Figured out why my back hurts.

Spending too much time on this computer, in this chair, hunched over. Lower back is killing me. I think I need to take a few days and heal my lower back. And then buy a new chair.

Tomorrow I will meet Dave and pick up the trunks of Luray's last things, and send them to Pat. Is this the last of it? Do I want it to be? Why do I feel bad for not thinking about her as much as I did last month? It is time to move on, let go...can't figure out how I feel about that. Probably better sleep on it. G'night.

Why Job Seekers Shouldn't Sign an Exclusive Contract With a Recruiter

When job seekers sign on with a search firm in order to be represented and marketed to job opportunities, few of them truly understand the implications to them in terms of which if opportunities they will be exposed to, and which organizations they will be limited to. As a recruiting leader, I can tell you that I have had to pass over some excellent, highly qualified candidates because they've been submitted by search agencies. When a company isn't accepting referrals from agencies, agencies either don't make referrals (because they won't earn a placement fee) or they submit referrals that are 'unsolicited'. When I receive an unsolicited referral, I have two choices: pursue the candidate and if I hire the candidate, fight over not paying the referral fee in court, since I didn't sign an agreement and shouldn't be bound to the referral fee terms, or, pass over the candidate because it's just not worth the hassle.

In truth, if you're a candidate and have enlisted an agency to help you find your next opportunity, I may not be able to hire you EVER, if your agency has sent your resume to me. Not for the job they submitted you for, not the for job they didn't submit you for, not for the job you applied directly to my company for... Once referred by an agency, you will forever have that agency's fee agreement hanging over your candidacy. You can bet that agencies are shopping the best candidates around to the companies that they think will pay their fee. In fact, I often receive phone calls and emails from agents who say, "I have this excellent candidate who wants to work for your company..." I have to wonder, 'why didn't they just apply, then? If I accept their resume from this agency, I have to pay a fee for them. If they apply, I can hire them for free! Shucks, I may as well look at all the folks who have already applied and are free...I'll call this agency back if I can't find a great candidate through my own efforts.'

My advice to you is this: unless you really, really have no idea how to look for a job, or absolutely must conduct your job search in complete secrecy...you don't need an agency. Just talk to people you trust, ask to be referred to positions by friends and others in your personal/professional network, and apply for the positions you're a great fit for using a great resume that demonstrates how you have performed well in roles that have prepared you for those you're applying for.

The 8th birthday of my first born child

Today is the birthday of my eldest child, Jackson. Eight years ago they sliced me open and pulled his little tiny body out of me - a few weeks premature and less than 7 pounds, with legs that looks like they had been in a circle inside of me, like a Gumby doll. His little face squished, rosebud lips, puffy eyelids, perfect round head, olive skin that soon became yellower with jaundice for a few days...Grandma thought there was something wrong with him. Of course there wasn't...he was perfection in a baby. I started nursing him immediately when we settled into our room and he was a natural - so was I, I guess - no pain, none of the horror stories I hear from other women. I thought, "Wow, I am pretty good at this! Perfect baby, and I can feed him myself!" It was the start of a new life for me. Jackson will always hold that special place in my heart - one person who changed my life forever from the very moment I met him. John has another spot like that in my heart, as does Sulli. But Jackson - ah, Jackson...he owns a place that no one else could ever occupy. He is the person who made me a mother.

Will I always remember my Original Blog Entry??

Ok, I'm getting with it, folks. Some have said they can't believe I'm not already a blogger. Afterall, I have so much to say and it has never mattered to me much whether anyone was really listening... I remember my first grade report card... but I digress.

I wonder if in a year or so I will look back on this Original Blog Entry (and it will surely be known as my OBE) and wish I could just make it disappear. How juvenile! How naive! How shallow!

My biggest challenge (besides figuring out how this whole world works) is deciding whether I should create a personal and a professional blog...and keep them separate. Or, should I be completely transparent in every way and show the world who the real MegSaid really is!? I'll have to see how this thing evolves... next challenge: how to upload photos. I am smart enough...I can do this.