I have been finding recently that candidates are getting bent out of shape and turning down positions because of a “title discrepancy”. I understand that one aspect of career progress is moving up the ranks. However, if you have the option to be an ACD at a shop that produces low-budget dairy ads or a Sr. Copywriter at a shop that generates conceptual work on a national level I would think that the choice would be obvious. It seems I have been foiled again. Time and time again I see people choose title over work quality which will inevitably stifle their career because portfolios are what’s worth money not just “time served” in the industry. Now, I’m not advocating humbling yourself from a Creative Director to an Intern. Goodness no. I’m just saying if the pay is there and the work is awesome then what on earth is the problem? If it helps I’ll give you a special name. How does ECD of Douche-baggery sound? Oh, do you think that’s weird or inappropriate? Well, I think it’s weird that you won’t take a job because of semantics. I had a guy tell me once that he couldn’t take the senior level position because his old Art Director partner was already at an ACD level, so he needed at least an ACD role. Said individual, mind you, had just been laid off and there were no ACD positions open in his geographical area. And I was thinking, “Really? You would rather chance not having a job and then running into him your first day working McDonald’s Drive Thru abashedly adorned with a hair net?” Yeah, that won’t be awkward. He’ll also probably order the triple decker with extra meat and casually roll up to the window with your girlfriend on his arm. Do you see how quickly not taking a job because of a title discrepancy can quickly spiral out of control? It’s a dangerous game people. Of course, I am not suggesting that you should be willing to take a creative, salary, and title hit all at the same time. What I am saying is that if you get offered a position where the work is conceptual and the salary is above your current income then get off the title thing already. You are going to miss out on a lot of great positions because of your ego-centric tunnel vision. Advertising is about THE WORK and everything else is secondary.

Technorati Tags: candidates, moving up the ranks, ACD, Sr. Copywriter, Creative Director, Art Director, get off the title thing, Advertising

Unfortunately, layoffs are commonplace in the advertising industry.  They can occur for any number of reasons.  The agency execs usually blame layoffs on the loss of one or more accounts, restructuring, budget cuts, etc.  Call it what you will… the fact of the matter is that it’s a crappy situation for anyone to be faced with.  So what do you do when you suddenly find yourself sans job and sans paycheck?  First, it’s probably a good idea to return those Manolos that you just bought and can now no longer afford.  Then, allow yourself 24 hours to sulk.  After you’ve finished being cranky, it’s time to take action.  Here are a couple tips…

1. Update your resume STAT.  Add your most recent job experience and be sure to remove anything completely irrelevant… like your waitressing job in college.  Remember—this is the first impression for potential employers.  Be sure to put your best foot forward.

2. Think… realistically.  Now is the time to seriously consider all of the possibilities for your next career move.  Are you willing to relocate?  If so, what cities would you consider?  What kind of agency do you want to work for?  What types of accounts do you want to work on?

3. Do your research and make lists.  After you’ve done some serious thinking, it’s time to do your homework.  Spend lots of time looking at agency websites, perusing advertising job boards (like Talent Zoo) and reading up on industry news.  Make a list of agencies that you would like to pursue.  Note if you’ve seen any job listings or if an agency has recently won a new piece of business.  This means that they’re probably going to be hiring soon.

4. Network.  Talk to your friends in advertising.  Give your old boss a ring.  Most importantly, call a TZ recruiter.  Duh.  But seriously, make it known that you’re looking.  Every connection you make will take you one step closer to landing a great job.

5. Be selective and be patient.  It’s not fun to live without a paycheck for a little while.  Obviously, you want to find a new job as quickly as possible, but the perfect opportunity probably won’t fall in your lap the day after you were laid off.  It’s going to take a couple weeks, maybe even a couple months.  Be patient, yet persistent.  Find some freelance work if you need to pay the bills.  You’ll find the right opportunity if you keep working at it.  Also, it’s good to be selective.  The last thing you want to do is accept a mediocre position that you’re not completely sold on.  You’ll probably find yourself searching for another job 6 months from now. 

Technorati Tags: layoffs, agency, sans job, sans paycheck, Update your resume, Talent Zoo, job listings, TZ recruiter, new job, laid off, freelance

Finding out WHO is interviewing you is just as important as trying to guess the questions and know all trivia about the agency in question. Not only is it important to have the full name of your interviewer, thanks to Linked In, you can also have their resume, bio and details of their college and professional experience in most cases. But there’s more – being interviewed by an HR professional is far different than being analyzed by a Chief Creative Officer. It comes down to being interviewed by a Leader vs. being interviewed by a Manager. The angle from which you sell yourself should be customized to the different characteristics and styles of your interviewer – HR vs. Creative Director. I have seen candidates approach an initial “phone screen” with an HR Director as though they were trying to impress their future boss. This is the wrong approach – the HR Director is skilled at screening people and may not know everything about Flash Developing and CSS…an important fact to keep in mind if you’re an interactive designer. To read more in depth on managers and leaders, go here.

Technorati Tags: WHO, interviewing, agency, Linked In, being analyzed, Chief Creative Officer, Leader, Manager, Creative Director, candidates, Flash Developing, CSS, interactive designer

You would be surprised at what a difference it makes when you are ruthlessly, passionately and energetically chasing down your dream job. As a Creative Recruiter, I have seen several candidates have great success because they cared enough to follow up and follow through. They were happy to endure multiple phone interviews, technology expertise questioning, additional references and even happy to plan their own travel in order to have the opportunity to “wow” someone face to face. I’ve seen some very talented folks who just didn’t follow through with this type of energy and rather, demanded that I do the work for them. I am a recruiter, so in all honesty, I will do anything I can to help move someone into a job, but as a 3^rd party, I can’t do the impressing and diligent work for you. My advice: find that happy medium between stalking and lacking ambition and go for it. This is how you will land your dream job. Be patient, be willing and be humble. Read here:

Technorati Tags: Creative Recruiter, candidates, talented, recruiter, stalking, ambition

“Hi Jackie, I know what you mean.  Technology can be so judgmental.  Suddenly my email decides that I can’t meet singles in my area or get cheap meds?  The nerve.
This is a joke from a witty ACD level candidate I’m working with but the joke may be on you if an email address can affect your shot at getting a job. If your email address includes anything that could be considered spam, it will be funneled directly into your “almost” future employer’s junk folder. All your hard work in submitting your work just thrown out in the trash, sight (or site if you’re interactive) unseen…

Make sure your efforts are rewarded and remember to stay away from any of the following when you select your professional email address or cover letter word choices (thereby avoiding spam filters):

So often I speak with advertising candidates who have accumulated a great resume and are well into their careers, but are suddenly in the midst of a mid-career crisis. This is somewhat comparable to a man’s mid-life crisis… you know… getting something pierced, buying a bright yellow sports car and trading in a comfortable house in the ‘burbs for a sailboat. These are typically rash, nonsensical decisions that nobody benefits from… except for the nice family who now lives in your old abode for the price of a 26 foot sailboat.

In any event, the mid-career crisis usually occurs around the time that you’re making more than enough money to live comfortably and you’ve graduated to an office with a door instead of a cubicle. But one day, you wake up and you’re suddenly not content with your life as an Associate Media Director. You decide that you’re sick of media and you want to pursue your dreams, whatever those may be. After telling your wife that you’re quitting your job, you call a TZ recruiter to see how we can help.

I received a very similar phone call recently. A Management Sup candidate with a fantastic resume decided that a career in Account Services was simply not for him anymore… he wanted to pursue a career as a Creative Director. As his recruiter, I told him what I would tell any candidate in a similar situation. Go with what you know. If you’re great at your current advertising job, stick with it. Pursue your dreams as a hobby until you can turn it into a full-time gig or until the feeling passes. If you want to go in an entirely new direction, you will have to start on the bottom rung of a very long ladder. You’ll probably be reporting to someone younger than you and you’ll be making close to an entry level salary.

My advice is certainly not intended to crush your dreams… it’s just to give you a realistic perspective. If you’re feeling like you need a major change of pace, you’re probably in the wrong agency or city, not the wrong profession. It’s amazing the difference that a smart career move can make. But if all else fails, I know someone who’s selling a sailboat…

Technorati Tags: advertising candidates, resume, career, Account Services, Creative Director, perspective, major change

When interviewing for your dream job, it’s always a good idea to rehearse, come up with knowledgeable questions for your interviewer and educated answers to the questions you expect them to ask you. Questions of exceptional importance would be those inquiring about your goals and your future.

“Where you see yourself in 5 years?”

“How does this job fit into your long-term career goals?”

So often this question is overlooked, but it’s so valuable. As a recruiter I have seen perfectly qualified candidates stumble over these types of questions, and unknowingly lose their potential employer’s interest. Don’t be overly ambitious or ego-centric – “I plan to own this agency in the next 5 years…” Don’t be wishy-washy either: “I don’t really know what my long term goals are, but I do like everything about this job.”

Create your own mission statement and use it in your interview. Find out specifics from your personal mission statement/goal that fit in with the company you are interviewing with, and be bold. For more information read here.

Technorati Tags: interviewing, recruiter, long term goals, job

Phone interviews are often a first step in the hiring process. Just because you can technically conduct this interview in the nude doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be prepared. They are going to ask you important questions that will determine if they would like to see you in-person. It’s not the same as the daily phone call you may have with your mother either. They don’t want to hear about your car troubles and your resulting vendetta against the car company. Unbridled rage isn’t something agencies look for in their employees. You should be able to articulately express why you want to work at that agency and what you bring to the table as a professional. Questions like: Which agency is this for again? And, Do you require a random drug test? Are unacceptable. Also, watch the intonation in your voice. Apathy is not attractive. Ben Stein, case and point. Be energetic and personable. And if you’re not feeling exceptionally jovial that day, well, fake it. Think of this as a shinning moment where you tap into your acting skills. You pull it off and I’ll give you a standing ovation. If I can round up a few more people I’ll even get a wave going. Though I’m not making any promises on this one unless your performance is Oscar worthy and they hire you via the phone.

The biggest phone interview sin is NOT answering the call. Missing this pre-set call time is equivalent to not showing up for an in-person interview. Whoever is calling you, whether it is the Creative Director or the Hiring Manger, has taken time out of their day and prepared topics to discuss. And you are MIA. If something has come up, you answer the phone and let them know that. It’s not often that I hear from a candidate that the reason they missed the call was because they were unexpectedly taken hostage, trapped in a cargo ship, and woke up in the third world. What ever you may be doing, I think you can spare ten seconds to let someone know you are going to call them back. Hate to break it to you but you are not so integral to the worlds functioning that a brief pause will result in chaos. You’re just one person whose non-action is now pissing a lot of people off. I think it is important for all job seekers out there to know that if you miss this call without warning, you have just lost yourself a job. And don’t come to me with your excuses I’m not here to put the pieces back together of something you broke. As far as I am concerned, you are unreliable therefore no one would want to hire you. And my job is to get people hired, so I’m sure you see the problem here. Finally, let’s cover proper cell phone voicemails just in case missing the call wouldn’t have been a total deal breaker. Sounding like you are yelling amidst a week long RAVE or having “I’m a bitch, I’m a Lover” serenading potential voicemail leavers is a great way to put that last nail firmly in the coffin. All you need is…your name and your openness to people leaving a message for you so that you can promptly call back. No one besides your close inner circle needs to know your affinity for the vocal stylings of one hit wonders. When it comes to phone interviews; be professional, be prepared, and definitely be sober.

Technorati Tags: Phone interviews, hiring process, questions, phone call, agency, candidate, prepared

It is no surprise that our lives are in constant motion. There’s always some place to go and something that needs to be done and when you throw a job search into the mix, it is only a matter of time before the intensity picks up and it feels like your head is spinning out of control. Finding time for the interview process can get pretty tricky and become quite the challenge for candidates, especially when interviewing for multiple opportunities with multiple agencies. What should be a streamlined process for agencies, can quickly turns into a lengthy, drawn out interview process due to the lack of preparation, prioritization and scheduling conflicts.

With today’s market being highly-driven by candidates, simplifying the interviewing process and making it a priority is critical when it comes to hiring the best. Today’s candidates, have a “do-whatever-it-takes mentality” and they are already taking time off and using vacation hours to make accommodate agency schedules. They are ready to move. Ready to make it happen. Where is the love from the agencies? Don’t send a potential new-hire through an interview obstacle course – time is everything and time kills deals. Playing catch-up with the competition is never fun or easy. Keep it simple and you’ll keep the competition from getting very far with your potential new-hire. A little flexibility and priority is all is takes!

Technorati Tags: job search, interview, candidates, agency, flexibility

Whether you’re a freelancer, gainfully employed, or on the job hunt, this should be your mantra. This country is heading perilously fast to recession mode and you need to be especially prepared if you’re working with clients that are going to be most hit (Detroit is not rockin’ it with auto; homebuilders nationally, not so much). I’m no economist but I have spoken with a lot of candidates that have found a new acronym within their agency acronym (RIF—reduction in force) and if you find a pink slip in your cubby, you want to make darn sure you’ve got it together now.We recruiters prefer the minibook in a PDF but you’re the creative one so do it where it feels comfortable. If you’re selling yourself as interactive, you better have a URL to contain that work of yours—this is an absolute must for most hiring managers. My mentor once shared that a website should be a vehicle to highlight a candidate’s work but if it’s like driving with square wheels it becomes more of a hindrance and quickly frustrates. Sticking with the acronym theme, every website should live and flow by UI. It’s all about usability and how your potential “customer” maneuvers through your work with ease. Whichever format you decide to commit to, I suggest following some of these tacit rules clients and recruiters already know:

Presentation is Everything
• Great work to capture at the start, some decent filler, and of course, ending with your BEST to leave a lasting impression.
• Show all that you can do: This includes your breadth of knowledge and your specialties

The Best Portfolio

• Neatness and careful organization are essential no matter how you present your work
• The samples should be of high quality

• Do not include everything you have ever done in your portfolio. Choose only your very best work and select pieces that are relevant to the employer you are approaching

• Demonstrate consistency in style and skill

• You may want to include a sample of work in different stages to show your progression of ideas and how you solved design problems

• Include alternate solutions to demonstrate creative versatility

It’s irrelevant if you’re passive or aggressive in your career, we’ll find you and you better be ready to move quickly, especially in this aforementioned economic climate. Updating your book to highlight you, in your best light possible is the sure way that you’ll get the play you deserve. Ready?

p.s. The majority of prospective employers are not interested in your blog rant so I would suggest staying away from presenting your work in this particular format.

Technorati Tags: prepared, candidates, agency, recruiters, Portfolio, consistency

Recruiters work on commission. It’s a known fact. We are here to get you the most $$$ possible… the salary that you deserve to make. Why? Because we are kind-hearted people that like to see others succeed. Very true. But also because your success inevitably means my success. I will do everything I can to land you a new gig while simultaneously getting you a hefty salary increase.

That being said, I implore you to have realistic expectations when discussing your desired salary with a TZ recruiter. Oftentimes, I speak with candidates who have completely impractical and sometimes utterly ridiculous salary requirements. Here are a few examples of responses that I’ve gotten lately to the salary question:

“I am currently an Account Sup making $70k and I’m miserable in my job. I’m looking for a similar position, but really need 6 figures to make a move.”

“I just got fired from my last job as a Media Director, so I don’t really have a salary. I’ll only look at positions that are paying upwards of $150k plus profit sharing. Don’t bother telling me about opportunities that don’t meet my specifications.”

“My advertising experience includes a 4 month internship and my major in college was advertising. I’m looking for an entry-level Media position in Kansas City with a minimum salary of $65k.”

Okay, I fully understand that we all want to make enough money to have a comfortable lifestyle and do the things we enjoy, but let’s be somewhat realistic. We are recruiters, not miracle workers. I can often get you a pretty sweet salary increase, but it will most likely not be more than your new boss is making. The fact of the matter is that agencies care a lot about budget and internal equity—they cannot pay you significantly more than they pay someone in a similar position.

If you really want to know what you’re worth, check out the salary monitor on the TZ website. It will give you accurate and up-to-date info on what you should be making in your current advertising position.

Technorati Tags: commission, success, salary increase, salary requirements, realistic, salary monitor

No matter how much I coach my candidates prior to an interview, so often a small slip up can destroy the whole process. There are certain ways to phrase answers to questions, certain “ways” to be honest and to ask questions. I have noticed a stumbling block in interviewing – a tough one to bypass.

“Why are you leaving your current agency?”

I don’t know what happens to advertising creatives when they hear this question. Emotion suddenly trumps logic, reasoning and coaching and they believe they are in the therapist’s chair venting to an empathetic counselor or girlfriend.

Candidates – this is a test. Do NOT use this opportunity to gripe and moan about your current or most recent employer. How they never listened. How they overworked you.

You can be honest, and still be wise. Saying, “I didn’t really share management’s vision.” Vs. “My boss doesn’t understand what I need.”

BE honest. BE wise. Read here.

Technorati Tags: coach, candidates, interview, Emotion, logic, recent employer

Stop being a baby. Life and more specifically, your career isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Sometimes to move forward you must relocate and uproot from your current location. If you have worked at every promo agency in Dallas I don’t know what you expect me to do. But, judging by your incessant whining it looks like you expect me to start an Ad agency just for you. Because you seem to think, once you move, the road back to wherever you came from is going to be decimated. And you are never to return again. Dude. Ever heard of planes, trains, and automobiles? (The transportation, not the movie) If you are going to miss your friends THAT much that weekend visitations are just not long enough to suck up a dose of happy then maybe you should all move out to the deserts of Vegas and start a commune.

Unexpectedly, I find men are more difficult to deal with when it comes to the prospect of leaving their “homeland”. I had a female candidate who was assaulted on a train the day before her interview that required travel to another state, who still showed up with bruised face and all. Hardcore. Then, simultaneously, I have a male candidate telling me he can’t move because he needs to be around people who understand him and that he can’t go anywhere where he doesn’t have friends. Really? I am pretty sure I am sending you to an agency FULL of people; not a lone, dark, wet, cell where you must dwell for all eternity. Secondly, I don’t even want to send you to my agencies at this point because I get the feeling you are going to try and make them have cry circles after work where you discuss your feelings. Weird. You should have known when you got into this business that it would require moving at some point. However, don’t call me telling me you really want a job, anywhere, and then when the client is interested start pouting and giving me your stream of consciousness over the phone about all of your insecurities. I do not specialize in breathing exercises and co-dependency management. What I do specialize in is getting you a job that translates to a promotion and more money. If that is what you want, call me.

Technorati Tags: relocate, prospect, candidate, job, client, promotion

Seasoned recruiters typically have a rather lengthy list of war stories—tales from the recruiting battlefield of nutty candidates, even nuttier clients and interviews gone terribly wrong. The best way for you to avoid being the main character in one of the stories that we tell during Happy Hour Thursday is to LISTEN TO US. You can learn a lot from unfortunate mistakes that previous candidates have made. In order to help you on your job search journey, we’ve compiled a short list of lessons learned from recent recruiting mishaps here at TZ. If you follow these simple rules, you’ll be on your way to landing a stellar gig:

Do your research. Before you head into an interview, take some time to read up on the agency and its clients. Please do not talk about the great work that the agency does on General Mills, when the “GM” on their client list is actually referring to General Motors.

Know your audience. Learn everything you can about the people you’ll be speaking with prior to the interview. You really don’t want to badmouth a campaign when the Creative Director that you’re interviewing with was the one who came up with the concept.

If it’s questionable or unnecessary, don’t include it in your resume/portfolio. I’m sure that your mom was super proud of the paper that you wrote in high school on the advertising industry, but I guarantee you that the Account Director won’t be nearly as impressed. He probably won’t fake it nearly as well as your mom did.

Don’t discuss substance abuse during your interview.Okay, it’s a fact that many advertising people like to hit the bottle… hard. Please keep in mind that an interview isn’t a college Rush party. You will not get a job based on how many shots of Petron you can take or how well you can do a keg stand.

Don’t piss off your recruiter. Remember that we are on your side and will do anything we can to get you the job. We do have limits though. If you don’t show up for a scheduled interview, fail to return my calls and then get in touch 2 weeks later to see if I can re-schedule it for you… the answer is no.

Technorati Tags: recruiting, interviews, mistakes, research

If I am your recruiter, you can believe and trust that I would like for you to get the job in question. Period. I make no money unless you get hired. Even if I have several candidates in the running, I put an equal amount of time and energy into submitting, scheduling and preparing each one to accept an offer. I listen to tales of boyfriends and girlfriends, wives, school systems, mean bosses, etc. I’m here for you. I spend hours on the phone each day, and hours emailing, scheduling, etc. I am the liaison between you and your next potential employer. Therefore, you need to tell me the truth. If you interviewing at another agency, please tell me this. I will not hang up on you. I will not criticize you. I will only ask that you keep me in the loop as I spend hours, days, weeks, checking your references, scheduling interviews and selling you to the agency, etc. Please do not get to the point where you have interviewed 3 times at another agency and are waiting on an offer before you clue me in. This is extremely unprofessional, and yes, it wastes my time and yours if you have other opportunities on the horizon. I am very understanding of you wanting the best opportunity for yourself. I will do all I can to help you and even support you if you don’t go with my client…so long as you are honest. If we are working together, then I assume you really want the job in question and are not just playing games with me. We all know how it feels to be lied to and cheated on. Please don’t break my heart; I’m only here to help. And it really does hurt my feelings. J

Technorati Tags: recruiter, hired, candidates, potential employer, interviews, working together

In the recruiting business it is my job to sell YOU as an individual with a certain skill set. Because of this, I need to know what you do, how you do it, and what malfunctions may result in the near future. For instance, if you have a tendency to go on 2 week alcohol benders where you disappear and eventually are found twitching outside a Dairy Queen, I’m going to need to know that. Also, if I contact you about a position and ask you if you have ever sent your work there and you say “NO”…and then I find out that they have received your resume everyday for the last year and you may have been spotted with binoculars in the agency bushes, I’m not going to be happy. In this event, you have wasted my time and made it look like I didn’t do my job thoroughly. When in reality, all I can do is ask the proper questions and hope I don’t have to read through your thick and heavy deceit.

However, don’t think that in certain situations I can’t smell your bullshit with its formidable aroma. For instance, the fact that you are talking to me in general lets me know that you are on the job hunt. I’m not stupid and I definitely don’t think you have made a life commitment to me as your job sensei. I am not going to cry myself to sleep listening to Boys II Men if you tell me you have an interview elsewhere. Here’s a shock, being honest about it would actually be beneficial to both parties. How could that be you may ask? I’ll tell you. One reason is because I often have information about agencies that is not public knowledge. If you are a woman, you might want to know that the Creative Director of agency X only allows men on company trips. But hey, if you like being discriminated against, ROCK ON and put some pretty stickers on that glass ceiling because you’re not going anywhere. Secondly, and most importantly, if you tell me honestly what another tag]agency[/tag] is going to offer you then we can start the bidding with the agency I have you in with. I will let them know agency X is offering 100K so if they want you they will have to give you 110K. I know what you are thinking Captain Deception, “WHAT? I CAN GET MORE MONEY BY BEING HONEST”. Yes, yes you can. And as an added bonus, you get to feel extra cool and needed in the process. However, if you are dishonest and make my job ten times harder than it should be then guess who’s not going to be there to pick up the pieces of your portfolio when you are out of another job? Me.

But, I will direct you to a “Sound of Heartbreak” CD that should help you heal the wounds.

Technorati Tags: recruiting business, skill set, agency, job hunt, interview, being honest, Creative Director, dishonest

With today’s market becoming more and more of a candidate driven market with multiple opportunities left and right, there’s a very critical part of the hiring process that recruiters must manage properly from the get-go. Just because you’ve finally filled a tough search and your doing the “happy” dance, you better believe that the candidate’s current employer is very unhappy and a plot to reverse their employee’s decision to leave in on the horizon. Once again, Howard Adamsky gets it right in a recent article on www.ere.net. If you want to be prepared as much as possible for a counteroffer situation, read on…

Technorati Tags: candidate, hiring process, employer, Howard Adamsky, counteroffer

I speak to hundreds of candidates every week who are looking for a new opportunity in a glamorous city at one of the hottest agencies in town.  Typical cities of interest include: New York City, LA, San Francisco and Chicago.  I know… who doesn’t love a thriving metropolis, right?  The cost of living is astronomical, larges patches of green grass are a rarity and your apartment is the size of my VW’s trunk.  What could be better?

Before you decide to limit your search to cities only consisting of concrete and skyscrapers, I implore you to consider locations with just as much merit, but far less pollution.  Some of the most forward-thinking, creative shops in the country are located in far less desirable cities for the 20 and 30-something crowd.  I’ve worked with stellar agencies in places that don’t get nearly enough credit.  These agencies usually provide the best work-life balance around.  You’ll probably also save a hefty sum by not spending thousands of dollars every month to live in a shoebox and eat overpriced sushi.  So the next time a TZ recruiter calls you about some fantastic opportunity in Lincoln, Nebraska or Butte, Montana, take a moment to consider the option before you laugh and quickly dismiss it.  You may be missing out on an incredible opportunity to grow your career and surround yourself with friendly people in a pristine location.

In case you’re still not sold on the idea, here are some fun facts from www.50states.com and www.cool-interesting-facts.blogspot.com about some of the most underappreciated locations in the US:

The Lied Jungle located in Omaha, NE is the world’s largest indoor rain forest.

Utah has the highest literacy rate in the nation.

Johnny Cash was born in Kingsland, Arkansas.

And here are a few bizarre ones that I just had to include:
Idaho law forbids a citizen to give another citizen a box of candy that weighs more than 50 pounds.

Nebraska is the birthplace of the Reuben sandwich.

The first enamel bathtub was made in Louisville, Kentucky in 1856.

In Nebraska, it is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless a nice kettle of soup is also brewing.

Technorati Tags: candidates, opportunity, locations, agencies, location

It’s Monday, and I have spent almost the entire afternoon checking referencesfor candidates heading out to in-person interviews. You always learn something checking references – specifically, you learn a lot about how your candidate relates to their colleagues. Not necessarily in the answers to the questions, but in their enthusiasm or lack thereof to return your call and give a review of the person in question. You can tell if a candidate took special care to stay in touch and foster a great relationship with each reference, and if they selected their contacts carefully for the opportunity at hand. And then there are those candidates who don’t understand the importance of reference.

“Hi, my name is Amanda Frey, and I’m a Creative Recruiter with Talent Zoo in Altanta, GA. I was given your name by John Smith-he has listed you as a reference.”

“Who?”

Seriously. It happens. Too often candidates list references they worked with 15 years ago, or in desperation list the owner of a children’s music store where they once designed a brochure 10 years ago. This is not a helpful reflection of your skills, your level of leadership or your ability to work in a team environment. It’s like pulling teeth, trying to put together 3 sounds references for my candidates. Please, make an extra effort to not only maintain good relationships with old references, but to also gather new ones and stay in touch. A vague or irrelevant reference can cost you a great job. For more information go here.

Technorati Tags: checking references, interviews, candidate, reference

We work for the clients in that they are the ones who pay our bills.  They give us the job descriptions then we, as recruiters, go out to find those of you who are qualified and hopefully not too socially challenged.  Don’t get me wrong.  I want to make sure, for the candidates, it is a good fit and that at the end of it all you and the Creative Director go skipping hand-in-hand through a flowery meadow.  However, I am not your personal consultant.  If I haven’t been in touch for a few days it isn’t because I’m not interested in what you have going on but that we don’t have a position you are a good for right now.  In fact, I most likely sent you an email to that affect that some of you are purposefully ignoring.  If this is what you want to hear, here you go…You’re great, I’m sure, and pretty and nice and funny…whatever.  I’m not your girlfriend so stop being a baby.  I will call you when I’ve got something.  Why wouldn’t I?  Think about it.

Also, part of my job is giving advice because we know EXACTLY what the clients are looking for.  I can help tailor your book to specific agencies, add spice to your resume, and even find your kids schools and activities in the city you are relocating to.  And, again, don’t get me wrong I do want to get to know you, well most of you.  But, I cannot talk to you for an hour everyday about your personal insecurities, how your ex-wife is a bitch, or your concerns about what casual dress code really means.  Get a therapist. 

If you are in the interview process with an agency I have submitted you to then, by all means, we will have a number of lengthy conversations where I expect you to be honest with me about your career situation.   In return, I will make sure you know what to wear, what to say, and how to say it.  BUT, if I have talked to you once in passing about a position and now you call me on a daily basis making demands we have a problem, unless you start paying me hourly.  I can’t tell you how many calls I get a week that start like this, “Yeah, I’m going to go ahead and need you to…” With the sentence ending something like, “…call up DDB and see if you can get me in there for an interview”.    Hey guy, stop watching Office Space and find your own job.  I don’t work for you.  I am happy to help you in whatever way I can if you ask me nicely or simply inquire but if you are assuming that I am the dial up recruiting version of Ask.com you are mistaken. 

Overall, I am a nice person who wants to make sure all parties involved are taken care of and that the candidates are excited about possible opportunities because they are ACTUAL good opportunities.  But, for all of you out there who DO understand boundaries, if I am not answering your acceptable weekly phone call it is probably because I am on the other line with Joe McConfused about his life and I apologize, I will be right with you.

Technorati Tags: clients, candidates, Creative Director, therapist, recruiting