As for why I left TracyLocke, a lot had to do with an aptitude for sourcing employees for creative and production positions and a strong relationship with the agents and recruiters I used to work through as a freelancer. They sold me on the idea of recruiting, my job had become redundant and my operating and development budget had gotten taken away in reforecasting, so I decided to take the leap and left on -extremely- good terms.

The culture at TL has shifted significantly over the past 4 years due to senior management changes and redefinitions of various inter-corporate departments. It wasn’t better or worse, just different, and the atmosphere changed significantly enough that leaving wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Had I known how hard recruiting would turn out, I might have tried to stay on, but at least this way I left under my own choices instead of being potentially downsized. (The other guy who did what I did and was also therefore redundant found himself laid off 2 weeks after I left, so I don’t think it was an idle decision.)

In a nutshell. It’s still a great company to work for, and I’m keeping on trying to get back in. Just not desperately. I’ve got lots of friends and professional contacts there still, and I maintain those relationships carefully.