Posts Tagged ‘Recruiting’

Now, let me preface this by saying that I'm the first one to admit that there is such a thing as a stupid question.

Come on, don't defend it. We've all heard the adage that "there is no such thing as a stupid question." But if we're being honest here, that's simply not true. I personally know this in large part because I've asked PLENTY of stupid questions in my time.

Still, managers have made careers (or at least motivational posters) out of this phrase (cynics have made their own posters, as well). And it's partly (or even mostly) true. Employees benefit from being in an environment where questions and open dialogue are encouraged, not shunned. After all, an intern can't simply Google "how should I pitch this byline article." That being said, I bet everyone has seen someone take this mantra to its extreme - as a free pass to abandon their own creative and problem-solving faculties.

This is all part of why I'm of the opinion that the ability to ask the right questions is one of the greatest tools in predicting their future success in the workplace - PR or otherwise. Entire careers are built off of having the gift of asking the right questions at the right time (reporters, lawyers, salespeople). PR is no different. I help run Prosek Partners' internship program and I can say that one of the biggest things I look at when interviewing a candidate (or in evaluating their performance) is their ability to ask the right questions. We can't (and don't) expect people to know everything about PR or about the financial services industry. But we do prefer if they can ask smart, targeted questions that will get them on the road to understanding.

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8 comments Written on August 17th, 2012 by
Categories: Communication, Industry Tips, Public Relations, Recruiting
Tags: , , , , ,

Whoever the makers of those fancy, extra weight, ivory colored “resume paper” packets are (which typically cost you $20 to print one nice document), they’re going to have to find new jobs. In a recent Forbes article, I learned that Facebook may have set its sights on its next offering – an online recruiting platform à la industry heavyweight and Empire State Building neighbor, LinkedIn. The article suggests Facebook will be hard-pressed to dethrone what has become the foremost recruiting tool for HR executives and search firms alike. And with LinkedIn’s current valuation somewhere north of $10B, it is less likely Zuckerberg will consider pulling another Instragram-like buyout of its social peer.

What looks like it could be the beginning of a playground turf war between the two social powerhouses leads me to a definite conclusion. The days of paper resumes are dead. I can’t even count how many times I marched my one-page proclamation of worthiness (AKA: my resume) into the career development center at my university. I looked for suggestions on how to bolster the descriptions of my professional experiences and highlight, in a relevant way, the parts that would bring out the more intangible skills I had developed, my personality and work ethic. It always seemed so counterintuitive that the first thing potential employers would “see” of me was a voice-less, color-less document which would probably sit in the middle of a stack, waiting to be read, or have coffee spilled on it, or be lost in the shuffle.

As has become the case with many of the more “traditional” ways we conduct business, the job search and recruiting process has largely moved online. As such, so have the ways we share information with potential employers and those we want to network with.

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1 Comment » Written on July 19th, 2012 by
Categories: Communication, Recruiting, Social Media
Tags: , , , ,


You’ll have to forgive me as I share some Kool-Aid. Recently, CJP began representing an integrated marketing and technology firm.  One of the things their CEO Stacey Haefele regularly talks about is the concept of front-line branding or “below the line branding.” This is the idea that every enterprise, whether large or small, must take steps to enable its employees and sales force to represent the brand in an open, honest and trustworthy way (an idea quite akin to that of our own CEO, Jen Prosek, who believes that each member of the “CJP army” must be a brand ambassador at all times). And in a recent conversation, Ms. Haefele took this idea a bit further, outlining that trust must be developed on the front line through personalization and empathy.

This idea was driven home to me over the last few days. This past weekend, I was fortunate to have been invited to participate in Quinnipiac University’s first annual “QU Media Mashup” – a conference hosted by the School of Communication for graduating  seniors to learn about various media industries and what to expect as they begin their careers. Throughout the weekend, I met dozens of students, all eager to learn and eager to network.

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No Comments » Written on April 27th, 2012 by
Categories: Business, Communication, Marketing, Public Relations, Recruiting
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

I’ve been outraged as I’ve read recent articles about unpaid internships.

First of all, I have always been aggressively against the idea of people working for free. I don’t think either party wins in this situation, never mind the fact that it’s illegal. But what I hadn’t really thought about until I read "The Internship Rip-Off" in a recent issue of The New York Times Magazine is how unfair unpaid internships are.

When you think about it, only those who are supported by parents with means can afford to take these positions, thereby giving a certain socioeconomic class an inside track and leg-up. The sad reality is that this contributes to a lack of diversity in many professions. As the article says, "it reserves those foot-in-the-door opportunities for people who can afford to go without a paycheck." What a terrible practice.

The reality rang home for me when a fellow agency owner told me, proudly, that they paid their interns $50 a week. I was outraged.

Our internship program is perhaps the most important feeder of talent into our firm and we take it very seriously. What I didn’t consider, however, is that even our internships, which pay competitively, probably still prohibit many students and recent graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds, given the high cost of living in New York City and Fairfield County in Connecticut. Perhaps it’s time to think about a scholarship-style program for interns on tuition assistance.

A big thank you to Ariel Kaminer for opening my eyes to the issues of internships and how employers across all industries must consider the unintended consequences of how they operate their programs. CJP

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No Comments » Written on March 14th, 2012 by
Categories: Recruiting
Tags: , , ,

I read a very sad section in the Sunday New York Times called “Growing Up Then Going Home.” Each essay was written by a recent college graduate, all of whom had returned to their parent’s homes. Most were struggling to find work and collectively feeling a sense of failure and depression.

As the job market continues to post dismal numbers, I have been reflecting on my experience as an intern, as well as the five summer interns we employ at CJP. For me, interning was the foundation of my entire career.

First, I would not have discovered the field. My stepdad at the time ran a law firm and one of the partner’s wives ran a boutique fashion PR shop. Fishing aggressively for an internship, I met her and was hired, not knowing much about what PR actually was. But once I had my foot in the door, it was clear that I had found “it.” I completed two additional internships, one in market research and one in law, but neither of them compared to what I felt working in PR.

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4 comments Written on July 18th, 2011 by
Categories: From the News, Recruiting
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