Here is the good news tho… I have learned something valuable. How to say no. Really. I have.

In the few months I have done a lot of stretching myself outside of my box. My network in business and in my home community has exploded so much and I was EXCITED! I thought it was an awesome wave and I didn’t want to stop riding it. Problem was, the ride had me.

Honestly, I have been managing my current responsibilities at OA and I just finished finding and hiring a City Manager for my small town. That took a TON of meetings. Getting something done in a municipality is a nightmare! You can not just open a req, and fill like any normal position. The amount of public meetings needed is more than enough for me to realize that I am glad I do not fill those positions on a full time basis. (Although, I have filled a position faster than cities in Ohio using an executive firm) Also, I was asked to be a consultant for my towns EMS provider. They are having alot of trouble. Thought I could do that and network with more people in our town, since working in Cincinnati, I never get a chance to do this type of stuff. Problem is, they are in a crisis mode, and I tried to get into it…Then things started to fall for me personally.

In the mean time of all of this, I have had awesome opportunities come to me professionally in the recruiting world. I wrote a small article for The Source, and Jim Stroud published my sourcecon post. I have had many requests to keep writing. So, I was also trying to think of things to write about on top of the many things already listed…

Think that is just it??? There’s more.

I also have an amazing friend and now have the privilege to call business partner. We are working on a start up. Cant say what, but it is going to be a big launch. I am hoping to write more about this just a few more weeks. The hours alone on reading, talking and conference calls is unbelievable. Starting a business is not for the weak or timid I can tell you. It not only takes blood, sweat and tears, it takes the dust left when you have no more.

And, last, but in no means least, my family. My amazing, wonderful, family.

You don’t see this on my resume or on posts, but if you know me personally, you know that my husband is a Pastor. He is the Pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Greenfield Ohio. We live in a small town and I commute an hour and 20 mins to work and from work. Living in rural Ohio does not afford good working opportunities, and when you have a passion and talent to recruit, you go where the jobs are. I am hoping that changes with my start up, but until then, I am still making this crazy commute. Enough of my commute tho, and back to the family. With being a Preachers wife, there are a multitude of other things I handle outside of my work. I also deal with a stigma that Pastors wives are not ones that typically work or seek a career. (Note to you that may think that, read Prov. 31, whole chapter, then we’ll talk…) Anyhow, it does lead to people treating me poorly. I ran for City Council in my small town, and I received snail mail that was anonymous that threatened me. It would say a Pastors wife should be seen and not heard, or to my husband that he needs to control me and put me in my place or else. It was, and still is, a hard thing for me. I have a drive, a talent, and not everyone, even in the year 2008 can see that you can be a Pastors wife and have goals, talents and a drive to do something in life. This is a hard balance for me, and I can honestly say that I dont always balance things well. Which is the point of my post.

The other important part of my life are my four amazing children and one foreign exchange student. You read right 5 children. (Don’t ask about the grocery bill…) I have one in Highschool, one in Jr. High, to in elementary and our foreign exchange student at OSU in the Aerospace engineering program. They are all special and smart and beautiful. I can not find anything other than my husband that makes me happier than my children. Giving them a life and parenting I never received, is my ultimate goal in my career. It really isn’t about me, ever. It is, and for, them.

So, now that you have the readers digest version of my life.. You are probaly thinking… huh???? What is the point already?

I got excited about the successes.. and thought I was the bomb..

Then

I cracked

I took on too much

and I melted down.

Nothing like a drama movie, but things started falling apart. My temper was short, I was not sleeping at night. I would find myself up at 2 am using my laptop or berry. Then I just shut down. Lights were on and no one was home.

So, I have spent all this week clearing out the unnecessary and saying no to some, and yes to other things.

My first step to enlightenment??? Sleep. Rest.

Family time was next.

Then I asked my husband and close friends for their opinion. Let me tell you, that is not pretty. It is a hard pill to swallow, but having those who know you best to bring you back to reality is better than any $75 nut job.

I can tell you, I am still recruiting, that is something I enjoy and keeps my family going since the church isn’t able to support us financially. I am still working on the business. The city manager and ems, well, not on the plate.. and this is the first I have written in a while as you can see from my last post. My amazing hubby, kiddos, and our church, they are a constant, and I couldn’t breathe if I didn’t have them.

I don’t know an answer as to how to not to get overwhelmed. But I do know that stopping and getting off the ride and changing the speed is not only ok, it should be done alot more than we can ever realize.

Thanks for listen… Amie

I am currently on the search committe in Greenfield, my local town, to find a City Manager. Here is the job posting below. I am not recieving any fees in helping with this search, it is strictly volunteering to help my small community..

———————————-

The City of Greenfield, Ohio is currently accepting resumes in consideration for City Manger. The candidate selected will be the first City Manager since Greenfield was established in 1799 and will be looked upon to inspire and lead our community of 5,000 residents with an annual budget of 9.44 million.

 The City Manager is appointed by and reports to the City Council.  The City Manager serves as the chief executive officer of the City.  The duties of the city manager are established in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC 705.59). http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/705.59 The successful candidate for city manager will be a dedicated professional with high integrity, honesty and strong leadership skills.  A Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, Business, Engineering, or another closely related field is required.  The following are preferred assets for the successful candidate: □ 3-5 years public administration or comparable experience. □  Solid finance and budget expertise. □  Experience in community development. □  Experience in providing innovative, creative solutions and alternatives to execute   the vision and strategy of city council. □  Demonstrate strong public relation skills.  

For more information about the City of Greenfield and the City Manager position, please visit: www.greenfieldohio.net

 Starting salary for this position is negotiable, commensurate with background and experience.  A competitive benefits package will be provided. Resumes may be mailed or emailed to: Clerk of CouncilCity of Greenfield300 W. Jefferson St.Greenfield, OH.  45123rkarnes@greenfieldohio.net 

Ok, I am going to go on a few tirades, so bear with me…

1.) Jeremy Langhans had it right this morning on this response to Dave Mendoza’s ERE post in the Elite Cyber Sleuthing group..

 http://tinyurl.com/3dd3r4

There are many in our recruiting/sourcing group that is going WAY overboard on using a recruiting community sites that are focused on recruiter development, education and discussion focused on our industry to self promote and spam their business or consulting group over and Over and OVER again. Problem is that WE in the industry feed each others egos. Plain and simple. One person will find a great way to expand networks or reach passive candidates in a new unique way and then you are then instantly promoted to a godlike status where you are handed the ability to spam people about how wonderful you are and how you are their snake oil fix to a rusty wheel you haven’t been able to fix in months. No one calls them out for what it really is, (except a rare few who have the self confidence to know they have a great talent in this industry and don’t need to base their self worth on someone else’s laurels) and it needs to stop. ERE needs to better reign in and control this ever increasing issue. I believe that when you are one of the few that do have an ability to contribute to others in a way that will help them be more successful, this does not give you the right to be an arrogant self righteous zealot. What it does require of you is the intestinal fortitude to have some character to not let the praise or increase in business hinder you from remembering where you came from (the same place as the rest of us) and be a community player and remember “to much is given, much is required”.

I may never make it to that “IT” status. You know, that is not what I am looking for either. But I will tell you this my friend; I will make darn sure that if that point does come, people can see that I want to make the world better… and not just all about me. Ok…. Enough on that one!

 Second rant…Shrm.org posted on Tuesday about bullying is now being seen worse that sexual harassment. Yes, you read right. If you are being left out of the lunch group, or if someone isn’t playing nice in the sandbox (or cubie) then darn it! That is way worse to endure and ever get over than someone being sexually harassed. Need a one night stand for that promotion? Who cares.. No one pities that or rebukes that anymore..just deal with it, right? That is similar to what Penelope Trunk’s advice on Sexual Harassment is. But ooohh, if someone dare make you feel bullied, well call the EEOC this minute! I can see the headlines. “Former employee awarded 5.5 million for co worker bullying.” How does HR manage this one? Will we need to make sure we are like the public schools where kids get suspended if they offend someone? Will we need to have unpaid leave if you don’t offer someone to go to lunch with you? OR Heck, lets just ban lunch hour, it is too divisive anyhow. I think we are becoming a society that will not be able to pull their own pants with out the government making darn sure that no one offended us if they didn’t like the color scheme we choose to wear to the office. Oh, Wait! We can fix that too! Corporate uniforms! Ok, enough… you get the point..

I want to first extend my kudos to Josh Kahn who won the first of three challenges this year that SourceCon is offering. He fought a good hard race to the finish, as well as Julia Stone coming in a strong second.

Now that I can do more in my day than obsess with winning challenge #1, and wait patiently for challenge #2, I thought I would share what I did glean from it.

First, I was reminded how strong and valuable my connections really are. I could instantly place my thoughts on Twitter or Facebook and received feedback which helped my perspective with the challenge, allowing me to maintain focus. Rabbit trails kill in this challenge, leading you in paths which you think will help you find “The Moose” but eventually ends up being just plain dung. For example, look at this rabbit trail http://tiny.cc/5M11h which SC tried relentlessly to veer me away from, but, unfortunately I wouldn’t let go. My problem was when I found the picture which was a part of the Valleywag website. On December 14^th Valleywag had a party at Moose’s, I thought that it was a big clue, unfortunately, it wasn’t. It didn’t even pertain to the challenge.

There was a valuable opportunity that came about from this. By using my connections also came a chance for me to reconnect with them. For those of you I emailed thinking you were my link to the last clue (and unfortunately many were not) there came new chances to reconnect, something I hadn’t done in months.  You had an opportunity to know I am still out in my recruit-o-sphere making my placements and in the hunt like you are, each and every day.

The search also took me back to basics, of just making the calls and sending emails, no matter the outcome. Some of the outcomes weren’t pretty either; people didn’t want to bothered, and others had no clue what I was talking about; but for me that wasn’t a big deal. The more I talked about it, the more I wanted to win the challenge. The more no’s I did get, the more fervent my search became.

Thinking about this, leads me down another rabbit trail… (which I tend to like, bunnies are in at the moment, with Easter quickly approaching). I was thinking about recruiting and sourcing and our perceptions of online recruiting detectives (or researchers). Like Hitchcock or Sherlock Holmes or Miss Marple from Agatha Christie, and Hercule Poirot, Adrian Monk, or the cute guy from Psych, Shawn Spencer, (all but one is fictional); what makes them who they are, yet so similar, and why we relate to them, is the fact they network with people on a personal level. They all need to find the answer to a mystery! They talk with others; they get led down wrong paths, but are able to use their skills and abilities to figure out whodunit. Plus, of course, you see along the way that they do upset many a person in their search

Now my point is, not that to be a good sourcer you should have people upset with you, but rather, what I am hoping to convey is that in getting to the end of a quest, what ever it may be, that there are people you may ultimately annoy. Focus on the goal, and don’t give up when the naysayers, or those who are brash, meet you along the way.

The SourceCon challenge is about an individual’s personal skills and abilities to outwit, outthink and outperform the rest in the competition; but it does take going back to the basic in any recruiting function, including third party, contract, or corporate.

The basics of physically talking, reaching out, and/or networking with people; whether it is phone or internet, email or twitter, blogs or ERE, doesn’t matter. You need the person and the people within your circle of influence, and networking is your key in finishing the race, or mystery, in first place.

Being first, for me, is the name of the game, or hunt, or mystery.

Josh was the victor this time, but for me, challenge 2 can’t come soon enough. I have my eye on the prize.