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Twenty Years

Over twenty years ago, I was contacted by a recruiter from a company based out of St. Louis. We hit it off at once and she got me in for interviews at a company that seemed way ahead of it's times. The conversations went great and they were ready to bring me on. Around the same time, my life started to unravel and while the details escape me now (and I am grateful for the lapse of memory). I did not end up taking that job or moving. I stayed in touch with R for several years after that even if more and more sporadically - there was something about her that set her apart from others in her profession. it made me think of her every time I was felt misunderstood. She really loved her job for one thing and was excellent at it. My resume was a hot mess but she was able to tease out who I was and what I could do. She made a wonderful match - a great team and a job that would have been a lot of fun if I had been able to take it. 

For over a year, off and on, R has been posting very candidly on LinkedIn about the tremendous difficulty she is experiencing in getting hired after she got caught up in a layoff. in her last company. She is asking the network she cultivated so diligently to show up for her in her time of need. I am not in her line or work and don't know anyone who is. The same maybe true for most others she is connected with. We were all her candidates once - some of us she placed into jobs, others she didn't. Very few of us are any use to her professionally because she recruited for tech. The last time I was in touch with R was ten years ago. In the sea of candidates she has dealt with her life, its very unlikely she has any recollection of me but I will always remember her as being exceptional, the standard by which to measure others in her profession. But that is clearly not sufficient to get her a job and that is such a shame. 

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