Monthly Archives: July 2011

Career Q+A: Conflict of interest, A new

As seen in Cynopsis Classified Advantage
~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock

 

Can I have clients on the side?
Q: There is a vague HR policy regarding conflict of interest in terms of doing work on the side. I’ve dreamed of working as an independent for years but since I work full time for this Public TV station I cannot work on developing clients. Now that rumors are indicating layoffs, am I justified to pursue my own clients?

A: If you have signed on to a conflict of interest policy either explicitly or implicitly then you should clear any side gigs with the HR folk.  You don’t want them coming after you later, or calling your clients, who being risk averse would probably walk away.  If your side clients would not be a conflict then your station should not be bothered by this as long as they are getting the usual 110% of your attention for the job they are still paying you for.

However does simply developing clients fall under the policy?  If you are not yet actually working for them and you are not compromising an opportunity for your station, it may not be an issue and you may not need to raise any flags yet – this depends of course on the specifics of the policy your company has in place.

One other thing – it sounds as if you are expecting to be a casualty of the layoffs.  What if you went to your management and said “I know you are going to have to lay people off – would you consider offering a sweeter retirement package if I went voluntarily?”  This might be attractive to them as it could save them costs and potential liabilities and litigation.  Just a thought.


How to get out of the media business
Q: I have been thinking about getting out of the media business all together and starting over, which is not easy but may be necessary if the video business doesn’t pan out. How do I create a cover letter that acknowledges my exclusive experience in video while communicating that those skills do translate in to other fields?

A: You should start by carefully researching the field you want to enter and look at jobs available and the way they are described.  Then review all your work history and other experience through the eyes of someone hiring for these positions.

For this exercise strip away the overarching “broadcast/video” words and see what else there is.  Some examples might be project management, operations, food, sports, history, global, crisis management, PR, advertising, sales, technology etc.

See which niches and experiences relate to the new target business and describe your experience accordingly.   You should say clearly why you are excited to bring these valuable skills to the new field  this would the way to frame your approach.

Posted on July 26, 2011 in Career Q+A
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Is your resume just fluff? Parsons students recognize the need for tangible claims.

I was privileged recently to spend a couple of hours with a wonderful group of designers graduating from Parsons, The New School for Design. These talented young people were about to hit the job market and I had been asked to give them some pointers.

They paired off and I asked each of them explain to the other what they wanted to do and why they should be hired to do it. Two minutes each. Then each of them reported to the whole group on their partner’s ambitions and why a hirer should pick them.

“What did you learn from this exercise?” I asked after all reports had been made. Quick as a flash one bright young man said, “I wouldn’t hire any of us.”

“Oh.” said I. “And why would you not?”

“Because there was nothing tangible.”

He was right. No one gave a solid reason or example of anything that might persuade someone to pick them. It was all fluff, nothing real, nothing specific.

These guys are forgiven, this is their first step into the job market and in fact they cottoned on right away and worked out what it is that they should be saying to make their cases. But I see this with so very many resumes and hear it from so many people I talk to – including mid and late career folk. There’s nothing tangible. There are lots of values and generic qualifications. Lots of general qualities that could apply to hundreds of people and therefore has value for no-one. But where is the tangible success? Where is the tangible goal? Where are the specific achievements? Everyone has them, why are they so reluctant to brag on them? At best they are often buried deep in a templated chronological recitation of their careers.

So check your own resume – does your summary include something tangible? Or do you have a fluffy summary and is the good stuff hidden away in the depths?

Posted on July 15, 2011 in career transition, job search, resumes
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How three Creative Pros use Twitter to further their goals

When Film Director Jody Lauren Miller started using Twitter, “I didn’t know what I was doing.  I just followed and was following – and most of them were useless.  You can follow a bunch of nonsense.  But as I got more focused I started searching for producers, ad agencies, production companies.”

She vets their credentials she says, “because it could be like me sitting in my basement saying I’m a film producer, or it could be an actual big-time film producer.”  In fact just such a big-timer checked to see who was following him, looked at Jody’s website and  “had his guy send me an email.”  This led to meetings in his Beverly Hills office and planning projects to work on together.  “I think people like this man are constantly looking to see who’s out there and what everybody else is doing,”  Jody told me.  ”As everything is changing in the film business or the ad business, they’re looking for new stuff.”

Hollywood Casting Director Danielle Eskinazi says “Using Twitter has totally enhanced my work. Before, I felt very isolated. I wanted to be out there to see what was happening; not just in my own little world.”

Now through her Twitter activity, Danielle has become more intertwined with the industry.  “By making me more accessible, it has drawn me to bringing in different actors instead of just who the agencies send.”

She says it enables her to engage with other people than she usually has access to. “Agents, producers and directors are on there.” She began tweeting with someone who said he was a director: “A few months later he called and said he wanted me to work on a job for him.”

Before setting up a sales meeting, Digital Video executive Tom Peckenham looks at Twitter streams from people at the company. He doesn’t engage, but he sees who is thinking what and who would make a good person to contact.  Even more valuably, he says, he learns who he does not want to meet with!

But how do they make the time?  For Danielle, every so often during the day she takes a 10 minute break from watching auditions to tweet.  Sometimes she holds Twitter Q and A sessions for actors.  Jody tells me, “When I’ll check my email, I’ll check Twitter too and read a couple of links and then back to my business. It almost becomes a habit.”

So if you know what you need to get out of it, you can absolutely use Twitter to enhance your own work or job search.  As we’ve seen, used smartly it can help you grow a business, find out what’s new, learn who to avoid and even maybe get you connected to a big fish!

Posted on July 14, 2011 in communications, goals, social network
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Career Q+A: Salary negotiation

Q: I read you on Cynopsis and find your comments very insightful. I have a quick question that hopefully you can answer. I have a final interview in a few days. The HR Director has asked me what my salary history and requirements are prior to the interview. It is a director level sales management position. The company states on their web site they offer very competitive salaries.I do not know their salary range. Do I ask for a higher amount and then negotiate or do I risk alienating them and prior to the final interview?

A:  Tough question.  One of the toughest.   If you have a sense of what the job should pay – what others make at similar level – then this is the place to be.  Perhaps inflate it by 5-10% to give some wiggle room.  Put yourself in the mindset that you are worth that.  Be able to tell them what you will be doing to make it worth their while.  Remind them of the good reasons they have for asking you back.   If you are talking sales and can justify your compensation with sales projections then so much the better.

Don’t just think of it as an arbitrary number to be negotiated – try and internalize it as a number that you think is reasonable and fair (even if it’s a little higher so you can give them some back).  Then practice saying it so that it feels comfortable and right in your mouth as well as on paper.  Be able to justify it from their point of view as well as your own.

Try not to make it look like a take-it-or-leave-it number.  You should expect to be negotiated down – leave some room for them to play with fringes and commissions.  Be open to shifting the balance between base and commissions  – say something like – if we both really want this to happen then I am sure we can find a package that works for both of us.

Don’t undersell yourself – be confident that you are worth it – you will not be happy in the long run.

Questioner’s response: Great feedback. Thank you. I’m taking an analytical approach to this. I have a pretty good sense of what others make at a similar level so I can justify my value. I received some data on the company’s current sales and projections. I’m taking your suggestion of balancing salary versus commission and basing this on a spreadsheet of scenarios that include revenue assumptions and commissions based on my direct sales and commission on what my team generates.

Since I will be hiring and developing comp plans this will demonstrate that I was thoughtful about the salary requirements and how I would think about this for new hires.

Posted on July 14, 2011 in Career Q+A, interview
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Tell them what to say about you

I paid a rare visit to a McDonalds recently where I ordered a Southern Style Chicken Sandwich and sat to refuel myself at a table with parking lot view. (My apologies to all my former Burger King advertising colleagues.)

Opening the clamshell box I read the following text repeated over and over again:  “You’re about to enjoy a juicy, flavorful chicken eating experience.”

So while I did not want to think too hard about “chicken eating experiences,”  what I did think is – “oh that is smart”.  They have framed my approach to the sandwich.  I know what to expect, I know what to look out for.  And I already have the words to describe it to my friends if I choose to enthuse about it.

This is a classic presentation technique: tell them what to expect, then give them the experience and then tell them what just happened.

Think of all this in the context of telling your own story.  You are trying to get someone to read your resume or see your pitch.  You want them to understand immediately why they should care and what they should think about you – even before they read it.  So that when they do read it they go – “ah this is just what I expected”.  And then of course you deliver. You are in control of your message and they don’t have to figure it out for themselves.

If you have done this effectively, not only will they will be thinking what you want them to think, but now they have a ready made set of words to pass your story on: the words that you put in their mouths.

This is most important as so many opportunities come not directly from your inner circle of contacts, but from their circles of contacts; from people who are one step removed from you.  Your inner circle probably knows you too well and has too much baggage associated with you to hire you themselves; but they like you and want you to succeed so they are happy to refer you onwards.  With the words  you have given them they’ll find it easier to match you when the appropriate  opportunity presents itself to them. And they can use the story you gave them. You are now not just someone looking for a job, but you are now “a juicy flavorful chicken experience” or whatever are the words you fed them about yourself that they have saved for passing on.

Posted on July 13, 2011 in communications, resumes
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Off the grid? Not so easy!

If you saw the July edition of Sparkings, you will know that I was heading to Scotland for a summer break.

I wrote: “ One major benefit of a vacation is to get us off the grid.  To lose the knot that forms in our stomach because we can’t keep up with our online obligations or are behind on our emails or feel guilty because we haven’t tweeted or facebooked anyone in the past 10 minutes.  It really will be okay if you disappear for a couple of weeks. And people will be glad to hear from you when you return. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

Sure enough, as we approached the Highlands our phone signal disappeared. And it stayed blessedly gone for days.

But this wonderfully cut off corner of the world will not be so cut off any more.  As dusk fell, we descended to the harbor at the tiny fishing village of Portree on the Hebridean island of Skye, to find something to eat and who was there to greet us – and maybe even spread our picture around the world?

None other than the Google Camera Car.

Posted on July 12, 2011 in Uncategorized
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Employers could be looking for you right now

If you think that to get a new job you have to apply for it, think again. Employers are actively searching for candidates who may not even be looking. So make sure they can find you and when they do, what they find is current and detailed.

I spoke to an Executive Recruiter (I’ll call her Jane) who is a specialist in searching for qualified candidates. “We mainly use LinkedIn. A lot of people don’t want to post their resumes on Career Builder or Monster because their employers could potentially see it. LinkedIn is a way to get around that.”

The Boolean search methodology Jane employs uses three main connectors along with the keyword criteria: AND, OR and NOT. “If you search for strategic AND marketing, then both of those words have to show up. If you use OR, then search results will have to have one or the other. I try to be creative with the keywords that I choose. These words could appear anywhere. They could be in a ten-year-ago chronological entry, or they could appear in skills and specialties.”

Another media business recruiter told me “Creative talent and production searches have an extra level of requirements. I look for the right agencies, clients, types of projects, but their actual range of work and depth can only be evaluated based on how a portfolio is organized. I search portfolio sites and use social media to share my requirements with the universe. This gets me the greatest exposure to both passive and active seekers. I’m highly targeted, so their experience has to be clear in how it ties to an opening.”

Once Jane’s search turns up people who meet her requirements, she looks at their current position. “The job you’re doing now is really important. And the summary is the next go-to. Both should be filled out to the greatest extent. I’m more inclined to reach out to people who have a lot more description in what their position is; and not just the current one, but previous positions.”

She gets in touch to find out if the person is interested. “I pretty much pick anyone who’ll talk to me that I feel is somewhat qualified.” She forwards a resume along with a report on her conversation to the hiring manager. “The resume is really the tool to pass on. So it’s helpful for it to have lots of details.”

Of the two recruiters I’ve quoted here, one is currently working to fill 25 open positions; the other has over 55. So get your LinkedIn profile up-to-date, it could be working for you while you sleep.

Posted on July 12, 2011 in job search, resumes
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Career Q+A: If your old boss was a horrible boss

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from Readers of Cynopsis Classified Advantage
Answered by Michael Pollock

Q: On a recent interview, I was asked about my old boss. The problem is, he was a real jerk. Promoted because he was a buddy of a higher up, didn’t know what he was doing, he had problems with anyone who wasn’t a white male, he would get drunk at lunch and return to the office angry and he is the reason I left my last job. What do I say when they ask about him and why I left my previous position? Do I lie?

A: If you are specifically asked about him you should find something vaguely positive to say and then move on to something wonderful that you did while you were in his group. And please, under no circumstances mention anyone’s ethnicity. Your interviewer doesn’t really want to know about your boss, it’s just a way of finding out about you so be aware of that. As to why you left go with something of the order of: I wanted to get more opportunity to do what I do well, or to expand my talents or to work on something that I felt more strongly about. Try and find something to say that is not so much about the job you left, but says more about your own drive and skills and ambition: where you are headed. Don’t forget this is about you and your next job. And they don’t want to hire someone who will complain and badmouth – so stay positive and stick to talking about the value you will bring to them.

Posted on July 12, 2011 in Career Q+A, career transition, interview
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