Working with a recruiter/head hunter is kind of daunting at first. Who is this person? What do I talk to them about? What if I say something stupid and they blackball me? This post, written by Laura Bonetti should help break things down and make it a little easier.
Laura is a creative recruiter/head hunter at Kay & Black. Agencies go to her and say “Here’s the type of person we want and the type of things we want them to do. Bring me that person.”
She’s kind of like a match-maker.
Understanding what Laura does, how
she does and how to best work with her – BEFORE – you even approach her (or
people like her.) will be very valuable for your career.
I covered Things Recruiters Love/Hate
a
while back, now I’d like to share a How To/ Behind The Scenes/ Intro To post
about
working with non-agency recruiters. (Agency recruiters only hire for their company, non-agency recruiters, like Laura, work with several different agencies.)
working with non-agency recruiters. (Agency recruiters only hire for their company, non-agency recruiters, like Laura, work with several different agencies.)
How to Work With A Recruiter
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| Laura and the man your man should smell like |
I spend my days analyzing creative's
and agency's portfolios of work, comparing the work one person produces as a
part of our larger industry's output.
I look at copywriter's work like an
English professor. With art directors and designers I’m an art historian. I
cannot represent creatives whose work or thinking I don't like or understand.
Then I pitch the creatives who have
the skill and thinking process that the agency values, showing how and why this
person will be a contributor to the agency's portfolio of work.
Q: What do people think you do?
Often times, juniors will email me
hoping that like Cinderella's fairy godmother. That I will take their
portfolios and sprinkle them with fairy dust to make their work appealing
to agencies with whom they have no access.
Some think that I will manage their
job search for them, and it will be a smooth service transaction, like getting
your clothes dry cleaned or to get a haircut.
Au contaire mon frere!
Q: What magic can you do?
I can give feedback on a creative's
portfolio, a spit shine to get your best foot forward to agencies.
However, I cannot do your thinking
for you: I am not a creative myself, nor am I you.
I represent creatives, so you're
going to have to do the hard work of building a (strong!) portfolio, to show
your thinking.
Q: When is the best time to call you?
Please contact me when the bulk of
your portfolio is complete, and you have a general sense of what you'd like to
do to earn money in our industry.
I prefer to be contacted via email,
though social media like Linked In or Twitter is cool too.
Q: What do I need to know before I call you?
1. You should have started already
figuring out the creative or ad person you'd like to be.
2. You should have already committed
to a job title (art director, copywriter, graphic designer, planner, strategist,
etc)
3. You should already know how you'd
like to get started earning money for your thinking and skills.
Q: What will happen when we talk?
I will ask you a TON of questions
about your skills applicable to this job title and its responsibilities.
The best way for me to gauge your
'think big' skill set, is to poke your ideas, and to see how hard, big, and
maturely you pitch me back.
I ask you guys about your thinking
process to produce spec campaigns, the choices you make on behalf of your
speculative clients, why you executed an idea the way that you did.
When you answer my questions, when
you interact with me at all, I'm trying to assess your potential for
greatness, if you will be a good citizen in the advertising industry.
Q: What are you looking for?
I want to recruit David Ogilvy-style,
Big Idea GREAT CREATIVES, into our industry and for our clients and agencies. That's the potential of the business
we're in, and the unspoken intention of every brief given: to be BIG &
GREAT. Neisha's spoke about how important it
is to be hungry, inspired, hard working, nice, witty, and considerate to
others.
No assholes. No mediocrity. No
pettiness. No narcissists either.
Q: Any General Tips?
1.
If you have a general question about
job searching, ask Google.
2.
Reach out to me twice a month with
updates. Please be specific, factual, and active in our communications.
3.
Tell me a bit about yourself as we
work together. I do want the creatives I rep to be real people!
4.
The best time of year to be looking
is February - June and then late August - Thanksgiving. Hiring budgets run
annually, so the summers & winters are slow. However, a slow period for
jobs might be a great time for us to chat, to start our relationship.
5.
I recommend working with one staffing
agency and two headhunters at a time. How many relationships can you
realistically maintain?
6.
And, be your own fairy godmother
:)
