Ad Recruiter

Excited about speaking at the 3% conference with the Top Female Creative ECD's in the Industry - at the very least follow these ladies on Twitter [double click here]

FACEBOOK: NETWORKING FOR YOUR CAREER

Do you use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends? And LinkedIn to network and search for your next job? What about Twitter? In this post, which Rebecca Rivera a very gifted Freelance Creative Director in our industry penned with me, we examine how the lines between our Social networks are blurring and whether the walls between our private and professional lives could be ‘adjusted’ a bit.

To illustrate the types of conversations we are having with resistant candidates, Rebecca and I created the following Facebook dialogue.

Christie FB message to Rebecca: Hi Rebecca, I got your FB message that you’re looking for a new gig. I’ll keep an eye out. Can I ask you a question? Why if you’re looking for new gigs (under or over the radar) are most of your Social profiles vague about your experience? Do you realize the best ECD’s globally use FB networking as their personal cache of ‘friends’ with talent? Your [about me] section only tells me where you went college and that you love fried chicken. Suggestion: cut & paste your LI profile into you FB ‘about me’ and make that section public so friends of friends in the industry can see how amazing your experience is.

Rebecca FB message to Christie: Christie I don’t USE FB for networking. It’s for friends and family only.

Christie (Ad Recruiter): Why?

Rebecca (Creative Director): Because I don’t want Industry People to SEE my posts, pictures of my kids’ birthday parties…

Christie/RECRUITER: Why not? You’ll also see pictures of theirs. Look, people hire qualified people they trust, like and know. I see FB pictures of Global ECDs and CEOs on vacation all the time. Hitting the LIKE button tells them you enjoy their picture and that you’re a friend of theirs in the industry.

Rebecca/CD: Why does he (an ECD) need to see my FB profile when he’s already seen my LinkedIn profile? My FB is personal — and PRIVATE. I’m emailing you my resume.

Christie/RECRUITER: Why does your favorite creative mind need to be your FB friend (?) because you can’t like his fun vacation pictures on LinkedIn — that’s why. You can’t comment on the latest crazy video he posted on his wall! You’re not in his inner circle. Don’t you want to open doors for yourself and your career? LinkedIn is a less powerful (inner circle). BTW, thank you for the resume PDF but I don’t need it. We’re already LinkedIn. That’s your resume, isn’t it?

Rebecca/CD: I hear you but I’ve never been asked to open my FB before to Industry People.

Christie/RECRUITER: But you’re asking me about possible opportunities, I’m telling you where a great place to find them is. It’s right here on FB. How about this: OPEN your FB up to folks you’d love to eventually work with, by being FB friends with them, make [about me/work history] your public FB (resume) or profile experience and start sending notes to a few friends of friends you admire in the industry. Trust me; they’ll look at your ABOUT ME and see your experience and that you’re connected to mutual friends. I assure you no PDF has that kind of impact. Imagine the impact if you become FB friends? Just see what happens.

Rebecca/CD: But who I am on Facebook is different than who I am on LinkedIn or Twitter. Would I have to tweak my Timeline? Even if I had the time to clean it up, I’m not sure I want to.

Christie/RECRUITER: The idea isn’t for you to try to be someone you’re not. ECDs love getting invites from friends of friends and FB fans who are in the industry and are talented. They love seeing all their friends’ creative posts. And remember, if you’re not one of their friends on Facebook, when they have an opening, you won’t even make their shortlist.

Rebecca/CD: Let me think about it.

Christie/RECRUITER: Sure. Think about it. But in the meantime, please at least add some of your great work experience to your [about me/work experience] section and BE sure you have links to your Twitter & LinkedIn profiles in the event one of your brilliant FB posts gets re-shared by a co-worker friend and is then seen by industry friends of friends.

Privacy versus Opportunity

Will Rebecca take Christie’s advice? If she does, will the ECD accept her Friendship [Add Me message], friend her, and think of her the next time he needs a new CD? There are no guarantees. But if she becomes his FB friend, HAS AN impressive ABOUT ME profile filled in - she’s certainly more likely to be top of mind.

FOLLOW REBECCA RIVERA: http://rebriffed.posterous.com/facebook-the-next-recruiting-frontier

TWITTER and How To Be FOUND.

NOTE TO NEW READERS ~ We advise executives in the industry to read the bottom post ‘first’ and work your way up, as our advice builds gradually upon the last ~

Let’s talk about TWITTER:

That is your Billboard To The World - as well.

YEP.

Make your Twitter profile the same as your LinkedIn Billboard.
(see previous post).

GASP.

Stop thinking …. “no one does that - Twitter profiles are about being funny and kitsch?”

NEXT.

Add a LINK on your Twitter profile back to your AMAZING LinkedIn profile (resume to the world).

YOU’ll BE AMAZED, at the leads that come your way.

HOW TO FIND REAL PEOPLE (inside) the companies you LOVE on Twitter:

DIRECTIONS:
*Following Companies is ‘great’ on Twitter but following real executives is even BETTER. Most Ad Agencies lack the foresight to follow their fans (back) - another topic for discussion.

How do you find REAL people at your favorite Ad Agencies to follow on Twitter?

EASY.

Search your favorite Employer’s company profile on LinkedIn. [stay with me]
Instead of SEARCH PEOPLE, drop down and Search Companies - Click on the Company Profile Page on LinkedIn…..scroll down and you WILL SEE current employees that work at your favorite Agency/Company.

SCROLL through all those (amazing) profiles and FIND who has TWITTER link’s on LI “double” click on their Twitter links and make sure you’re following them. LinkedIn sometimes say’s you are already connected but IF you double click you’ll see you’re actually NOT.

[dislike *note to LI developers]

P.S. There’s an added BONUS: Every single person who’s profile you OPEN - MIGHT just check you out back on LI, because folks are always curious as to WHO’s looking at their profiles. If your linkedIn billboard is perfect and clearly states (what we talked about)…How POWERFUL are you? VERY.

Haven’t you just placed your resume on their COMPUTER SCREEN? They ARE looking at your LinkedIn profile (right)?

WOW.

Isn’t that AWESOME?

Your BILLBOARD to the WORLD

How to ‘BE FOUND’ by a hiring director, company or a recruiter looking to hire.

I’d be hard pressed to say that any other description about yourself and your career is ‘as’ important as what I’m about to tell you.

The tagline under your name on LinkedIn.

YEP.

It seems so inconsequential, really - but listen to my advice from a ‘hiring manager and recruitment’ perspective and make your own conclusions:

LETS PLAY.

I’m a 3 x Cannes LION winning ECD in NYC looking to hire a Digital Copy CD in town. I go to my LI contacts and do a status update about it ‘check’. This supports my previous post about sending invites not lame PDF’s.

I’m an ECD who’s looking for ‘the best’. I also have the Agency Recruiters on it. So I do a people search on LI during a mundane meeting to see ‘who’s out there’ just for kicks.

I search ACD, COPY, NYC in key words and below is what [we Employers/Recruiters] see, the only thing I, the ECD see’s…. are your tag-lines below:

Jane Lane
Freelancer

Frank Loyd
available copywriter

Sue Quint
Copy/ACD at (company name)

Sal Smart
Copy/ACD DIGITAL W+K | Sid Lee | Ogilvy | NIKE | Puma | Absolute Vodka | DIESEL Inquires Welcome: freelance/full

Joe Dense
Creative looking for his next gig

Who’s profile am I going to OPEN and read? Seriously. Which one will I choose to investigate further?

The TAGLINE under name will make or break your ‘BEING FOUND’.

P.S. Once we open your profile please make it *easy to pick up phone and call you, or email you. Don’t GIVE us an enormous complicated wordy SUMMARY. WARM words about what your looking for and easily FOUND contact info (in your summary) is always very to the point and effective. We can read about your experience under your jobs - no need to recap how wonderful you are in the summary, if you’ve detailed your experience. A long summary - distracts and be-fuddles.

ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT EXAMPLES of TAG-LINES:

Jane Lane
Managing Director

Frank Loyd
Advertising Account Director seeking opportunity

Sue Quint
Account Director at Parsons & Company

Sid Smart
Advertising Branding Director w/ Global Digital Brand expertise
KRAFT | JAGUAR | COKE | P&G| ROYAL CARIBBEAN

Again: If I’m a CEO looking for a top Account Director …..who’s profile am I going to WANT to open above? *The one that impresses me the most.

See why I call it YOUR BILLBOARD TO THE WORLD?