The Perfect Fit

International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum Moving to St. Louis!

The renowned International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum (IPHF) is moving to St. Louis’ artistic Grand Center. The museum is one of the premier homes of historic and vintage photographs, camera equipment and celebrates the lives and work of photography’s pioneers and most influential photographers us.  From Ansel Adams to George Eastman, those who had a hand in moving the photographic medium forward are included.  Read the Case for moving to St. Louis.  Like us on Facebook

The Board of Directors (many of whom live in St. Louis) need volunteer support in many ways, to help organize the move, and related activities.  We need volunteers/interns who are proficient with a range of different skills.

We need a writer, who can write press releases, letters to prospective sponsors and members, and help generate social media content for the IPHF’s various online identities . . . from a blog to Twitter.  You will help contribute mightily to the St. Louis move, as well as help support the total brand refresh that has begun.  If you appreciate fine photography, here’s your chance to immerse yourself with others who share that passion.
   
Qualified candidates for the writer internship should be fluent in the techniques of writing for social media.  You should understand how a blog works and the importance of key word usage.  We expect you to have an existing online presence; premier candidates will have their own blog and/or Twitter account and write every day, if not professionally.

We’re also looking for a researcher, with email blast and database segmentation and targeting experience.  The IPHF is developing a comprehensive list of prospective sponsors, members and other supporters.  There is an aggressive campaign being created to reach out to each of these groups to let them know of the re-emergence of the IPHF. 

Qualified candidates for this position will have experience working with databases, excel spreadsheets, and delivering targeted email communications. 

We expect to work hard and have significant fun as we celebrate the history, accomplishments and affect of photography on our everyday lives.  You’ll be able to work from home a great deal of the time with hours of your own choosing.  Each position will only take a few hours per week.

Both of these internships are volunteer positions at the  moment and not paid.  We'd appreciate your forwarding these positions to any friend or colleague who you think might be interested!

Please apply online by uploading your resume to www.Bishop-Partners.com.  Please send an email to Bob detailing your interest and specific qualifications for these positions.

The 50 Best Recruiting Blogs!

I received an email this morning from Alissa Alvarez, telling me that my blog had been selected as one of the 50 best recruiting blogs in the country!  I'm very pleased, and humbly flattered! I'm re-publishing Alissa's blog in the hopes that many of you will find some valuable tips in the blogs of other recruiters!

With many qualified people out of work and looking for jobs, you might think it’s one of the easiest times to be a recruiter. Yet finding potential employees with the right talent, skills, and drive is never easy, regardless of the size of the pool of applicants or the type of businesses with which you work. Knowing what to look for and how to match the right person to the right job is something that can take a long time to learn and a lifetime to perfect, something most recruiters know all too well.

Whether you’re new to recruiting or an old pro, there’s always something new to learn about the profession and ways to make yourself better at what you do. One of the best ways to do that in today’s world is through the help of recruiters and HR experts who share their skills on blogs, both independently and through their agencies. Here, we’ve compiled a list some of the best recruiting blogs out there, in no particular order. Take a look — you may just learn a few new tricks that can help make you a standout at your job, helping not only you, but also your company and the people you hire, get ahead.

I think Alissa Alvarez missed an excellent site.  My friend Jim Durbin at The Social Media Headhunter is an excellent blogger and recruiter.  I thank Jim for his advice and help in getting this blog started!

News

Make sure you stay in the loop when it comes to industry news by following these blogs.

Here's the rest of the article and the listing of 50 Best Recruiting Blogs.

A Box You Want to Uncheck on LinkedIn!

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]

August 10, 2011 by Steve Woodruff 397 Comments

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!

We're Ready + Willing . . . Are You?

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.

Client Organization: The St. Louis Track Club,

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!

 

REBUS Is Growing and Getting Even Better

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!

Sixth Annual REBUS Planning & Volunteer Meeting

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 . . .

The Workplace Is Changing . . . Fast

Last week, I attended a seminar presented by Amy Bingham of Bingham Consulting Professionals and sponsored by the local Missouri Association of Personnel and Staffing Services (MAPSS) Chapter.  Amy is an expert in the staffing an contract placement side of the recruiting business.  I thought her overview of the current employment situation, and the projection of employment in the next two years was pretty interesting . . . the environment is indeed changing.   While the outlook is improving for employees, employers are going to have a very bumpy road, on many fronts.

America’s Gross Domestic Product is growing and unemployment is declining  as a result of more jobs being added, now on a monthly basis.   Yet, there remains a talent shortage for skilled positions requiring college degrees, where the unemployment rate remains close to 3.5% (which some consider “full” employment).

Successful companies will be investing in re-training for current skill set needs.  Rather than trying to find “new” employees with a more appropriate skill set for doing business now, employers will have to invest in training current employees.  They’ll do that because they have to.  It’s less expensive to train an existing employee, than to try to find a new one.

Older workers postponing retirement will temporarily postpone the retirement exodus.  That hiring exodus will be  more pronounced when it starts.  This is going to dramatically reduce overall workforce experience as well as leadership and mentoring roles, as boomers retire.

Prior to the “boomer retirement exodus” younger workers will continue to find the job market challenging with the glut of older workers willing to be underemployed.  Generational trends in the workforce will create disruption, driving a greater need for organizational effectiveness (through consulting?).  The older hiring authority likely does not understand what the younger “new” employee truly values, and will not be able recruit that candidate effectively, or integrate them into an “older” culture, for those who are hired.

Labor costs are increasing.  Unemployment insurance (FUTA) will have to be re-funded by employers as a result of the recession and previous long term, sky-high unemployment.  Healthcare costs are rising as is the cost and complexity of compliance.  Federal regulations regarding immigration compliance are increasing and becoming more expensive as well.  There will soon be upward pressure on wages.  Most employees have had wages frozen for at least two years.  The cost of everything from gasoline to food is increasing to the point wages will have to increase soon.

REBUS 5th Birthday . . . Thanks Switch!

Thanks Switch . . . for the welcoming hospitality and hosting one of the best REBUS events to date.  More than 115 attendees fit easily into the space you carved out of your new 95,000 square foot facility!  It's a spectacular new space and you supported a sensational evening.

Last Thursday was an exciting milestone for REBUS.  When Tim Sandifort and I started talking about REBUS more than four years ago, we never could have imagined the response and growth that's occured.  Four years have just flown by . . . 

I want to thank Switch, Mike O'Neil for saying yes, and Andrew Mullins and Josh Kocurek for their helpful input and managing the details.  Jen Simler and Jessica Hutson from Switch also sit on the REBUS leadership Committee and are invaluable with suggestions and their enthusiastic follow up.  Danny Elchert and Rachael Barbieri, the current REBUS co-Chairs are just rock solid in following through with all the detail and people management involved in an event like this one.

What a night!  From the cake shaped like a bus, to DJ Andro1d, the "Twitterfitti wall" where we could watch live, the tweets containing the party hashtag #REBUS5th, tours of the new Switch offices and facilities and a presentation on new media marketing by Switch CD Scott Burns.  It was wonderful.

Scott's presentation started with an announcement that a graphic designer was hired by Paradowski Creative, as a result of our visit there last month, and a portfolio review.  It's a reminder of one of the other REBUS benefits, networking with those colleagues and friends who can help support, and enhance your career.  See some other REBUS facts at "REBUS By The Numbers".

If you haven't done so already, visit REBUS on Facebook, and help us educate, entertain and support each other and the regional advertising and marketing community.

REBUS By The Numbers . . . Birthdays: Five!

Five years ago today, REBUS didn't exist.  A couple of us were thinking about it, and trying to decide what it would or could be.  It's grown far beyond our original intent of getting young art directors and writers together to cooperatively improve their portfolios and get that first agency job.  REBUS now includes professionals from the advertising and marketing industry, from the unemployed to Executive Creative Directors and Agency Sr. Executives.  I'm very proud to be a founder and still enjoy (virtually) every moment of my involvement.

Now, with our fifth birthday next month (being celebrated at Switch on March 10th), it's rather remarkable to think about some of the REBUS impact.

REBUS has delivered:
424 Facebook Friends
232 LinkedIn Group Members
Over 40 agency visits with presentations by the hosts (average attendance now over 50)
Dozens of mentoring relationships established
Hundreds of portfolio reviews with agency principals and industry leaders.
Hundreds of opportunities to improve a portfolio and contribute to local non-profits by contributing to REBUS and fREBUS.
Over $65,000.00 in deliverables for local charities created by fREBUS
Hundreds of helpful career conversations
Thousands of introductions of colleagues and new friends
At least four direct hires (that we know of) of REBUS attendees by agencies.

The future is dazzlingly bright . . . all we need is you to get involved!  If you're interested in "gettin' on the BUS", visit our Facebook "Volunteer Central":

References, Job-Hoppers and Talent Shortages

My good friend and colleague of Egret Consulting and irsa has written an article for his newsletter "The Buzz" that I think resonates and deserves more exposure.  Ted and Egret specialize in the electrical manufacturing industry.  What he says about that industry applies identically to marketing and advertising.  So, with a very minor edit or two, here are Ted's thoughts.

"We’ve conducted roughly 70,000 interviews over the past 11+ years. We’ve successfully placed over 500 new employees and we’ve weathered two deep recessions, so we feel pretty good about our track record. Nationally, “WE” are facing a talent and hiring condition that has never been faced before. Despite the daily dirge of bad news about unemployment, let me give a few other statistics:
•    The average tenure of a new employee is 34 months (and that includes CEO’s)
•    The unemployment rate for college graduates is 3.8%
•    The predicted number of jobs for Gen Y employees is 8 jobs before they’re 40 years old
•    Reference recommendations correlate to performance at a value of 0.29 (which in statistic-speak means the predictability is less than 9%)
•    Over 35% of resumes are fraudulent, over 75% have mistakes or ‘little white lies’
•    The level of open job postings has hit a record high level
Most companies don’t believe there is a talent shortage. With 9.8% unemployment it’s easy to assume your next engineer, branch manager, marketing director or operations manager is sitting outside your door with his/her resume in hand and the desire to go to work on Monday at a 25% discount in compensation. If only it were true.

The talent pool is very thin right now. We only work in this industry so our view is limited to people who work and succeed in the electrical (marketing/advertising) industry and we don’t recruit people out of automotive, healthcare or paper companies. The pool is additionally thinned by the housing market; relocations are very problematic for a household to move if their house is currently at a low equity or under water. The ability to sell the house and provide cash to buy into the new market, despite the lowered values is in many cases untenable. Job security for most companies has been seriously damaged by the deep recession and companies’ reactions to that through aggressive downsizing, so we’re at a unique confluence of competing challenges; employees are more open to leaving their current company, but they’re very limited in where they can go, geographically.

We’ve seen a significant increase in companies adding talent over the past 90-120 days. All of these positions are net-adds, not replacements. So the market has already shifted, the talent pool is poised to hearing options, but the creativity of those options will have to cater to the needs of the prospective new employee.

There is never a ‘perfect’ employee, just as there isn’t a perfect employer, yet employers are still functioning as if the talent pool is unlimited and they have the ability to design the perfect employee on an assembly line; complete with a life-time guarantee. That isn’t reality, the talent market right now is considering multiple offers, expecting significant flexibility in work/life balance and not anticipating finding their ‘last job’, but gaining experience and building a resume for the next challenge.

TEDx St. Louis: Ideas Worth Spreading . . . An Event Worth Attending!

I feel priviledged to have been one of 100 entrepreneurs, CEOs, civic business and education leaders to have been invited to the first (of what we hope will become an annual) TEDx St. Louis evert.  The TED Conference began in 1984. In 2006, TEDTalks began being displayed online, free for the world to share. In 2009, TEDx was launched--a program that enables independent organizers to enjoy a TED-like experience through self-organized events. 

TED-which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design-is a California-based nonprofit conference series that has taken the world by storm, annually assembling the world's leading thinkers and doers into a program of highly engaging, motivating and informative presentations, each in just 18 minutes!  I heartily recommend you visit TED.com and watch a video from a presenter in your field of choice.  You'll be mesmerized!

Keith Alper of Creative Producers Group was the force behind the St. Louis TEDx event.  CPG teamed with it's own UPBrand Collaborative, Maryvile University, Hasting+Chivetta, The Science Center and XIOLINK to sponsor the event.  The event was beautifully produced (as you'd expect from a company like CPG that produces business meetings for a living) in every way.  The experience was immersive, fascinating, thought provoking, and perhaps best of all . . . motivating.

From the networking before the event, where you never knew who you'd run into, or find yourself talking with, to the quality of the speakers, this was one unusual assembly of professionals.  I felt like I was a part of something unusually special.  It wasn't like a "typical" St. Louis event.  It felt more like something that you had to travel to a major city to attend.  It was exciting that for one morning, an assembly of this diverse assortment of regional leaders could be brought together, with the goals of "Unexpected connections.  Extraordinary insights. Powerful Inspriation".  In my opinion, every one of those goals was exceeded.  I would be surprised if the participants weren't motivtated to do something to make a difference . . . in their own lives, the lives of those dear to them and their communities.

The speakers were diverse, polished, riveting . . . inspirational!  The topics of the presentation ranged from the St. Louis Symphony's own David Robertson's "The Art of Conducting", to juevenile education reform, to multi-cultural marketing, insights into Millenials in the workforce, how to reform the US Prison system (delivered by a former inmate, and now lecturer at Harvard and the London Business School), how media will evolve and sustain, to Panera's Ron Shaich passionately presenting how a corporation is successfully challenging the shameful amount of hunger in America.

There were six 18 minute presentations, and one from a guest via video:  Elizabeth Gilbert of "Eat, Pray, Love" talking about the creative process and artists "having" a genius, instead of "being" one!  Fascinating stuff!

My understanding is that photographs and links to the presentation will be available through the TEDx_St. Louis Facebook page in a day or two.

I sincerely hope that this is the first of what becomes an annual event.  Having many more participants would have the beneficial effect of additional positive impact on lives and communities.

 

The Newest St. Louis Certified Recruiter With CPC Title

 Over the past few weeks, I've voluntarily subjected myself to the anxious anticipation of having to take a test . . . I'm pleased and proud to tell you that I have passed a two and a half hour examination to become a "Certified Personnel Consultant", or CPC.  This certification is administered by the National Association for Personnel Services, or NAPS. 

My goal was to take one more step in separating myself from other recruiters who have not spent the time and money necessary to achieve this certification.  Over the past weeks, I've really felt like I was back in school learning the details and intricacies of Federal laws like The Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Age Discrimination Act of 1967, The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and others, not to mention various Executive Orders and employment case law, all affecting the relationship between an employer or recruiter and a candidate.  I never realized that recruiters are literally treated just like employers in the eyes of the law.

There are generally four categories of readers of this blog, clients, candidates, colleagues and friends.  There is no longer any doubt in my mind that getting certified was worth the time and effort and will be beneficial as time goes on.  There is no question that I can better consult, and recruit for the benefit of both my clients and candidates.  I can now confidently say that you, as either a candidate or client should deal with certified recruiters.  If you don't deal with Bishop Partners, you can consult the National Registry of Certified Staffing Industry Professionals to find other certified recruiters.

For almost 10 years, I've conducted myself and my business with what I considered to be the highest ethical standards.  In becoming certified as CPC, my peers and NAPS have put additional responsibility and now, accountability on my conduct.  I'm proud to be continue to strive to live up to the ethical standards of the certification.

Some of NAPS Standards Of Interest to Consumers include:

Relations between Recruiters & Employers/Clients:

   1. A candidate's employment record, education, qualification and salary requirements shall be stated to the employer/client as accurately and fully as possible. Clients shall be advised by the recruiter if the recruiter disclaims liability for the accuracy of any information it transmits to the client.

   2. A candidate shall be referred to the employer/client for interview only with prior authorization of the employer/client, which may be given verbally.

   3. Confidential information relating to the business policy of employer/clients, which is imparted as an aid to the effective handling of their job requirements, shall be treated accordingly.

   4. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, a recruiter shall not attempt to recruit candidates for placement who are still employed by the company with whom they have been placed by the recruiter's firm, unless the candidates directly request the recruiter's assistance in seeking new employment.

   5. Direct mail, bulletins and resumes of candidates presented to employer/clients shall represent bona fide candidates.

   6. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, a recruiter shall not attempt to recruit for placement candidates employed by a client company within one year of the most recent placement with that client company at the same location, unless the candidates directly request the recruiter's assistance in seeking new employment.

Relations between Recruiters and Candidates:

   1. Candidates shall be referred to employer/clients for interviews only on job openings for which at least verbal authority has been given by the employer/client.

   2. Representations made to candidates about the duties, probable length of employment, hours, benefits and salary of prospective positions shall be in conformance with the best knowledge of the recruiter.

   3. Precaution shall be taken against referring any candidate to employer/clients who are known to engage in illegal or questionable business practices which might jeopardize the safety of the candidate.

   4. Information about a candidate will be used only for the purpose of finding employment for that candidate. Confidential information shall be treated accordingly.

   5. A candidate shall be aware of charges, if any, before being permitted to incur any obligation for services rendered. Any monetary obligations, including interest charges, shall be fully disclosed in a written agreement, a copy of which shall be provided to the candidate, and it shall set forth any circumstances in which a candidate must pay for services.

   6. No candidate shall be referred to any employer where a strike or lockout exists or is impending (according to the best knowledge of the recruiter) without being notified or such condition.

Over the next few weeks, I intend to share some of the knowledge I gained as a result of studying the Manual and spending a full day in class.  There's some specifics and nuance to the Federal law, that frankly isn't common knowledge.  The fact that you don't know the law does not excuse you from having to obey the letter of it.  Federal employment law can have serious, and severe penalties.

Just to give you an idea of something you might not expect;  Did you know that it's illegal for a recruiter to send a resume to our client, if that resume has a picture?

Executive Recruiters and Unemployment

I'm going to share some thoughts from a retained recruiter and colleague of mine from the International Retained Search Associates, Ted Konnerth.  Along with his superb golf game, Ted is a thoughtful guy and the leading recruiter in the electrical manufacturing and distribution industries.  You can learn more about his company Egret Consulting here.  I've done a bit of editing to apply these thoughts to the marketing/advertising industry.

Most people assume that with high unemployment, the availability of quality talent is as easy as posting an opening and waiting for the flow of hundreds of well-qualified applicants. Let’s disabuse you of that notion and begin by using facts:

1. Unemployment is 9.5% of the working population

2. Unemployment for those with a college degree is 4.8%

3. Baby boomers have begun to retire, with estimates of that pace predicted to quicken as the stock market and therefore retirement accounts return to levels prior to the Great Recession.

4. Emerging markets in the marketing industry are attracting experienced talent away from traditional employers, thereby depleting the available pool.

5. Levels of employee engagement are at record low levels, which will drive employers demand for more replacement talent*.

The majority of the unemployed are laborers; skilled or unskilled. Their plight is unlikely to dramatically improve going forward as many of their jobs have been shipped offshore. Additionally, the talent skills that the emerging companies need today require far more education than traditional laborers. College or technical school diploma-level attributes in IT, computer sciences, electronics and semi-conductors are in high demand.

The US already has a shortage of technology professionals, and the same is true as technology relates to the changing marketing methodology and expanding channels.   We’ve seen the demand and wages increasing dramatically for online, mobile and social media marketing even in the past two years.  Those who are expert in those new media areas, those who are leaders and/or innovators are scarce and not easily hired away from existing employers: relocation, signing bonuses, vacations, etc. are being offered to the premier players to try to attract them.

The war for talent issue has been moving forward for the past ten years. We were all forewarned this day was coming, but in the teeth of a deep recession it’s difficult to rationally increase hiring to prepare for the imminent shortage. Leading companies are already doing exactly that. Others are making a renewed effort to retain their own top performers and offering them professional training as part of a succession plan.

If there is a call to action, I would suggest three specific actions:

1. Enact retention strategies for your top talent immediately. Losing a key contributor is extremely costly, not just in the replacement costs, but in the lost down time to ramp up the replacement.

2. Implement succession plans for the top talent. A recent study found that less than 50% of corporations have a defined succession plan for their CEO’s (or any of their management team).

3.  Create a recruitment plan that addresses three issues:a. Building a bench. Start a college recruitment program.

a. Building a bench. Start a college recruitment program.

b. Direct recruitment department. Focused on the college recruiting and the lower level positions that experience higher turnover rates, an internal recruitment organization can effectively meet these needs.

c. Sourcing partnership. For critical talent, that can only be identified through direct recruitment processes, identify a third party firm who can partner with your organization, acting as a pure recruitment organization and as a talent scout for opportunistic hires when ‘best athletes’ become available.

The next ten years will be exciting on so many levels: new technologies, new markets of growth and a melding of technology and devices into changing channels. There will be winners and losers in this battle as always, but for those who view the path to winning through attraction of qualified talent, the odds will be significantly higher.

* Global Employee Engagement Declining

A Retained Recruiters' Value Is Committment

I just returned from a several day conference with fellow members of irsa, the International Retained Search Associates. It was an intensive four days of discussing best practices with other retained search colleagues.  We talked about trends in the recruiting industry and how we as a group and in our own practices, can continue to increase value to our clients.   I left the meeting energized and excited to start utilizing some of the ideas that were presented.

One of the best takeaways from the meeting was a renewed understanding of the value of retained search.  The retainer allows the recruiter to spend the appropriate amount of time talking with the client and learning the nuances of the position, the company culture and the near and longer term goals of the client.  All of that adds up to a more precise understanding of what candidate experience, skills and personality will best fit in and contribute to our client for the long term.

That knowledge is fundamental in helping me understand whether a candidate can really flourish with the new opportunity.  Successful placements that last for years, and where the new (placed) employee can grow both personally and professionally, while contributing their employer don't just "happen".

The irsa meetings that I attend twice a year are an outstanding opportunity for me to refine the recruiting process at every step of the way, from the initial call to a passive/employed candidate, to being the client representative delivering the final offer.  From sourcing candidates, to the in depth interviewing and relationship development with candidates, every step of the way can be discussed openly with other irsa members, with any questions being answered by veteran, successful recruiters. 

The value of the information gathered at irsa is immeasurable.  There is no other forum or association I've heard of that so openly shares best practices.  It's remarkable and exciting.  I'm proud to be a member!

What does that have to do with my headline?  It's this . . . many retained recruiters (including irsa members) are interested in delivering the absolute best quality and service to the client.  There are many steps in the recruiting process.  Ultimately, the thing that separates retained from contingency recruiters is the commitment to success through excellence and quality of hire.

The Same Company For An Entire Career?

I attended a seminar this morning presented by the St. Louis Business Journal, "The New Economy".  Michael Forster, Managing Partner of Sandberg, Phoenix & Von Gontard and Doug Mueller of Mueller Prost PC were the presenters.  The discussion centered around what businesses can/should be doing as we move (slowly) out of the recession.

While much of the discussion dealt with business operating methods and protocols, there were times when issues affecting employees were discussed.  Actually, it was more like how employees affect businesses.  I was struck that there was no mention of the need for programs to support (if not assure) employee retention. 

I've written previously in this blog about how employees have a responsibility to themselves to find appropriate training and grow professionally (The Workplace Has Changed . . . Have You?).  Hopefully, employers are supporting (and paying for) that effort.   I've also talked about the need for the retention of premier employees (Are you Being Taken Care Of . . . Or Taken Advantage Of?)  Employees need to grow in their careers, and employers should want to keep those employees who consistently do that.

There was what I considered to be an interesting observation made by Mr. Forster.  He suggested that in the "new economy", we had to behave more like in the "old economy".  He talked about the need for dedicated hard work for everyone, no matter what you do.  Hard work like in the "old days".  Hard work like our parents and grandparents talk about.  Interesting . . . that seems to fly in the face of theories of accommodating the newest generations X & Y. 

Further, it was suggested that the development of "real expertise" is being eroded by automated systems, and the reality that employees no longer stay with one company long enough to develop or enhance that company's specific expertise.  Another interesting point.  Think about how few people in the workforce now rise through the ranks from the bottom to the top of the same enterprise.  Can you think of any?

Obviously, innovation in any business creates advantage.  Innovation will be essential to fuel the "real" growth of the US economy.  I'm not talking about getting back to where we were, I'm talking about significant, job creating, lifestyle enhancing, growth.  Innovation is the result of happy, experienced employees. 

It seems like the way things are going, we are not on a track to have many of those!

Think about how your existing job and career might change if you decided you were going to become the CEO of your company.  You wouldn't let those little "issues of the day" bother you.  You'd find better ways of doing things.  You wouldn't take "no" for an answer.  You'd become Indispensable to your employer . . . and in so doing, become immeasurably more valuable ("Are You Indispensable Or Vulnerable?").  If all that happened in the longer term, you'd get promotion after promotion. You'd rise through the ranks, until you reached the top.  Interesting . . .

Do you really have a career strategy to reach career goals, or are you just looking for what you perceive to be a "better job" . . . ?  Are you expert enough to innovate?

Just curious . . .!

Art Auction For Heart And Haiti In St. Louis

I just found out that a former employee of mine Julie Campbell,  who owns The Three Sinks art gallery in Webster is planning an art auction this coming Friday.  Here's all the info . . .

"Three Sinks Gallery is hosting a benefit event, St. Louis Artists Benefit for Haiti, with proceeds donated to the American Red Cross and the relief effort in Haiti.

Twenty-five artists have donated work to be exhibited at Three Sinks and previewed here on Facebook. 100% of the proceeds of the event will be donated to the American Red Cross. A silk-screen art t-shirt will be available for purchase online and in the gallery. This limited edition t-shirt will be significant to the heritage and plight of the Haitian people.

The exhibit will be held at Three Sinks Gallery, and will be available for viewing from January 25th through January 30th, 2010. A cocktail reception and silent auction will be held at the gallery from 6 to 9pm on Friday January 29th, 2010.

This event is in conjunction with Finale Fridays, a new happening occurring on the last Friday of each month and designed to give visitors a chance to sip, shop and stroll through unique Webster Groves establishments.

Location: Three Sinks Gallery - 8715 Big Bend Boulevard, Webster Groves MO 63119"

I hope you'll make every effort to attend.  Further, I hope you'll pass this message along to your friends/colleagues and your social network.  Let's get the word out on this auction and help Julie raise some serious money for the victims of the Haitian earthquake!

A partial selection of the art along with additional information can be found on Julie's Facebook page.

Marketing Headhunter Gets Smarter with Twitter

I'm starting to embrace Twitter more and more enthusiastically, as I use it more and become comfortable with it.  I'm an advocate of continuing education and staying abreast of industry news, trends and new ways/ideas for doing something.  I'm finding Twitter to be extremely helpful in that pursuit.

I still read about six or eight trade and professional publications a month.  That has always been my way to know what was going on, hear about new ideas and the like.  I'm starting to find that the lead times for publication make that media almost dated by the time it's published.  Even weeklies like AdWeek and Ad Age print content that I've already seen or actually read through with all the electronic updates I now receive.

I created my Twitter account maybe two or so years ago with the username @HeadhunterBob (I encourage you to follow me!).  I had no idea what to do with that account for the longest time, yet I kept having people follow me.  I couldn't figure it out, I'd never sent one tweet, yet I had followers!

Over the past few months, I've started tweeting more frequently and I'm feeling very good about that for two reasons.  One, I feel like I'm "giving something back" . . . I've been told that followers appreciate the content of my tweets and enjoy reading many of them.  Second, I read more . . . a lot more.  I now read articles from literally scores of sources, including blogs, and articles of others I follow on Twitter.  It's enlightening.  I feel like I have a much better idea of what's going on, much sooner.

I'm sure you know that Twitter now integrates with the LinkedIn update box in your profile.  You can send tweets right from LinkedIn!

I tweet about issues related to recruiting, employment, employee retention, employer culture, marketing and advertising trends, etc.. In short, content that should be of interest to most in our marketing/employer/employee communities.  There are several other applications that have grown up around the world of Twitter, that I've found very useful.  I'd like to share some of those.

The most important is probably Tweet Deck.  Tweet Deck pushes the tweets of those you follow.  On Twitter.com, you have to refresh the page to see new Tweets.  Tweet Deck also allows you to follow several of (your own) accounts at the same time, as well as notifying you of any "direct tweets", or mentions of your username.  It's flattering to be "re-tweeted" and Tweet Deck tells you when that happens.

TweetChat is an application that lets you use the #(hashtag) to find people to follow in particular categories of interest . . . in my case, marketing, advertising, media, etc..  Twitter itself has an advance search capability that isn't so easy to find (you could look for users in your city).  If you'd like to tweet a photograph, use Twitpic.  Twellow is a directory of public Twitter accounts, with hundreds of categories and search features to help you find people who matter to you.

The last tip I have goes beyond Twitter.  It's a preferred method for shortening urls.  The reason it's preferred is that bit.ly tracks the number of times a particular url that you've sent has been clicked.  It's very cool and far superior to tinyurl, for example.

Go to Twitter, create a username and profile and get out into the Twitterverse!  It's fun and you'll actually learn something!

For those of you already using Twitter, do you have any stories of it's benefits?

McGowan-Crain & Mozaic Rivet REBUS

I attended the first REBUS meeting for 2010 last evening, hosted by McGowan-Crain and Mozaic . . . what an event!  The 70+ attendees shattered previous REBUS attendance records and their enthusiasm was contagious!  Those attendees were entertained by Ben Crain and Todd McGowan's informative presentation of several case studies of their agency's work.  Ken Reece gave an overview of Mozaic's capabilities and Bill Freeman helped with post presentation tours.  Brian Handrigan of Gramatter, wrapped the presentations with a case study of a direct marketing effort on behalf of Royal Canin. 

Thanks to Modesto for being so kind as to provide the snacks for the evening.

Ben and Todd took turns presenting case studies on McGowan-Crain's work, across a variety of channels.  They explained their internal process for understanding and delivering brand positioning and appropriate marketing communications solutions across channels. They explained their "Smart, Simple, Strategic" foundationing and approach to all their work.  From Rosa Mexicano, an upscale Mexican food franchise, to Black Velvet Whiskey, and highlights of their 14 year run with Corona beer, Ben and Todd gave an open presentation of how they work for and succeed with their national clients.

They showed a very interesting video about "How an idea evolves".  The video does a wonderful job of showing how the addition resources of Mozaic (photography, pre-press and high end re-touching, online, and direct) can be utilized for their clients' benefit.  Check out that video and click here.

Todd delivered a final case study on one of the agency's pet projects, 1860s Genuine American Vodka.  The idea for the spirit was hatched in a local Soulard bar (1860 Saloon), when the owner told Todd that he's always wanted to create "his own" vodka to sell.  The resulting story of the brand positioning, development and launch  was fascinating to hear.  Apparently it worked, as it's now selling in six States, with more to come!

After the formal presentations members of the host staffs provided portfolio reviews for those interested.

This was the kind of event that REBUS strives for . . . An entertaining and educational presentation, presented in a very hospitable, creative atmosphere.  There's plenty of time to network with friends and meet new ones.  It's a unique opportunity to see what other agencies are doing, and what's more important, how they do it and why they do what they do.

For those of you who attended, thanks!  For those of you who missed it, we'll be announcing our next event on February 9th, very shortly.  For additional info, follow us on Facebook, or LinkedIn!

REBUS Needs Writers . . . And A Leader For Writers

Writers in St. Louis, MO: Are you looking to enhance your portfolio? Want to be a blogger without having to worry about growing a following? Want to write about what interests you in marketing, advertising, creative, social media, and the world of copy and messaging? REBUS St. Louis is a fast-growing network of young advertising professionals in St. Louis, MO, sponsored by the AdClub of St. Louis. We've recently launched a blog at www.REBUSstl.com that we will be promoting at monthly events and across social media outlets online. If you're passionate about your industry and want to grow your online professional reputation, become a blogger with REBUS. Please contact us. We have immediate openings available.

We are also looking for an experienced marketing communications writer to lead/mentor the REBUS writers.  If you have more than five years of writing experience, let us know you'd like to join the REBUS leadership team.  We'd love to have you . . .

Additional details:
We currently do not pay for content, but the blog is lead by social media experts and online advertising gurus working at St. Louis agencies, and we're all looking forward to working with you to put out compelling and relevant content about local events, professional experiences and industry trends. We'll post your name and photo next to each of your posts and get links posted on Twitter, Facebook and other places where we have hundreds of followers. Get your name out there, and join our team!

To apply:
Email Kirsten Sanders (kirstens@propaganda-inc.com) and Danny Elchert (danny.elchert@yahoo.com) with your name, phone number, email address, LinkedIn URL or resume, as well as 3+ writing samples by November 15th. We will be in touch shortly after we hear from you.

China's Feeling Better, How 'bout You?

I was reading the newsletter of a fellow member of the International Retained Search Associates, and liked what he had to say about one of the reports we heard from a fellow member. Ted Konnerth, Managing Partner and owner of Egret Consulting.  Ted and his staff at Egret specialize in retained executive recruiting for the Electrical Manufacturing and Distribution industries.

Here's Ted's re-cap and thoughts on what's next.

"I recently attended the International Retained Search Associates fall conference. As a board member for this organization, we try to attract members from around the globe to our semi-annual conferences. Our China delegation was in attendance and updated us on the trends in Asia. It appears that Asia has completely recovered and is back in strong growth mode. Our member from Shanghai is in the process of hiring an additional 23 recruiters for his large firm. China has invested trillions of dollars in infrastructure and construction is everywhere. His firm is busy across most industries, including manufacturing. He felt that China was about 6 months ahead of the US in recovery and felt the worst is well behind us. Of the entire organization, all but one attendee had experienced an upsurge in business in the past 3 months. Although recruiting may not be a pure bellwether of the overall economy, since we focus mostly on executive hiring, the overall attitude and confidence was up strongly from our Spring conference.

I recently read a survey of employees that reported that 78% of 'satisfied' and 39% of 'extremely satisfied' employees were open to looking for a new opportunity. The irony of this report is that just 30 days earlier, those same two groups of employees were 45% and 20% (respectively) open to looking at new opportunities. So what happened?

It appears that with signs of the economy recovering that employees have changed their career mentality from riding out the storm in a bunker and hoping that they wouldn't get caught in the 5th RIF to seeing positive trends and beginning to assess where they'd like to be for the future; which apparently isn't with their current employer.

This recession has been brutal. Companies have cut deeply into their employee ranks, including wholesale reductions in some of their most tenured employees. When employees see the loss of significant company tenured assets, it becomes clear that longevity and loyalty is no longer valued when times are hard. The definition of 'career path' becomes obscured when they see long-term employees struggling to come to grips with the possibility of moving from a community or accepting a significant reduction in responsibilities.