A few days ago a candidate approached me about a senior role in the retail PR world. The candidate had a strong CV in lots of ways – some retail experience in his dim and distant past, but most recently a range of roles in companies entirely unrelated to retail and only vaguely related to PR.

After reviewing his CV I (with regret) responded, letting him know I would not be considering him for the role as his experience was less relevant than that of stronger candidates. His response was similar to many I receive: “Can’t I be your ‘wildcard’ candidate? I know sometimes companies like a wildcard who might be slightly different to the norm.”

The answer, sadly, is no. Most of the time, that is. There may have been a time when clients openly welcomed candidates whose background widely diverted from their stated preferences but if there was, I don’t remember it. The effect of Autumn 2008 is still being felt acutely within the recruitment world. After we lost that dependable old uncle Woolworths and the latest funky incarnation of Our Price/Virgin, Zavvi, went AWOL; and even the enormously profitable Tesco found it necessary to make significant middle management cuts to improve profitability; those clients who still had vacancies realised that is was distinctly a buyers’ market.

Must have U.K. marketing experience? No problem at all. You want someone with hot drinks experience? Here you go. Someone with luxury skincare background? Certainly, sir. Theatrical film release product management skills? No problem. Green eyes, freckles and a Phil Oakley fringe? We’ll see what we can do…

But even before late 2008 I had never once been approached by a client saying “Can you just find me someone ‘different’… You know, it doesn’t really matter whether they’ve done a job like this, understand this industry or can speak fluent English… Just a breath of fresh air will do. Find me a bit of a wildcard…”

That said, I do wish we could push the boundaries more. We meet candidates and fall in love with them. As recruitment consultants, we tell the right clients why they’re great, so what if they haven’t specifically worked for your competitor, TRUST US! We know what we are doing.

And with some clients , a wildcard can be placed. The clients that have built relationships with us over a number or years where hopefully the HR contact has not moved on or moved up. But they can only be pushed so far. We will occasionally throw a ‘joker into the mix’, but a joker that at least belongs in the same pack.

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Louis Williamson is an ex-retail and integrated agency marketer turned marketing recruitment consultant. He established Tarsh Lazare Marketing Recruitment in late 2006.

Photo: Phillippa Willitts

There’s no doubt that diversity within knowledge-based teams is a good idea. The senior marketer with 20 years of experience can gain new inspiration from a new recruit who dismisses boundaries, while the new recruit learns about successful techniques from the senior marketer. The thoughtful, strategic team member balances out the scattergun, dynamic player who throws out ideas on a daily basis.

There are some simple actions that you can take to build a team that is innovative, complementary and designed to generate results.

Measure the team’s existing skills against the company’s goals

Are you hiring in line with business objectives? If not, or you haven’t given it enough emphasis, you may have skills gaps in the team that prevent you from meeting targets as efficiently as you’d like.

Undertaking a training or skills needs analysis has two benefits. First, it will reveal the skills types that you should recruit in the future and allows you to devise an appropriate strategy with your recruiter. Secondly, the results will inform you of training, mentoring and development initiatives required to enhance the existing skills within the team.

Introduce aptitude assessment within recruitment

Aptitude tests aren’t the be-all and end-all in predicting candidate type and/or potential but they can help in achieving the right fit within the team. These types of tests can help to assess factors as wide as driving change, innovation, development preferences, capacity to handle a fast pace and team working. The trick is to find a system that will work with the requirements of your overall business goals.

Your recruiter should be able to provide advice on the use of these tests and perhaps arrange them on your behalf as part of the recruitment process.

Take advantage of existing strengths

Who are your subject experts? Which employees are the ‘glue’ in the team? Who is best at providing support? Involving these staff in your strategy to recruit and develop a wide range of skills will not only motivate them, but will allow you to develop action plans that are cost effective and easy to implement.

Be open minded about the type of resources needed

A flexible approach is essential to building the right team. If you’re finding it difficult to recruit, why not use freelancers to bring a different perspective? Could it be more productive to hire a specialist on fewer hours than a full-time generalist? Widening your options will increase the diversity, dynamics and backgrounds within the team.

Break down the barriers

According to the Institute for Employment Studies, an effective skills mix can improve staff motivation, help with recruitment and retention, encourage teamwork and get more value from existing resources. By making team roles more fluid and encouraging the sharing of expertise in line with your skills analysis, you will increase responsiveness to client demands and the ability to problem solve.

Researchers have found that before moving on to a new company, millions of workers have raided client databases or gathered contact details. Others have stolen product information in the hope of using it to give them a head start in their new job. People also admitted to getting hold of confidential data or documents to steal business and customers, or even to get revenge on their soon-to-be ex-boss.

It also emerged around one in six workers have crept into their offices early in the morning, evening or even at weekends to siphon as much information as they can before moving onto a new job.

”When you are starting a new job, everyone wants to make a good impression and get on the right side of their new boss. But it’s worrying to see how many people are prepared to steal data or information from their previous employer to do so.” said a spokesman for IT security specialist LogRhythm, which commissioned the study.

”Sometimes, trust isn’t enough and all employers should have systems in place to stop ex, or soon-to-be ex, members of staff from getting hold of information they shouldn’t have. If this data theft results in a loss of business, it could have a devastating effect on your company.”

The study of 2,000 employees found that a surprising 23% have taken confidential data from their workplace. Three quarters of those that admitted to stealing did so while they were still working for the company. One in ten  admitted to getting hold of confidential data after they had left a firm because they were still able to use passwords or codes they had access to when they worked there.

53% of those who have stolen data from an employer use the information they take to get a head start in their next job, more than a quarter take it in an attempt to impress their new boss. The other most common reason was revenge – by those that felt poorly treated by their employer.

The study, which also included 1,000 employers, found that 19% worry their employees have or would consider stealing data from them. Despite this, LogRhythm, reported that 47% of employers surveyed don’t have any system in place to stop employees accessing confidential information or taking data, and another 60% never change passwords or access codes to protect confidential details from current or past employees.

Sounds like it might be time to review your internal data policies.

If you’re happy, that’s great. However, it’s wise to ask yourself the following questions on a regular basis:

• What benefits are there in staying with my current company?
• What am I giving up if I don’t make the move right now?
• What opportunities are available to me at this stage of my career?
• Do I want to do something different?
• What really gives me job satisfaction?

In deciding whether or not it’s time to shoot for a promoted post elsewhere, you should consider the following factors.

Your current company’s culture

Even if you can’t see any immediate routes for advancement, there may be some in the near future if the team is motivated and producing dynamic ideas. An ambitious work culture suggests that the company is going places and that you can make the journey with it.

On the other hand, if boredom is taking over in the office, it’s probably time to look elsewhere.  Even if you’ve only been there for a short while, it may be less risky to move. Nobody wants to be associated with a company that has a declining reputation so get out before others in the industry start to draw conclusions about you.

Availability of star performance opportunities

The Chartered Institute of Marketing sensibly states that marketers should always promote their own brand. Evaluating the types of work which you’re being assigned will speak volumes about the chances of developing a higher profile. Are you getting a slice of the important client campaigns? Do you have the chance to be creative within your responsibilities?

If you’re still stuck on the run-of-the-mill tasks, you should first of all ask if this is a reflection on your abilities and skills. If not, and you suspect that other factors are coming into play, it’s time to consider a role that will give you the chance to shine.

The hierarchy isn’t inviting

Is your manager’s job exciting? Or is it so bogged down in paperwork and company management that it actually puts you off? The quality of the posts above yours matters just as much as the availability of promotion. If the nature of the work on offer isn’t going to appeal, a strategy of developing as far as you can in your current post and then switching employers may be best.

Your reasons for leaving

If you’ve concluded that it’s time to move on but have an ever-growing list of jobs on your CV, be prepared to provide some very good reasons for them. One prospective employer may commend your ambition while another may be worried that you’ll be gone after ten minutes. Be clear about your job changes in your cover letter and your intention for the future.

Alternatively, a functional CV, which highlights your skills and expertise rather than your employment history, may persuade any doubtful employers. Amalgamate any temping periods into one entry and consider dropping any irrelevant posts – so long as it doesn’t create any noticeable employment gaps.

In fast paced environments, there is never enough time to assess people on endless lists of competencies. At the heart of performance management, employees want to know how they’re doing and where they stand in terms of professional development. In return, managers want to encourage star performers and deal with poor quality work without jumping through hoops.

Here are some features of simple performance management systems that could generate results in your company:

Have a clear purpose

Simple performance management works best if it serves only one or two purposes, so choose your priority and emphasise it when evaluating employees. Some examples are:

• To reward employees financially
• To provide a focused route for development opportunities
• To bring employee behaviour in line with company goals and values
• To manage talent in a consistent way, identifying managers and leaders for the future
• To emphasise team over individual performance, and vice versa

When employees understand the purpose of a system, they are more likely to buy in to it and align their behaviour with the performance you want.

Defining good and great performance

This needn’t be a ten-page document of core skills and competencies, aligned with different job categories within the company. You can monitor performance perfectly well by producing two lists of the top five or ten characteristics, so long as you clearly state what it takes to become a high performer. Examples include effective prioritisation of client outcomes and provision of regular feedback on campaign performance to clients.

However, don’t be tempted to rely upon a generic list of marketing performance indicators; concentrate on the behaviours that are unique to the vision and mission of your business.

Self-appraisal

Professional knowledge-based employees such as marketers generally tend to be aware of how they are performing, where they want their career to go and how to get there. As their manager, listening to their evaluations and ambitions plays a big part in holding a quick but effective performance meeting. Your key objectives should be to provide constructive feedback and criticism where required and to provide information on development opportunities within the business.

Focus on goals and targets

Performance measurement will inevitably involve achievement of goals (individual or team) such as income, new clients and campaign outcomes. Giving employees easy access to progress on these targets on a continuous basis will provide a centre point around which a productive performance management can take place – and will probably make their self-appraisal more realistic.

Continuous evaluation

Rating performance on an ongoing basis actually saves time. It takes less than a minute to praise or support a staff member on their latest project and doing this keeps them on track and well motivated. Performance management isn’t just about holding formal meetings; it’s a live issue that only demands a few carefully considered words here and there to remind employees of their work goals or to thank them for a job well done.

Here are some basics to help you convince a potential employer you genuinely have social media skills. Any marketer who has done little, if any, social media work in their current job can demonstrate these things.

Passion For All Things Social

Keeping energy and motivation high in a workforce is a tough job in itself, so bosses want to hire people that seem genuinely excited about the challenge they’re about to take on.

If a candidate happens to write a blog, tweets regularly, or can give examples of social media campaigns they’ve loved; it’s a tick in the ‘passionate about their work’ box.

Understanding the Most Common Platforms and how brands use them

I have been lucky enough to be on a few marketing award judging panels recently and found that submission documents for the best campaigns show a lot of the best social media results are achieved by different brands through some common mechanisms.

Read about what’s currently working in social media on marketing/social media news sites and forums, then look at plenty of brand pages/profiles and look out for familiar patterns. Look at which types of posts, competitions and apps get the most interaction and/or seem to be used most regularly, then try to work out why.

Check which platforms are most important to your prospective employer and their industry: if you’re applying to a travel company you should know how Trip Advisor works; and if you’re applying to a company that only targets parents, you need to know Mumsnet from Netmums.

A desire to stay up to date

While you’re on forums, browse – read a few threads and follow links to see what people are talking about. Join some LinkedIn groups that send a digest email once a week, follow some people who tweet about social media, go to some free social media events and join webinars.

All of these things will give you material for useful answers to interview questions about social media. In fact, you’re likely to learn a few things you can add to your CV or cover letter. The important thing is to make it clear that you know things don’t stand still, that you are actively seeking info about the next idea, mechanic, best-practice, app, theory or platform. You (and/or your prospective employer) may not want to engage with it just yet, but you need to have some idea of what’s happening and changing right now.

Prove you’ve done it

As with any marketing activity, not much speaks louder than numbers. There are plenty of debates about ROI in social media and how it can be measured. The important thing is that a prospective employer can see that you understand the need to measure and have some ideas of how to define success.

Don’t be tempted to get creative with percentages. I’ve seen many a CV (and pitches from agencies) stating that they’ve “increased the number of followers by 400% in 6 months”, only to discover on questioning that they started with about ten followers. Give real numbers – any employer worth their salt will ask if you get to an interview.

Even if a campaign hasn’t gone well, it’s worth mentioning, but make sure you focus on what you learned from it. Showing you can learn from your mistakes (and benefit their company by having done so) is always an advantage. I regularly give a presentation on “Social Media Mishaps (or ‘stupid things I’ve done so you don’t have to’)” which always goes down well with both experts and newbies.

Social media isn’t rocket science or brain surgery – it’s about people, what they want and how and where they want it. So maybe it’s brain science…

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By Jae Hopkins, Head of Communications at Butlins
Picture by Canvas.

In the marketing sector, it’s often the individual rather than the group who shines. That means teamwork sometimes takes a back seat as employees jostle for a seat at the big players’ table. That’s a lot of effort being invested in something that doesn’t add much to the bottom line.

While others snipe behind each others’ backs, be respectful towards everyone

Even the hardest of gossips and game players will respond to honesty and integrity. If you can be the trusted source of solutions, you will quickly be regarded as a valuable resource. Research shows that blame cultures impede high performance because knowledge isn’t shared for the good of the business. Break that cycle and you’ll stand out.

Ignore the gossip and focus on the job

It can be tempting to join the gossipers but, if they’re speculating about others with you, you can bet they’re talking about you when you’re not in the room. Avoid the gossip and be careful about candidly offering your opinion. While your colleagues are wondering who’s doing what, you can impress by being innovative, creative and brand focused.

Don’t get embroiled in a power struggle

What if there’s a promotion and you hear that a colleague is slinging mud about you? Returning the ‘compliment’ will do you more harm than good and make the working atmosphere intolerable. Instead, address the colleague directly about his/her behaviour, but don’t bear a grudge. Wish your colleague well and keep your head high. That will have a more positive impact than any verbal sparring.

Impress your internal/external clients and they’ll be a powerful advocate for you

Dedicate your efforts to devising great marketing campaigns and you won’t need to worry about power circles in your organisation. Happy clients will tell senior managers about your achievements. There’s nothing more invaluable than an employee who can retain clients and offer them value.

Treat everyone equally

When office politicians have their favourite people, they’re placing all of their eggs in one or two baskets. Those allies could leave, let their colleagues down or sacrifice those so-called relationships when the chance of promotion arises. If you treat everyone the same and are seen to be fair in how you interact with people, there’s less risk of your career ambitions being blocked.

Deal with conflict in a constructive way

Disagreements are inevitable. Whatever the cause of the problem, don’t let things fester.  Take some time to cool down, gather your arguments and put them forward later in a logical and well-considered manner.

I made a bad move

There are times in your career when you have a choice to make: stay, go, move function or even move country Whatever the reason for getting you to this crossroads, the outcome will be with you for many years to come.  As a retail marketer, I always wanted to take the next step no matter where that took me. I wanted a bigger portfolio, bigger brands to work on, more responsibility across the marketing mix. Whilst it may seem obvious to develop and grow, people generally go for a role with more money and responsibility. However, in today’s climate, this isn’t always an option, nor might it be the best route to success.

Over the last year in particular, I’ve met with numerous candidates that became so frustrated with their current employer , they made a rash decision and regretted it within months. Recently I’ve met a bright assistant brand manager who left a permanent FMCG position because she was not getting enough digital experience. She took a temp role at a digital agency, but had not been given any digital responsibility. I’m mortified that any recruiter suggested this move as it has damaged her immediate career prospects.

Some other marketers I worked with have resigned before getting a new role in order to concentrate on finding one. Not only is this risky, but is also a move that is never met with a positive view from any client. As with the major banks, mobile phone operators and raft of other brands striving to protect their brand and limit damage when the unplanned happens; protecting brand you is no different.

How can I recover?

Admitting you made a bad move is the first step to recovery. Whilst it is an emotional time for most; being practical about your situation will allow you to think more clearly. You are your own PR agency in this instance and creating a positive spin is crucial to your wellbeing as well as the attitude you purvey when meeting a potential new boss.

Secondly, be rational about the reasons you made the move.  If you were mis-sold the job spec as many candidates are, be clear about what was on offer and therefore why the move was made.

Third, focus on what you learned during this time, what you did in this new role that added to your work experience. It may be that you moved sector, which makes your CV look disjointed. Focus on the unique skills you have acquired compared to someone that hasn’t gained this exposure.

Lastly, when talking through your move and subsequent reasons for wanting to move again, be confident, clear and remove emotion. Being emotional about this will often lead you to come across negatively about previous roles and the one you’re interviewing for. Instead of focusing on your bad decision, you should show resilience, your ability to recover and determination to make the best of what you have.  Just as the brands in the media have all reacted slightly differently, those that prosper are usually the humble brands that take responsibility and look to move on.

Ellie Morris is an ex-retail and brand marketer turned marketing recruitment consultant. She is now a Consultant with Tarsh Lazare Marketing Recruitment.

Last year, British Airways  launched ‘Know Me’, a controversial scheme which allows staff to track a passenger’s travel history, meal requests and complaints via an iPad which will also be used to find images of passengers with Google so staff can readily recognise them. Privacy groups protest this is unlawful, as customers have not given their permission to have their pictures sought from Google.

If BA were to Google you, apparently to allow them to recognise you, what would they find out about you? The chances are that people in our business are already Googling you, for business reasons, of course.

Any marketer wishing to enjoy a long and successful career should consider the impact of how their personal brand can be accessed.  There are lots of similarities between the role you undertake at work and ‘brand you’. As a marketer you strive to grow volume and revenue for your product/service. As a protector of brand you, you strive to pick up more responsibility and therefore increase your remuneration. Furthermore, growing market share for yourself will allow you build a portfolio of experience across the entire marketing mix (if this is your choice) giving you wider brand awareness, more credibility and again, higher remuneration. As you seek to make your product a market leader, do you apply the same ambition for yourself?

I’m not a box of cereal!

I know you are a human being that doesn’t sit on a supermarket shelf, however, in some respects, you are a product when recruiters are trying to place you.  A recruiter will present you in a shelf like backdrop and entice their client to pick you above all the competition based on features and benefits as well as price. I meet numerous candidates all claiming to be able to write a good press release or to have driven market share for their product – yet they continue to undersell themselves when looking for a job.

Brand marketing rules apply to you too

How often have you undertaken a competitive audit? Did you use Google?  I am very confident you did as part of your research even if it was to check out the address of a store for your sat nav! With such a vast array of information at the tips of your fingers why wouldn’t I, as a recruitment consultant or a client looking to hire you undertake the very same research?  If I have a candidate looking to join an online team I’d expect them to have an established online presence to prove they are passionate about social media or understand the difference in content for a newsletter versus a tweet.  Also, consider I want to protect both my product (you the candidate) and client (customer/brand owner) from any unnecessary hurdles to filling the position.

Surely it can’t go that wrong?

Don’t be fooled! HR or line managers are very savvy when it comes to ‘researching’ a potential new recruit. A friend working within HR recently had some team members approach her with photos of a senior manager posing in his weekend character on an official website.  Where do you begin to deal with this? I can tell you where it ended – the senior manager lost all respect and credibility (rightly or wrongly) and ended up leaving a role he was actually quite successful in.

Another example: a recruitment consultant recently secured an interview for a candidate with a brand manufacturing athletic nutritional products. As a brand management candidate for this sector, you’d expect a passionate sports person, which is exactly what her CV and interview suggested she was. Unfortunately the client ‘researched’ her social profile and found her very negative comment about the Olympics being a bore. Her interview was cancelled immediately with no opportunity for her to explain herself.

Whilst I’m not suggesting you can’t have a life I am suggesting you keep it very separate to your professional profile to allow your potential new boss to get to know you for your achievements and not review how easily you can get through the free wine and balance on a table at the Christmas party.

Pictures paint a thousand words… don’t let one picture put off a potential new boss or worse still, end your career.

Ellie Morris is an ex-retail and brand marketer turned marketing recruitment consultant. She is now a Consultant with Tarsh Lazare Marketing Recruitment.

Whilst my candidates feel taking a more junior role will allow them to make the move between sectors, it is very often not the case. Theoretically, any good marketer can transfer their skills from automotive to travel, retail to whatever;  providing they know the customer, they can use the marketing knowledge they’ve acquired from anywhere. In reality, this isn’t true

The common perception within marketing is that you must have the right skills from the right sector. It used to be you could move sector with ease. I’ve helped people to move  from automotive to TV in order to learn media then go back to automotive, and people that have skipped from financial services to travel.  A move that now, I’m predisposed to say can’t be done. Why then, as an ex-marketer that has skipped not only sectors but disciplines, am I such a barrier to your idea that taking a step back will help you move forward?

The reality of the market

Right now, employers can be as specific as they like, the market is so saturated there is an abundance of candidates out there prepared to make all sorts of compromises to get the job. Candidates move countries, learn several languages, continue to study, undertake longer commutes or take a cut in salary in order to work for their dream brands. When a candidate comes from outside the sector, recruiters  need to balance the thoughts of the client. Should they take a risk on somebody that will have to learn about the sector from scratch, or should they pick from the plethora of  candidates  lined up with relevant sector  experience?”

Mission Impossible

Whilst the reality of trying to change sector is its incredibly tough, it isn’t impossible -  I did it, I have seen lots of people do it. If you’re going to make the leap, you need to think laterally about how to do it:

• Could you make a smaller move toward your dream within your current company?
• Is there a stepping stone which will allow you to make a move towards your dream but allow you to stay on a similar level?
• Is there a sector between where you are and where you want to me?

Finally why do you really want to make the move?  What is it about the other sector that you are attracted to? You may find what you’re looking for is more about the brand and how they operate, rather than the industry itself.

Either way, before trying to venture into a whole new world, do your home work. Check how competitive the market is in that sector. Look at LinkedIn profiles of people in the sector – where have they come from and is this similar to your background? Once you are thinking realistically, you can be creative in how to achieve your goal.