I love this business! In what other industry are you afforded a truly unlimited earnings possibility, get to help people for a living, and perform your job from anywhere on the planet? For all the benefits being a Headhunter has to offer, I find the last one, mobility, to be the most fantastic!
As Tim Ferris says in his excellent book The 4-Hour Work-Week, mobility and time are the currency of the New Rich.
For the last two years, I’ve traveled around North America, pushing the limits of this idea and living my dream life. I run my search firm out of a monster RV while leading a virtual team that is home-based around the country. During my odyssey, I’ve been through a lifetime worth of experiences, and had a career’s worth of distractions. My current body count is 40 states, 5 Canadian provinces, and both coasts of Mexico.
People often ask me what my favorite destinations are that I’ve visited, and a few specific spots always come to mind. No matter where I am, that’s where my firm’s HQ is located and my recruiting takes place.
So I decided to compile a list of my 10 favorite locales to recruit virtually:
- Las Vegas. Recruiting in Vegas is not for the faint of heart. In the city of sin, a bad day on the phones can quickly descend into hell when you throw liquor and blackjack into the mix. On the flipside, there are endless entertainment options at the end of the day, including Red Rock State Park and Lake Meade just outside the city.
- Stowe, Vermont. Besides Ben & Jerry’s being right down the road, Stowe is also right in between the Adirondacks of New York and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Being an outdoor nut, I love being able to do my planning at the end of the day floating in a canoe on a lake, or prepping candidates while walking my dog through lush green forests.
- Bar Harbor, Maine. Where else can you eat lobster every day for an entire week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? While I’m sure achieving that goal spiked my cholesterol levels a bit, I tried to make up for it with the fantastic cycling and hiking available in nearby Acadia National Park.
- Custer/Black Hills, South Dakota. Located at 6k’ elevation, summer weather is 70s and 80s, and nearby attractions to visit at the end of your recruiting day include Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, Badlands National Park, Jewel Cave, and Wind Cave, Sturgis and its motorcycle museum, and Custer State Park, where the buffalos still roam.
- Taos/Santa Fe, New Mexico. The 7k’ elevation provides comfortable summer weather, as well as great skiing in the winter. Recreational and cultural attractions abound. Some of the best art galleries in the country are here, and the loop from Taos around to Angel Fire is spectacular, as well as very sparsely populated (but there is cell reception!).
- Austin, Texas. Being a UT alum, I’m totally impartial to Austin, a city with some of the best winter weather in the country (average temperatures in the 60s). The live music capital of the world, the nearby TX Hill Country is very pretty, and there are opportunities for rafting, caving, cycling, or anything else you can think of. Check out Wimberley…it’s my personal favorite.
- West Glacier, Montant. In my opinion, Glacier National Park is one of the two prettiest national parks in the entire United States (Zion is my other favorite). The mountains look like serrated knife blades carved by giant glaciers over millions of years. Deep blue glacial lakes dot the entire area. Cute little quaint towns like Whitefish and Big Fork are only a half hour away. Going-to-the-Sun Road is probably the most beautiful scenic drive in the United States of any park. For a challenge, climb Logan Pass on the continental divide by bicycle. Visit in the mid- to late-summer, as it snowed 90 inches on the pass on June 10 this year!
- Solvang/Los Olivos, California. If you’ve seen the movie Sideways, you are familiar with the Southern California wine country located a half hour north of Santa Barbara, which is also a fantastic city. After finishing your business day, go for a wine tasting at one of the 50+ vineyards in the area. Winters are mild here, while summers are hot. Beautiful mountains surround the whole area. While there, make sure to take a trip up the Pacific Coast Highway through Morro Bay, the Hearst Castle, and Big Sur.
- St. George, Utah. Located in Southern Utah only two hours north of Las Vegas, this growing city is within an hour of both Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. Go wading through waist deep water in the Narrows while staring up at 2k’ high canyons only a few feet apart on either side of you. The views in Zion are truly awe-inspiring. Brianhead Resort is 70 miles away if you want snowboarding from November through April, or Park City is just 4 hours farther north. People in this town are very polite and friendly. During your lunch hour, go for a run or bike ride through Snow Canyon which is spectacular and right on the edge of town. Only drawback- you have to drive a half hour down to Nevada to buy alcohol.
- Lake Tahoe, California/Nevada. The first time you lay eyes on Tahoe, you can’t help but fall in love with it (at least I couldn’t). This Alpine lake sits at 6200’ and is surrounded on all sides by snow-capped mountains reaching 12k+. Over a dozen ski resorts lie in these mountains, many of which allow breath-taking views of the lake while bombing down the slopes. Favorites include Heavenly, Squaw Valley, and Kirkwood. Endless hiking, biking, and other outdoor activities are available. Lots of entertainment options including several large casinos in South Lake Tahoe area just across the Nevada state line. In any season of the year, Tahoe is a magical place to visit, enjoy, and recruit from!
Wherever your dreams take you, it’s possible to be effective recruiting there. So throw all of your pre-conceived notions out the window, take some action, and go make it happen!
