The Fear
Since getting back into the Barton Mills office yesterday, I’ve seen quite a few posts already from recruiters on LinkedIn who are “looking forward to smashing 2019” or who are feeling “re-charged, energised and pumped to go again”. I’ve honestly not seen an air of online positivity this big since Love Island finished! Before the critics roll in, I am not knocking these comments.
It just got me thinking that surely not everyone is in the same boat. Personally on Monday 7th January 2019 at 7am after 2 weeks travelling Asia, I felt like I’d been hit in the face by Tyson in his prime… wielding kettle bells for boxing gloves. The fear kicked in.
Where is my next placement coming from? Where is my career going? How do I pick up the phone and pitch a candidate? Where even are my candidates? Hang on… where even is my phone?
All these thoughts went through my head in a split second and I can’t believe that I can be the only one here. I’ve been with BMR for 4 years now and I admit that I still get “the fear” on occasion. I’m lucky in the fact that a) I’m in a good, very close team (who were also in the same position as me yesterday!) b) I don’t get micromanaged or have the fear driven into me by anyone c) Despite wishing I was back on a beach in Thailand… I do (deep down) still enjoy what I do and the markets I work across. The above makes it a damn sight easier to fight “the fear”.
Which brings me to my slightly convoluted point. If you are feeling the same, do you fight or do you flight? I’m sure Attenborough would be more succinct but in recruitment terms, do you feel you’re in: the right culture, the right role, the right team, the right desk, having the right support / L&D function around you to fight off the post-holiday fear or not?
Advice for those who say yes… it only takes a few phone calls to start getting back into the rhythm of things. For the recruiters feeling like they are more in Camp B; it’s not a bad time to ask yourself what you really want this year… if you haven’t done so already. Often the worst thing you can do around this time of year is bury your head in the sand and not take that extra 10 minutes to work out “OK, is where I am and what I’m doing right now good for me?”.
In an ideal world, we’d all loved to be “pumped for 2019”. The reality is that you’ve got to remember that the onus is on you to work out if you’re in the right place to make this happen.
