New Adventures!

January 15th 2011

I am indeed a lucky man.

I have the most beautiful, vibrant woman in the world by my side during this period of transition.  I have 3 intelligent, healthy and passionate children.  As a family, we now walk the path which will lead to the next adventure in our lives following my job elimination.

The 1st step was taken about 10 mins after my COO and President left my office and 5 minutes after I had called my wife with the news.  I reached out to one of my contacts on LinkedIn, Jean Wetstein who I had corresponded with a few days earlier when she had announced that she had left Williams Lea and was joining her husband’s firm, The Wetstein Group.

She had let me know that they were looking for recruiters to support them in their work with their major client.  I had promised to let her know of anyone I would recommend her speaking with.

Now, on the day I was told that I had lost my job, the conversation took on a different perspective.

“Hey Jean, I’ve got someone for you – me!”

Long story short – 3 emails and 2 telephone conversations later, by the following day I was signed up to be a contract recruiter for Living Social – a great, short-term option for all sorts of reasons!

• LivingSocial offers daily deals on handpicked experiences that can be shared with friends. Their mission is to add surprise to every calendar.  Innovation and imagination have made LivingSocial the fastest-growing company in the social-buying category.
• LivingSocial lets anyone find restaurants, shops, activities and travel hotspots popular in their area, at a significant savings. The company has dedicated area experts on the ground in every market working directly with business owners and constantly researching the best in local attractions to bring a savings of 50% to 70% for consumers.
• Their web site offers a new promotion every morning, announced through its website, daily email, iPhone and Android app. Live for 24 hours, the Deal is available to anyone who clicks on it. Additionally, LivingSocial’s unique referral model gives users their Deal for free if they refer three friends who also participate.
• With an audience of 10 million subscribers, LivingSocial is able to provide local merchants with the unprecedented ability to reach both local customers and a worldwide audience as well as introduce great local experiences at incredible values.
• Recently, LivingSocial launched LivingSocial Escapes, a travel site offering unbeatable savings on curated, unforgettable adventures. Just as LivingSocial lets people discover new services, experiences and attractions at deep discounts in their hometown or places they visit, LivingSocial Escapes helps anyone find one-of-a-kind day trips, packaged nearcations, quick escapes that don’t require air-travel or weekend excursions they might not typically pursue. LivingSocial Escapes is the company’s third vertical market launch, including its LivingSocial Family Edition with deals for families in select locations and Deals for college students offered through a partnership with Koofers.
• They are tracking to generate $500 million in sales this year and are focused on winning new market share in 2011, following the $175 million investment from Amazon recently announced.
• In the last year, they have grown to offering local experiences in 5 countries!

I am honored and excited to be offered the chance to assist Living Social with the latest phase of their growth; specifically in joining The Wetstein Group’s team of recruiters in sourcing Account Execs for Living Social in both the US and UK, as well as assist them in sourcing other new recruiters; utilizing the power of my own social networks.  Led by Stu Wetstein, they are a tremendously skilled and supportive group of people.

Through the power of networking, the stars have aligned to offer me this chance to flex my recruitment skills and earn some resulting income, while I search for the next big opportunity for myself and my family.

Did I mention that I feel lucky?! 

Lucky to have my family and their support, as well as being fortunate to have tremendous, generous people in my social network.

Related Articles

• LivingSocial Buys Majority Stake In Let’s Bonus, Expands Internationally (techcrunch.com)

Gone But Not Forgotten?

January 14th 2011

My team said some lovely things on my last day, I’ve received some wonderfully kind messages of support from others in the wider co and the references are building up on my LinkedIn profile.

Mike, my direct boss, put out an announcement about my position’s elimination which included:  “Matthew has been a man of honor through this process.  We appreciate so much the progress he has made in transitioning Therapy Solutions into our family of companies and it’s growth over the last 2 years.  We will be supporting Matthew’s transition.  We applaud Matthew for everything he’s done for Therapy Solutions and wish him the very best with his next endeavors.”

Bob (COO) wrote on my LinkedIn profile: “Matthew is a genuine individual who worked diligently to transition a company that we acquired into our family of companies. He built our employee base and streamlined/organized processes that had been antiquated. He developed social media for recruitment and sales purposes. He also developed new clients for our company and continued to contribute to the growth and building of revenue in the company. It was a sincere pleasure to work with Matthew.”

Don’t get me wrong, there will be plenty who will delighted to see the back of me – you know who are!  However, at these times of introspection, it is joyous for me to know that by following the age-old mantra of trying to ‘treat others as you would wish to be treated’ and by trying your best each and every day, more people than not respond positively; your efforts are reflected back at you as images of appreciation.

I am a lucky man.

 

 

“I’m Sorry – We’re Cost Cutting and Your Position is Being Eliminated”

January 7th 2011

Today was not a good day!

The email came in from the COO – “Hey Matthew, Mike (President) and I will be in the area, can we come and see you?”  Admittedly inauspicious on the surface, I’m been around the block enough times for alarm bells to immediately toll.  When neither one would return my calls, my suspicions hardened.

By the time that Bob (COO) and Mike delivered the news “I’m sorry Matthew, but to prepare for the changes in reimbursement, the overall co is having to cut costs and yours is one of the positions to go”, my reaction was one more of resignation as opposed to surprise.

Having delivered that type of news myself on many occasions and therefore knowing how stressful these situations are for all concerned, I was impressed by the humane way that the situation was handled by both of them.  It was especially nice for them to ask me as to how I wanted the team told and then for them to deliver on my request to confirm to those assembled that this was nothing to do with performance; more so, that it was to do with costs, as there was another person in the parent co who could absorb the running of my responsibilities into their role.

They were both so complimentary as to everything I had achieved over the past 2.5 years and as to the reasons that they had enjoyed working with me.  I echoed their feelings, confirming that I had the greatest respect for both of them.

An hour after they arrived, they and my job were gone.

By the end of the day, so was I.