A look back on 2009...

ed. An excellent Linkedin post from Christian Wood.

I want to wish everyone that had contacted me this past year a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I have really enjoyed speaking to you all, I have certainly had some entertaining and insightful conversations!

These last 12 months have certainly not been fruitful in the job market and to everyone that has found difficulties I wish you all the best moving forward into 2010. I have certainly had some bizarre experiences with companies and candidates:-

The technical director of a global support company who was so desperate for a consultant that he lied when saying the role was signed off in the hope it would be before offer - and therefore after 4 weeks of interviewing, an offer had to be withdrawn because they didn’t have budget!

The IT Director of a housing association who went through 3 rounds of interviews to offer a candidate a job to start 8 months down the line!

The company secretary that signed off terms and conditions at the beginning of the recruitment cycle but at the end decided to change his mind when a PO number was requested and candidate offered, demanding a free trial for 3 months!

The candidate who ignored a phone call to be telephone interviewed 7 times, after each attempt was told to expect a call from an unknown number ! His explanation was he didn’t recognise the number so didn’t answer it!

The candidate from Norway who not only answered his phone during an interview but then proceeded to carry on with the conversation for nearly 4 minutes before telling the interviewer it must have been a wrong number!

But my best must have been where a technical architect sent his brother to the interview for him instead because he was ill – his brother was a driving instructor!

Anyway moving forward into 2010 is where we need to be looking now. I will be continuing to grow on my successes of 2009 and trying different avenues in terms of industry sectors. Whether your looking to fill that position or you're interested in taking a position, drop me a line and we can discuss it further.

To my delight and probably not yours, I'll be on holiday this year from Christmas eve right through to 4th January - and yes I’ll have one for you!

Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year to you all !

Christian