Monday, February 28, 2011

WE'RE ALL REPLACEABLE

I walk out to my reception area and and am greeted by my ideal candidate...we'll call her Beth. Polished, put together, big smile, firm handshake. Then I take a look at the resume...EQUALLY as fabulous....I can already smell the leather on my new Louboutins.

We sit down to debrief. I tell her that I need to bring in one of the other recruiters because I think she has a great job for her. My colleague comes in and asks Beth a few questions. At this point, Beth can only be talking to her imaginary friend because she does not look at my colleague ONCE even though she's "answering" her questions. She also can't get to the point and doesn't talk in coherent sentences. My colleague says she'll keep her in mind as her desk is a bit slow right now. She then walks out of the interview room and all but gives me the finger...but I, flashing back to Beth's fabulous first impression, am not convinced she's unplaceable.

I bring Beth into another colleague's office. I ask her to take a seat and walk away to grab a tissue only to return to Beth in HYSTERICS. Between the cursing and her telling us she got her period this morning (YES I'M SERIOUS), I think I'm in a bad dream. She goes on a tirade about the other assistant she works with. But in the next breath, tells us she loves her. She also love the company she works for and feels like a "spoiled bitch" for wanting to move on to a new position. She doesn't want to disappoint her boss and yadda yadda yadda, blah blah blah...At this point, I feel like I'm filming an episode of "In Treatment." She's now covered in blotches and is banging through a box of tissues like there was a million dollars at the bottom.

As the tears continue, I cut her off midsentence with three words..."We're all replaceable!" No matter how much you love your job and how much you THINK your boss/company/colleagues LOVE you, you're seat won't be retired. Executives need assistants, phones need to be answered, offices need to be run. These positions are the guts of a company so if you decide to vacate one of these, someone else will GLADLY take your place.

The same goes for when a candidate asks me if a position is promotable. "Positions are NOT promotable...PEOPLE are!" In other words, if you're good at what you do, you'll be rewarded. But someone WILL fill your vacancy. Plain and simple.

When I was 23 and working at my favorite job of all times, I had the BEST boss. We got along so well and she taught me so much about corporate America and the bullshit bureaucracy that comes with it. Whenever I was frustrated, she was quick to remind me that everyone is expendable and you need to look out for yourself. Always do your best and keep your eye on the prize...whether it be a raise/promotion, a special award or just knowing that you were behind an amazing project, do your job and do it well. And when the foundation starts to show cracks, make sure you get out before the house falls. That was a long time ago but to this day, I always remember those words. I work really hard at what I do, and I'm really good at it. But I never take for granted the fact that I do it better than everyone else or that I'm irreplaceable. I'd be a fool if I thought otherwise...and If you think I'm crazy, you might want to talk to Camille Grammer.

Good night and happy job hunting,
The Job Yenta

1 comment:

  1. It's a good article.

    I often feel like I might be replaced at any moment, which forces me to give 110% of myself.

    everyone has a bad day at work but we got to remember, even if we are sick with a bad cold, sometimes things need to get done and make sure you always try your best and think to yourself how you can improve yourself at your current job.

    I also believe try to maintain your sanity. I got a job because the person I'm replacing has had a nervous breakdown and wants out of the industry I work in.

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