Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Another troubling thing recruiters often say.

Recruiter: Oh, so you’re interested in an oversight position as opposed to hands on.

Me: No, I am not looking for an oversight position. I really don’t understand what that is. Since it is your word, would you please explain it to me?

Recruiter: …silence…

Me: Hands On, I guess that means that I am doing something myself.

Recruiter: …silence continues…

Me: Let’s try an example: I sit in the corner in a series of meetings observing how persons in the meetings interact. I then analyze those observations with the observed outcomes of the overall group. I then explain to the organization’s managers why the outcomes are not what is desired and how the meeting interactions are logically leading to the not-desired outcomes. Then I explain how the persons may learn a different way of interacting with one another to move the outcomes toward the more-desired state.

Recruiter: Well, uh, does anyone ever really do that?

Me: Yes.

Recruiter: …terminal silence…

Is that oversight or hands on? I leave the answer to some recruiter somewhere who understands these terms better than I.