So the second generation thing never really caught on–you know, the thought that everyone would have their real life and then an on-line fantasy life--famous actor, athlete, world-renowned executive search consultant.   

Although most of us don’t have a second life, we all have an on-line reputation. If you are following my advice from last week’s blog on building your LinkedIn (LI) profile, you’d better start managing your on-line identity. Microsoft conducted a study with 1,200 hiring and recruitment managers http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/dpd/research.aspx 

Most of those surveyed consider what they find on-line to impact their selection criteria. In fact, 70 percent of United States hiring managers in the study say they have rejected candidates based on what they found.   

At the executive level it’s unlikely you’re posting pictures of yourself on Facebook streaking the quad during senior week, but here are three other things you have to watch out for:   

Consistency: Every recruiter (and just about every hiring manager) I know will look you up on LI when they are considering you for a position.  If your resume and LI have noticeable discrepancies, you’ve just created a hurdle for yourself.  I believe resumes should be customized for the position you are applying for, so your LI profile and resume don’t have to be identical--but they sure better “feel” the same and by all means if you have any numbers (size of team you managed, budgets, revenue growth), they had better jive. 

Mistaken Identity: You can assume a fair bit of intuition on the part of the recruiter but why leave it to chance?  It’s likely there is more than one person with your name, so rather than let someone find the wrong “Matt Gill”, put a link to your LI profile on your resume.  Not only will this avoid confusion, it’s much easier for the recruiter. 

Outdated Info: This doesn’t apply to LI but it does to all other entities out there like Spoke, ZoomInfo, Plaxo and numerous other search capabilities that pull info on you when you’re Googled.  I’m not recommending that you manage a profile on every networking site out there, but take the time to regularly Google yourself. See what results you get and if you find info you don’t want a potential employer to see, figure out how to fix it. 

P.S.!

Just finished this blog and someone sent me this link: http://www.getunvarnished.com/beta 

It’s in beta but this scares me.  It’s a place where people you’ve worked with (friends and enemies) can post anonymous comments about you as a professional. I’m going to do my research but if anyone has info on this and wants to share please email me at mgill@pileandcompany.com

So if you aren’t on LinkedIn (LI) you probably aren’t reading blogs, so this post might be self-defeating--but here goes.  (If you are on LI, keep reading–I’m sure it will provide a helpful tip or two.)

LI is fast becoming one of the most powerful recruiting tools–ever.  If you’re in job search mode and you don’t have a full profile, it’s one of the biggest mistakes you could make.  LI doesn’t replace all of the tools recruiters use, but it sure helps. Along with our personal networks and subscriptions like The List www.thelistinc.com,   One Source www.onesource.com, Hoovers www.hoovers.com, and Zoominfo www.zoominfo.com,  LI has become an equally important research and outreach tool.

Recruiters use LI the same way everyone else uses Google.  It gives us the ability to search by key word, industry, discipline, geography, employer, education and capability.  But we can only find you if you self-populate with the right info.

There is definitely a strategy to how you create your profile.  You have to think like a recruiter to be found by a recruiter.  Ninety-percent of the time our clients have given us very specific direction.  For example, the must-haves for a position may be:

Industry: B2B, InsuranceExperience:

Brand strategy and ad agency management with  global experience, specifically EEU and Asia-PacBi-Lingual: German and English

Now I am being a bit over-the-top with the requirements but it’s to prove a point.  If you speak German but haven’t added that to your profile, you missed out on being added to the list.  This is the same for  industry experience, geographic experience and any other capability that differentiates you from other candidates.  My advice is not to throw in as many key words as possible, but to think about what type of position a recruiter would want to speak with you about--and craft your LI profile so it shows up when we look for you. 

Check out my profile at http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=1042568&trk=tab_pro. I’m not an open networker but my email is mgill@pileandcompany.com. If you would like to LinkIn, send me an invite with the subject “blog post”. 

 

Do you feel like you give the same feedback again and again to your agency?  They hear some of it, but not most of it.  You are not alone.  We find with many of our clients that there is significant frustration around the agency listening and acting on their feedback.

This is not so much an issue with the specific details of day-to-day work.  The agency hears the feedback on specific ads, media plans, creative briefs.  What they don’t hear tends to be bigger picture in nature.  You continually tell them they don’t get the brand or the work doesn’t fit your brand’s tone, or you are frustrated by the fact they aren’t proactive.  You’d like to have them come to you with new ideas before you ask.  They will definitely be surprised when you tell them the account is in jeopardy.

So what should you do?  Immediately implement a Performance Evaluation that outlines, on paper, the specific performance goals against which the agency will be measured. Then evaluate the agency against those goals and have them evaluate themselves.  The outcome will be clear.  It is important to hold a meeting to review those findings with the agency.  Together develop an action plan and put that in writing too.  Assign responsibilities, due dates and revisit the progress in 30, 60 and 90 days.

Pile has a proven Performance Evaluation approach .  Having a third party facilitate and manage the process better ensures its completion and brings an outside perspective to the table.  Give us a call if you want to learn more.

“Tell me about yourself.”  

“I have 25 years of experience-- you want me to sum it up in ten minutes???” 

Driving the interview can be much easier than you think, especially when you’re being asked open-ended questions like this. I’ve heard from numerous candidates who struggle with interview questions like the one above. Other troubling questions are: “What’s your management style?” or “What is your greatest strength, weakness or passion?”   

If you aren’t prepared, these questions can be a black hole. But if you’ve done your homework, open-ended questions provide you the opportunity to take the interview anywhere you want. “Prepared” doesn’t mean having one answer to these questions; it means being able to customize the answer based on the company and specific position you are interviewing for. Whenever my clients allow, I participate in the interview, mostly as an observer.  This vantage point has provided me the opportunity to see firsthand what resonates when these questions are asked and answered. More often than not, the candidate who is ultimately hired follows the following methodology:  

You are interviewing with ABC Company. Based on your research you know that the position is inheriting an underperforming marketing team of 15 professionals.  They have been without a solid leader for over twelve months and don’t have the required respect in the company to be effective. 

Interviewer: “What’s your management style?”  (What they really want to know is have you been in this situation before and how have you handled it.)  

Candidate:  “I believe consistent, clear objectives need to be communicated on a regular basis.  Every team member needs to know what is expected of him or her, what resources they have available and when they are expected to complete their objectives. As a manager I need to evaluate the talents of my team, evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and provide direction so that weaknesses can be improved.  Ultimately, if the skills aren’t there to perform the job then through consistent communication it becomes clear to the person that it is time to move on.” 

My Assessment:  You answered the question “What’s your management style?”, but as an interviewer, am I to take your word that this is actually how you operate? This is a great start, but here’s the beauty of this question for a candidate – it allows you the opportunity to paint a picture of you actually doing this.   

After stating his management style the candidate continues: Candidate: “When I started at XYZ Company, I inherited a team of 14.  It was explained to me when I accepted the position that the team had been waffling; they had inconsistent leadership and didn’t have the respect of the organization because of it. It was made clear to me that one of my top three objectives in the first six months was to evaluate the team and get them to the next level.  Here’s how I did that…”. 

And the story begins.  Use first names as you go through the explanation, use specific examples of who improved and who didn’t, what were the improvements – promotions, pay increases as well as those who were managed out, and specifically why they weren’t a fit and how you communicated throughout the process.  

You can use this approach regardless of the position: management, brand strategy, product development--it doesn’t matter.  Regardless of the position’s objectives, your story will allow the interviewer to picture you doing what they need to done. Once that happens all you have left is to negotiate your offer.

I applaud the effort that individuals and companies are doing to go green – or say they are doing to go green.  I was very pleasantly surprised and impressed with Puma’s Clever Little Bag.  It’s nice to actually see the difference a corporation is making to help minimize their carbon footprint, rather that just hear about it in a commercial.  Like other innovative companies, Puma is taking this step proactively.  CEO Jochen Zeitz admits that this is not necessarily saving the company money but that is not the point, is it?  This is about finding a way for a corporation to flourish while having to adjust to the increasing threat we are putting on our planet.  

Thank you, Puma, GE, Toyota, GM, Ford, Nissan, Seventh Generation, Starbucks, Timberland – and all the other companies out there that are helping make a difference for generations to come.

Are you doing your part to help?