Interactive Marketing Employeer Marketplace

I've been in social media marketing for over two years now (which again makes me a relative grandpa), and after a lively conversation with a candidate yesterday, I often wonder if I should be working to place these people.

From Web Analytics Managers, to SEO specialists, to Database Marketers, E-mail List Consultants, Community Managers, and even humble (and not so humble) bloggers, corporate America, and the agencies that serve them, are struggling for talent.

Wired and Hired, a Talent Zoo blog that cover marketing jobs for the candidates, is saying it's s candidate's market right now in advertising.  In this post, Amanda begs her clients to do a better job selling themselves to her clients.

This means there are lots of unavailable creatives and very available job opportunities.

After searching, asking, analyzing and searching more, I find a great candidate for one of my available art director positions. They see value in my client’s job opportunity, we get through the initial stages of recruiting… and then there’s the interview.

Please, please learn to sell your agency to candidates.

This is a common problem for staffing firms, who go to the effort of finding passive or semi-passive candidates, and then have the deal fall apart when the company wants to assert its authority early in the hiring process.  From 2002-2004, this was more acceptable, as companies had the upper hand for most disciplines.  In the last three years, managers who don't show an interest in hiring bright people waste a lot of time interviewing candidates but failing to get them to accept the job offer.

It's not an easy answer.  If companies fall over themselves to recruit candidates, they look desperate, which leads to a weakened position in salary negotiations, and disgruntlement among current employees who wonder why the manager is so fawning to the new guy.  Managers went through that in the late 90's, and they aren't about to cede total control again.

So what can a company do?

1) Be Flexible in your tone, but Firm in your demands.  People are emotional.  You only have to look at the stock market to see that.   As the future manager of the employee, you set the tone in the way you approach the hiring process.  If you're pleasant during the employment process, that gives you leeway to make candidates jump through some of the hoops of hiring.  This also sets the tone that you're a demanding manager, but one that candidates can work with.  Most people respect that, it reminds us of those 1960's dads.

2) Bypass Silly HR requirements. You're the manager.  If an HR policy is driving people away, find ways around it.  An example is having a highly trained and payed consultant you want to hire in a permanent position sit in the lobby filling out paperwork when they first come in for an interview.  Greet the consultant early, and take the paperwork with you.  You don't do this for every candidate, but if they're important, make sure they understand that there are rules too be followed, but as a manager, you are interested in being productive, not filling out paperwork.

3) Sell your company by selling yourself.  Don't sell it the way that you sell it to your in-laws.  Pick a person or two in your department that has really blossomed under you, or even someone that has recently left, and describe how you helped them in your career.  Make the job personal.  Describe what you got out of them as an employee, and give examples of how they grew in the job. Most people are dying for a mentor, but they often only get the gruff boss who cares only that they get what they want.  If that's you, then what are you doing hiring superstars anyway/

4) Make sure your staffing firm is on the same page (and doing their job). 

Try this.  The first question you should ask any staffing firm candidate is what they have been told about you, the job, and the company.  If the candidate can't answer, you have one of two choices.  Fire the staffing agency or don't hire the candidate.  Make sure you inform the staffing agency what you expect, and what you want told, and you can quickly determine if the candidate prepares for interviews and listens, or is hoping to fly by on their "instincts."

As an account manager, when I inteviewed candidates - they didn't get submitted if they didn't know much about the job they were interviewing for.  That happened a lot, and it wasn't my recruiters.  What's funny is if someone slipped past me, a candidates that wouldn't listen to us as recruiters, they would end up being difficult candidates during the job offer and negotiation stage.

Ultimately, you're responsible for your staff.  To make the best choices, you should be looking at the interview not as a first date, try before you buy, smell test.  You should treat it as their first day, and see if the candidate deserves a second.