Nick is broken and getting fixed!

After long avoiding it, I’m finally getting surgery for a torn rotator cuff in my shoulder. (If you’ve ever had this, you know it hurts like the Dickens!)

rotator-cuffThis means my writing arm will be in a sling for about 6 weeks. Writing will be extremely difficult — more likely impossible, according to my surgeon — for part or all of that time.

There are no little elves producing the Ask The Headhunter website and weekly newsletter. I write and produce all the content, and participate in the online discussions — always have, because I like to mix it up with my readers.

While Ask The Headhunter goes on hiatus a few times a year for holidays and vacation, it’s never been for more than a couple of weeks. The April 25, 2023 column will likely be the last you — dear reader — will see until my arm can pitch fastballs again.

I’ll be back…

So you likely will not see a new Q&A column until the end of May or beginning of June. Your subscription to the newsletter will of course remain active, and as soon as my shoulder is fixed, it will appear again like magic in your e-mail!

In the meantime…

Please explore these popular Ask The Headhunter Resources:

The Basics

Ask The Headhunter In A Nutshell

Should I keep interviewing after I accepted a job offer?

What’s Better: Quit or get fired?

Protect Your Job: Don’t give notice when accepting a new job

Say NO to tests prior to an interview

Reductionist Recruiting: A short history of why you can’t get hired

The Bogus-ness of Indeed.com

Ask The Headhunter Bookstore (and long-forgotten photo of Nick with a soul patch – urgh!)

The Q&A Archive

See ya soon!

I will have a little elf pulling up my e-mails for me periodically, so feel free to drop me a short note if you like — but please be aware that I probably won’t be able to reply. I still love ya!

Thank you for being part of the Ask The Headhunter community, and for your patience!

Nick Corcodilos
Ask The Headhunter

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21 Comments
  1. You should have generated 7 or 8 columns from ChatGPT and posted them to see if we would have been able to tell the difference!! ;-)

    But you know us, your awesome audience, would have figured it out right away anyway….

    Anyhow, get well soon and take care.

    Well, be waiting here for when your writing arm gets better.

    • I just asked ChatGPT, and even ChatGPT didn’t recommend ChatGPT!

  2. Take are of yourself and I do hope you are better soon. Your advice is invaluable!!

  3. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

  4. Nick,
    it’s a wise decision to take care of yourself. I hope you will get well very soon. Have an easy surgery and quick recovery.

  5. Take your time to heal, Nick! Be careful of those painkillers on an empty stomach.

    Enjoy the temporary ritual of Eat, Sleep, Netflix Binge then Repeat every day for 8 weeks!

    Know Nick, that You Are So Loved by your loyal fans.

  6. All the best for a good recovery.

    We’d love to see you back as soon as possible, but please take care of yourself and don’t rush things.

  7. Nick,
    Follow the instructions from your physical therapist exactly. They now what they are doing (and get paid to inflict pain ?). Seriously though, I’ve had both knees replaced (the other very painful joint ti be worked on) and am doing wonderful.

    A couple of points to follow:
    1. Do not get behind on the pain. If you begin to hurt and are allowed (time wise) take them. Don’t be a hero or martyr.
    2. I found it was the easiest to have taken my m pain meds an hour before exercising. The meds were in my system and the exercises didn’t hurt as much.
    3. Do the type and number of reps for a given exercise. Don’t think that if 5 is good 10 is better. I’m like that but I put myself in the mindset to do exactly what PT told me to. Now my surgeon considers me his over achiever.

    I also started with some shoulder pain early last year. Diagnoses: rotator cuff deterioration and arthritis. Gave me the post op exercises and as long as I do them I’m good. If I get lazy and overdo it, I’m in pain.

    Good luck and take care.

    John

  8. May your surgery go smoothly and your recovery go well. Your advice will be missed , true, and we’ll be here waiting when you are able to fully resume your work…also true. Take your time. Allow for a complete recovery. Be patient and kind to yourself.

  9. Wishing you a smooth surgery and speedy recovery!
    And don’t get back to writing too soon as you know your body will make you for it with a slower recovery…
    Greetings from Switzerland!

  10. Hang in there. My son (weightlifter) had the same procedure. came through it fine via good doc and good therapist & being a good patient who did what therapists told him to do.
    He’s lifting again.

  11. Happy healing, Nick!

  12. Best wishes for a well-done procedure and an uneventful recovery! I had my rotator cuff rebuilt successfully a few years ago, and while it was inconvenient, I was surprised at how well they managed the practically nonexistent post-operative pain and PT afterward.

  13. Wishing you a rapid return to health and back in the saddle quickly..Les Segarnick aka THE Interview Surgeon.

  14. After years of Tuesday morning emails, we’ll miss you but wish you the best and a healthy recovery!

  15. Damn those HR people, they’re more than likely responsible for this too! HAHAHA I couldn’t resist adding to the “it’s all HR’s fault” mantra prevalent on this board.

  16. Nick, I wish you a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. Please don’t try to do too much too soon, or your recovery will be slower!

  17. Nick,
    Thanks for all the great columns (so far)! Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Hint: You will come to hate your physical therapist. :)

    As far as ChatGPT goes, I have been doing some experiments and so far anyone with an IQ north of 60 has nothing to fear. At least yet.

    See you in a couple months.

  18. Best wishes to you, Nick! Take as long as you need to fully recover. Might be a good time for you to visit the possible stockpile of movies on your DVR.

  19. Wow — thanks to all for your kind posts, good wishes and for the dozens of e-mails! Wish I could respond to each of you personally. I’m using both mouse and keyboard with left hand — haven’t been able to find a good speech-to-text app that runs on Windows. I did find a nifty online conversion tool, it’s awkward, slow going and tiring and that’s what I’m using to write this.

    Surgery went very well — the Hospital for Special Surgeries in New York City is just phenomenal. My shoulder cuff had multiple, very large tears, so I’ll be in a sling for 6 weeks, then lots of physical therapy. Prognosis is good and I’m eager to do whatever is necessary to get back into shape. The biggest factor in healing is me and my behavior, and I’m up for it!

    FWIW, when I asked my surgeon (who is the lead physician for the NY Giants – did I score, or what?) what’s the most important thing I can do to ensure the best and earliest recovery, he echoed the advice many of you offered — “Follow instructions and don’t overdo it!”

    I look forward to getting back to work, but it’s also been wonderful to have time to just blue-sky about what I do and how it can be better!

    Best to you all, thanks a million for your kind words, and please feel free to drop a note anytime. Even if I may not be able to respond, I read them all!

    Time for the ice vest — my new best friend!

    With kind regards,

    Nick

  20. Best of luck on the recovery. There might be some open source speech-to-text programs out there from what I understand if the current program you are using is cumbersome.