It's Friday and it's Veteran's Day. With a respectful nod to those who wear the uniform in support of our freedom, both past and present, I though a little humor is in order. I received these "quotations" in a heavily forwarded email yesterday. These are ostensibly from the Australian government, but most of them could easily he heard in the HR Department of any company!
THESE ARE "ACTUAL" QUOTES TAKEN FROM AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS.
1) "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock-bottom and has started to dig."
2) "I would not allow this employee to breed."
3) "This employee is really not so much of a has-been, but more of a definite won't be."
4) "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap."
5) "When she opens her mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet."
6) "He would be out of his depth in a parking lot puddle."
7) "This young lady has delusions of adequacy."
8) "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them."
9) "This employee is depriving a village somewhere of an idiot."
10) "This employee should go far, and the sooner he starts, the better."
On Tuesday, November 15th from 6PM-8PM REBUS is ecstatic to visit the home of the 2011 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals for the REBUS Quadruple Play Client Panel!
Boasting a set of St. Louis brand icons from companies such as Monsanto, The St. Louis Cardinals, Stereotaxis and one other to be named, the Quadruple Play will allow attendees to get an insight into the work of senior marketers at some of St. Louis’ most iconic companies. The Q&A panel will be chaired by Jennifer Simler, Account Director at Switch, and will give you a chance to ask these representatives ‘anything and everything’ about working for well-known brands in St. Louis.
Further, for a scant ten-dollar entry fee, you will enjoy an evening of delectable food and drink in the Cardinals Club, one of Busch’s finest spaces that is traditionally used only by St. Louis Cardinals green-seat season ticket holders. Free Parking is across the street from Paddy O's in Parking Lot A
Unfortunately, attendance and free parking is limited to the first seventy-five registrants, so make sure to visit http://on.fb.me/sDv5Ry to reserve your spot today! Check it out now, you don’t want to have to “wait for next year”!
Want to get on the Q&A list before the event? Tweet us @REBUS_STL!
I've been a fan of LInkedIn as a professional networking site and as a source for research and new business development. I know many of you have too. I hope what I'm about to share is more of an anomoly than a trend. Even as a single incident, it's annoying (at the very least).
I came across this information today from another LinkedIn user, and thought you might like to know about it as well.
-Basically, you should probably sign in to your LinkedIn account and change some of your preferences as noted in the article below. [I did go in and change mine]
Apparently, LinkedIn has recently done us the “favor” of having a default setting whereby our names and photos can be used for third-party advertising. A friend forwarded me this alert (from a friend, from a friend…) this morning.
Devious. And I expect that you, like me, don't want to participate.
This graphic shows you how to Uncheck The Box:
1. Click on your name on your LinkedIn homepage (upper right corner). On the drop-down menu, select “Settings”.
2. From the “Settings” page, select “Account*”.
3. In the column next to “Account”, click “Manage Social Advertising” .
4. De-select the box next to “LinkedIn may use my name, photo in social advertising” .
Nice try, LinkedIn. But, no thanks!
*UPDATE: After you finish with Account, check the new default settings under E-mail Preferences (such as Partner InMails); and Groups, Companies & Applications (such as Data Sharing with 3rd-party applications). It’s a Facebook deja vu!
I suggest that you share this with your LinkedIn friends and colleagues!
I received a link to this blog posting this morning from my friend and author, Richard Wollenberger. His thoughts were initially posted on the Parents As Teachers Blog. I thought they should be shared!
"Steve Jobs died yesterday.
I never met him. I’m not sure if I’ve even been in the same room as him. I was at a product introduction speech at Macworld in 2003, but I don’t remember if Steve was the keynote speaker at that expo.
But Steve changed my life.
I was a senior in college when the now-famous 1984 commercial aired during the Superbowl. The next year I was working as a booking agent for small performing arts talent agency in New York city when our secretary sent the wrong contract out for a show and caused a huge ruckus.
I told the boss we should get a computer so we could keep track of all our stuff better. He sent me out shopping. My conclusion: buy a Macintosh. I was convinced that, combined with two other new things —desktop publishing and a laser printer—we could keep track of everything and even create some of our own marketing material!
(Side note: That boss told me he wouldn’t buy anything from Apple because his friend in California said they wouldn’t be around in 5 years. Today Apple has one of the highest market cap’s in the country and over $80 BILLION in the bank. I guess he was wrong!)
I worked with my first Mac in February 1987, and I was hooked. Next Wednesday will mark my 24th anniversary in the computer business, and I have loved it from the beginning. Steve Jobs is why. He had the vision that everyone could (and would) use a computer. But only if they were easy to use.
If you don’t think he was right consider this: how many of you either own or have owned an Apple I, II, IIe, IIc, IIgs, Lisa, or a Macintosh computer? How about an iMac, iPod, iPhone, or iPad?
Apple didn’t invent the personal computer; Apple just made it personal. And they didn’t invent portable music players, cell phones, smartphones, or tablet computers; they made them better than anyone else. And they made them easy to use.
That first time I used a Mac made me realize that there were a world of possibilities that I could grasp if I worked hard enough. Thanks in large part to Steve Jobs, even the smallest kids today are connected via technology to a world of information their parents could only imagine. Technology is part of our everday lives. Part of the job of Parents as Teachers is to help parents guide that connection in appropriate ways.
I’ve been fortunate to have some good teachers in the past 24 years, but the vision that drove Steve Jobs, and therefore Apple, allowed me to flourish and really enjoy the work I do every single day. Even the difficult ones.
Today Steve Jobs is being hailed as the Thomas Edison of our time.
So, thank you, Steve, for inspiring me to “Think Different” and to enjoy my life’s work."
Richard Wollenberger is IT Director at Parents as Teachers national office.
The economy has changed . . . forever. Expectations have changed . . . forever!
As a result of that change, employers have changed their approach to hiring and their expectations of employees' performance. Employees are caught in the middle and not everyone will suvive . . . many have already been cast aside.
When you don't survive at one place or your looking for that next career opportunity, the bar for hiring qualifications is being raised. In this era of multi-tasking, "smart" phone ubiquity, client/customer expectations soaring, work-family life balance barely existing, hours increasing and professional "fun" decreasing . . . Employers (rightfully) want premier, stand out from the crowd employees. It's no longer sufficient to simply be "qualified" and/or experienced.
I ran across an excellent article on this point at B-To-B Magaine,in the September 19, 2011 edition written by James Rogers, VP of Marketing at Hoover's:
"I still remember the first time it happened. I was interviewing a candidate for a marketing position, asking fairly routine questions. It was a pleasant, efficient exchange. Twenty minutes or so later, after I had mentally checked all the boxes, I was satisfied that the candidate was perfectly qualified. As I shook his hand and concluded the interview, I felt a pang of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. In that moment, I knew I wouldn't hire him.
This wasn't a simple instance of “going with my gut.” No, it was more than that. Something was missing ... something equally, if not more, important than an impressive litany of credentials.
The candidate was competent. That's why I decided not to bring him on board.
These days, competence is good, but it's not good enough. The world of marketing is drastically different than it was five years ago. Economic pressures are shrinking discretionary marketing budgets and forcing accountability and traceability to all programs. In addition, analytics tools, digital marketing programs and the social media explosion are constantly changing the landscape. So, yes, marketing success requires core competency, but it also demands innovation and agility.
General Description: This is a new position based on the ongoing growth of our St. Louis client. We’re looking for an experienced branding and marketing communications executive who commands the respect of the client with their attitude, talent, experience and brain. We need someone with agency leadership as well as account and operational management experience. We’re looking for someone who can help lead our clients through the nuances of strategic brand positioning based on research, and very smart thinking resulting in exquisitely executed creative. We’re looking for indefatigable energy, enthusiasm and an entrepreneurial spirit . . . We want you to help nurture the existing staff and help grow that staff and the company.
Primary Responsibilities: • Act as primary client liaison through the development of client strategy and resulting appropriate project executions, including budget and timeline oversight. • Be responsible for managing the activity of account teams. This activity includes generating sales, project design (creative), administration, presentations and cost control. • Monitor and mentor performance, capacity and growth of client service teams and be responsible for each client’s business to manage revenue, profitability and organic growth targets. • Increase the level of agency services and provide key marketing advice to internal brand managers and top client management. • Increase the visibility of agency and its services among the key prospective client categories and executives. • Conduct and/or supervise research and deliver sales presentations; write proposals, brand positioning statements and the occasional brief. • Develop new business acquisition strategy with agency Principals to expand client base and consistently continue agency growth. • Participate on Executive Team for planning Company initiatives and growth strategy. • Travel as necessary in support of client activities (~20%)
Experience: The ideal candidate must have a superb track record with at least 15 years of senior level client management experience and internal executive level operations experience in an agency and/or client environment. We need specific experience with research based brand positioning, identity creation or refreshing for both B2C and B2B category leading clients, including non-profits. We expect a degree in marketing or closely related field, and we would prefer an MBA. We need a person who has successfully managed teams of employees, if not entire offices or companies. The candidate will have experience working across all forms of media: print, broadcast, promotion, online, direct and environmental design and have experience working closely with creatives.
The ideal candidate will possess keen analytical skills, is a strong decision maker and is results oriented. Strong interpersonal skills along with both written and verbal communication expertise are required. It’s essential you be team-oriented and proactive, as these attributes are intrinsic to the overall culture and success of the agency. We need a strategic account professional with personality and style, and who understands “thinking big”. You’ve always lead by example and have more of a global perspective and awareness of best practice branding and marketing communication tactics.
Compensation: Compensation will be commensurate with experience and designed to attract premier candidates. There is no “glass ceiling”! The compensation is based on a salary, with performance based bonus and additional incentives possible. That base compensation is coupled with an outstanding benefits package including medical, life and disability insurance and a 401K with a company match. This is an outstanding opportunity for significant financial success, career longevity, and ongoing professional and personal growth. There is no relocation package being provided.
About Our Client: Our client started with one employee 18 months ago and now has six. They are consistently winning new business, because they are smarter in their strategy and insights, while delivering best in class creative for their clients’ benefit. They are creating a collaborative culture based on smart thinking, the highest quality execution and a company culture that values collaboration and respect for colleagues, clients and family. The diverse client base includes category leaders in entertainment, construction, education, healthcare and non-profits. EOE
This article by John Zappe, originally appeared in ere.net daily (a blog for recruiters), earlier today. I thought that in view of the ongoing employment crisis, it would be useful for job seekers to know about this new tool. I've always recommended to people looking for their next opportunity to keep their eye on Indeed.com. It'll be interesting to see if this new feature dilutes, or enhances the site. Read the comments, there are interesting thoughts about privacy!
Taking the next logical step in its evolution from job search engine to job board, Indeed today unveiled its resume search service.
The carefully planned launch had been scheduled to occur tomorrow, but an error in distributing the press release forced the company to lift the embargo it had placed on bloggers, analysts, and others who got a preview of the service earlier this week.
It’s a straightforward search, identical in most regards to the site’s job search. It is keyword based, though it will accept some Boolean and Google query types. Searches can be easily narrowed by simply selecting from a menu on the left that shows up on results pages.
Searching and reviewing resumes is free and will remain that way. But contacting the candidates — free for now — will eventually cost. How much, said Chris Hyams, Indeed’s VP of Product, who piloted the demos, won’t be released for a while.
For now, the “goal is to introduce the system to as many people as possible,” said Hyams.
Job seekers will appreciate the simplicity of the system. It accepts all forms of resumes and will import a user’s LinkedIn profile. Users can elect to keep the resume private and not findable in a search, or make it public. In the latter case, the contact information is stripped out. Employers use a form to contact the job seeker, who decides whether or not to respond. Job seekers can also apply to jobs they find on Indeed with their resume.
The interface, said Hyams, was designed for ease of use. “We always start with the question: What is best for the job seeker?”
Since Indeed began collecting resumes several months ago it was only a matter of time before the site offered resume search. After more than a million resumes, the time, obviously, has come.
Even Hyams more or less joked about the resume service being an open secret, especially to the job boards whose relationship with Indeed can best be described as “frenemy.”
“This is not going to be an earth-shattering surprise,” Hyams said earlier this week during a preview.
Pardon the pun, but indeed it isn’t. There’s been no response from the job boards, nor is it likely any of them will have much to say publicly. Many of them are Indeed customers, buying PPC ads to drive traffic to their own sites. Many of them, though far fewer these days, depend on Indeed to distribute their own listings to a broader market.
The first half of this year exhibited many signs of economic improvement, including increasing hiring activity in the regional marketing industry. Now that Summer's "officially" over as of last weekend, we have President Obama making a major speech on the economy and job creation this evening. We're obviously not out of the woods yet. Unemployment runs high and many are frustrated. I found this excellent article with ideas on job hunting. I wanted to share it with those of you who need a little new inspiration and/or direction!
This article was written by Jessica Stillman and originally published online on the BNET blog:
"Forget CareerBuilder, HotJobs, and all the other mass job sites. While these boards seem like a good place to start, how many people do you know who actually found a job that way? Even hiring managers don’t want to sort through the hundreds and hundreds of resumes they get for each position they list on these sites, so they’re increasingly turning to industry-specific job portals, says Debra Yergen, author of Creating Job Security."
And Zimmerman isn’t the only person pointing out that job boards are often a waste of time. Everyone from the WSJ to Ask the Headhunter’s Nick Corcodolis has written posts advising that there are probably more productive ways to spend most of your job search hours. But if job boards are on the wane, how are companies and recruiters finding people to hire? And how can you best position yourself to be found?
Writing on recruiting blog Fistful of Talent recently, Kelly Dingee, a “professional stalker” with Staffing Advisors, lets the cat out of the bag and offers up seven things employers should tell job seekers about how to get considered. Dingee isn’t convinced job boards are totally over saying, “there will be people looking for you on there. At least for a little while longer.” But overall Dingee agrees with consensus opinion that too much time on job boards isn’t productive and offers tips to help you get hired in a post-job board world, including old standbys like networking — “Find someone who works at your targeted company who can pass your resume along” — as well as less well known advice:
Make yourself findable first. Google yourself right now. Did your LinkedIn profile come up? No? Build one, make it public. If you have a preferred method of contact, note it. Use inmails. Use a separate email.
Make yourself even more findable. Post your resume, or your bio, or whatever you want to call it. Use Posterous, use WordPress, use a .me site, use doctoc or slideshare… use something.
Make sure when you build those profiles you use every keyword that applies to you. I like to say I’m a researcher but my title is Strategic Recruiting Manager… and if I was anticipating a job hunt and tweaking my profile I’d make sure every word related to recruiting and research both are enmeshed in my online profile.
Respond to recruiters. Third party or corporate I don’t care. If you don’t deal with contingency staffing firms, fine, send ‘em a quick note of thank you/no thank you, get removed from their mailing list. But do your due diligence, because you want to work with a retained search firm…. There’s a significant difference between retained and contingency search firms. You can go around me and apply directly through our client, but they are still going to route you my way because our firm has been hired — and already paid — to alleviate their staffing burden."
LinkedIn is a valuable tool, and is used by both internal and third party recruiters as their "go to" database for identifying possible hires. It's worth your while (it's essential) that you build out your LinkedIn Profile with as much detail, as possible. My suggestion is to get several recommendations from your superiors, or clients.
I'm proud and flattered to have been featured in this post . . . thankfully, on the right side of the issue! You can check out Uwe Hook's blog here. You can find his bio here. Thanks very much Uwe!
"The majority of recruiters don’t deserve a dime.
There, I said it.
Recruiter: Are you a pimp? Or a coach?
A few years back, my wife and I decided it might be time to leave Los Angeles.
We just had a kid. Los Angeles didn’t feel like the perfect place to raise our precious miracle.
Maybe we should move to the Mid-West.
Or up North.
East Coast.
I was contacted by tons of recruiters.
Big agencies. Small agencies. Start-ups.
Recruiters were falling all over themselves to offer opportunities.
In a very short period of time, I realized there are two kinds of recruiters:
Pimps and coaches.
The Pimp
The pimp doesn’t care about you.
They just care about their own bank account.
They pimp you out to any employer with an opening.
Not a perfect fit? We’ll make it fit.
Not the right position to achieve your goals? As long as you achieve their goals, who gives a damn?
Pimps don’t care about candidates, they only care about themselves. Their goals, their objectives.
They don’t give you feedback, they don’t prep you, and they’re just there to collect money.
Their goal is to get more business from the client.
When an opportunity doesn’t work out, they never call you back.
I'm pleased to have been interviewed for my client Bozell's (yes, that Bozell!) quarterly pubication, "Think". This article was written by Robin Donovan, Managing Partner of Bozell. Please check out her award winning blog: www.menologues.com!
The Latest from Bozell
Things are tough all over. The economy is taking its own sweet time rebounding, and certain key indicators are continuing to nosedive. Getting jobs in any industry, in any market, presents a challenge, and marketing job searches have some added barriers to success.
The daunting challenge of finding a job in marketing has spawned a plethora of books and articles on the subject. David Dirks, author of Job Search Marketing: Finding Job Opportunities in Any Economy, has practically made a career of advising folks on how to find that most elusive of positions.
In addition to his recent book, Dirks hosts a weekly radio show called “Job Search Marketing.” Dirks espouses creating your own personal marketing and branding campaign, and his book provides strategies and tactics designed to shorten the duration of your search.
So why all the fuss over finding jobs in marketing? Are they really that much harder to find than jobs in other areas? Theoretically these are intelligent, well-educated people who know how to persuade others. Shouldn’t they excel at landing a job?
Unemployment is high nationally, and decidedly higher in select pockets of the country. Marketing jobs have morphed over time, which has added levels of complication to the search equation. Coinciding with a dip in respect for marketing professionals in general, companies have cleverly saved money by merging marketing positions with other disciplines, such as engineering, or saving money by promoting administrative people into lead marketing positions at a fraction of the cost. This trend has significantly reduced the number of marketing positions available, as well as the level of overall marketing excellence.
St. Louis Marketing recruiter Bob Bishop believes that 9/11 created a black hole in marketing employment: “7 out of 10 marketing resumes stopped wherever they were in 2001, the level of very successful people that were getting laid off was astounding.” Bishop believes that it has taken top management 10 years to begin to prove the worth of marketing by showing a resulting return on investment from campaigns. He believes the need for a tangible ROI could be one reason behind the fact that digital has become an absolute point of entry when hiring marketers.
The good news, Bishop said, is that things are finally starting to loosen up a bit. In fact, in his blog, The Marketing Recruiter, he claims that problems are beginning to arise “because hiring managers are aggressively trying to increase human capital to reach their 2011 revenue goals. Having the right people in the right seats is key, and we see many companies take too much time when seeking to hire good talent.”
So with a light finally shining at the end of the tunnel, what are some of the other key points to consider in order to land one of these plum positions? Don’t just sit around and respond to job postings. Instead, Bishop recommends that you market yourself to the companies where you would like to be employed.
Most job seekers, marketers included, just sit around getting hurt feelings when they send a resume and don’t hear back right away. They develop the attitude that “nobody likes me.” Thin skin like that can really tank a search effort. Bishop suggests self-expectation management. Understand that those hiring have a mountain of paperwork to wade through just to see your resume. Try not to be so thin-skinned—and get busy marketing yourself.
Bishop believes the most likely path to gainful employment is to market yourself just as you would any other product. If you have the resources to create your own “look,” even better. Bishop recommends identifying a list of fifty companies by whom you would like to be employed. Determine the people within those companies who need to be aware of and impressed by your personal brand. He strongly admonishes any job seeker who emails or calls asking for a response, or even implying they’re looking for one. Don’t place any more demands on the already busy people you’re trying to impress—just keep building your own brand equity over time.
A simple, personalized and mailed message should be sent to each name on your list every few weeks. It should be a campaign as opposed to a one-shot effort. “Surprisingly, nobody does this,” Bishop said.
Bishop also acknowledged LinkedIn as the king of business networking. Get your profile up and completed, if you haven’t already. Start building a base of meaningful recommendations as well.
For a professional marketer, these suggestions for a proactive approach to a job search should be second nature. Do unto yourself as you would like to get a job doing unto others.
I'm very proud to be a collaborator in the founding of a new organization in St. Louis called ready+willing. I invite you to visit our website to learn a bit more about us.
ready+willing was founded to give back to the St. Louis community. Participants in ready+willing will be marketing professionals at every level (both agency and client side) who want to help St. Louis charities. We will work with non-profits and charities who are unable to get marketing support through any "normal" channels. These are the charities who are "left behind", despite the value the deliver to their stakeholders. ready+willing can and will help!
We’re currently looking for the “willingness” from the marketing community, with the “readiness” to follow! We need volunteer “mentors”. Mentors have experience and likely start at the Account Supervisor, or Associate Creative Director levels and above. We’re asking for a couple of hours a month in supervising younger professionals who are executing the tactics of the marketing communications, while they build their books with "real" work. It’s the mentors’ job to do just that . . . mentor! r+w wants the mentors to make sure that the quality of the work produced is as good as r+w's aspirations!
ready+willing is being composed of a mix of experienced, multifaceted individuals that come from a diverse range of backgrounds including nonprofit management, marketing, advertising, strategic development, management, graphic design, public relations, communications, and business development to name a few. More importantly, the talents and skills of these individuals can be represented in the quality work they have become known for and their dedication to the St. Louis Community.
We’ve finalized our first “client” and are ready to ask for your help. r+w is appealing to those of you who want to contribute to our community, and help younger professional advance in their career. You’ll have the chance to work with this organization, for the benefit of the client organization and in so doing sustain and enhance its impact on the St. Louis Community.
Event: November 6th, 2011 Clayton Police Department's Special Olympics 5K Run & Walk & .5-mile Youth Fun Run
Organization Mission/Values/Purpose: The St. Louis Track Club encourages running, walking, and fitness for persons of all ages and abilities. The club organizes events, disseminates information related to the benefits of running and physical fitness and encourages membership.
Goal/Purpose of Project: Need assistance promoting annual half marathon and 5k that is organized with the Clayton Police Department and benefits the St. Louis Special Olympics.
Materials of Interest: Print and Online - newspaper, magazine, and online ads (media placement not included); direct mail and poster/point of sale.
For you mentor candidates that can't decide whether or not to get involved . . . Mentoring with ready + willing is a remarkably low impact way to have significant impact. Mentors have the experience + expertise to collaborate with younger, less experienced pros and make their work better. In so doing you also help make their books better, which makes the client effort (non-profit or charity) better. All of this also contributes to the skill/experience of the St. Louis advertising and marketing community. Seems like it's a win-win all around!
If you have questions, feel free to give me a call at my office. If you're interested, download and complete the application, then email it to Info@ReadyandWilling.org. We look forward to working with you for the benefit of the St. Louis community!
Last week Rodgers Townsend (Thanks to Jen Oertli!) was kind enough to once again let us use their big conference room and facilities as REBUS plans for 2011 and '12. We were excited to have at least 30 attendees, many of whom were new faces . . . all of whom were enthusiastic about doing what they can to help REBUS grow and deliver even more value in the future.
We went into the meeting looking for volunteers for various positions, and got them. This does not mean we're "covered"! There is still room for more help in every category including writers (social media communicators) to help with the blog and the other REBUS online presence. There is room for writers of every level to contribute to the blog and Twitter. We're always looking for additional designers, especially those with html and online skills. We're creating a "video team" to cover our events, and any other videos we (they) decide to produce. We also need Special Event Managers. If you're interested in any of these opportunities, please contact Danny (Danny.Elchert@yahoo.com) or Rachel (Rachel.Barbieri@gmail.com), they'll hook you up.
The one other position that we are currently seeking candidates for is REBUS leadership in one of the co-Chair positions. It's time to start to rotate a new motivated young professional into the existing mix. If you're interested in applying for the position, just let Danny or Rachel know. The position is fun, rewarding and certainly one of the best advertising networking opportunity in town!
In addition to the normal monthly events at agencies, we're planning to start adding client visits to the schedule. St. Louis is home to a number of category leading companies who understand the value of marketing and advertising. We think we can get their support, and getting their perspective will be invaluable. There's no other association opportunity to have that unusual kind of dialog!
I'm personally very excited about several other events that were discussed. These might be beyond the normal monthly meetings, and could be "stand alone" events . . . some maybe taking a half or even full day. We're talking about "How Do Agencies Get Started?" (working title), which might also include, how do I get more freelance business . . . or how do I get my own (creative or marketing) business started (at any level)!?
We also discussed the possibility of a day long seminar on issues related to "Personal Branding for Career Success", which might include topics like how do I create an online brand for myself, and then market that brand. How do I get started understanding the value of and taking advantage of social media? It might include a portfolio track . . . We plan to make it what people want.
We also discussed REBUS supporting some sort of "Outreach to area High Schools". The advertising industry as a whole nationally is not doing a good job of recruiting the best and the brighest, like it once did. There was a time when (for example) graduates from Ivy League Universities enthusiastically sought, and would be proud to win an assistant AE position on Madison Avenue. There was an excitement about advertising as a career and amazingly enough, it was harder to get that first job then, than it is now! This outreach could also help address some of the diversity in recruitment issues that advertising is confronting on a national level. Some in attendance thought that explaining to high school students the value, excitement and fun of advertising or marketing as a career was something REBUS could do very well . . . I agree.
What do you think about some of these events? We'd love to hear suggestions from you about other events or speakers you'd like to see in St. Louis! As I said to those in attendance . . . there's no excuse. We can do whatever anyone wants. All we need is the volunteer power to pull it off!
It's once again time for any of you who are interested in contributing to REBUS and helping your own career at the same time to join us in concepting and planning for next year. Rodgers Townsend has once again generously agreed to let us use their facilities and cosmic conference room to plan what's up next for REBUS. We want your input and then, we hope you'll help.
We're having trouble deciding which promotional copy to go with for this event. I thought I'd just see which you prefer! Hope to see you at RT on Wednesday evening, the 13th. We need you and we want you! Please RSVP on Facebook.
WE’RE HOLDING THIS LITTLE KITTEN HOSTAGE
• We’ve taken desperate measures. Without volunteers, REBUS is without hope, without air, without a chance in this dark world. In our desperation, we’ve turned to a life of crime, and have taken Mr. Snuggle-Whiskers hostage. But believe it or not (and we would suggest not), you can do something about it! You can stop this madness! You can free us from our despair and save Mr. Snuggle-Whiskers from a ghastly end! Join us at our annual volunteer planning meeting at Rodgers Townsend at 6pm on July 13th, to learn a little bit about how volunteering with REBUS could help you with your career, and save us from our despair. It may just be enough to save Mr. Snuggle-Whiskers.
Or,
BE SELF-CENTERED, VOLUNTEER
• You want to volunteer? How self-centered, vain, and inconsiderate of you. Clearly, you know that volunteering with REBUS can give you tons of contacts in the world of advertising, great insights into the trade, and put you ahead in your career. Oh, you would want to volunteer you narcissistic, conceited, brown-noser. We’ll see you at 6pm on Wednesday, July 13th at Rodgers Townsend for our annual volunteer meeting, please bring your enthusiasm…and your ego.
Thanks to Tipper O'Brien for the copywriting . . .
It's hard to believe that July 1st was the 10th anniversay of Bishop Partners and this recruiting business. I'm very thankful that we're still here! I've had recruiting colleagues who became friends over the years, who were not able to survive the past couple of years of hiring slow down. I'm thankful for my wife Barbara, who's stuck with me through the good times and the difficult times. I'm also very thankful for all the people I've met doing this work . . . many of whom I'm proud to say have become my friends . . . both candidates and clients alike.
After years at Group360 (with its previous ownership) I missed the marketing communications, comraderie and friendship that I'd developed in the St. Louis region over the previous 25 years as a commercial photographer. I was interested in staying in marketing and advertising, refreshing old relationships and developing new ones. I wanted to contribute to St. Louis and its professional advertising and marketing community. As they say, "Make a mark"! . . . Let them know you were here!
Here we are 10 years later . . . allow me to indulge myself in looking back, and being proud of what I've participated in, and in some ways accomplished!
75+ placements totalling almost $4.7MM in salaries.
Successfully completing 41 out of 44 retained searches, putting Bishop Partners in the top 2% for retained recruiting success nationwide!
I have placed candidates on tracks to become partners, or the next generation of creative, account and executive leaders.
Over 70% of placed candidates continue to successfully contribute to my client after three years (with the record for long term placement being eight years!)
I have helped talented professionals take advantage of opportunities for their career growth, that they didn't know existed.
There are likely hundreds of professionals who needed some serious help with their resume and/or portfolio, and I did my best to help . . . at least get them pointed in the right direction.
I've served on the Ad Club Board as Membership Chair for over two years.
I was one of two founders of REBUS, a vibrant and growing regional marketing organization.
I'm proud to have been asked to help found ready + willing, St. Louis' newest marketing organization dedicated to giving back to local charities and the St. Louis community.
The whole social media extravaganza was born and started growing up in these 10 years . . . trying to find my "online legs" has been challenging, rewarding and fun!
I've made friends . . . perhaps most importantly, I've made friends!
There's more to do. My goals are to help REBUS develop a strong organizational structure, that will be self-sufficient while continuing to provide value and benefit to the community, in ways the attendees decide. I want to see ready + willing grow, and become an indispensible resource for those charities who have no where else to turn for their marketing communications support. I want to continue to help clients learn how to retain their top performing employees, and how to attract the next generations of leadership. I want to support marketing and advertising as a viable, professional career that goes beyond "selling" to expanding its contibution to our community and culture.
I want to continue having fun, meeting new people and growing . . . both professionally and personally. I appreciate all the help, support and direction that many of you have provided for my doing just that . . . for the past 10 years! Let's do it again . . . for another 10 (at least)!
This is the second of two parts of a blog (below) started yesterday. You can find it here.
"The Core Philosophy of Recruitment 3.0: Everyone is a potential candidate or brand ambassador, even your consumers!
At the core of the philosophy of Recruitment 3.0 is the definition of a candidate. We typically define one as someone who has nominated themselves to be part of an election process. A voluntary act.
But at what point does someone volunteer themselves to be a candidate? When they see your advertisement? When they apply to your advertisement? When you interview them?
So if they are not a candidate until they volunteer themselves, what are they?
They are your average person sitting drinking a coffee in Starbucks, or leading a team at work, speaking at a conference, running down the road, watching TV, or having a pint of the finest ale down the local pub.
What turns a regular person into a candidate? A whole host of reasons. Not being recognized for their contribution at work, poor relationship with their manager, lack of career development, lack of challenging work, poor remuneration.
A company either waits for the moment that someone presses the button and turns themselves into a candidate and then jumps on them, or makes a proposition that is attractive and tempts them into candidacy.
Hence at the core of Recruitment 3.0 is that everyone is a candidate. And it is up to us to create candidates not wait.
The Core Philosophy of Recruitment 3.0: employment brand is pivotal to your success in talent acquisition
What is a brand? Simply a person’s gut feel to a product, service, or organization. Many companies spend millions on their corporate brand identity. But they spend little or no time on defining an employment brand. Indeed some companies are so arrogant they believe their corporate brand is enough to attract people to work for them. Amazing how many well-known corporate brands are nightmares to work for as the arrogance of senior leadership and management feel it is a career pleasure to work for them and spend no time on developing/retaining their core assets.
In catching up on some recruiting blogs and articles over the weekend, I ran across what I think is one of the best assessments of the current state of talent acquisition (recruiting) and employers' attitudes about hiring employees. This article was written by Matthew Jeffery with the help of co-Author Amy McKee, Director of Global Talent Acquisiton at Autodesk. This is an excerpt of a much more detailed article pubished in the June issue of the Journal of Corporate Recruiting Leadership.
There is complaceny and misunderstanding in offices of hiring managers at companies both large and small. Is it possible that complacency and misunderstanding can actually restrict a company's ability to grow and prosper? Think about it . . . the answer is obviously yes.
"There has never been a better time to be a recruiter.
What we do can quite literally make or break a company. If we can’t attract and retain the best staff, then our company will lose ground rapidly, financials will suffer, and it will die a slow painful death.
Recruitment is undergoing a change. Not just a small scale evolution but a fundamental seismic shift. A change that will see the recruiting landscape change forever. A change that will see many traditional recruiters falling behind and being replaced by new, differently skilled recruiters, ready for the challenges of Recruitment 3.0.
Indeed, it is not only recruiters who will be found obsolete in Recruitment 3.0 but many of the current recruitment leaders in top companies today, criminally not preparing their Fortune 500 Companies for the new realities of a changing recruitment landscape. Recruitment leaders’ version 1.0 are real, out there in abundance, so obsessed in process and introverted to the point of not seeing outside the window of their office, damaging the prospects of the very company they seek to serve.
We're pleased to be starting a new retained search for a Senior or Associate Creative Director level writer for Red Letter Communications, a full service agency 100 minutes south of St. Louis in Cape Girardeau. Here's the concise job description. If you're interested in additional detail, there's a much more comprehensive profile of our client here. We would of course appreciate any referrals to friends and/or colleagues who are qualified for this position (whether they're looking for a job, or not!).
General Description: This is a new position as a result of continued agency growth. This new position is an opportunity to take the next step in the advancement of your career while developing headlines and body copy (both long and short) for TV, print, the web, in store, internal and "alternative" marketing channels. This opportunity includes writing national television spots, web videos, the internal communication of CEOs, or clever taglines to create or refresh a brand. Here's your opportunity to become part of an exciting full service agency environment and contribute to the success of clients you’ve heard of.
Primary Responsibilities: • Utilize strong conceptual skills while maintaining brand and strategy integrity to create copy that measurably succeeds for the client. • Supervise assigned projects while simultaneously writing copy for other projects and mentoring your colleagues, all while being the second in command of creative. • Work with art directors/video team to write creative rationales prior to client presentations • Understand business objectives and strategies of client assignments and review creative materials to ensure messaging is intact and on-target • Work directly with clients and the account team to manage multiple simultaneous projects as well as participate in presentations, both internal and external. • Develop a thorough understanding of our client's business and that of their competitors. Learn how to positively influence that business!
Experience: This is a position where a related college degree and at least seven years of advertising, or integrated marketing communications, will put you in a position to succeed. We need smart marketers who understand business and who are “more than just creative”. Your portfolio should indicate writing for a diverse range of marketing vehicles including ads, POS, new media (TV/video experience is essential), direct, etc.. We would expect a thorough understanding of database use in and experience with direct marketing, both mail and online. We need passion, ambition and enough wherewithal to be able to work with little supervision. We want you to help mentor and expand your colleagues’ capabilities.
Compensation: Our client is interested in hiring only the best in the business, and the compensation reflects that goal. The base salary and bonus potential are augmented with an excellent and comprehensive benefits package including an employee assistance program. Beyond the literal compensation is working for partners who respect and value their employees and their families. “They take care of their people” . . . period! A re-lo package is being provided.
About Our Client: Our client turns 30 this year! Now with 50 employees, Red Letter Communications will continue to grow by delivering effective marketing communications to their (both B2B and B2C) clients. This is a career opportunity to work with colleagues who are committed to their agency, their clients and their family lifestyle. That commitment results in consistently superb client work, coupled with a quality balance of professional and personal life that it rarely achieved in this business. Our client understands that Cape Girardeau is not everyone’s dream location. However, it doesn’t take long to feel the passion, energy and excitement in the Red Letter culture . . . it’s real and omnipresent. The place is different . . . contentedly excited to be making measurable impact on their clients’ business where they are, with their friends and colleagues around them. Let’s talk about you joining their team! EOE
Cover letters are an essential and powerful way of introducing a reader to yourself. They are usually the first point of contact between you and that reader and as a result, are the most important document in your introduction. I've written about this before with, "Extreme Cover Letters (That Don't Work)!". As you're about to see, it's time to write about it again. Apparently, my point has not yet been made!
The cover letter is your opportunity to set the stage for what's to follow. It gives you an opportunity to specifically say why you're interested in contacting the recipient. It can provide valuable context for everything else to follow. It is extremely important to take advantage of the cover letter!
I'm going to make some comments about the following letters, that I don't intend to be dis-respectful. I have to admit that I'm frequently astounded by the lack of effort candidates make to introduce themselves. If a resume submission does not have my name in the cover letter, that candidate is instantly facing an uphill battle. They are simply too lazy to add a name to a letter. They think that quantity of letter sent, will make up for lack of quality in letters sent. Obviously, that's flawed thinking! (BTW, if I'm included in some blind email to likely dozens and dozens of recruiters, that email is deleted.)
Conversely, if a cover letter mentions my name, and goes on to mention something specific about my company or my background (for example), I'm immediately more receptive. It's not an ego thing, it's the demonstration that the candidate took the time to find out something about my company and me, and then made the effort to write a letter directly to me. If they can spend a few minutes to get my attention, I will certainly spend a few minutes to look at their materials.
Here we go (the punctuation and spelling is just as it appeared in the original letter:
"Hi Bob,
Attached please find my resume. I'm interested in a copywriting position.
Thanks, All the best,"
Here's a copywriter who doesn't take the opportuity in a cover letter to write anything interesting. This person is (obviously) not a strong candidate for copywriting! They can't even get the spacing right!
"Good morning,
I am reaching out to you in regards to corporate recruiting.
I am a hyper creative marketing wiz. I have learned how to promote on a small scale and now I would like to take those skills and apply them to larger businesses."
I've always believed that it's a better idea to let someone else sing your praises. It rarely works when you try to do it yourself . . . as in this case. A "hyper creative marketing wiz" would certainly be able to do a better job of introducing themself!
Ready to leave your one-horse agency? First time in the game and need to get a few pointers? Just need something to do on a Tuesday night? Nobody ever taught you not to write question marks when engaging consumers?
On June 14th, come down to FK Studiosat 6PM for "Self-Branding and Shinola, Part II", brought to you by REBUS and The Creative Group. Doors open at 5:30, with featured discussions starting at 6:30 and portfolio reviews to follow. Agency professionals from some of St. Louis’ finest agencies will review your portfolio and offer expertise on writing a resume, assembling your portfolio, interviewing in the St. Louis area, and most importantly…getting a job.
You’ll also get a chance to hear from six featured speakers, network with seasoned advertising professionals, and enjoy free food and drink!
This event is great for agency newcomers, long-time advertising personnel looking to brush up on their knowledge, and college students alike, but make sure to RSVP ASAP. The first 25 paid reservations are guaranteed one-on-one portfolio reviews with a number of St. Louis’ decision makers.
There will also be a Q&A period and resume/portfolio/case studies/self branding reviews by a number of established industry professionals including:
RSVP NOW AND DON’T FORGET TO BRING YOUR PORTFOLIO!
After much technical difficulty, I'm thrilled to be able to announce the second annual Shinola event. The event will be at the FK Studios the evening of June 14th. As usual for a REBUS event, doors open at 5:30 PM for food, beverages and networking, with the event starting at 6:30 PM. RSVP on the REBUS Facebook page!
The first 25 paid RSVPs will be guaranteed a one on one portfolio review with a senior level professional, in their area of expertise. We'll have portfolio reviewers/interviewers with specific experience like art direction, writing, online design, etc..
The evening will start with a short keynote address my Mark Schupp. There will additionally be short presentations from leaders of St. Louis advertising and marketing communications agencies:
David Johnson, President; Coolfire Media Melinda Love, Sr. VP and Sr. Partner (Head of the Creative Department); Fleishman-Hillard Jennifer Oertli, VP of VP and Director of Human Resources; Rodgers Townsend Jennifer Simler, Account Director; Switch Jeff Stevens, Executive Creative Director; Momentum
Each of these leaders will deliver a 10 minute presentation on what they look for when hiring new employees. They'll discuss what impresses them, and what doesn't when determining who to hire for their organizations. They'll have ideas, thoughts and suggestions about how to refine your own presentation to deliver impact and separate yourself from your colleagues.
These presentations will deliever insights whether you're just getting started, or polishing your book for a promotion or job change after years in the business. We're including all the functional skills in the business from Jr. AE, to Senior Creative Director. Attendees will learn more about how to present themselves effectively, and with impact. Last year's event was so successful, we decided to make it an annual event! Check out the video re-cap of last year's event at the REBUS blog.
This is a unique opportunity to get access to St. Louis marketing and advertising leaders. We're limiting the attendees to 75, so that everyone will have a superb experience. Bring a friend with you and register promptly so you're not left out! I'll look forward to seeing you there.
I encourage you to follow REBUS @REBUS_STL for event and organization updates!
