This is a story my friend shared with me. It just happened.
A headhunter, with whom she worked in the past has contacted her. He has a client looking for someone with her qualifications. She is always interested to hear about new opportunities, especially those with potential to expand her CFO expertise.
Surprisingly, the urgency in the headhunter’s voice was incredible. He sounded like a 911 caller witnessing an explosion. He rushed through the sentences, jumped from one point to another like a mad frog, even forgot to tell her what was the client’s business . Somewhere in the middle of it, my friend has realized that she was somewhat overqualified for the job. Moreover, the title and the compensation weren’t defined. That should have alarmed her. Yet in her vanity, and she knows it, she decided that all the hurriedness was fueled by the headhunter’s worries of her not being interested.
Actually, there were a few aspects of the job that sparked her interest. My friend relayed this to the headhunter. He was very excited and went about contacting the client on the next step.
Oh, my God! Within a couple of hours, he called her eleven times: “Setting up a phone interview; no, they are foregoing the phone interview and want to meet you in person straight away; you will meet four different people; no, just two; no, it will be two separate interviews back to back – first with the HR Manager and then with the Owner. Please, pleeeeese, can we do it tomorrow?”
And so, the next day my firiend went to the company’s offices and met with the HR Manager. Talking to him, she was wondering if he would be able to make it through the meeting without falling into a panic attack. Eventually, he led her through the hallway to meet with the Owner/CEO. His agitation escalated in alarming stages. It was like playing a Liszt’s Etude, which calls for “fast” on the first page, then for “faster” on the second, “as fast as possible” on the third, and still “faster” on the next.
At the very moment she got to shake the hand of the tiny man behind the huge desk, it finally dawned on her. It had nothing to do with my friend and her qualifications. This miniature boss of an interesting, but relatively tiny company ($30M) exuded a sense of grandeur of Napoleonic proportions. He had everyone scurrying like scared mice. Even those who were not employed by him; including the headhunter, who works for one of the top 3 international recruitment houses.
The first thing he told her was, “I need a second in command who can keep the troops under control. There were two before you, who were dismissed.” Funny guy!
The Frustrated CFO 