Chapter 11: No Balance, Only Trade-offs

Jiang Lingli told Lin Yao about the "return arrangement" for Li Xuan, which was scheduled for two months later. She had controlled the recruitment pace too much, and later on she had no control over it. Either one candidate would stand up, or another candidate's background check would have problems. In two months, the staff attendance rate was less than half, whether recommended by K Hunter or recruited by herself, crossing the red line of the recruitment cycle on the performance appraisal form. At the regular meeting, the hiring department raised the human resources issue, and Shi Zhenglin put pressure on her. If she repeatedly raised the difficulties without solving them, she would either appear too incompetent or reveal that she was working against him. "We have to hurry up on those positions." After the meeting, she called Huang Meng into the office. "Mr. Shi has very strict hiring standards. He wants everything, and even candidates who have both might not be willing to take the job. Take the BD position, for example. He's met with seven or eight, and none of them meet his requirements. The one you favored last time, with an immunology background, has legal and financial knowledge, M&A experience, and good overall skills, but he's a no-go. He's too demanding, and the headhunters can't give him a better resume. Plus, he keeps changing interview times at the last minute, sapping efficiency." Huang Meng was high-pressure, delivering a barrage of criticism. Her direct supervisor hadn't taken her seriously earlier and hadn't stepped in to coordinate when there were issues. Now the pressure was being shifted onto him, and he had complaints, but he couldn't criticize her. Jiang Lingli then decided to meet Li Xuan, whom Lin Yao had recommended. "Find the BD resume that Lin He recommended, so you can meet it first." "Didn't Mr. Shi say they wouldn't meet the person they recommended?" "They recommended it for free. Communicate with the person and get a consistent story. Say you found the resume online yourself." "Okay, okay. I'll make an appointment right away." Huang Meng felt relieved. Li Xuan took her children and parents to Dali, renting a house there. She took advantage of her downtime to relax for a while. She had originally planned to return next month, but received a call for an interview with Xingtan, prompting her to return early. Jiang Lingli's strength as an HR professional is that she doesn't set age or gender requirements; competence and experience are paramount. Her former superiors and her boss, Yang Chengkai, both listened to her advice on hiring. After interviewing Li Xuan, Jiang Lingli spoke highly of her, emphasizing that despite numerous competition, she was optimistic about her and would strongly recommend her to Mr. Shi. She was laying out her stance, building a strong relationship with her starting with the initial interview. While Shi Zhenglin was at the office, she seized the opportunity to personally coordinate his interview. "Not now, but 3 p.m. is fine, if the candidate is willing to wait," Shi Zhenglin replied. She checked her phone. It was past ten in the morning, and the wait would last several hours. "Then I'll arrange for her to wait. If she doesn't, wait..."

The "return arrangement" for Li Xuan that Jiang Lingli told Lin Yao was scheduled for two months later.

She'd over-controlled the hiring process, and eventually it was no longer within her control. One candidate would stand down, another would have issues with their background checks. For two months, less than half of the hires, whether recommended by K-hunters or hired internally, had arrived, exceeding the hiring cycle threshold set by performance evaluation forms.

At the regular meeting, the employing department raised the issue of human resources, and Shi Zhenglin put pressure on her.

If she kept mentioning the difficulties without solving them, it would either make her seem incompetent or expose the fact that she was against him.

"We need to tighten those posts."

After the meeting, she called Huang Meng into the office.

"Mr. Shi has very strict hiring standards. He wants everything, and even candidates who have everything might not be willing to take the job. Take the BD position, for example. He's met with seven or eight people, and none of them meet his requirements. The one you favored last time, an immunology major with legal and financial knowledge, M&A experience, and good overall skills, just wasn't a good fit for him. He's too demanding, and the headhunters can't give him a better resume. Plus, he keeps changing people's schedules at the last minute during interviews, which really hurts efficiency."

Huang Meng’s high pressure output.

Her direct supervisor did not take it seriously in the early stages and did not come forward to coordinate when there were problems. Now the pressure is shifted to him. He has opinions, but he can't blame her.

Only then did Jiang Lingli decide to meet Li Xuan, who was recommended by Lin Yao.

"Find the BD resume that Lin He recommended. Take a look at it first."

"Didn't they say that Mr. Shi, the person they recommended, is missing?"

"They recommend it for free. Communicate with the person and tell them you found the resume online yourself."

"Okay, okay. I'll make an appointment right away." Huang Meng felt a little relieved.

Li Xuan took her children and parents to Dali and rented a house. She took advantage of the free time to relax there for a while. She originally planned to return next month, but received a call from Xingtan for an interview and came back early.

One great thing about Jiang Lingli as an HR person is that she doesn't set any age or gender requirements, and prioritizes ability and experience. When it comes to hiring suggestions, her former superiors and big boss Yang Chengkai both listen to her.

After interviewing Li Xuan, Jiang Lingli spoke highly of her and emphasized to her that although there were many competitors, she was optimistic about her and would strongly recommend her to Mr. Shi.

She was trying to establish her stance first and win people's hearts from the very beginning.

While Shi Zhenglin was in the company, she took advantage of the opportunity and personally coordinated his interview.

"Not now, but 3 pm is fine if the candidate is willing to wait," Shi Zhenglin replied.

She checked her phone and saw that it was already past ten in the morning and people would have to wait for several hours.

"Then I'll arrange for her to wait. If she doesn't want to wait, we can wait for the next appointment."

"If you wait any longer, the first half of the year will be gone. Here are a few resumes. You can make an appointment to meet me in the next two days. I'm not on a business trip this week." He handed her a stack of resumes.

She took it and flipped through it. It basically covered several remaining key vacancies, including a BD position. Some of the resumes overlapped with his, so it should be his own person.

Her heart was beating fast, and she realized that she had been controlling the pace too much. He was using this opportunity to manipulate his own people in. He was patient and resourceful, and her plan was calculated by him.

The recruitment cycle was a red line, and if she didn't hire someone soon, her performance review would be awful. She didn't have the time or space to maneuver, so she had no choice but to hire his person.

"Okay, I'll make an appointment as soon as possible." There was no expression on her face, but there was a sense of frustration inside.

Li Xuan is still in her office.

When he came back to ask her, he didn't expect her to say she was willing to wait. Jiang Lingli carefully read the resume that Shi Zhenglin had given her. The person in the BD position was his former subordinate. He thought that Li Xuan would definitely not be able to get in, and it would be a futile wait.

The candidate, who was unaware of the situation, took it seriously. Jiang Lingli knew the truth but felt a little bad for just going through the motions, so she arranged for her to wait in the front desk reception area and even poured her a glass of water herself.

For several hours, she sat there without leaving except to go to the bathroom, and she didn't even eat lunch.

Lin Yao had already revealed Shi Zhenglin's past to her over the phone last night and discussed interview strategies with her, saying he'd worked in BD for a multinational pharmaceutical company and would undoubtedly poke questions at her during that period. Li Xuan braced herself for his professional bombardment.

At this moment, she sent another message asking about the situation, and sent a message: "If he is tough, our President Xuan will be gentle. Gentleness overcomes hardness, and she defeated him!"

It was a joke, and Li Xuan smiled and replied, "You headhunter, you just think I'm too stubborn. When you meet someone as stubborn as Shi Zhenglin, you're afraid the two of you will collide and the talks will fail."

At four o'clock in the afternoon, an hour later than originally agreed, he was finally free. Jiang Lingli took her to his office, introduced her, and left.

Shi Zhenglin is accustomed to conducting interviews alone.

Li Xuan had met him before, at an out-of-town industry forum. They'd even taken a group photo together. He sat in the front row, slightly in the middle, while she stood in the back row, in the corner. He was a true industry icon, and she was deeply impressed.

He didn't recognize her and gestured for her to sit across from him.

"How did you learn about the recruitment information for this position?" He casually flipped through the resume.

The first question is about the source.

The headhunter's resumes were formatted specifically for the company. For unmarked resumes like hers, he wanted to know if it was an internal referral and who the referrer was, to prevent connections or insider placement. Huang Meng had said when she gave him her resume that they'd found it online. He wanted to ask both sides.

"Your company's human resources department called me. I guess they saw my resume on the recruitment website." She responded naturally as Huang Meng reminded her.

"Only five months at Taoxiang?"

He picked out her weakest part and asked about it. She had worked at Tongya Group for eight years, which was written at the very beginning of her work experience column, but he seemed not to see it.

"They were laying off employees, and I was let go five months into my probation period."

"The whole line was cut?"

"No, some people."

The circle is small, she said truthfully.

"Why cut?"

"Strategic adjustment. We understand."

Even if she didn't understand Tao Xiang at all, she couldn't blame him. The secretary brought in the coffee, and she thanked him and took a sip.

Then came a few position-related questions. I asked her about the follow-up financial data of the projects acquired by Tongya Group, and then I asked her about her resources in the biotech, research institutes, and CRO industry chain, what pharmaceutical company cooperation channels she had, the design structure of past transactions, and other issues.

These questions were all within her comfort zone, and she answered them with ease. He reacted calmly.

"Married with children?"

"I have a daughter."

"How old?"

"Three years old."

"The work intensity here is quite high, and your child is still young. How do you balance work and child?" He closed his resume and put it aside, leaning back in his chair, as if the interview was coming to an end.

This is a question exclusive to women, a cliché question that cannot be avoided anywhere, and he uses it as the finale.

Unsure if it was the question or the effect of drinking coffee on an empty stomach that made her feel sick, she shifted, trying to maintain her interview demeanor. "I can't find a balance, I have to make a choice. But outside of work, to make up for what I've done, I devote all my energy to my daughter."

He didn't ask any questions for a few seconds after hearing this.

"Did you travel frequently on business before?" he continued to ask.

“Quite frequently.”

"Your husband has no objection?"

"I have some objections. I want a divorce." She said frankly.

“Who will take care of the child?”

"My parents."

"Do they understand?"

“They’re very supportive.”

"You want to go on a business trip, and your children don't agree. How will you deal with it?"

This question surprised her. A CEO who dug too deep into personal matters such as children and family was simply worried that there would be a conflict between the tasks assigned and his family. Asking too many questions was strange and annoying.

Normally, she would have been tough. She smiled and said, "I'm just being gentle. Lin Yao told me to be gentle, so I'll just be gentle and control myself."

"My child has never experienced such a situation. She feels very safe. But if it does happen, I think she is anxious in some way and I should pay attention to her feelings. My child is my priority."

The pain she felt every day was being trampled upon, and the responsibilities she carried became a burden in the workplace. She hated it and was afraid that she would fail because of this problem again, she thought.

"That's it for now, HR feedback, thank you!"

really.

It was a standard closing statement with no follow-up. She hadn't seen any sign of him having any intention of hiring her.

"Excuse me, Mr. Shi, I'd like to take up another two minutes of your time."

To hell with being so gentle, the result was already like this, she couldn't help but speak out, and the respect in her eyes turned into confrontation.

He spread his hands and waited for her to continue.

"I arrived at your company at nine in the morning," she said, checking her watch. "It's a little after four in the afternoon now. I've been waiting for your interview for over seven hours. Could you spare two minutes to share your feedback? You're a big shot in the industry, and I'd like to know what areas I need to improve on and learn from you."

Shi Zhenglin straightened up a bit without hesitation. "I recognize your expertise and experience. This position requires follow-up with many partners and requires more investment. Overtime and business trips are the norm. We also have overseas expansion plans, so we may need to go abroad frequently to follow up on joint projects. Our time to market is also very tight, and we can't afford to miss any opportunities. We need long-term, stable personnel. Given your situation, I think it will be very difficult for you to start working, and it will affect your child. I apologize."

Li Xuan laughed. She was obviously worried about the impact on her work, but he was worried about the impact on the child. She was worrying about nothing, hypocritical, and talking nonsense.

"Excuse me, but would you ask a man the question of balancing children and work?" she said bluntly.

He looked at her in silence.

She continued, "When a man asks this, he should imagine his wife or other women at home standing on the edge of the workplace begging for a job. Is this fair to them?" She picked up her bag and said, "As for me, I don't work solely for the money. I survive in the workplace for my daughter to see. I hope she sees resilience, not discrimination. Thank you for your time. Goodbye!"

She stood up and left. Her steps stung the sharp thorns. If she had a choice, she would rather these discriminatory people in power disappeared.

"Hold on."

She stopped near the door and turned to look at him. He picked up his resume again.

Silence for a few seconds.

“When can I start work?”

The sharpness in his eyes disappeared, and he gave me a calm look.

A turning point in the conclusion.

She was surprised, turned to face him, and regained some respect. "About two weeks."

"Can we do it earlier?"

"About a week."

"Manpower notification."