Speaking of Mitt Romney, I just heard that his former hang-out, Bain Capital in Boston, is buying the Guitar Center chain of music gear stores for almost $2 billion. About 20 years ago I had a job opportunity at Bain, doing computer work, when Romney was the top man there.
I was called out of the blue with a big sales pitch and an offer that was pretty much a “name your price” deal. This was during the days of the so-called Massachusetts Miracle, and the $$$ amount that was quoted as being “no problem” was twice my base pay at the time. The guy who called from Bain identified himself, gave me his title and phone number, etc., but he wouldn’t tell me how he’d heard about me until I was on board. I don’t like playing games, not when it comes to a job, so I declined.
Just days before that call, I’d fixed a networking problem that had stumped everybody else at a Boston hospital. My guess is that word got around. But I stayed put working where I was, which is where I still am, and it was the right decision.
Which begs the question, when did the corporate “headhunter” arrive on the scene? Of course, we are all familiar with the cyber versions, like Monster.com, but you know what I mean, the slick hucksters who call you up on the phone like this guy did you way back when. My husband STILL gets calls from headhunters with “sweet deals,” but, like you, he has been at the same company for over 25 years and is only three years from retirement. The company brass screwed them on their pensions to some extent, but even at 60 or so, he’d still be able to work part-time as a consultant.