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27 Aug 2014

Why you should keep your LinkedIn profile up to date

By melanie

It is very important to keep  your LinkedIn profile updated  in terms of current employer, title, and even including personal email address. LinkedIn has become a very active and important professional network for candidates and clients. Whether you are actively exploring new opportunities or happy in your current role, you should always make sure that your LinkedIn profile is current as this is a prime “hunting” ground for recruiters as well as a place where your entire professional network can view your work experience in detail.

Today I received an email from a candidate saying that I had targeted him for a role that was too junior given his experience. However, his LinkedIn profile was outdated in terms of title and there was no detail whatsoever included. He was open to new opportunities and eager for me to contact him with great roles—which would be impossible for me to do if I didn’t know his proper title and really had no concept of his previous roles and responsibilities. This is just one example of how an outdated LinkedIn profile can hurt your chances of being tapped for new and interesting roles at your level.

Also the more information you provide in your profile, the better—I suggest including a summary of your experience and a career objective, key words, and critical  highlights beneath each role—accounts managed and skillset, for example. It is much easier to understand your experience and target you for relevant opportunities if you include a detailed description of your previous roles.

In terms of including your personal email, I strongly urge this if you are open to being contacted by recruiters. By including your personal email, a recruiter does not have to guess what your work email address is and your company will never have access to your correspondences.

27 Aug 2014

Client advice: Be realistic about salary

By melanie

Clients want to find and hire amazing candidates but they need to realize that talent of this caliber usually comes at a cost.

Let me caveat this by saying I fully realize that clients have budgets and must respect these numbers in order to run their companies successfully. However, they should also keep in mind and make an effort to match the “going” rate for particular levels of experience.

Example- if an advertising agency seeks  an Account Director but the budget is only 90k (purely hypothetical) they should be open to senior account supervisor candidates or quite junior ADs–  who can grow into an account director role and whose salaries are in line with the position to start. It is unrealistic to expect to attract a seasoned account director when this type of salary is being offered.

Clients who are offering a salary that is not in line with the level of experience they seek are going to have trouble finding that amazing candidate for the role because –

1) That awesome candidate is most likely not going to take a paycut for the role and frankly shouldn’t.

2) No matter how promising the role is, the qualified candidate will not consider it in most cases because the company cannot match or exceed current salary.

3) It often makes the company look bad when they appear to be lowballing great candidates (even if this isn’t the intention) Recruiters are very knowledgeable about salaries in their respective industries and companies should take their advice when it comes to establishing a range for a role and negotiating offers to candidates.

Obviously companies shouldn’t break the bank in order to make an offer but they should be realistic and fair when establishing salary ranges for particular roles.

27 Aug 2014

Make time to prep with your recruiter before an interview with a company!

By melanie

A very important part of the recruitment process at our agency is prepping candidates before an interview with one of our clients. It is sometimes difficult for us to get in touch with candidates in order to prep them which is always extremely surprising to us that candidates would want to show up to an interview with a company unprepared. Candidates should set aside five to ten minutes to prep via phone with their recruiters before an interview. And don’t leave this until the last minute when you are jumping on the subway or in a taxi to the interview – we are busy too and may not be available. What does an interview prep call include? – Critical details such as the name, title, and any other details regarding the person(s) with whom the candidate will be meeting. This would have already been provided to you in an email, however we will be able to offer insights into the people that you will be interviewing with. In some cases the recruiter has been working with the hiring manager for a long time and is very familiar with the managers interview style and demeanor. – Advice on how to best position the candidates’ experience (i.e. reason for wanting to leave current job, reason why this agency is the next best step). – The appropriate dress code for the interview based upon the particular company and role (trendy vs. corporate). – Specific strengths and skillsets for the candidate to highlight in order to be relevant to the role at hand. And MUCH MUCH MORE. A prep call between a candidate and a recruiter prior to an interview is essential and extremely helpful in not only preparing the candidate, but also in providing a sense of confidence and ease.

27 Aug 2014

Candidate Desperation is a Turn Off to both Recruiters and Clients – Do not be a stalker

By melanie

It is wonderful to be eager about finding a new position during the job hunt and to really fall in love with a company or a role. Also it is completely fine for a candidate to follow up with a recruiter to see if a client would like to schedule an interview or has provided feedback following an interview. However, there is such thing as TOO MANY follow ups. As a recruiter, my job is to liaise between candidate and client and to manage the entire process from start to finish. While some recruiters are not great at following up, our agency prides itself on being very good about keeping candidates in the loop. However, in the case that there is no update to provide, a candidate will most likely not hear from us. One of the worst things a candidate can do is to continually follow up as it is a turn off to the recruiter and it does make a candidate look a bit desperate. Candidates should trust that a recruiter will follow up with them and provide updates throughout the search anytime there is information to provide. A recruiter will often stop reaching out to a candidate with great opportunities if the candidate goes into stalker mode. A lot of our in-house recruiter friends discuss with us that they have stopped approaching stalker candidates about roles for these reasons.

LESSON: Do not stalk your recruiter. Trust that he or she will keep you in the loop and update you throughout the process.

27 Aug 2014

Agency Candidates – Express Interest for the Agency as a Whole and Not Just for a Particular Account

By melanie

A mistake that candidates often make which can completely ruin their chances of getting an offer from a company is to express interest and enthusiasm solely for the particular account/brand on which he or she would be working and not for the agency as a whole. It is great for a candidate to show passion for the particular brand which he or she would be managing. However, as I have blogged about previously, a candidate should be careful to not pigeonhole himself or herself by appearing open to only certain types of  accounts. Often times the way to get one’s foot into the door of a great agency is to accept a role on a brand that might not be the “dream” account with the possibility of transitioning onto different accounts while at the agency—this is very common

That being said, a candidate should also be sure to express interest in the agency as a whole during the interview process. It is a turn off to a potential employer when a candidate seems to be interested solely in the brand and not the agency — as the agency could lose the account at some point in the future (worst case scenario) or the candidate could be moved onto a different account based upon staffing needs. These are all likely scenarios so candidates should express enthusiasm for the actual agency during an interview as well.

I met with a client recently who absolutely loved a candidate that I had presented but said one of the reasons he will not receive an offer is that he didn’t express interest for the agency, only for the brand on which he would be working. This is a shame as this mistake can be easily avoided.

Here are some ways to express interest in an agency during an interview:
<ol>
<li>Make it clear that you are familiar with the agency/have done your research prior to the interview</li>
<li>Give an example of a campaign the agency has produced which inspired you</li>
<li>Give some reasons why the agency would be great for you as a next step</li>
</ol>

27 Aug 2014

Why candidates need to make themselves available for interviews with companies

By melanie

A majority of the candidates with whom we work are currently in jobs. Thus their schedules tend to be very busy and availability (especially during work hours) rather limited. Setting up interviews with these candidates can be very tricky as they do not want to raise suspicion in their offices and often times they have to put their current role first (attending internal meetings, etc). This makes complete sense as they do not want to lose their jobs!

That being said, candidates should make an effort to not be too difficult when a recruiter is trying to schedule an interview with a potential employer for them. Their lack of availability can signal indifference or even an absence of real interest in the role at hand. This is not the type of vibe or energy they should give off before meeting the hiring manager.

Even if it takes some major juggling or  a white lie (doctors appointment, cable guy visit– note we do not advocate lying but you know what I mean here), candidates should realize that the client is not doing them a favor by requesting an interview and should do their absolute best to be accommodating and flexible in order to keep first impressions very positive.

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