The Waiting Place

"...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting."

Odds are if you grew up in the last twenty years and attended some kind of graduation ceremony, you have read Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go."  You might have received it as a graduation present or read it to your young children (although a lot may go over their heads, depending on how young they are).  I know it's practically cliche at this point, but I believe that things become cliche for a reason; this little book captures so much of the reality of our ventures into the adult world.

As an man in my forties and mid-career, I have found that the economy of the last decade has had an almost gravitational pull towards Seuss' waiting place.

My last two weeks have been a perfect case in point.  Driving towards a client meeting in Kansas City, my cell phone lit up with an unrecognized number from a town near my home in Bel Air.  On the other end was a recruiter, who excitedly described to me a position that had opened up for a large corporation.  An interview followed, followed by verbal offer, followed by a written one.  Last week, I had gone to the point of completing new employee documentation.

Let me back up for a second.  I am currently, gainfully employed, and have been in the same position for some time now - a fortunate place to be, with only one exception.  My boss is what I consider to be the DSM definition of a Sociopath.  Sure, everyone's is, right?  True story: one of my co-workers was leaving a meeting in DC to head to a metro station.  Passing by in his Jaguar convertible (another red flag, in my opinion), he stopped and offered my colleague a ride.  After picking him up, he traveled a few blocks off of my colleague's normal route before checking his watch and, realizing that he was late for a meeting, turned to this man and said: "I'm running late.  You'll need to get out."  He then left him to find his way to another metro station.

Did I mention this colleague of mine was blind?

Suffice to say, there have been enough incidents with someone of this mercurial behavior to merit a certain desire to leap from the bucking mechanical bull that is my professional life.  Expectations to front my own travel costs and slow reimbursement of expenses come to mind.  So the speed at which the phone call from this recruiter turned into a job offer was not only unexpected, but thrilling: the prospect of finding a little NORMAL in my working world was enough cause for celebration.

Then came a message that looked a little like this:

"Thanks so much (insert potential new employee here), we're excited to get going... we'll let you know when we receive the purchase order from our client instructing us to proceed."

In other words: we've just added you to the inventory, pal. We'll let you know when someone pulls you off the shelf and buys you.

Out of all of the things that have changed since the early 2000's in my profession, this has been the largest and most frustrating.  There was a time that companies hired ahead of demand, keeping a positive mentality that the work was coming for a person to step into.  Today - just like Wal-Mart or some other retail giant keeping their product inventory low - companies practice "just-in-time" hiring policies.  They will recruit, interview, evaluate and even make offers.  But when the time comes to pull the trigger, no one moves based on expectations of new business - only when the ink is dry on the contract.

I appreciate the logic of this.  We ARE living in lean times.  They've been brought on by a combination of hubris in the stock market, globalization of the labor force and uncertain, escalating regulations.  Employers maintaining a scarcity mentality is understandable.

But the effect on the human side of the ledger is one where there are some of us - how many I honestly don't know - who are existing in a weird zone of "maybe" with potential employers.

Which brings me back to the waiting place.

I act like everything's normal with my clients.  Can I come out for my next Kansas City site visit the week of the 24th?  Sure I can.  Work on that proposal?  You bet.  But will I be around to go anywhere or work on anything by then?

I don't know.  I'm waiting around for a Yes or No.