Recently in Talent Category

Over here at Aquent we value the amazing Talent we represent and we also recognize that they in fact are the true experts in their fields (SME, if you must) and are far more connected than we can ever hope to be.

So during the past few months we've been developing a referral system that "pays it forward" and hopefully gets everyone more jobs and some extra money to boot!

A couple weeks ago we started offering cash to Aquent Talent based on a point system. We have two different avenues for folks, one is to refer other awesome Talent to us and the other is to refer potential job openings to us. (This last one pays big and fast!)
 
I was excited about this new referral program (we call it Aquent Rewards) and started shouting about it from the rooftops. But I started to notice a trend: People often responded to enthusiastic pitch with a,  "Yeah, that's nice and all, but I really just want a job of my own. I'm not really in the mood to send you names or job openings."

Fair enough. And I do get it. As a company, we want to find an exciting job for every one of our Talent as well!

All this got me thinking about how the referral program impacts people in a way other than the cash that they get. Then I started thinking about karma.

Wikipedia tells me that Karma means a "deed" or "act", or more broadly, names the universal principle of cause and effect, action and reaction that governs all life. If Karma can make things right and good for people like Earl J. Hickey, why can't it work for other folks?

Let me lay it out for you:
 
How exactly would this good job karma thing work?

Case study #1 (talent referral)
You have a friend/acquaintance that is an incredible Online Marketer
You login to your My Aquent  account and submit your friend/aquaintence to us
We call* your referral
 If we place that person, you start accruing good job karma points (and Aquent referral points = $)
 
Case study #2 (business referral)
You are sitting at work, working.
You overhear that the online marketing team (or interactive, marketing, graphic design,) needs someone and they are thinking of hiring.
You login to you're My Aquent  account and submit any information you know about the job and hiring manager's name.
We call* that hiring manager and help them fill that job.
If we fill that job you rack up FAT good job karma points (and Aquent business referral points =$$$)
 
Karma Bonus:
If you send us a business referral and the talent referral that can fill that job, you go straight to nirvana and collect a large sum of Aquent referral bonus points = $$$$$$$$$
 


So let's go back to the initial problem; "Yeah, but I just want a job of my own"

By you building your good job karma and others building up their good job karma, there's a good chance that you will get to work at that job of your dreams - the job someone else recommended.

And heck, the fact that you get points (and cash) for recommending people doesn't hurt, does it?

Recruiter.  Headhunter.  Staffing Consultant.  Placement Specialist.  Talent Acquisition and Retention Specialist.  BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH!  Let's call it what it really is - we are your Agent.  OH YES - think Jerry Maguire "Show ME THE MONEY" Cuba Gooding yelling in the bathroom kind of agent.  And no - I will not scream into the phone for you.  I love you - but that just seems weird and it's been done already.  

I've realized recently that candidates typically fall into one of two categories:

•    The first camp, we shall call them the "I don't believe in your value" team - call Recruiters when they are in dire straits and send half-done resume updates/portfolio samples because let's face it - they are at the end of their rope and don't see the value that we (THE AGENT) can bring.

•    The 2nd group, I shall call them the "I TOTALLY GET IT and will CERTAINLY partner with you to make magic happen" team - they are responsive, helpful, updates resumes AND portfolios accordingly and view us  (THE AGENT) as a valued partner and resource in helping them secure their next engagement (I know - it's not a movie but we can't all live in the world of Mark Wahlberg (HELLO!  ENTOURAGE MUCH) and Rene Zellweger).  

So the tough question (DUM DUM DUM....) - how do we shift the court of public opinion in group one to join the happily ever after of group two?  

It's simple - change the mindset.  Build the relationship.  Court a little.  In this land of speed dating and internet match making - the same cannot be applied to creating a valuable agent/talent relationship.  So let's get back to basics people!  Get to know one another and the things that make each member of the partnership awesome.  And for the love of god recruiters - DO NOT EVER USE THE WORDS "TOUCH BASE."  Would you want your girlfriend/spouse/family to call to "touch base?"  I don't think so.  

A former Australian Prime Minister is famously quoted as saying, "life wasn't meant to be easy". Some days I feel the same can be said for recruiting! When you're trying to build your team, getting the right people on board is crucial. 

Picture this... you've conducted a couple of interviews with a candidate that you believe has great potential - you've even taken them out for an informal chat over coffee to get to know them better.  And of course you (or the recruitment specialist you're working with) have conducted thorough reference checks.

You're feeling pretty confident with your selection yet getting the preferred candidate to understand exactly what's required in a role can be difficult until they are actually on your payroll.  Is there anything else you can do to make sure the fit is right, from both a skill and corporate cultural perspective?

Yes there is!  It's called shadowing.  It's a technique often employed by schools and universities to expose students to real world environments and there's no reason that members of industry and commerce can't implement the same process.

If your future employee is willing and able, invite them to join you for half a day or a full day if time permits.  Let them shadow someone in the department that they are likely to work in and see what sort of things they will be expected to do. You're not asking the potential employee to actually do any work, just observe what is going on.  Introduce them to some of their future team mates and let them get a feel for the organization too. This will give you, the employer, and the candidate/future employee an excellent opportunity to gain further insights and make sure there is a great fit.

Obviously this won't work for all roles and there may be risks associated with it - getting a confidentiality agreement signed beforehand may be advisable. On the whole though it can be the extra step in the process that makes recruitment a whole lot easier and eliminates some stress. Maybe you can even disprove the former PM's statement and enjoy that elusive 'easy' life!

I was surprised to hear a client say recently that the downturn in the economy was good from a staff retention perspective as there weren't many other jobs out there to tempt his team members away.  Now I'm an optimistic, glass half full, kind of girl and the negativity in the statement made me go "whoa!!"

I'm a great advocate of creating great work environments and developing positive staff retention strategies.  Fear however does not classify as a leading strategy in my book. I decided therefore to turn our discussion into more positive territory and shared with him the concept of "Stay Interviews". 

Most large organisations conduct "exit interviews" when an employee has decided to leave the company.  At this point in time -  when it's usually too late to do anything about it - a great deal of intelligence is gathered about what could and should have been done differently in order to keep the employee there. Now I know we don't always want to keep every employee but if you have shining stars in your team, isn't it better to find out this information whilst they are still there and still happy?

Don't just implement this in your performance review procedures.  Think about who your key team members are, the ones you really don't want to lose. Take them out for a coffee and a chat. Ask them why they come to work every day.  What do they like about your organisation and their role? What do they like about your management style? And of course, ask the harder questions too. What can you do to make sure they stay engaged? Often employees leave a company because they feel they are not valued. Sometimes it's a mere case of no-one asking them to stay.  Don't lose your people through lack of communication.   Speak up... NOW! Happy chatting!

Hi All,

Talent Spotlight
Jack Goldenberg is a creative copywriter represented by agent Randi Martin in Aquent's New Jersey office who, since cracking into the industry over 30 years ago, has served as the creative muscle behind such influential product launches as the McDonald's Happy Meal, Cabbage Patch Kids, Pop Rocks candy, and most recently, the signature Barack Obama watch line. Today, Jack is a freelance copywriter who recently finished a two-year gig writing advertising for Bristol Myers Squibb.

I asked Jack a few questions about how he got his start in the creative industry, the stories behind some of the work he is most proud of, and some advice for those of you hoping to follow a similar path.

First of all, I had an African American Cabbage Patch Kid growing up I named Fred. I'm about as white as they come and grew up in Maine...very strange. But I guess I could say he was my first best friend...so thanks for reaching the masses on that one.

You knew a black Cabbage Patch Kid named Fred? I think I knew him. Was he different than all the other Cabbage Patch Kids? Wait a minute, maybe I'm thinking of snowflakes...

Now you've worked on some pretty amazing product launches from the Happy Meal to the aforementioned (and awesome) Cabbage Patch Kids to the Obama Watches. As a staunch Happy Meal supporter myself, can you tell me the story of how this product launch came to be?

The launch of McDonald's first Happy Meal was a long, long time ago. How long? It was back when cell phones had a huge cord and we had to walk 20 miles in the snow just to pick up our e-mail. But I digress.

The Happy Meal name came from a company in St. Louis and the idea for it supposedly came from St. Louis adman Dick Brams in 1977 (also known as the Dark Ages).

The problem was that the Happy Meal wasn't that successful, at first, to warrant making it a national product. I was Creative Director at the Frankel Company - a brilliant company that has been promoting McDonald's for over 30 years.

Since the local sales of Happy Meals were not that strong, Ray Kroc, McDonald's founder, wanted to put the Happy Meal in a bag instead of a box because the money McDonald's would save if they sold millions of Happy Meals was astronomical (I'm no math whiz, but we're talking well over $40.00 here).

I argued with Ray Kroc that they had to keep the Happy Meal in a box, not a bag because a Happy Meal was "an in-home reminder of the need to visit McDonald's." A kid would see the Happy Meal boxes he collected in his room every day and tell his parents, "Mom, Dad, We've just gotta go back to McDonald's. I need three more 'Star Trek, Star Wars or Spongebob' Happy Meals to complete my collection!"

In other words, the Happy Meal was designed to be viral, kid to parent, long before YouTube made its way onto computers and cell phones. Of course, we didn't know about the term "viral," to us it was just "word of mouth."

I then tried to convince McDonald's to use movie merchandising on the first national Happy Meal instead of the generic outer space or circus themes they thought would work. When they didn't believe me, I brought in Dick Wolf, then a a movie producer and currently of Law and Order fame, and Rusty Citron, a former talent agent and currently Founder and President of the Actors Hall of Fame, to speak to Frankel account executives and McDonald's promotion people about how a movie merchandising theme would make the Happy Meal collectible.

The deal was sealed when Coke got the rights to the first Star Trek movie and sub-licensed them to McDonald's.

I don't want to get political here, but I do want a new watch, so can you tell me more about the Obama Watches?

Obama Watches is the most recent project I've worked on. In December 2007, I wore a single Obama watch to a friend's party as a one-man viral campaign supporting Barack Obama. The next day, five friends called or e-mailed me (why they didn't Tweet me, I'll never know!) to ask where they could buy "one of those Obama watches. "

Now, we have 13 different Obama watches, sales in 47 states and 8 foreign countries and three of our Obama watches are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution. I personally gave 5 watches to then-candidate Obama at the request of the Democratic National Committee.

We're going to make a 14th final Obama watch. While it will be a little less serious, it is sure to make dog lovers happy. I don't want to give away what the subject will be, but I will say that you'll be able to buy it at this site - www.firstpuppyoftheunitedstates.com - as soon as it goes live.

This post was written by Aquent's Alex "Anytime/Anywhere" Weaver. This is a picture of him.

As fluid and uncertain as it has become (thanks in part to companies shedding full-time employment opportunities faster than A-Rod is shedding fans), the career landscape isn't really a landscape anymore. Its more like a wormhole where traditional job search conventions go in and something entirely different emerges.

Some claim that we are now looking at a 24-hour workplace, but I think it goes beyond that. Thanks to the web, the workplace isn't even a real place anymore; it's been replaced by the nowhere-in-particular of cyberspace.

The question now is: How do you go about looking for a job in the anytime/anywhere world of work in which the internet is your office, a solid web presence your resume, and what you do (your specialization) matters more than where you do it (your geographic location)?

I'll tell you this: it's not easy. Where once you could focus the bulk of your networking attention on the city you call home, now you could potentially be working for a client in Kuala Lumpur on a project that needs to be delivered next day to Sao Paulo (their time), while your toast gets cold in Idaho. See? It's complicated!

We've been responding to this brave new wormhole by shifting around the way we work. Our agents are now focusing less on covering a specific geographical beat than they are on mastering a particular area of specialization. It's technically possible for a web agent in Seattle to find a web designer in Montreal to work for a client in Dallas, so why shouldn't we make exactly that happen?

Obviously [BLATANT SELF-PROMOTION WARNING!], one way to look for gigs (or talent, for that matter) in the anytime/anywhere world is to partner with an organization capable of being anywhere/anytime (I can recommend one if you're curious). But what I'm dying to know is, how are YOU doing it (without the aforementioned, nameless organization)? Have you been able to shift your mind and efforts successfully into the de-spatialized, temporally fluid workplace? Do you work in a certain specialty rather than a certain place? Does your client list span the globe while you, uh, butter your toast in Idaho?

To put it another way, do you now or have you ever worked for someone you have never met in person who lives in a place you've never visited? How did you make that happen? I gotta to know! Talk to me!

Talent Spotlight

Jon Billett is a designer represented by Aquent's Philadelphia office who has spent the last several years making the transition from print to web. Of the work he's done that you may have seen are a set of banner ads featuring Regis and Kelly which Jon created for TD Bank.

I asked Jon a few questions about his career, the process of moving from print design to interactive design, and the key to creating effective banner ads. Here's what he told me.

You started your career as a graphic designer, right?

Yep, my background is in print design. It's what I studied in school and it's what gave me my foundation in layout, aesthetics, and making things look pretty.

So how did you build your interactive chops?

After I graduated, I basically taught myself at first and then networked with as many people as I could to learn from them. I made an online Flash portfolio and was fortunate enough to land a job through Craigslist with 3601, the internal ad agency at the Wachovia Center here in Philly.

What sort of stuff did you do with 3601??

This was back in 2006 and they really hadn't done too much Flash or web stuff themselves, so they hired me to create banner ads, put together the web site for the agency, and things like that. I also worked on the design of the iWalls that they have installed there. These huge displays allow fans to interact with hi-def timelines dedicated to the Flyers and the Sixers. It's really great to see people on TV playing with them, and being a fan myself, I had a lot of fun creating them.

Was it challenging to be "the web guy" on the team?

In a way. I was the only person who knew how to do this stuff, so when I had problems, there wasn't anyone in the office that I could turn to. I had to reach out and find other sources to get answers.

What sources did you find?

I got a lot of help from TechnicalLead.com, which also runs LearnFlash.com. I joined as a member so I could have access to their tutorial videos but the best part of the service was access to mentors - experts who have really mastered this technology. Having a specific person you can tap for help is ideal, though you really need to be at a certain level to make the most of mentoring.

I realize that banner ads are just part of what you've done, but what would you say is the key to a successful banner ad design?

A banner ad can't be distracting, but it still has to attract attention and be intriguing. You have to put enough in the ad to pique someone's curiosity and get them to click without making it too busy (and not just because you want to keep the file sizes down). Aside from making the ads entertaining and engaging, I like using the format to throw in new animation tricks I've learned.

Last question. Who are your influences?

On the print side, I would say that my biggest influences have been Saul Bass, David Carson, with his "type as image" stuff, and street/urban things like Shephard Fairey. On the web front, I absolutely love the work being done by AYC Media.