As you might imagine, as a professional retained executive search recruiter, I make a LOT of phone calls. It’s not uncommon that I will make well over 100 calls on any given search. It’s what I do.
I take what I do very seriously because our clients hire us to find NEW leaders for their organizations. And, since we work for companies (and not for candidates), my focus is on exceeding client expectations.
However, an email I received just before Christmas served as an extraordinary reminder of the effect my phone calls can have on the lives of the candidates we’re also privileged to help. I wanted to share that email with you here…
“Dan,
Attached are photographs and documents you made possible and was the greatest gift to me ever! Actually, you provided me with several gifts:
- An excellent paying job (I no longer have to live with me and my family barely making it in a high cost of living State with a high State income tax);
- Providing me with a job to serve with a great company and a great employer;
- An opportunity to relocate to take care of my father and mother;
- To be able to quickly move from Colorado-to-Dallas so that I could immediately engage with the care my father needed to bring him back to the living; and,
- To bring my father back to health so he could celebrate his 94th Birthday on December 5 (I made him put his sunglasses on before I lit all the candles on his cake! See attached photograph.)
It took several months, but my father is almost healed from the injuries suffered in an ambulance accident (where he was the passenger) and he is now able to walk with a cane.
I wanted to let you know that what you did for me was very special and the results are in the pictures.
This past December 7, Pearl Harbor Day, my father was recognized by the Dallas County Veterans Association and was presented with a flag that was flown over the USS Arizona Memorial. He was also recognized for being one of the few “three war veterans” (WWII, Korea and Vietnam).
In addition, my father’s health has improved so much he passed his driving test last week!
In short…his recovery is a miracle!!!
Thank you for being part of this miracle!
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2016!!!”
As you can see, we connected with this gentleman at just the right time! Making a job change is all about timing and fit. He was a bit “stuck” when we first connected, but it was my phone call that gave him the push he needed. It has clearly and dramatically changed the trajectory of his life.
Trust me, I’m a firm believer that all things happen for a reason and providence had a lot to do with it. I was VERY humbled by his email and certainly give God all the credit.
In the end, we helped another client find the right executive, at the right place and at the right time. And we helped another candidate find the right opportunity, in the right place and at the right time. It’s not always this dramatic but I can assure you it’s always important and life changing.
Wishing you a blessed and prosperous year full of meaning!
