest was born the day of your interview.
9)If you are asked to provide work samples, make sure they are good. Framed pictures of unicorns need not apply. (And yes, the unicorn really happened…and no, the guy did not get the job.)
10)Say, "I don't know." If you are asked a question you do not know the answer to, admit that instead of beating around the bush…but be prepared to talk about what you would do to find the answer.

JACKSONVILLE. J-A-X-S…….

“Can you use that in a sentence, please?”

“Yes. Megan will be speaking at Jacksonville Code Camp on August 29th and will try her best not to faint out of nerves.”

Faint, you ask? Yes, people, true freaking story coming right up!

Let me take you back…way, WAY back to ninth grade. OrlandoTechNuts had just started a new school (performing arts!) and she was THRILLED to be among her “kind” finally. For years, Mama and Papa Nuts made little TechNuts go to a stuffy private school and she hated it…seriously HATED IT. Everyone was catty and overly concerned with having the latest and greatest (thanks mom and dad for raising me in Palm Beach…ick) and we had to wear uniforms. Uniforms, in theory are a great idea, but when you have an overly creative child (me), it is never a great idea to force a crappy polyester uniform on them. Not to mention, I was chubby and those damned uniforms were constricting. In any event, I hated that place. All I wanted to do was go to art class and creative writing, but instead, because it was the “HOT” school to blow your money on, I had to sit in Latin. I sucked at Latin. I failed every test and sucked so much that my teacher actually made an appearance at my house and asked my parents if I, nerdy, chubby, 11 year old TechNuts, was doing drugs (designer, of course) or having sex. What???? For the record, when I was 11 years old, my grand dream was to become a deer when I was older. I’d come home from school (I can’t believe I’m revealing this to the blogging world), watch Sailor Moon in my room with a snack (I did mention I was chubby), and then go outside and think about what it would be like to be a deer and how I could make that happen. I always was a dreamer. If Napoleon Dynamite had a younger, stranger sister, I fit the bill.

Private school hell continued until one day I heard about this performing arts school down the road…on the other side of the tracks (read: with the normal people in Palm Beach County). I begged my parents to let me audition for the Visual Arts department, one thing let to another, and Voila! I was in! I was already beyond elated that I didn’t have to wear a uniform and I could proudly sport my AC/DC shirt (courtesy of my dad) but I was even more excited that I could pick my classes. No more Latin…instead, hours of painting and creative writing lay ahead and I couldn’t have been more excited. On my first day in my creative writing class, I walked in to Mr. Johnston’s room (one of the best teachers I’ve ever had) and he announced that our first assignment was to do an introductory speech, no more than five minutes in length, talking about, well, ourselves. No big deal, I thought.

Yeah, no big deal until I mentioned the assignment to my crazy, creative, over the top mom. Immediately, she started brainstorming wild ideas (now you all know where I get it) and came up with something great…in her mind. I was fully prepared to get up and talk off the cuff about me, my hobbies, etc. No, No. By time my mom was done with me, my speech began with, “Single, white female: In search of self.” (Yes, I was so traumatized, I still remember it.)

The “BIG DAY” rolled around and I felt like I was going to vomit when I walked in the room. I did not want to make my big appearance in class as the weird girl that talked about herself in terms of a personal ad. A few kids went before me and, shocker, their presentations were all normal. They were beyond normal…and the teacher liked them. I then decided to do something normal, too. No point in standing out now…until freaking Luke Wiley got up before me (Luke now is a principal dancer with a huge ballet company in NYC), did a perfect fouetté rond de jambe en tournant (for those of you not in the dance know, look it up), and blew everyone out of the water. Shit. I guess I was going with the personal ad after all. I’ve always been competitive and wasn’t going to let this guy do better than me. I also got that from my mom.

It was my turn. I was sweating bullets. I felt like I had cotton balls in my mouth. I instantly wanted to be back in Ms. Lovell’s Latin class. I opened my mouth and spoke. I got, “Single, white…” out and then…well, and then the room went dark. Man down! That’s right. I fainted. But I couldn’t even do that gracefully (damn you, Luke Wiley and your perfect ballet ways!). On my way down, I clipped my head on the side of a desk, requiring several stitches. Great first impression speech.

After this incident, public speaking has never been high on my list. In fact, I avoided it at all costs. I even put the required speech class off in college until it was the very last class I had to take to graduate. I hated it and I was terrified I’d have a repeat of Mr. Johnston’s ninth grade trauma all over again. Fortunately, I had a wonderful teacher in college that helped me get over that so now I like to talk in public…perhaps a little too much.

With that said, OrlandoTechNuts, in all of my glory will be speaking at Jacksonville Code Camp on August 29th. My session is Why and How to Partner With a Staffing Firm and I’m hoping it is well received and doesn’t bore the living crap out of everyone in the room. I’m also hoping that I have more than 3 people in the room. That’d suck, too. In any event, my Code Camp speaking debut will go down at 11:00am…and hopefully I don’t go down (a la ninth grade) with it. I’m really excited about this opportunity and I think from my (dog) years at KForce I have a lot of insight to bring to the table. (If you disagree, nod your head anyway and stop trying to crush my dreams. My ego needs to be at least partly intact on August 29th.)

For more information on Jacksonville Code Camp, click here! Please be sure to check out all of the other speakers and sessions. Code Camps always make me excited but this one is going to be freakin’ awesome and all money goes to a great cause: Wolfson Children’s Hospital!

Hope to see everyone there!

Barbara Walters, eat your heart out: Russ Fustino is joining The View!

Ok, not really but close. Kind of.

Tonight, Russ Fustino will be filming the 4th episode of his hit show, Russ’ Tool Shed. Due to some unfortunate scheduling, the ABC studio was already booked so Microsoft and the Tampa .Net User Group was kind enough to lend Russ some space for his Emmy winning drama. Tonight’s episode is called “It’s All About the Tools” (no, they aren’t referring to my exes…surprising, I know.) and it promises to be an exciting time.

For all of you “shedheads” out there, you will pleased to know that tonight’s episode promises some very special guests. First up on the roster are Bret Michaels and Ashley Simpson. Rumor has it they will be “singing” a new single from Bret’s new album, inspired by his tumultuous journey in search of love. After this epic performance, Nikita Polyakov will take to the stage and perform a monologue about the hardships of being Russian. This will be a tear jerker so please so bring your box of tissues...but be sure not to cry in front of him since Russians dislike emotion. After Nikita presents his thesis on nuclear weapons, human trafficking, and the difficulty of purchasing bread on the black market, he will run through some Windows Mobile stuff. His past presentations (as seen on Letterman and The Tyra Banks Show) have received glowing reviews so this should be performance of a lifetime. Russ Fustino, Bill Reiss, and Stan Schultes will also be speaking (though their topics are “top secret”) and will round out the night’s show.

Tonight’s festivities kick off at 6:30pm and are being held at the Microsoft office in Tampa. For more information or to check out the latest Russ' Tool Shed videos, please visit: http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/toolshed

Hope to see everyone there!

What’s that, Robin? MVC is in danger? Quick! To the bat cave…

Oh wait, wrong guy.

What I meant to say was, “It’s a bird, It’s a plane, It’s Super…Megan!!” (What? You didn’t know Superman was secretly transgender?)

So last week, I did the unthinkable. (No, I didn’t buy a Mac, calm down. I’ll never stoop that low.)

Instead, I did something slightly less brazen. What’s that you ask? I permanently traded in my Ann Taylor twinset for a super elegant, super trendy…cape. Yep. That’s right. I’m now sporting a cape. (And it looks pretty freaking good, too.)

Don’t be jealous.

I bet you are thinking, “Really, Megan? Everyone always said you are weird, but really, why do you have to take it to the next level? A cape? How did this happen?”

Well, my three readers, funny you should ask. It was a dark Wednesday afternoon…or maybe it was Thursday (all of my days at The Force tend to run together) and I was minding my own business and doing a little tweeting on Twitter. Nothing exceptionally great was happening that day and I was anxiously waiting for the day to end. I was tired from rescuing a few children from a burning building the night before. I think I might have even deactivated a few bombs, too, but I can’t be certain. Like I said, I was tired. So anyway, I was just about to wrap up for the day when I saw an innocent tweet for help from David Hayden!

Fortunately, he was not stuck under a car….unfortunately, it was much, MUCH more serious.

POW! ZAP! WHAM!

“KForce is not sponsoring this month’s meeting, so MVC needs a new sponsor!”

BANG! CRASH!

“Who wants to sponsor Tampa MVC for the next six months straight?”

Sh*t! Hit! The! Fan! W...ango, T…ango, F...oxtrot, Batman!!

I felt my face go green with anger (and trust me, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry), my lilac cardigan started to get tight on my biceps, my feet began to pop out of my heels…and…crap, wrong guy. Again. Seriously, though, I was pissed. These were my people and I didn’t like anyone messing with my people. (You say territorial, I say love.) I had to get to the bottom of it…and fast.

Before I set my sights on discovering the identity of my very own Lex Luthor (I had a pretty good idea where to find him, anyway), I put out a bat tweet to my damsel in distress, David Hayden, and told him to worry not…for I, Megan “look at me in my bada** cape” Hopkins, would provide MVC with all of the pizza and coke they desired, even if I had to trade my bat mobile in for a Kia to pay for it. He was most appreciative and graciously accepted my offer. He even let me address the crowd with a homework assignment so they could get to know me (the real, I wanted to be a deer…and Hulk Hogan… when I grew up, me) better. Usually whenever I save the world all I get are people hounding me trying to snap photos and vilify me so this was a real treat. Mr. Hayden knows how to pay it forward. Maybe I’ll let him wear my cape next time I’m in town.

In any event, now that the sponsorship crisis was solved, all I had to do was locate Mr. Luthor. Rumor had it that Luthor has recently packed his bags and relocated to the busy city of Tampa. Apparently, he thought Smallville was lame. The folks at my office say one of my best talents is stalking (nice, huh?) so I decided to put that to good use, and in no time, I located my nemesis sitting in his evil cube. What happened next is too gory to blog about…but you can use your imaginations.

By time the clock struck 5:00pm, MVC had been saved from certain disaster and all was well in the world of Microsoft technologies once more.

Ok, in all seriousness, I had the great pleasure (I’m serious. It freaking rocked my world.) of attending the MVC meeting at Microsoft’s office in Tampa. At this meeting, the topic covered was ASP.Net MVC Extensibility…and how awesome KForce is. During this two hour MVC love fest, four speakers spread the good word (referring to MVC, of course) and explained how to customize and extend the MVC Framework for real-world development. The four gurus that took the stage for the MVC variety show were: David Hayden, Jim Zimmerman, Will Green, and Kevin Wolf. All four of these gents had an interesting topic but the one that caught my attention the most was Kevin Wolf because he spoke about two of my favorite things in the entire flipping world…any guesses??? (Keep it clean, people. Keep it clean.)

Geeks….and bars!!!!!! What else could a girl want??? (For me, absolutely nothing. Except for my cape, of course.) Kevin came up with the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen and you can check it out at www.geeksatbars.com. If you like to talk tech…and you like to drink, well, Kevin should be your new favorite person because this site has it all. Plus, it features web slices….and that is enough to please even the toughest critic. Check it out!!!!!!

I can’t stress enough to anyone that actually reads this blog (hopefully more than three people but I don’t want to get too greedy) what an awesome group MVC is. I sponsor a lot of groups in Central Florida and this is definitely one of my favorites. Everyone that knows me knows I get completely jazzed when I meet folks that are passionate about technology and the MVC group offers a huge room of tech centric people that I can call my new friends and teach me something new about technology….and it is at the Microsoft office which makes me even more smitten. Meetings are held once a month (next month’s date is TBD) and KForce provides pizza, coke, and phenomenal entertainment. For more information on this FREAKIN’ AWESOME group, please check out http://www.tampadev.org .

If you haven’t checked this group out before, please make sure you give it a shot at least once. After all, you know what they say…once you go MVC you never go back.

And if you still refuse to give MVC a whirl, well, please don’t count on me to come rescue you next time you are stuck in a tree or under a semi. I may be nice...but a girl has got standards.

PS. Thanks to @NikitaP for the wicked Photoshop job!

She's Just Not That Into You

Staffing is a lot like dating.

You spend countless hours perfecting your profile (Match.com, Dice…tomato, tomahtoe) to attract the perfect mate and then….right when you are about to throw in the towel….you find “the one”….at least the one for now. You exchange emails, phone calls, the occasional full body shot, and finally agree to meet for the first date (otherwise known as the candidate interview). You haven’t experienced butterflies like this in SO long-this must be right. God doesn’t hate you after all. So, you email directions (provided by Bing, of course…you Microsoft people love that), and then you wait. And wait.

And wait.

Still freaking waiting.

WTF. Am I getting stood up???????

After your swallow your pride, you get up, sit by the phone (where you resume the art of waiting) and contemplate calling him to find out what happened. Maybe his dog died. Maybe he lost your directions. Maybe he met someone else (freaking man-stealing, TekSystems). Maybe he got stuck in terrible traffic and then, upon parking his car, discovered he parked too far away, and got all sweaty from the long walk in the hot Florida sun, and then, right when he got to the door, twisted his ankle, and got discouraged and left, because he thought you’d discriminate against a sweating, limping man. (It could happen, right?? RIGHT???) Whatever the reason is, you prefer to get the “It’s not you. It’s me.” conversation over with so you call him.

Ring.

Ring.

Ring.

“Hi, you’ve reached the voicemail of your jacka** candidate that got sweaty and twisted his ankle…”

You leave a message and decide to get back on the horse and find a new beau. Pretty soon a week or so has passed and you get a call…from your sweaty, limping, dogless, TekSystems-loving, directionally challenged man…and he wants you back. Apparently, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. Begrudgingly, you give him another chance and decide to get together in a few days. You re-email him the directions (Bing, baby, Bing) and start preparing your perfect recruiter outfit.

And then…the funniest thing happens. You get stood up AGAIN. No call, no email, no smoke signal, no courier pigeon….nothing…just dead air and an empty interview seat. By this point, you are PISSED. What does this person think you do all day? Sit around and recruit other potential love interests (well, yes, actually...)????

You politely send a quick email to check up on your MIA beau (maybe he twisted his other ankle???) to stay in his good graces (and he might have a hot brother) and go about your business. Weeks pass and you’ve met several other people that do not stand you up. You’ve even submitted a few to your dad (or hiring manager…) and have gotten the thumbs up.

You are healing nicely.

And then he calls again…and wants to know why YOU didn’t return HIS call. WHHHAAATTTTT????? He wants to come in and see you again and wants to make things right. You inform him rather candidly that you are not interested in his cat and mouse game and are moving on. He swears he can change and will be different. You are the only woman (recruiter) for him.

But you are a strong woman now. You tell him that it would not make sense to meet with him when you don’t think you can ever introduce him to anyone because of the way he treated you. He didn’t respect your time, you say, and how can you ever trust him again? He is silent. You think he might cry…and then he says, “Give me the name of your boss. I’m reporting you.”

Welcome to the wonderful world of recruiting, where candidate is king (and they know that…and on occasion, will throw that in your face even though they treat you like dirt). The above mentioned recruiting saga happened last week to one of my coworkers and I’ve been tossing around the idea of blogging about it ever since. Hopefully, I didn’t offend anyone (though, I wouldn’t be shocked if I did…) but it drives me batty when candidates do not respect your time, especially when you are trying to help them. Everyone that knows me knows I love my candidates, my job, and helping people, and often times, I invest too much of myself (so I hear) in what I do. I’m not much different from the majority of recruiters in my office. We are a bunch of bleeders. I understand stuff happens that can prevent a person from being on time or missing an appointment all together (have you met me???), but it is always wise to be RESPECTFUL and COMMUNICATE! Burning bridges is never a good thing, particularly in a small market in an even tighter economy. (Note: This is not a threat. I’m on the smaller side and though I have a loud bark, my bite is pretty flipping weak.) Chances are, as long as you communicate with us, we will be more than willing to accommodate you and do our best to assist you.

To all of the KForce candidates out there that are respectful (and that is most of you), thank you, thank you, THANK YOU. You make our job a lot more fun and we love to help you. (Seriously.) To all of the candidates out there that fell victim to the Florida heat and twisted their ankle on the way (several times) to our office, well, we’re just not that into you. Sorry.

I Love It When You Call Me Big Pap-pa…

You need to strap up your laces, and starting working those interfaces
(I love it when you call me Big Pap-pa)
To the coders gettin’ projects that they need to finish up…UHH!!!
(I love it when you call me Big Pap-pa)
If you got a virus in your PC please don't sit at your desk
Cause I see some development that needs to go live
Liiii-ve

UHHH.

Last night I hit the road to attend John Papa’s sold out “show” where he got down (and dirty) with ADO.Net Data Services (Astoria for all of you rooks…rookies for all of you that don’t speak slang) and Silverlight at the Space Coast .Net User Group in Melbizzle (Note: When trying to be ghetto, if all else fails, add the “izzle”). This was my first time visiting this group (and definitely not my last) and I was pleasantly surprised to see some familiar faces (shout outs to Bonnie, Walt, and Michael…word). For all Orlando candidates, it was a pretty quick drive (even with me getting lost) so I definitely encourage you to check out next month’s meeting (with Oleg Sych as the speaker). Pizza and 40s (I mean sodas and water) are provided each month so you won’t have to go hungry. For more information on this group, please check out: http://www.scdnug.org/Home.aspx It was a great event and if anyone has the opportunity to see Mr. Papa speak in the future, you should definitely take advantage of it. He is a great presenter and even I could understand what he was talking about (and I’m a newbie).

For more information on John Papa, please visit: http://johnpapa.net

Special thanks to Angel Diaz for honing in on his inner ghetto to help me with my sick rap.