In March I answered a phone call from a recruiter that landed me a job a few years ago when I needed work. That firm took me on as a temp and I was hired as a permanent employee in six months. Unfortunately business was slow and I was laid off.

My next job took me very close to home and again I was a contractor. This time because the firm was owned by Europeans who did not think they needed to compensate their employees with a competitive wage. We settled on a (very nice) hourly wage, but I was asked to work only 25 hours a week. This worked out well because I needed to be home a lot ready to help my children at any time. This arrangement didn't work out well, because my kids started calling me almost daily, and school attendance was suffering due to my easy availability to rescue them when they felt ill.

Back to my phone call. I was told about a great job, and when I said I was happy where I was, I was asked what it would take for me to leave. I was also told not to worry about insulting the person making the offer.

I told him what it would take, and he said it may be possible. After a few more phone calls I went on an interview, and I was made an offer the next day. It was a job as an independent contractor and not an employee. But it was for a two to three year project, ao it didn't much matter. My only concern was the tax deduction. After working as a contractor for two years I found myself behind the eight ball for taxes that were never put aside. So when I was told that they would deduct taxes, and offer me benefits and vacation and holiday pay, I decided it was a good deal.

Now I am told that this firm wants me to become a permanent employee. But it is getting to be like a carrot in front of a horse. Months have gone by since this was told to me. I decided not to press the issue. If I become an employee they aren't going to g\ive me anything real. My salary would be cut, overtime is not paid as well as it is now, and as an employee I might wind up working far away on a project in another city. Besides, I pretty much have a job for the next three years either way.

I should know by now not to push any issue. Things work out on their own for the best, if you just leave it alone. So whether I am an employee or a contractor I will work at the same place and do the same work.

Deadlines are interesting. At the time they seem to be the most important single item in one's life, at least for me. But maybe that's because I am a little obsessive. At work, we had a deadline to meet that appeared so important, that senior execs came from all over the country along with about 60 added worker bees. When the deadline was announced, we all scoffed. Then within 48 hours our staff more than quadrupled. Changes in management happened overnight. Those higher on the food chain pushed lesser managers out of their offices, and it seemed as if all hell broke loose.

We were given about 5 weeks to produce about three and a half months of work. Amazingly our team made the deadline, with a couple of days to spare. That was only due to 12 and 14 hour days, no time off for a month (or more) and twice daily status meetings. The flurry of activity was amazing. What was more amazing was watching the transformation of the office. All of the stops were pulled. The frenetic atmosphere was contagious. We were even fed lunch and dinner every day. Anything and everything to keep us in the office working.

Now that it has passed, the extra energy is still there, being put into a new direction of being proactive and taking on the next stage of development before being given a new deadline. Absolutely amazing to me. More so because this is merely the instituting of standard corporate procedure and sticking to it. Also, having enough people to do the job helps. For example, I relinquished my supervisory duties to two or three senior managers, who did nothing else but the task I was working on. My other tasks I still kept, but even that I was given help for. Two draftpersons, a junior engineer and help from a few interns doing research for me on several items. That's what it ook to meet the deadline, and it needed to become a crises before anyone of real authority stepped up and did something.

Sadly, the motivating factor was not so much disappointing the client as it was missing a payment milestone. That had a direct effect n the exec's paycheck because they did not meet their projected sales numbers. So they didn't get their bonuses. That's when it became a crisis.

Well, the deadline passed, people are going back to their remote places, and pretty soon the free meals will stop too. But it was good while it lasted.

Mitch