“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William Arthur Ward Do you know a pessimist? How about an optimist? Do you know any realists? I think it’s safe to say we all know people who fit into each category. In fact it’s quite likely that […]
(Names have been changed to protect the innocent) Ralph could feel the sweat beginning to form, his chest tightening as he sat outside the boss’s office waiting for the hastily called meeting. It was last night at 10:30 when he received the text: “7:30 tomorrow morning, my office.” The boss was rarely so blunt in […]
Webster’s Dictionary defines “over the hill” as “past one’s prime” and “advanced in age.” The expression itself is rarely used these days. As a recruiter, I receive résumés from a broad demographic of supply chain and transportation people ranging in age from early 20s to late 60s. Occasionally I’m asked by clients to avoid submitting […]
“What can I do to get the promotion? It feels like the only solution is to leave the company and look for a new opportunity.” This was the question posed to me earlier this week by a business development representative working within the transportation industry. Because I’m in the recruitment business, it’s not an unusual […]
More than 30 years ago my friend Bruce got the call from a potential employer: “Thanks very much for coming in, Bruce. We enjoyed the conversation but we decided to move in a different direction.” It happens all the time. Almost every available position has a number of interested applicants and typically there’s only one […]
I met Mitchell 30 years ago. Little did I know that we would spend our careers working together and become great friends. When we first met I was 27 years old and overseeing operations in a transportation company. Mitchell was 39 and had recently relocated to Toronto after a successful career in the banking industry. […]
On a recent trip I had the privilege of playing golf in Sedona, an Arizona desert town near Flagstaff surrounded by red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls and pine forests. That particular day I was playing as a single and was matched up with three other golfers. On the first tee I was introduced to Jim, […]
More than 20 years ago, when I launched Reimer Associates and entered into the recruiting world, I was convinced that my personal contact list and network would be the backbone to business success. There is no question it was very helpful, and along with a keen interest in the recruiting business, gave me the impetus […]
Accept that it happens, and address what you can do to move forward with your career if it happens to you. In my work as a recruiter I meet every week with a wide variety of individuals, many of whom have been restructured out of their former positions. It happens across all levels of employment […]
As a recruiter I’m involved in the hiring processes of a large number of clients every day. Over the years I’ve been privileged to work with companies who have outstanding hiring practices; I’ve also seen companies that struggle mightily because of poorly planned or cumbersome procedures. People truly are the most important asset a company […]
Fifty years ago, when I was six, I had the opportunity to ride a pony at a church picnic in Winnipeg. Within just a few minutes my eyes swelled shut, my nose ran continuously and I sneezed over and over again. I guess you only discover you’re allergic to horses when you sit on one, […]
Calling all salespeople! (In one way or another, that’s all of us) We’re all salespeople. Some of us sell products or services, but even if we are not compensated specifically for the sale per se, we are still involved every day in selling ideas or plans both at work and in our personal lives. Throughout […]