Wendy Weber on Executive Recruiting

ExecuNet Exclusive: Executive Job Creation Positive For Fourth Straight Month
U.S. employers continue to add more executive management jobs than they are eliminating, as the American economy continues to emerge from recession. ExecuNet’s exclusive Executive Job Creation Index data reveals more companies are expected to add executive talent than are expected to shed executive jobs over the next six months, with expanding companies outpacing those that are still shedding management roles by 19.2 points, based on the views of 186 responding executive recruiters polled in April.

I presented a candidate to a client last week.

My client called up soon after receiving the presentation, and said “Let’s call this one a Mulligan”.

Confused, I said that I thought this candidate’s qualifications meshed nicely with the position description.  The client said, yes, that’s why he is already working here.

I felt the blood rush to my checks, and I grabbed for the resume.  How could I have presented someone for an opportunty with their own employer?  As it turns out, I profiled the position with my candidate and did not reveal the name of my client, and my candidate was not entirely forthcoming with me about his current circumstances.  He led me to believe that he was engaged in a full time job search, while he had actually been employed in a temporary capacity by…my client!

My client took it all in stride, though he noted with amusement that he would not be willing to pay my recruitment fee for his own employee.

The message that I would like to convey to job seekers is this:  Please be honest and completely reveal your circumstances when speaking with me.  I will always do my best to portray you to my client in the best possible light.  We are on the same team.  It only made us both look silly to move forward on this presentation, and we are fortunate that the client responded with good humor, and was aware that this candidate was engaged in a search for full time employment.

Anthony Balderrama, a writer for CareerBuilder, just wrote a piece entitled Eight Worst Things to Say in an Interview: click here.

I agree with what he had to say, and thought I’d share it here.

I am firmly convinced that over the next 2 years all companies will have a Social Media Manager in place.

I wouldn’t have said this a year ago, but I see how quickly this channel is evolving, and that it is being monetized.

A colleague I respect forwarded a link to an article with these 5 tips for hiring the right Social Media Manager:

1. Immediately discard all resumes for any “gurus,” “evangelists,” and especially “ninjas”.

2. Follow the path of their digital footprint.

3. How’s their social life?

4. Dollars and sense.

5. Look above and beyond marketing experience.

I would like to share the piece, which appeared in imediaconnection.com, with you in its entirety:  5 Tips for Hiring the Right Social Media Manager.

In a study by Internet Retailer called Search Engine Marketing, the conclusion is:  Retailers have to stay on top of search engine marketing because it is a marketing channel that not only brings in customers but brings in cash.

28.0% of merchants report more than 25% of their site traffic stems from paid search advertisements while 51.5% say more than a quarter of their traffic comes from natural search. In the past year, 44.9% of merchants report that the conversion rate on pay-per-click search advertising went up, 16.3% say it went down and 38.8% say their conversion rate held steady. And 47% report more than 25% of their web sales stem from search engine marketing, according to Internet Retailer’s new search engine marketing survey of 102 web-only retailers, chain retailers, catalogers and consumer brand manufacturers.

Google dominates the search engine landscape, but Microsoft’s Bing has been making inroads since its launch in June 2009.  Microsoft and Yahoo have agreed that Bing will become the search engine used on Yahoo sites, and when that occurs Bing will become the clear No. 2 to Google in traffic.

On top of that, 44.6% increased their paid search budgets in the past year and 49% say they will increase it in the year ahead.

“Jones wants $135,000 to join us…isn’t that too much?”

“Ann Wertheimer just resigned because the Morris Agency offered her $14,000 more!”

“We really need a SEO specialist, but I am not sure what salary that position commands”.

“What are the responsibilities of a Director of Analytics? A Vice President of Ecommerce? An Account Supervisor?”

Do those questions sound familiar? Are you “making do” without solid data when it comes to salary and job description information? Wouldn’t you like to know what your competitors are paying their people?
The answers to all of those questions are found in resources updated annually by Crandall Associates, Inc. We publish a Guide to Salaries in Direct Marketing and a Guide to Salaries in Online Marketing.
Within the pages of these publications, you will find:
· Updated salary ranges for dozens of job functions.
· Salaries correlated to years of experience.
· The highest reported salaries for each job function.
· Job descriptions that enable you to compare and evaluate your executives with others in the industry.
· Regional variations in salaries, based on the more significant levels of marketing activity rather than area cost-of-living figures.

You reduce turnover and even save thousands of salary dollars by knowing what your competitors are paying.

For more information on these guides, please click the following links:
Guide to Salaries in Direct Marketing
Guide to Salaries in Online Marketing

In this month’s Legal Review column of Response Magazine, Andrew Lustigman and Scott Shaffer report on a shocking practice on the part of attorney Harold Hoffman. Hoffman is a practicing attorney in New Jersey that has filed dozens of putative “class action” lawsuits in which he is the only victim. His modus operandi is to name himself as the plaintiff, file the cases in New Jersey state court, and target nationwide direct marketers for anything from product efficacy claims to shipping charges.

Hoffman typically orders a marketer’s product and then files a complaint shortly thereafter – sometimes even before receiving the item!

His behavior is allegedly aimed at prompting defendants to settle under the threat of a potential class action certification, with settlement demands as high as $100,000.

Because of the high cost of litigation, many marketers end up making confidential settlement payments in exchange for dropping the class actions. The article indicates that the authors are unaware of Hoffman ever successfully certifying a class or obtaining relief for anyone other than himself.

It further alleges that Hoffman has filed complaints only a day after placing an order – before even receiving it!

Troublemakers like Hoffman make life difficult for honest companies in our industry. I hope his unethical practices will soon be halted.