Up in the Huff

A couple of weeks ago I applied for an entry level recruiter position with a company called Huffmaster. I was attracted to the job posting because it was entry level, recruiting, and in the description big bold letters wrote, "PERFECT FOR RECENT COLLEGE GRADS". It was a really quick process, one I've done so many times I forgot that I even applied for it. You can imagine my surprise when I got a phone call from the recruiter yesterday. Next thing I know:

 Huffmaster, is a company that provides temporary employees for companies when their full time employees go on strike. To be fair, there are a few occasions where Huffmaster will lend out its services to companies in need after a natural disaster or if their business picks back up after a massive lay off, but for the most part they specialize in replacing employees on strike while the unions and the top dogs hash things out. Back in the day these replacement workers were called scabs, as a recruiter with this company I would essentially be a scab picker.

I received a call yesterday evening from the head recruiter. She told me she had my resume on her desk, that she has an immediate need and has to schedule my interview right away. Without a moments hesitation I agree and she signs me up for an interview at 10:00 AM the next day. That night I am all over Google. I'm trying to figure out interview questions, see where the company is going, where it has been. After about a half hour of doing this I began to face some major moral dilemmas.

I started to wonder if I could be OK with doing this job. One major problem I had was that I would be hiring temporary workers. I know first hand how difficult it is to have a job for an unknown amount of time with the constant threat of it ending at any moment. Most of all though I had trouble with the fact that I would be replacing people who have a problem with their benefits, their wages or the overall way in which they are treated. I believe in their right to strike and if their employers won't feel the pain of them leaving, am I helping to deafen their cause? Do I want that on my conscience?

On the other hand, maybe I would be like George Clooney from Up in the Air. This is a job after all and I kind of need one of those. I know I would be very good at recruiting, I would be able to help people find jobs, people who need jobs and can take advantage of the work experience, if only for a short time. Sure the work I would be doing wouldn't be glamorous, but then again, that seems to be a pretty privileged place to come from. Should I really be casting my judgment down on this job? Or should I work it, get the experience and the inevitable stories then move on?

I went into the interview today. It was a small office building in Troy, Michigan. There was no receptionist in the main room so I rang the security door bell. A massive, friendly security guard came to greet me. I told him my name was Kyle and what I was there for. He said "one moment Jean Claude, I will go get them, best of luck to you" and was off before I could tell him my name is not Jean Claude. I sat in a tight little waiting room and reviewed my notes, thinking about whether or not I would want to do this. Then the recruiter came out and greeted me, we went into an empty office and she asked me a few questions. I could tell she really liked my past experiences, she had a couple more interviews that day, but if I were selected, she would want me to start right away. When I left I felt like my head was full of cigar smoke.

Ultimately I don't think I'm going to take the position. For one, I would be a contingent employee, basically I would always technically be working for them, but if there wasn't any work I wouldn't be getting any hours. The other, more logistical reason, is that I can't start right away. I need to give my current employer two weeks. I did learn a lot though, in talking with the recruiter, in seeing the people around the office. I learned that I shouldn't weigh my character on the contents of my career or whatever job I was doing. My career, the things I own, where I live they all seem so transitional. My character needs to be subjective to all of these things, I should strive to be a good person no matter what I do, where I live or what I own. So next time a job comes around, I'm going to look at the logistics and whether or not I would enjoy doing it. That being said, fingers crossed for my job interview with Oakland County Government on Tuesday!

Thanks for Listening,
Kyle