My Journey From E.R. To Recruiting Bullpen

I’ve confused countless people when I’ve told them that I used to work in a hospital emergency room. And of course it wouldn’t be a complete conversation without the immediate follow-up question, the infamous “What made you want to be a recruiter?”… While I understand the confusion I have introduced, I dread this question because I don’t really have a direct answer.

Here’s what I do know:

-  I know that I enjoy helping people work through their deepest pains. You can learn a lot about humankind by listening to someone who is hurting or unhappy.

-  I know that it’s easier to help someone who can identify the source of their pain rather than someone who hasn’t taken the time to explore it.

-  I know that I feel a personal reward in feeling needed. No one ever wants to feel irrelevant, and I’ve only ever felt this way when I haven’t been able to help someone.

-  I know that working in the emergency room and in the bullpen have both been some of the most frustrating and exhilarating moments in my career… Below are a few reasons why:

URGENCY: Both jobs reflect urgency. There are true emergencies (and in this case, let’s define an emergency by a tainted quality of life), and then there are cases when someone is perfectly fine and he or she just needs to hear that they are OK.

GIVING COMFORT: There’s something comforting in hearing a voice outside of your own head telling you what you already know deep down in your soul. Which means that we, as recruiters and medical professionals, need to be patient and willing to say this to these people- even if it’s not what they want to hear or even what we want to say.

USING YOUR INSTINCTS:  I’ll never forget the first time I performed CPR. It was on a 90 year-old war veteran who was going to be receiving an award later the same day for his battle efforts. He had gone into cardiac arrest while shoveling his driveway. I was terrified and was forced to follow my instinct. Working with a great medical team, there still wasn’t one thing we could do to save this hero…It’s true that you’re only as good as your team and resources; but there is a small fraction of the outcome that is actually in your control… Unfortunately, even with perfect practice and resources, we weren’t able to save him.

LETTING GO OF CONTROL: So how much control do we really have as recruiters or EMTs? I can send someone for an interview with a top company, but if all he’s hunting for in a move is money or if he’s simply a job“shopper,” there’s not much I can do. I cannot change his heart. I’m simply a resource that can help you in your journey. I can pound on your chest and maybe with the aid of epinephrine and a hell of a medical team, get a brief rhythm going on the cardiac monitor, but a dead heart is a dead soul.

Call me morbid, no- even better… call me honest.

-Elizabeth