What I Did On My Summer Holiday

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What I Did On My Summer Holiday

16/03/2010 by Thomas Mitchell

I have fond memories of returning to primary school after the summer holidays and, year after year, being asked to produce a short story about “what I did on my summer holiday”. My stories would invariably be about building magnificent treehouses with my friends. We would build fortified tree castles, and wait patiently for ‘invaders’ to attack our arboreal bastion. No-one ever came, but we were ready for them nonetheless.

I am in the midst of a major adult holiday right now, and I imagine that some of you readers might be too. When I say “adult holiday” I’m euphemistically referring to a period of prolonged unemployment. I’ve been unemployed since July 2009, and I believe I was “underemployed” for six months prior to that date.

In the depths of the financial crisis there was a lot of commentary in the press about “what to do”. There was one view offered by the Chief of Staff to the US President, Mr Rahm Emanuel, that really struck a chord with me. He said: “never waste a good crisis”. So I took his advice: I quit my job with a specialist legal recruitment consultancy, and I chased the sun to Europe where a friend of mine was getting married in France. This was the start of my “summer holiday”.

I met my girlfriend in Spain, and my life has since been transformed. I’m now studying a Masters course on-line, studying Spanish daily in intensive classes, and writing freelance for magazines in Australia. I write on any topic that comes to mind - I’ve had stories published about mastiff dogs, sailing, hunting in Spain, vintage cars, and military history. I know next to nothing about all of these topics, but as every recruiter knows “it’s not what you know but who you know” that counts. And I know people that think my work warrants publishing (and payment!).

I’ve swapped the cold streets of Melbourne and the “look-at-me” dazzle of Sydney for the sunny parks of Valencia. I’ve even turned my hand to recruiting again. I’ve established a “proto-consultancy” that specialises in placing Spanish-speakers into roles in Australia. It’s a tiny niche, but thankfully my competition is limited. You might be interested in my website at www.mitchellallied.com.au if you’re curious.

My new consultancy also provides information about Human Resources-related issues in Australia, and we are currently providing Executive Coaching services to professionals in Spain. For example, I am training one client to harness the power of effective networking, as he is about to assume the Presidency of a pan-European medical society. Another client needs coaching because he wants to make a good impression with his new clients in Libya. Another aspect of the consultancy is the conduct of research for the purposes of headhunting. If a client needs a Spanish-speaker for a role in Australia, then we can help them with the aid of our networks. Similarly, we conduct headhunting research in any industry - our established specialties are for white collar roles in the legal, financial and construction industries. Our location in Spain is no barrier to our work, as we’re well-adapted to a global economy, and much of our work is conducted using the internet and Skype (did you know that Skype offers a silent number service, or that you can make a Skype call appear as though you are calling from a Australian telephone?).

I felt the need to establish a new business for several reasons. First, it appeals to a certain entrepeneurial spirit. Second, the recruitment business it is a great way to meet people. And third, it is potentially (wildly) profitable. We are convinced that business-standard Spanish-language skills will become increasingly sought after in our lifetimes, and our early specialisation in this niche should give us that all-important first-mover advantage.

I was also wary of returning to recruiting in Australia in any great hurry. The financial crisis of late 2008 ensured that the recruitment industry was going to suffer a difficult 2009, and while 2010 looks promising (at first glance) I think there is still a difficult year ahead. I can’t justify this view in this short article, but I encourage you to look at publications like The Economist or the excellent commentary on the Bloomberg website if you’d like to learn more. I think it would not be too pessimistic to counsel you that “we aren’t out of the woods yet”.

I look forward to continuing to blog for Recruitment Cafe, and I encourage your comments and discussion!