“I’ll clean my house tomorrow.” “I’ll start working out next week.” “I’ll pay off that pesky Bloomingdale’s credit card bill next month.” False deadlines. We all set them for ourselves - we’re only human. The one that we recruiters tend to hear (and loathe) the most is something along the lines of “I’m going to start looking for a new job next ________.” (Fill in the bank with false deadline).

I’ll set the stage for you…

The conversation typically starts out with me calling you about an incredible opportunity in a location where you’ve only dreamed about living. It involves a shiny new title and a pretty sweet bump up in salary. It would also give you the chance to work on some big, national brands at a hot shop. As the conversation progresses, you tell me how fantastic the whole thing sounds and how you’re totally on board. You then go on to talk a little smack about your current agency… how you haven’t been promoted in 4 years, that you think your boss is a pompous a-hole and that your agency might lose one of their biggest accounts, which essentially means that you’re getting canned sooner rather than later. You mention that I called you at the perfect time and it all seems meant to be.

Then, it happens.

“Well Jamie, this all sounds wonderful, BUT I’m probably going to hold off on the job search for about 6 months.”

Wait a second. Weren’t you the one who just listed 27 million reasons as to why you are unhappy in your current situation? You even went so far as to tell me about the creepy Traffic Manager guy who gives you those disturbing, flirty looks as he passes by your desk. All in all, your situation seems pretty bad. So what could possibly be stopping you? It’s these silly little false deadlines we set for ourselves. They make us think that we’re getting somewhere by procrastinating. The reality is that remaining stagnant in a mediocre situation will not help you or your career.

So when your friendly Talent Zoo recruiter calls you with something amazing and you’re tempted to go with the false deadline response, ask yourself a couple questions. Why not now? What’s stopping me? Will anything really change in 6 months? Will my boss ever actually dismount his high-horse? Will the weird Traffic Manager ever get fired? The answer is that nothing is stopping you and that the Traffic Manager will probably remain at your agency for a lonnnnnng time to come. I’m definitely not advocating cleaning your house or paying off your Bloomie’s bill. Those can wait another day or two. All I ask is that, the next time your favorite TZ recruiter comes a callin’, take a moment to consider the possibilities.

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