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Localising recruitment, and how to navigate the North-South divide When it comes to recruitment, location is everything – not just in terms of matching positions with candidates who can actually get to the office in time for the morning meeting, but also with regards to localised expectations across salary, industry style, and culture.  And that’s not all. You may or may not be surprised at the influence location has on job availability and the PR recruitment market, particularly when it comes to comparing the employment rates across the North and South of England. The internet is packed full of comic articles and memes which explore the vast differences which separate the North and South of England, from house prices to the quality of nightclubs and how much it costs to buy a pint. But what about when you bring recruitment into the mix? Navigating the North-South divide The North of England has, in previous years, been ranked as one of the highest regions for unemployment, particularly when compared with the affluent South of England where London boasts home to some of the nation’s largest and most successful company headquarters and chains.  However, with Covid-19 shrinking the recruitment market across the UK and creating a form of levelling effect which has essentially put every region in the same boat, one of the biggest things for the recruitment industry moving forward will be on advertising for jobs in sectors which continue to need bolstering and support – for example NHS services, delivery services – as well as supporting those who make the big move to online.   An article in the Financial Times sums up the situation matter-of-factly, stating: “In March 2020, before pandemic impacts were visible, cities such as Hull, Birmingham, Blackpool and Bradford clearly topped the unemployment tables. But by November 2020, southern towns, such as Crawley and Slough — crippled by reliance on nearby airports — had similar rates. These were also matched in poorer London boroughs such as Newham, Haringey and Brent.” What does this mean for the so-called “divide”? In essence, it means that right now, everyone is in a fairly similar boat, with some industries hit much harder than others regardless of where in the UK they are located.  For those agencies and recruitment teams looking to get ahead of the curve, one of the best ways to recognise and be able to predict movements is by considering and focussing on the housing market. Those recruitment agencies who understand the housing market will have noticed that individuals are continuing to move away from London and the big cities – instead seeking more rural homes in locations where they can enjoy a slower lifestyle and more outside space.  This may not directly affect the job market at first with people continuing to work from home regardless of their location, but it does seem that when offices start to reopen, the way people work is not going to simply flick back to how it was before.  On top of that, it is no secret that the North of England is the land of the cheaper lifestyle when compared with London and the South. With Covid-19 leaving many individuals financially struggling, and the impending end of the furlough scheme putting even more jobs at risk in the foreseeable future, the chances of more people moving away from the more expensive areas in the South of England are high.   Is any industry safe? If you are reading this, have access to the internet or take in any of the news, you will not have been able to escape the dire situation currently faced by the hospitality sector, which has been forced to close and open again, always under heavy restrictions, consistently over the last year – regardless of location. But it’s not all doom and gloom for the job market – with some industries and areas of work thriving. And we don’t just mean the NHS and vaccination hubs – though if you are medically trained, these are industries very much in need of new recruits every single day.  Online marketing, technology companies and other online services have grown immensely over the last year or so, with the reliance on technology opening up those companies who have been able to respond, to a multitude of opportunities. Not only that, but marketing in particular has seen a huge shift to online and virtual engagement – and that has opened up new opportunities and new roles for those who can slot into these online spaces and think creatively. As a marketing and PR recruitment agency, we have been an outlet for many new recruitment drives for agencies and organisations born from the pandemic – and this is set to grow further once the world starts to reopen and PR especially is given a new lease of life.  The fact is that the pandemic has forced us all to rethink the way we work and the way we interact with our industry and colleagues. It has pushed many to work from home or lose their daily role to furlough or even redundancy, and it has put a spotlight on every region in the UK with regards to how different areas are coping, what the housing market is doing, and what the job and recruitment market is doing.  The North-South divide has always existed, and not just with regards to our favourite takeaways and drinking habits. Location has a huge effect on the cost of living and the kind of jobs which are available, and while the pandemic has levelled this divide out in many ways with regards to rising unemployment everywhere, the chance of recovery is great once businesses can once again reopen their doors.  For more on finding your perfect hire, or to make the most of the online shift and locate your perfect job in the Marketing and PR sector, get in touch. 

Cutting through the B(ia)S and finding your dream marketing (or any other) candidate You call it strategy. We call it bias. Candidates call it BS. Whatever it’s called, bias in the hiring process can become a major stumbling block if you allow it to set roots in your marketing recruitment strategy and can very quickly change the perception and reputation of your company within and even outside the job market. In terms of quick fixes, there are a ton of things you can do to remove the concept of bias from your hiring process, with implementing a full blown strategy and bringing in an external marketing recruitment agency just two of the easiest steps you can take. But we aren’t about easy steps here – for us, it’s all about getting to the root of the problem and cutting it at the source. What is bias in the recruiting process and why does it exist? Often, we see companies being bias with their recruitment, without even knowing it. Hiring from within the company and your existing pool of candidates is bias, whether or not you followed formal procedure and opened the job listing out to the recruiting market. Hiring someone you know from a previous job or even someone you know personally is also regarded as bias – as is heeding the recommendation of someone within the company and hiring based on personal relationships rather than capability. The thing is bias isn’t just damaging to your reputation as a company. It can also leave you with substandard employees and colleagues who may have won a role through false pretences, or who may simply have got the job so easily that they don’t really care how good at it they actually are. What about bias outside of personal relationships? Surely, it’s not possible to be bias about someone you’ve never met, right? Wrong! Unconscious bias This is where it gets a little more complex, but bear with us because this is something you absolutely will want to avoid and cut from your business as quickly as possible. This is the bias where you judge someone based on what you learn about them through their application or even their interview. It’s a bit like taking the idea of the crucial first impression and then running with it – using that first impression to establish whether or not you want them for the role. And this is what has to stop if you are to cut out all levels of bias from your recruitment process. It shouldn’t be about who you want for the role, or what kind of person you think fits the bill. Yes, this will come into play later down the line and can often help to choose between two suitable candidates, but before you even get to that stage you first have to create a line up of candidates who can bring the right skillset to the role. Whether or not they went to the University you like, or have a background you admire, is not important at this stage. What matters is suitability – pure and simple. Once you get to the next stage of the process and start to get to know candidates in a little more detail, is when it starts to get more challenging in terms of keeping bias away from the process. In order to keep all job applications and candidates on an even playing field, ensure that your job description is really clear and be communicative throughout the application about what you are looking for and what a role will involve. We also encourage you to take note of any feelings you have during the interview process, so that you can go back and reassess your notes and initial feelings. From there you can ascertain whether something is bias or simple a shrewd observation. What’s the solution? As we mentioned towards the start of this article, one of the simplest ways of removing bias from the recruiting process is to draft in the support of a marketing recruitment agency to manage all your hiring on your behalf. What this means is that you immediately cut personal relationships out from the process, and instead give a third party the power to bring in, interview, and pass over the CV’s of those who are truly well suited to the role and to the job description. Another simple step you can take is to have at least two, if not more than that, people on the interview panel. Now, this is not meant to unsettle the candidate and should not be posed as a more intense situation. Instead, having more than one interviewer can help to rid individuals of the influence of bias, as you will receive more than one feeling on each candidate. If you both agree, then it’s less likely bias and more likely a case of suitability for the role (or not, as the case may be!) Finally, acknowledge that bias is a part of life, but that there is a time and a place where it is acceptable – and a plethora of times and places where it is not. The interview room is not one of those appropriate places If you would like help highlighting any potential bias in your processes, feel free to reach directly to me, John Austin.

At the turn of the century, Ed Michaels, a McKinsey consultant, suggested that if businesses wanted sustainable competitive advantage, first they had to “win the war for talent”. At the time he was speaking specifically about leadership talent and suggested that winning the war was less about frenzied recruiting tactics and instead about the timeless principles of attracting, developing, and retaining highly talented managers - applied in bold new ways. Fast forward 20 years and across almost every sector, at every level, the war for talent goes on. Michaels’ argument still holds true, based on the premise that people and not the technology, buildings or capital employed by an organisation are what creates its real value. As such, particularly in the marketing sector, human resource, or talent is the key factor in organisational performance. The expected growth in jobs and the emergence of new roles (who knew what programmatic was 6 years ago?) within the marketing sector is likely to cause increased competition for the best talent. The war will intensify! Without doubt, this will place increased pressure and scrutiny on the ways that companies manage their acquisition and retention of talent. What is talent? During my recent research into talent management I worked specifically with marketing agencies to discover what talent management philosophies are adopted and why. First, I had to define what SME marketing agencies meant when they refer to talent. The common views are that talent is either your people – which is called a ‘subject approach’ or the characteristics of your people, widely referred to as the ‘object approach’. Taking the object approach, scholars’ question whether talent is innate and thus should be enabled, or whether it is learned and developed over time using repeatable practice and learning from mistakes to reach talented performance levels. Those that adopt a subject (people) perspective, suggests two contrasting philosophies; one that includes all employees in its talent management process (inclusive), the second that sees talent as an elite sub group or ‘A’ team that holds key, strategic roles and who have the biggest impact on an organisation’s growth and success.   I use these academic descriptions, of object, subject, inclusive and exclusive, because my findings from working with a number of marketing agencies was that they all adopted an inclusive approach- the focus of their talent management was on each individual within an organisation, and as part of wider, more generic HR practices of recruitment and development. While this approach mirrored the common findings in popular talent management studies of SMEs it was not however the approach advocated by researchers for best results. SMEs are generally informal in their approach to HR and this has been identified as a source of competitive advantage. Given the importance of an informal management style to company culture, many SMEs prefer to adopt an informal approach to talent management and do not formally identify talent as separate from other employees. This contrasts with the ideas of strategic positions and exclusive “high potential” talent, which are dominant in larger organisations. But can formal and ‘exclusive’ approaches adopted by larger organisations fit the culture and teamwork in SMEs without damaging the morale of those not in the “A “team? Time to be exclusive? With limited financial and appropriately trained human resource specialists in house, SMEs are generally unable to adopt the more sophisticated and socially responsive approaches to talent management and HR practices seen in larger organisations. And as SME marketing agencies grow sporadically, it becomes harder to identify key positions and so developing a suitable talent pool to fill these positions is difficult. But, in a bid for competitive advantage, SME marketing agencies seek employees who add the most value and therefore, a robust candidate attraction and selection processes is a key factor in determining how effective its talent will perform going forward. Having identified that an inclusive talent management philosophy is adopted by SMEs in the sector, I recommend that each business gains a greater understanding of talent management. With limited budgets, spread wide and thin, this knowledge, will enable them to become more proactive in their approach to talent management, to separate it from more general workforce planning and by taking a strategic view, increase performance of employees that can be effectively measured. Understanding which employees have the largest strategic impact on the business can also enable the adoption of an exclusive approach, where employees are perhaps treated differently. The treatment of these employees does not necessarily have to impact on culture and motivation, if the importance they have in the delivery of organisational objectives is communicated clearly. However, I recognise this is a delicate balance that requires careful consideration and management. Due to the relative size of the organisation, the links between effective on-boarding and quality of line-management with performance in an SME marketing agency is stronger than in a larger organisation, so the effective utilisation of training budget for the development of future leaders could solve a main issue with mid management. However, I do recognise that this approach would again require an understanding of the exclusive approach and how to best manage this to maintain a status quo within the wider organisational culture. Becoming exclusive may be difficult for SME marketing agencies, but with more than 11 years’ experience, our success comes down to building meaningful relationships with clients and candidates, which includes having difficult conversations. We offer support on all talent management issues and can help our clients to map their future requirements. If you would like to know more about our free, no obligation talent review, contact John Austin

Employee selection is traditionally the match between job requirements and candidate skills. Latterly, we are seeing a common requirement from candidates that the goals and values of the organisation also match their own. Encouragingly, the results are generally that employees who fit the culture contribute more and adopt broader roles and tasks, so it's a worthwhile exercise. But how do you get to that stage? How do SMEs get to the point of assimilating this new talent into their organisation in the face of such strong competition? I recently completed research on talent management practice. I wanted to understand how SME marketing agencies viewed talent management, what approaches they took and what major internal or external influences shaped this view. In the main, talent management literature has highlighted that SMEs, in comparison to larger organisations, differ in their overall approach to Human Resource Management and HR practice. Large organisations have the financial resource and corporate responsibility to employ sophisticated HR practices, investing in HR professionals and HR strategy, while SMEs, in general, have a far more informal approach, which can be used as an advantage. My research highlighted that, in the main, SME marketing agencies have an ‘inclusive / stable’ approach to talent management. Inclusive insofar as it involved each member of the team, regardless of seniority or role as it was felt all contributed to the overall success of the agency. And stable, because ‘talent’ was defined as a set of characteristics such as intelligence, personality, motivation, drive and feeling true to themselves which were strong predictors of future performance. The resultant philosophy meant that training and development budgets and opportunities were spread wide and thin, across the team, and future talent was identified and selected based on a candidate’s display of a similar set of ‘stable’ characteristics. Of course, this leaves little time for real talent development and clients were all fishing for the same proven talent. External factors that influence SMEs approach to talent management. There are three main theories that drive the adoption of this inclusive approach - Institutional Theory, Economic Theory and Resource Dependency Theory. Institutional Theory suggests that a need for legitimacy drives agencies to develop a culture that is attractive and has a “family feel” as a way of attracting and retaining employees. The Economic Theory recognises talent management is expensive and can often require sophisticated HR practices and HR specialists, who rarely exist in an SME organisational structure, particularly those that have a high number of fee earning employees. Finally, with so many SME marketing agencies dependent on clients and many viewing their clients as an attractor and part of their Employer Brand, Resource Dependency Theory is another key contributor as to why the inclusive stable talent management philosophy is adopted. With a client win, comes a need for more resource. When it is a good looking client, it is more attractive to potential talent. The cost of employee investment, good pay and benefit packages can make it hard for SMEs to compete in the same talent pools as the larger organisations. SMEs often have less power in the market, which translates directly into less influence on price and salaries, making SMEs vulnerable to changing markets and customer needs. The centralisation of decision making in many SMEs is focused on day to day running of the business and on how to utilise existing resources more efficiently, so talent management needs to be adapted or supported for SMEs. As SMEs grow it becomes difficult to identify key positions and the development of a talent pool to fill these positions becomes difficult, unless you have one on tap. All is not lost however, and we see a number of our SME clients adopting strategies to overcome the resource disadvantages they have when compared to some larger competitors. Many, using their inclusive approach to talent management, have created an environment where ideas and innovation flourish, their flatter hierarchy and informal approach for example, can offer better job quality and less bureaucracy. Many agencies operate with a higher degree of flexibility, which offers people better job satisfaction, a better working environment and a better work-life balance. Smaller, can be more agile too and often SMEs can target talent from larger organisations, who want to have more control over their destiny. Our clients tend to develop their own models which fit within their context, and that creative thinking enables them to open non-traditional recruitment channels not necessarily considered by larger organisations. At Henry Nicholas, our success comes down to building meaningful relationships with clients and candidates. We have a proven track record of developing talent pools for a number of long-standing clients that ask us to identify and secure future talent for them. Working in partnership, we create the additional resource our clients need to identify the right candidate characteristics that best fit a culture. We add scale to our client’s attraction and selection activities.  View what our clients say about us here If you would like a free, no obligation talent review, please contact John Austin for more details.    

A McKinsey report in 1997 first coined the phrase “war for talent”. Since then, this term has become instrumental in developing organisational approaches and academic interest in talent management. Business leaders across the globe have considered winning this war for talent as their single most important preoccupation for decades, due to the perceived importance recruiting the best talent has on gaining sustainable competitive advantage. Indeed, talent management is now one of the fastest growing areas in the field of management studies. Its growth in popularity and relevance is reflected by the number of internet hits the term now generates, which has grown from around 8 million to more than 23 million over recent years. Much of the current literature that surrounds talent management, however, focuses on the practices of global, privately-owned, and largely US-based organisations. With greater financial resources at their disposal, larger organisations adopt more sophisticated and socially responsive approaches to talent management and HR practices. Meanwhile, it is SMEs that make up around 99 per cent of all the businesses operating in the UK and whose success is a key barometer for the growth and sustainability of the UK economy. For SMEs, despite limited budget and resources, attraction, motivation, development and retention of employees remain a major challenge and so the talent management practices adopted by smaller businesses have long been recognised as important contributors to their success or failure. Effective performance in a SME is often measured by growth, rather than profit, which is generally the key indicator in larger organisations. With no place to hide, the speed at which a new employee can gain knowledge and become fee earning is crucial, particularly in one of our key markets, SME marketing agencies. Hence the link between managerial quality and performance in an SME is stronger and the emphasis placed on employee selection is greater. Perhaps, due to the relative size of the organisation, the links between effective on-boarding, quality of line-management and performance in an SME is stronger than in a larger organisation. But it also means that poor selection decisions in an SME are amplified ten-fold and hence understanding the characteristics of future talent has such a strong emphasis in the employee selection process. In recent research I carried out as part of my MBA last year, I investigated what talent management philosophies were being adopted by SME marketing agencies and why. Although 100% of the organisations that took part in the research invested in training and development, it was clear that talent management is not formally recognised, but rather viewed as a collection of HR practices that focuses on all employees equally. The example of talent management in practice was as a tool for succession planning. With ever-changing client needs and the rapidly evolving technological landscape, coupled with the emphasis placed on “culture fit” and attitude when recruiting and selecting employees, the majority of agencies demonstrated what the literature describes as an inclusive stable philosophy towards talent management. Stability being described as ability coupled with “culture fit” and commitment, which is categorised as “best fit” in the relevant literature. In simple terms, this means that in general SMEs focus on the positive traits of every individual within their business (Inclusive) and define talent broadly in terms of ‘stable ‘characteristics, such as intelligence, personality, motivation, drive and feeling true to themselves, which are considered strong predictors of future performance.  In practice, this means identifying strengths in all employees, utilising these strengths and matching people to their best job fit. In terms of future growth it suggests that businesses should seek to recruit and retain, rather than develop, employees that already possess these same attributes. There is much evidence in the talent management literature and in my research to suggest that this particular approach to talent management is driven by a range of factors; economically SMEs have to spread their limited training budget wide and thin, while a resource dependency view dictates that requirement for future talent is driven by growth, that is largely as a result of a client win. Finally, in terms of an institutional view, it suggests that agencies seek to create a family feel to demonstrate an inclusive philosophy. Of course, recruiting high-calibre individuals with proven talent, from a limited or well-fished pool, places even greater pressure on an attraction and selection process. And as SME marketing agencies grow sporadically, it becomes harder to identify key positions and so developing a suitable talent pool to fill these positions is difficult. In a bid for competitive advantage, SME marketing agencies seek employees who add the most value. Therefore, examining your candidate attraction and selection processes is a key factor in determining what talent means to your business and how effective it will be going forward. Henry Nicholas is a specialist marketing, PR, data and insight, tech, digital and creative recruitment agency that's dedicated to advancing careers and growing businesses. Our success comes down to building meaningful relationships with clients and candidates. We asked some of our clients what specific, tangible and measurable results they realised by being a customer of Henry Nicholas. Take a look at what some of our clients say about our service here. If you would like a free, no obligation talent review, please contact John Austin for more details.  

Ask any agency owner and they’ll tell you that effective client services are pivotal to their success. A client services team will build and sustain close relationships, ensuring everything runs smoothly and that outputs are delivered on time and in line with the client’s expectations.   Those who possess the right skills and attitude throughout their career in agency, from account executive to account director, may find themselves earmarked for the high profile role of client services director. In the final instalment of our Agency Career Timeline series, we look at what’s expected and how this role has evolved in recent years and why building and managing client relationships is no longer enough. Traditional requirements of the role A client services director has a number of core responsibilities that have remained unchanged, including managing the day-to-day work of the wider account management team and making sure there’s consistent quality across all outputs, handling and reporting. However, one of the most critical elements of the role is the engagement with clients to gain an understanding of their business dynamic and culture, short to long-term goals and any challenges they face. With this knowledge, the client services director will form strategies and map out the best tactical approach for the account team. Other skills and attributes client services directors should possess are: - The ability to read situations and identify the best course of action - Passion for the industries and businesses of clients - Ability to motivate agency teams to produce the best work - Enthusiasm and energy regardless of what might be going on - The ability to identify what a client needs rather than what they want (and having the confidence to tell them). How the role has evolved Nothing demonstrates the changes in client services quite like the statement made by managing partner at Geometry Global UK Andrew Bell in his Campaign article: “Today, when I interview and ask about strengths, the most common response I hear is ‘I’m good with people, strong at building relationships.’ Essential yes, but my eyes glaze over.” The past decade has seen a seismic shift in marketing approach, with agencies forced to adapt and thrive against a backdrop of rapid and unpredictable change. An outstanding piece of press coverage or a knockout advert no longer cuts the mustard for brands who now require the constant broadcast of messaging to encourage engagement and influence people. As a result, client services directors must now act as the trusted partner who will guide clients through this new world and find increasingly innovative ways to connect with customers. Going far beyond building relationships, client services directors must now understand how consumers act, how they buy and become even more familiar with the inner workings of a client’s business. Only then will they be able to provide the right creative solutions that will change consumer behaviour and enhance business performance for their clients. In short, a client services director in 2018 must be more of a navigator than a practitioner. The question is, have you got what it takes to guide clients through today’s marketing landscape and deliver real business results? We hope you’ve enjoyed our Agency Career Timeline series, spanning from getting your foot in the door and landing that first promotion, all of the way through to taking on the coveted role of client services director. If you’re ready for a fresh agency challenge, get in touch with the expert agency recruitment team at Henry Nicholas to find out more about the latest exciting roles on offer.​

Rolling into June things still feel a bit unclear, but at the same time, it also feels like lots has changed since our most recent Round up blog post  If recruitment is a decent barometer for the market we operate then it feels like things are starting to open up again in the world of marketing and PR, data & insight, digital, tech and creative. Most of the team are still on furlough, but we’ve picked up a number of brand-new clients, and are busy helping them fill their roles, and some of our existing clients have seen an influx of new work meaning they’re hiring once again. Check out our latest vacancies here. This is our fourth positive news round up blog and it’s is a snapshot of what’s happening out there – only the good stuff of course. Although at first glance this round up blog seems to be all about treat food and Netflix, there’s a lot more depth to this news I can assure you! And in case you do think we’re all just about takeaways and Netflix, we’ll start by mentioning our Running WhatsApp group which continues to keep us going and provides some balance in our lives. We’re all setting ourselves goals, be it 100 miles, 100kms, 60kms or couch to 5km in a month, sharing our successes and motivating each other to get out in the fresh air and burn some calories has really helped. There is no doubt that without this group and the people contributing to it, we would not have achieved what we have achieved. KFC “we’ll take it from here”  London based creative agency Mother have teamed up with KFC to create their “we’ll take it from here” campaign to highlight the re-opening of their UK stores. A clever piece showing how the public have made efforts (of varying degrees of success) to recreate Colonel sander’s own famous recipe throughout the lockdown, as we definitely can’t cope without fried chicken! The tongue in cheek video has Celine Dion’s power ballad All by myself as the soundtrack and shows how we’re now ready for KFC to take back the reigns. Netflix account support Netflix has taken the decision to terminate the accounts that of people who aren’t using the service. The company announced that it is notifying customers who haven’t watched anything for 12 months and is asking if they wish to continue their subscription. In times where streaming activity is going through the roof, (Netflix signing up 15.8 million new subscribers in the first quarter of 2020) they are doing what they can to create goodwill. Needless to say, it’s also a fantastic brand building exercise to send a message to all Netflix users that the company is mindful that many of us are cutting our spending at the moment, and also nudging customers who haven’t used the service in a long time to become active viewers, who are more likely to stay with them long term – we like this. Waitrose and ITV "Pick for Britain" Waitrose has partnered up with ITV to launch a campaign to recruit fruit and veg pickers across Britain to lessen the expected shortfall of 70,000 skilled migrants who are unable to travel due to restrictions. The video short and also national digital and print ads will encourage people to sign up online to prevent hundreds of thousands of tonnes of rotting fruit and veg going to waste. The video hopes to instil a sense of British pride and shows potential recruits, even though it will be hard work it will be very rewarding. It’s an emotive campaign that hopes to capture the imagination of the public to step up in a time of crisis. Maltesers "look on the light side" AMV BBDO had an open brief for the Maltesers “look on the light side” which focuses on a group of mothers discussing on a zoom call what they’ve been doing in home lockdown to entertain the kids. It has humour that is intended to bring us together, however they are careful not to trivialise what can be an incredibly difficult time for people, Maltesers bring the campaign online and partner with Mind to offer mental health support for those struggling. Just Eat "the job of takeaway" JUST EAT and Snoop Dogg brought us “the joy of a takeaway” in their most recent ad. If you’ve not already seen it then check it out below. The ad, by McCann London was perfectly timed and no doubt helped serve up a lot more takeaways over the Bank Holiday weekend. Whether it brought a smile or a burger to you face, we think it really delivered! HN News In the last month we conquered our camera shyness and decided that now more than ever was the time to put out some helpful video content and host our first webinars. We wanted to talk about topics that would help job seekers and clients match themselves effectively, and as quickly and efficiently as possible. You can access our webinars free of charge on our new YouTube channel and the presentation slides are available on our LinkedIn company page. Don’t forget to subscribe, follow, comment and like so that these resources are seen by more people. Here’s to feeling busier once again and these ripples of positivity reach everybody in our network! If you’d like to talk to a member of the HN team about what the market might be like for you now, please just drop us a line.​

There are many reasons why your career in an agency might plateau. One of the most common is getting stuck at account management level, especially as some agencies have multiple AM roles, from junior AM to AM, through to senior AM.    Admittedly, the transition from account manager to senior account manager is no mean feat. The difference between the two roles can be an additional two to four years of experience, a step up to managing the agency’s prestigious accounts, a greater hand in business development and more direct reports. This move to senior account manager might be enough responsibility for some, but for those hungry for more, the next step is to become an account director. Part 4 of our Agency Career Timeline series examines the responsibilities of account directors and the essential skills you need to ensure you’re earmarked for progression. First of all, what are account directors typically responsible for? Primarily, account directors are responsible for growing the revenue of their client base. This is a seismic shift from account management which is typically delivery focussed. This emphasis on increasing agency revenues means account directors have to demonstrate acute commercial knowledge and acumen in order to identify and convert new business opportunities with both existing and new clients. An account director will typically manage a team and be hands-on with creative briefs, tenders and the strategic development of any work or projects. It’s up to them to galvanise the team, from organising and leading pitches for new business all of the way through to stepping in to handle difficult situations that require a senior influence. Is it the right role for you? Account directing is significantly different from senior account management, so, therefore, isn’t a natural step for everyone. To be successful, you have to be able to: - Lead and inspire clients and colleagues - Apply both commercial and creative thinking to everything the agency produces - Prepare proposals and present pitches that convert new business leads - Negotiate, both with your colleagues and external partners, to ensure work is delivered on time and within budget - Conduct regular client and agency strategy meetings - Step up to the plate when necessary - even in tricky situations - Delegate and provide constructive feedback to colleagues - Immerse yourself in the businesses of the clients.   What are the most important areas to focus on? There are many ways you can demonstrate you have all of the right skills to make the upwards move, including: Business acumen Forget the granular items produced for clients and instead focus on what they’re actually buying from your agency: Business outcomes. Whether they’re looking to increase sales, boost customer engagement or improve their employer brand, you need to stay in tune with the bigger picture to make sure everything produced is always in line with these goals. Something as simple as changing the focus of your conversations with clients to their business outcomes and how you’re going to impact on their business positively will assure them (and your superiors) that you’re speaking the right language and approaching work from a commercial perspective.   Be proactive One of the most common complaints clients have about their agencies is a perceived lack of proactivity. Clients want you to care about their business and to know you’re in control. This can start with something as simple as signing up for Google Alerts for a client’s competitors and sending appropriate snippets with ideas of what you can do to respond. It might not feel like much, but the client knows you have an understanding and an interest in their market and their position within it. It’s also about staying in the loop when it comes to changes within the client’s business. They want you to be able to adapt and provide fresh insights and solutions to help them remain relevant in the market. The important part? You’ve got to go to them with these insights and ideas rather than wait to be asked.   Build real relationships It’s a given that you have to build solid relationships with your clients, but what about your colleagues? Competitiveness in agency can lead to account teams working in silos, failing to share ideas and trying to deal with issues alone. However, if you want to become a successful account director, strong relationships with everyone are a must to effectively delegate and gain their support. If you’ve got some bridges to build, then it’s time to get busy! Get talking to your colleagues, offer to help if they need it and (respectfully) provide constructive comments and feedback on their work. Also, asking them for feedback on your work and being willing to take it on-board and make improvements will go a long way in gaining the respect you’ll need to succeed as an account director. While all of this may sound overwhelming remember that an account management position provides the most natural progression to account director in the eyes of agency bosses, so you’re already on your way! If you’re ready for a fresh agency challenge, get in touch with the team at Henry Nicholas to find out more about the latest exciting roles on offer.​   

What’s the point? As there are signs of green shoots in the jobs market, one of Henry Nicholas’s recent webinars that focused on LinkedIn profile optimization seems more relevant now than at any point during the lockdown. With over 675 million users globally it really is the place to be for all professionals. It’s worth noting that we are not LinkedIn experts, or marketers, but as recruiters we are able to show you how to appear at the top of our searches and hone your personal brand to find your dream job. We are sifting hundreds of CVs and user profiles each day and only call the best candidates. A poorly put to together LinkedIn profile might be the difference between us shortlisting you, or not. As a business, over a quarter of our placements over the last 12 months have come from LinkedIn. You can also use it as a tool to tap into industry news and current affairs and stay credible in your space. How should I do it? We outline in some detail the steps to build and grow your personal brand in our webinar slides and video.  CV working in harmony with your LinkedIn profile LinkedIn has its own inbuilt set of rules and it is your chance to tell your career story in an interesting and engaging way. Definitely don’t copy and paste your CV onto LinkedIn! As we’ve talked about previously you should always tailor your CV for each job application you make, you should also keep an eye on your profile to ensure that it’s always up to date and gives that extra colour, but you’ll only ever have one profile. To join the dots, you need to keep an eye on your activity to keep the content you’re liking, sharing and creating relevant to you and your career. It’s the opportunity for you to really become a thought leader in your space. On your CV the information is more or less taken at face value until the hiring manager looks at your LinkedIn profile or meets you at interview. The recommendations and endorsements with LinkedIn back up these CV claims and bring them to life and linking the more formal tone of at CV with the conversational approach in your LinkedIn is a winning tactic. Which is seen first? This really depends on how you choose to apply for a job. We accept applications direct from LinkedIn with your profile, but we also advertise across a range of online job boards where, (more often than not) you’ll be asked to upload your CV which will come direct to us in the first instance. We would then always want to connect with you on LinkedIn. Alternatively, if we have pro-actively searched for you on LinkedIn and contacted you to see if you are interested in a brief we have, we will see your LinkedIn profile first. The Open to Opportunities function can help guide us here. We would then start a conversation with you and request a CV. To make things simple, both your LinkedIn profile and CV will be carefully reviewed at some stage during the application process. As you can see, it really isn’t a case of your LinkedIn profile versus your CV. Your CV is still the main means of applying for jobs and should serve the purpose of giving the recruiter a factual and chronological snapshot of your skills and experience, but it should be complemented by a strong, professional and active LinkedIn profile – one which brings all the claims you have on your CV to life and showcases everything you have to offer as a person and as a professional. Get in contact to speak with one of the team about how we can help you.

As we mentioned in the last instalment of our Agency Career Timeline series, agency employees have the opportunity to explore different areas and change roles over the course of their career. With nothing static in a modern creative agency, it’s natural for entry-level talent to start thinking about how they’re going to take their career to the next level. While landing a promotion in an agency certainly isn’t easy, transitioning from a junior role into a senior or management position can be achieved if you prove to the decision-makers that you have the right skills, qualities and attitude to handle the additional responsibility. Here are our top tips on how you can make sure you get that all-important agency promotion: Show dedication No, this doesn’t necessarily mean working until 8pm every night. Showing that you’re dedicated can be as simple as volunteering to help a team prep for a big meeting, making colleagues working to a tight deadline a much-needed drink or attending events that might be helpful to the agency in terms of knowledge transfer and business development. This might mean you have to swallow your pride and do some pretty crappy jobs from time-to-time. Whether that’s ordering and collecting lunch for a meeting, taking parcels to the Post Office or even picking up the boss’ dry cleaning, do it with a smile and no complaints and you’ll stand out for all of the right reasons. Collaborate      When on a mission to get promoted people often make the mistake of ring-fencing their work to prove to superiors they’ve got it covered. However, managers often want you to demonstrate delegation and the ability to utilise the skills of the rest of the team, particularly if you’re hoping to transition from executive to manager. It’s also vital you keep the team updated about what you’re working on and how it’s going. Although tempting to present the finished article to try and impress everyone, it’s better to keep them in the loop or they might start questioning your output. Speak up Agency team meetings can be daunting; everyone’s busy and would rather be back at their desks than in a huddle. However, that’s not a reason to sit back and keep quiet. Team meetings provide the perfect opportunity to share your thoughts and feedback as well as offer your assistance to those who might need it. If you’ve spotted an event that might be useful for someone to attend, mention it. If you’ve read an interesting piece of news that might affect a client, share it. No one will think any less of you, and piping up will go a long way in demonstrating your curiosity and confidence. Own your mistakes We’re all human and will inevitably make mistakes and forget things on occasion. Sitting back and hoping no one notices or struggling to rectify an issue by yourself can make matters worse and, in some cases, affect the confidence the team and the clients have in you. If you’ve made a mistake, own it. Make sure you tell someone and ask for their help, or offer a solution you think might fix it. To sum up, you need to get yourself noticed for all of the right reasons by your superiors in order to bag your first agency promotion. Be willing, self-aware, curious, proactive and bold, and you’ll make a significant impact in your agency from day one. If you’re ready for a fresh agency challenge, get in touch with the team at Henry Nicholas to find out more about the latest exciting roles on offer.​