When Its Time To Go

It's always an awkward situation when you are a corporate recruiter and leave one company for another. You've just hired someone, now you have to tell them that you are leaving? You build up a level of personal trust, that person trusted you that you were offering them a better situation. They trusted you enough to leave make a life-altering decision. Now this place isn't good enough for you to stay? I've changed jobs a couple times in my career now and have always found this situation to be awkward. This time around may be the most awkward at all however.

First of all, I really do think my employer is special. I'm not leaving because of the company, my boss, my job, my compensation, etc. I'm only leaving because I've been presented with an opportunity to move up into a strategic leadership role, an opportunity that would not have happened with my current employer for at least a few more years. Yes I'll be getting more in salary, yes my commute will be shorter (or non-existent when I telecommute), yes I'll get to travel a bit more (which is something that I've wanted as well). But it all boiled down to the opportunity to make an impact in a way that I can't do in my current role.

So that's what I'm communicating to people, my colleagues as well as those who I've recently helped to bring aboard. And unanimously they have told me that they understand, which helps, but it is still awkward. It probably relates to the fact that I feel that I have done some of my best tactical recruiting work over the past few months. I have put my networking skills and utilization of new recruiting tools to the test and it has paid off with hiring some great 'passive' candidates. One of those in particular was one that I will remember for a long time. The day after I gave my notice, she was still one of those who I wanted to tell personally. I felt I owed it to her. Around Noon that day, I get an e-mail from her saying "I hear you are leaving???" I dropped what I was doing and practically ran to her desk to talk to her about it. As with the others, she was very gracious. Turns out that things at her former employer were not going so well, so it was really a blessing that we offered her this opportunity.

It's a strange sensation for sure, but I'm thankful that I am surrounded by good, gracious people, who can see that although I am leaving, that it's for something bigger and better. They congratulate me and wish me well. I can't ask for much better than that :-)