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Showing posts from September, 2011

Account Supervisor (or Sr AE)

One of my favorite clients, one which I've worked with for more than ten years, has asked me to help them find an extraordinary A/S or Sr AE for their relatively new healthcare division. The 36 year old firm opened a healthcare practice about three years ago, and it is growing steadily.  They need to add staff.  The firm is very thoughtful about their hiring which is understandable, since the company has a unique culture.  The firm has been noted as one of the best PR agencies in America to work for, year after year. In fact, this year they were on the Craine's NY Business "Top Ten Companies in NYC to Work For" list. The position I'm recruiting for involves media outreach to the medical trades, hospitals, national media, business press, and even directly to targeted consumers. They are looking for someone that will be mentored and who can mentor others.  They take care of employees and are actually concerned about each person's career development. The

What job seekers can do about the trend toward specialization

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In today’s job market, employers are more and more frequently seeking specialists over generalists . That leaves many job seekers in the not-so-comfortable position of looking for gainful employment while maybe also needing to move in the direction of a specialty. Add to that the increasing discrimination against candidates who are not currently employed, and it’s not hard to empathize with those looking for a job. Here are some suggestions for job seekers dealing with the trend toward specialization. Maybe you are a specialist, you just have to show it First things first, having a daunting, three or four page resume does not indicate you are a specialist. It takes a lot of effort for a potential employer or recruiter to sit down to a long and dry CV that doesn’t get to the point. Often, they don’t. You don’t want this to happen to you. Here are some steps to streamline your application: 1. Make your resume as simple and brief as possible. Include your job title, period of time you o

The trend toward specialization

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“I can do it all.” It’s a phrase that most people think paints a proactive picture. The candidate who says this has experience in many different areas, and if she doesn’t, she can learn. This is the generalist that typifies our independent, entrepreneurial spirit. The go-getter. The person who makes it work. But for all the romance, the generalist is no longer the candidate whom employers are going after in most cases. “The trend is to go toward specialists,” said Sandy Charet, president of communications executive search firm Charet & Associates. “What I see is that there are a lot of candidates out there, but my clients tell me they have difficulty finding the right specialist for the job.” The search for specialists With today’s technology, it is possible for search firms to use the Internet to discover exactly what they want, rather than shotgunning a classified ad in major metro papers. Criteria have gotten ultra-specific to focus the search on a defined vertical wherein the c

PR Job Search Checklist

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Here's the PR Job Search Checklist that I wrote for the PRSA Conference Center. Come visit us at the PRSA convention in Orlando, October 15 to 18. Job Search Checklist for PR Jobs Preliminaries Resume Create a simple resume that can be modified easily. Prepare Samples Have samples ready to send by email or bring with you on disk or travel drive. Prepare cover letters Proofread carefully when sending cover letters to match content to recipient. Decide who your references will be Contact references before putting them on your resume so they can expect to be contacted by your potential employers. Keep it Going! Begin building your own personal brand by jazzing up your profiles, tweeting and participating in discussions online. Check the PRSA Job Center and other job sites regularly. Contact PR recruiters. Attend local PRSA and other trade events. Talk to people and make friends! Get your first and second interview wardrobe ready. Drill answering tough interview questions with your fri

Director of Public Relations - Northern Virginia

W e are looking for an energetic and creative PR Director for this business to consumer company headquartered in Northern Virginia.   This position reports to the Senior VP of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations.  The right person for this exciting role will be responsible for developing and executing strategic public relations programs that are media-results driven to support the dynamic needs of a growing company.   These programs will  the company brand in both local markets and nationwide. Programs will focus on gaining publicity and exposure for the various parts of the company with traditional and online media outlets and to industry thought leaders/stakeholders.  The public relations programs must also leverage digital and social media assets. The right candidate is a highly motivated self starter, with experience managing multiple priorities and diverse audiences. In addition to building public relations outreach, this Director will develop new and strategic pa

Charet & Associates Likes: Vizualize.me

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Endless streams of resumés haunt many HR reps' nightmares. Black and white. Black and white. No variation. Black and white. There are the times when we can focus a fresh set of eyes on a cover letter and resumé from a qualified applicant and feel that old, familiar excitement. The prospect of someone who has experience that would work for the position. No gaping holes in history or huge red flags. Some demonstration of creativity. It's a dream. But these reactions are becoming few and far between due to the speed at which e-mail inboxes fill up with unsolicited and uninspiring cover letters and resumés. That's why Charet & Associates is excited about the prospect of Vizualize.me , a new site that helps bring the passion back into the applicant-HR relationship. Color pops. Personality stands out. History is illuminated. Developed by three computer-genius, whippersnapper Canucks, Vizualize.me connects with your LinkedIn profile to provide an artful, illustrated diagram o

Do you think today’s PR grads are lacking writing skills? Part Two: Responses

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Photo via Flickr by wnstn To write or not to write, that is the question. Actually, not really. With more and more work transitioning to the service industry in a shift that has been occurring for at least 60 years, writing is often the crux of many positions. However, with the advent of technology, some think that it’s tech skills more than writing that will get them through. Many hiring managers seem surprised that basic and fundamental writing skills are lacking to such a degree that remediation provided by the corporation is required. We also asked our LinkedIn colleagues whether or not they thought recent PR grads lacked writing skills. Many PR students defended themselves and the social media savvy that is one of the major factors being blamed for slangy, improper writing. Instead of harming their writing, many respondents insisted new condensed writing media have improved their ability to get their point across and fast. But the overwhelming response was that even though none o

Do you think today’s PR grads are lacking writing skills? Part One

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To be honest, we asked this question to discuss an issue we had already formed an opinion on: that writing skills are not what they should be and that they used to be better. Sandy Charet, our president, has been observing the writing skills of job applicants for more than 20 years and says they are on the decline. “I read cover letters and resumés from recent graduates all the time and they’re not as good as they were. Vocabularies have gotten smaller and spelling errors like ‘definately’ abound,” Charet said. “I don’t think recent grads work at writing something that actually speaks to you. They don’t try to connect and engage with the written word.” But we were curious about the specific experiences of our colleagues and whether or not they experienced the same phenomenon. I could talk about the content of the responses we got, which was often very insightful, but I’m not going to get into that right now. Instead, I’m going to talk about the typos and errors within the responses. T

Vice President - Head of Healthcare Practice -Interactive PR firm in DC area

We are very proud to be working with this new client.  The agency has a great reputation for professionalism and creativity and a unique, effective approach to offering clients what they need in digital, advertising, marketing and PR.  It's a generalist firm, servicing different industries that fit loosely in four categories, this job being over the healthcare practice.  The agency has functional specialists that move across all the industries, providing creative and strategic integrated communications programs for clients. We are looking for someone to head up the healthcare practice.  This person will provide leadership and vision to the business unit, direct account teams, work on new business development and manage the development and involvement of staff.  The firm has stable crew of terrific professionals to work with. This person will be located in the firm's headquarters office, which is in Baltimore.  We're looking for someone with excellent oral and written co