Categories: Blog
      Date: Feb  9, 2010
     Title: Get Ready To Start Shoveling
Written By: David Monte

As we in the Northeast sit and enjoy one of the most beautiful days of the year and brace ourselves for yet another big snowstorm I thought that I’d give you an inside view of what’s to come…This is an opinion piece (but as it’s my opinion, I think it’s a pretty good one).


2009 was, to say the least, an interesting year to be in the recruiting business. We saw some of the leanest months ever, but those of us that battled through it have come out a lot stronger and more refined in our techniques than before. We’ve adapted, we’ve persevered, we’ve gotten tougher (and yes we’ve heard the word “NO” far more than we’d like). Then came November, and everyone realized that the worst was behind us and it was time to get up and clean ourselves off and get back to work. Our old clients came calling and new ones (from as far away as England and France) were knocking on the door.

I would have to say that it has officially begun, the calm is over and the storm is picking up. Soon it will be a blizzard (or hurricane, monsoon, gale, or whatever big storm you would like to call it), with companies scrambling for candidates like customers at the grocery store fighting over the last carton of eggs or loaf of bread before the big storm (anyone from Rhode Island knows what I’m talking about).

We are sitting on the edge of a boom that many are comparing to the dot com boom of the late 90’s (let’s hope that we can manage things a little better this time). Our government is doing whatever they can to stimulate job growth in the “Clean technology” space, the VC’s have loosened their purse strings a bit and are once again feeling comfortable enough to invest in new technologies and we have the great opportunity to say that we are a part of it.

The level of talent is higher than I’ve ever seen it, there are PhD’s from some of the best schools in the world available for the taking. Men and women with more brains and business savvy than most of the population of the world have been waiting in the wings and are ready to go. There are countless jobs opening up every day. For the first time in a long time we are entering a candidates market, where if you are looking for a job you don’t have to dust the cobwebs off your phone, it’s probably ringing off the hook. And I’m happy to report, cold calling is no longer the grinding chore that it was just 12 short months ago, it’s like being 8 years old again and looking at a fresh stack of presents under the Christmas tree. I go in to work every morning and say, “What am I going to open up today?” It is a rarity to call a company and have them tell you they’re not hiring and the energy across the board is palpable.

We are waiting for as much as two feet of snow tomorrow, and I for one am excited.