Loving Your Job

The old adage of “love what you do and you won’t feel like you are working” rings true for us in this office.  Especially me.  I have a deep affection for my job.  It fulfills me in every way possible.  I talk to people all day long and for an extrovert, that is practically heaven.  I have built relationships with wonderful people all over the West Coast.  I have clients and candidates that I share inside jokes with.  I speak in a German accent with one of my lenders and we start every conversation with “guten tag” and end it with “auf wiedersehen.”   I get the inside scoop from people in the field just minutes after changes, scandals, and growth unfolds.  I am metaphorically holding hands with people who are making big life changes as they investigate which companies might bring them further growth, stability, happiness, or work/life balance.  All of this leads me to feel meaningful in my work and true connection.  As recruiters, we don’t get “thank you” very often.  But we don’t need it to feel the depth of our impact.  We see the results in such a tangible way.  We see it with the tenure of our placements, the return of clients, and the feedback on how well our candidates are performing.  That is the validation we need.My education (though I am sure no parent of mine saw this career path in my future) bolsters my recruiting efforts.  I get to use my masters degree! My human resources knowledge and organizational development skills help build companies and high performing teams.  My undergraduate studies focused on communication and psychology.  My use of direct communication does not fit everywhere.  However, here it is not only tolerated, but necessary to doing my job well.  My psychology studies help me map out the personalities of my people and the fits that will benefit them.   I know not to put a detail oriented introvert manager with a loud loosey goosey salesperson.    I know people motivated by feelings will do best with managers that can put out the warm and fuzzy vibe.I also happen to have one amazing team around me.  Between three recruiters and two project coordinators, we dominate the West Coast; that alone gets us amped up.   If someone is feeling zapped from making 80 phone calls and leaving 79 voice mails in a day, a quick compliment about the quality of message from one teammate to another can quickly re-energize any lagging soul.  We celebrate each others’ successes.  We pat each other on the back in times of disappointment.  We put our heads together and come up with strategy that no one else is using in our world.  The camaraderie here is immense and it makes the days fly by quickly.  We find ourselves here late, not wanting to go home because we just can’t quite stop what we are doing.  We are having too much fun.  We win and so does the bottom line of our company.  I fit here and so does every other person here.  It feels awesome.The litmus test for happiness at work?  Ask yourself these questions:Do I love what I do?Do I love the people at my company?Do I feel my work is meaningful?Do I use my full abilities?Do I feel appreciated?Happy Valentines Day!  I hope you all cherish your love at home today.-Amanda Sell Sande