I was told by a creative recruiter it would be nearly impossible for me to land a job at an agency and by another that someone would have to die (in an agency) before I got hired.

Really motivating stuff. :-) 

8:00 am  •  6 March 2012  •  1 note  •  View comments

I am not the most award-winning or famous creative around. Still, I have my strengths and a few big names in the industry have praised my work. However, during a long job search, I experienced just how irresponsible and back-stabbing the ad industry can be. It didn’t seem to matter who I talked to, or where I looked. I was treated as a meaningless and ultimately disposable lump of flesh. I even interviewed at agencies far less remarkable than my previous employers, and they still treated me like they were masters of the universe. I finally landed a good position in the creative department of a strong midlevel agency. I can tell you this agency does WAY better work and employs better people than 90% of the other agencies I interviewed at.

If a creative is currently in the unfortunate position I was in, do not assume that you’re not good enough to work at the agencies turning you down. It very well could be you are too good for them.

via Agency Spy

1:00 pm  •  5 March 2012  •  1 note  •  View comments

Occupy Madison Ave. Protest recruiters not getting back in touch with candidates.

They expect us to send them a unique cover letter yet they can’t copy and paste a simple rejection letter?

adland:

Occupy Madison avenue. PROTEST STUPID COPY CHANGES!

7:09 pm  •  18 October 2011  •  10 notes  •  View comments

creative-direction:

I don’t get it. I called a headhunter. I threw my resume on Monster. 

Why isn’t my phone ringing off the hook?

What the hell is wrong with the world? Why can’t everyone see just how awesome I am? 

My book is sweet. I swear.

I’m super cool to work with. Honest.

I’m witty. I’m well-read. I’m easy on the eyes. For realz.

If people just got to know me, they’d get it. Why don’t they get it???”

I’ll tell you why they don’t ‘get it’.

They don’t get it because you haven’t treated your job search like your actual job.

If you can’t be the least bit creative with your search tactics, why in the world would anyone think you are ‘awesome’?

This is your career. And yet you treat it like a chore. You should be extremely motivated and passionate about it. You get pumped when a cool assignment lands on your desk—why aren’t you equally pumped about promoting someone as awesome as yourself?

I’ve never seen anyone complain their way into a job. Trust me, that is a bad strategy. If the system appears stacked against you, change the system. Work around it. Invent a new one.

Stop the whining and start figuring out how to make your awesomeness more apparent to more people.

I started a few networking groups on Facebook about 3 years ago. Why? Because I wasn’t happy with the job hunting process. And I saw an opportunity to use the popularity of social media to connect people in new ways. As a result, I’ve helped a bunch of people discover new opportunities and I’ve developed some great contacts along the way.

There are so many ways to connect these days. Are you taking advantage? Are you friending, liking, following and Linking In with agencies and people you admire? Are you reposting, retweeting and replying to the content they share? 

You should be. And you should be thinking of other ways to share your story as well. 

Lots of people have great books. Lots of people have worked at the ‘right’ agencies. 

But the stench of apathy is strong. 

If you don’t care enough to make it happen for yourself. Why the hell should I?

1:18 pm  •  6 October 2011  •  8 notes  •  View comments

creative-direction:

Can’t find any good people? Chances are, it’s your fault. 

If you’re not actively involved in the recruitment process, you’re basically only doing half of your job. And making the other half harder than it has to be.

I get it, creating great advertising sucks up a big chunk of your day. You’re swamped. You don’t have time to look through books, check out social media profiles or (God forbid) actually talk with potential hires.

But you’re just shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t make the time.

Great people will make your job easier. They’ll produce better work in less time, so you can do less micromanaging and more leading.

So what are you waiting for?

Even if you’re the best of the best, you can’t afford to be complacent. You’re not just competing with other agencies—you are competing with Google, Facebook, Apple and all kinds of startups that we haven’t even heard of, yet.

Not everyone rolls out of college convinced they need to work in advertising. It’s your job to convince them, and make sure they start their careers at your place.

Same holds true for senior level talent. Don’t be so sure those hot shot ACDs are only looking at you and Wieden for their next gig. If they are that good, they probably have suitors from all over the place.

So how do you attract the best and brightest?

Start by creating a recruitment process that feels like it was developed by people who give a shit. If you’re an awesome place to work, let people know about it. Spread the word. Tell your story all over the web and get people talking in the ‘real’ world as well.

Perhaps the best thing you can do is make use of the people you already have. Great people tend to know other great people. Don’t just throw out the standard referral bonus carrot and expect everyone to jump on board. Make the referral process a part of your company culture. 

Start a referral committee. Create a referral microsite. Take advantage of everyone’s vast social network connections.

And when someone refers a great new hire? Send out a company wide email, thanking the referrer and welcoming the new hire. Take them out to lunch to thank them in person. Get people excited about bringing more people in who want to make your agency even greater.

Sure, some people (insecure ones) may resist, fearful that better people will make them look worse, but do you really want those people hanging around anyway? The best people always want to work with the best. It’s how we all learn to get even better. 

Whatever you do, don’t relegate your recruitment efforts to your HR department. HR is not tapped into your day-to-day culture. They don’t have a real sense of how you work.

You need creative people doing the hiring if you want to actually hire more creative people. Find someone who loves your business and make them your point person. Every other person on staff should be their support network.

Or you could keep on doing what you’re doing and deal with the half-assed results.

After all, complaining is so much fun. You don’t want to give that up, do you?

1:21 pm  •  5 October 2011  •  4 notes  •  View comments

ilovecharts:

The Post-College Flowchart of Misery and Pain

via shareordie

11:12 am  •  30 September 2011  •  2,012 notes  •  View comments

fastcompany:

Job boards and Craigslist don’t work because everybody’s already there. Here’s where to look, and how to look good, in the (still incredibly rough) job market.

(via fastcompany)

1:38 pm  •  26 September 2011  •  10 notes  •  View comments

joberholtzer:

superpunch2:

Happy Monday.

Oof.

11:06 am  •  26 September 2011  •  1,530 notes  •  View comments

“Always proofread your cover letter and résumé,” they say.

Well, they should always proofread their online job applications.

2:18 pm  •  19 September 2011  •  2 notes  •  View comments

1:00 am  •  12 September 2011  •  1 note  •  View comments