Life Is Good, but Could It Be Better?

Life is good, things are going smoothly, and the business just comes to you. Why fix it if it isn’t broken?…As a tenured Life Sciences Recruiter here at Hobson Associates, I have worked through some of the toughest economies and challenges of my career, and have seen it all.

I recruit in some really niche positions that are impacting, financially rewarding, require hard work, and are all appropriately compensated — but recently I have been noticing that some people are sitting a bit too complacent. They aren’t interested in what else is out there, aren’t looking, and they don’t like recruiters![Somebody call the “wa-bulance” please!]  

Nothing gets the hair standing on the back of my neck more than complacent people. Don’t get me wrong, most of the people I call and end up placing in new jobs aren’t usually looking either… BUT they are not complacent! That is the big difference.

Here are some signs that things have become too comfortable:

• You love your boss until suddenly he/she, who kept you so happy, is now a Senior VP elsewhere. Geez, perhaps he/she wasn’t happy! … Were they complacent?

• They suddenly took your co-worker’s territory and gave it to the internal sales person, and now your co-worker has to start all over again! That came out of nowhere! … Were they complacent?

• You hit 180% of your target this year and suddenly they raised it by 50%! Not sure you’ll be able to do that again. And they capped your plan! Wait, what? … Were you complacent?

Don’t say I didn’t warn you…You see, just when you think that things are really swell, and you’re wandering around with your post-recession ‘Life is Good’ T-shirt on, anything can change at any moment…Key people leaving, budget cuts, territory changes, etc. It is always a good career strategy to keep a dialogue with a good recruiter, and to never, ever be complacent when we call you. Be sure to listen, engage, and perhaps you’ll wander out of your comfort zone and into an even better opportunity!

-Gerry