Welcome from Garth Kharitou, founder of CalibrX
The Salesforce ecosystem is a fantastic community that I’ve had the pleasure of working within for close on a decade. During this time, I began to gather a network of talented people and fantastic job opportunities. When I decided to create CalibrX, my goal was simple: to create professional connections that matched the right people, with the right roles.
Earlier this year, I celebrated one year in business. I was a newbie business owner — very enthusiastic! — and was excitedly looking forward to a busy 2020. In March, the unimaginable happened and we were all plunged into a global emergency with COVID-19. The timing was terrifying as I struggled to predict whether my new business would make it through. Like all of you, my work suddenly moved from the office to the kitchen table, and my face-to-face meetings were replaced with Zoom.
And what an adjustment it has been! For an industry based on relationships, 2020 has meant major changes in recruitment. Throw the rulebook out the window, and start from scratch. No handshakes, no client catch-ups, and certainly no networking beers on a Friday!
Luckily, I had been in this position before. About fourteen years ago, I moved from London to South America. It was both exhilarating and a major challenge: I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t know what I wanted to do for work, and I didn’t know a soul aside from my partner. But, bit by bit, I started to join the dots. A new American friend connected me with an offshore recruitment role, I started learning Spanish, and I began to build a community around me. As my career in recruitment progressed, I realised that the joy I found in uniting the right person to the right job was not a passing phase. It was my passion. And so the concept for CalibrX was born.
Fast forward to 2020 and I find myself dealing with a similar sense of the unknown, both in my own fears and those of my clients. These are strange times, where the world feels a little bit upside down. But, just like in my early days in South America, I just have to keep faith that our natural human instinct to connect and network will carry us through — both personally and professionally.
And my optimism is with good reason — recruitment is not in a recession. Hiring freezes are not the norm. In fact, the statistics are telling us the opposite: 50% of workers currently employed plan to start looking for a new job1, while 84% of executive-level candidates said they’re keen on taking up a new job in the next three to six months2. Things have really taken a positive turn for recruitment, and I can confirm that my own experience placing candidates — multiple in the past few weeks alone! — reflects the numbers.
Looking ahead into the next stages of 2020, I am confident that things will not return to ‘normal’. But maybe we can all work to see the major shifts in our lives as an opportunity to create the changes we actually desire.
CalibrX is ready and waiting to meet you!
~Garth
