Tag Archives: employment

Permalink to 5 Reasons Why There’s Limited Age 30+ Digital and Social Media Talent

5 Reasons Why There’s Limited Age 30+ Digital and Social Media Talent

by Angie Sanders|on April 1, 2013 |in Content marketing, Just good business, Social Media |tagged , , , , , , , , |Leave a comment

30 plusArik Hanson, principal of ACH Communications, pointed out that when recruiters are searching for strong digital/social professionals over the age of 30, they’re facing a virtual drought.

“I get emails from friends/colleagues around Minneapolis/St. Paul and they’re all looking for the same person: A mid- to senior-level digital/social media counselor/director with deep experience in marketing and some experience in digital/social,” he writes. “They don’t exist, at least not in big numbers.”

Why are recruiters hard-pressed to find a communicator who not only possesses solid experience in traditional public relations and/or marketing strategy but knows her way around digital strategy and execution? And, to top it off, a communicator who can measure digital successes extensively, understand the infinite flow of data that analytics tools provide and use this data to help her employer pivot strategically and tactically.

Well, here are five reasons we thought of off the top of our heads:

The strong digital stars in the 30+ age bracket are running companies.
A 30+ communicator who possesses all the above qualities knows her worth. If agencies aren’t offering top (and I mean six-figure) salaries, flexibility and options like potential partnership, then those agencies can’t convince her that working for them as a W-2 employee is worth her time. Because she has these skills and can prove successes, she knows her best bet is to spread herself thinner by working with a number of clients. At least with the money she makes, she can scale her staff as her business grows.

Twenty-somethings consider terms like “social media” and “digital strategy” workplace norms.
If you’re a 30+ communicator, then the internet, email and the Adobe suite were the coolest technologies available when you were in college. Social media emerged as workplace norms as we were well into our careers (or getting that second or third degree). However, 20-something professionals are barely aware of a world in which these technologies didn’t exist.

Companies just got over the “let the intern deal with it” syndrome.
Because 30+ professionals aren’t digital natives, they’ve been taking the easy way out in the workplace: “Let the intern handle it. She’s younger and knows this stuff better than us.” Companies are just now moving beyond entrusting their digital strategy to interns and seeing it as an integral component of their overall communications and business plans.

Seasoned communicators have to be committed to independent professional development.
When looking for professional development, communicators over the age of 30 are accustomed to attending classes, conferences and seminars in person or online. But when it comes to in-depth digital strategy and analytics training, it just doesn’t exist in large numbers. To get up to speed on these topics, communicators have to be their own teachers and embark on independent study. This professional development route can be difficult to fit into these professionals already hectic schedules.

Companies need seasoned communicators and younger professionals to work together to remain viable in the marketplace.
As social media permeated the business world, companies realized that they needed the expertise of both younger and older professionals to keep up with and surpass the competition. Companies are relying on seasoned communicators to share traditional marketing and public relations experience with younger professionals beyond what they learned in college. In turn, seasoned communicators should be learning all they can from the younger professionals so that as team leaders, they can make the best decisions for the organizations and companies they represent.

Share with us: Do the 20-somethings run your company’s digital strategy teams? Do seasoned, senior employees play active roles in crafting and executing your company’s digital strategy?

Read Blindsided! Why the rapid pace of social media communication and measurement is leaving PR agencies behind

blindsidedIn his Forbes.com article, “PR Agencies’ Lost Year?”, Peter Himler of Flatiron Communications makes the argument that while PR agencies are fixated on the obvious rise of mobile technology and the visual web, they’re missing real opportunities to use creative hybrids of earned, paid and owned media tactics to broadcast client messages to already overloaded audiences. Himler’s article prompted aiellejai to produce this white paper. In it, we explore why the PR industry was blindsided by the emergence of new technology and the choices these professionals will have to make internally and externally to remain valuable players in the midst of the new accelerated pace of communication.

Permalink to Martin: 5 Ways Technology Dated our Beloved 90s Sitcom

Martin: 5 Ways Technology Dated our Beloved 90s Sitcom

by Angie Sanders|on July 27, 2012 |in Social Media, What's on TV |tagged , , , |3 Comments

My niece Jasmine watches Fox Network’s hit show Martin. That means one of two things: either the 90s was a cool decade or she views Martin the way my generation does Good Times or The Jeffersons.

While in vacation in Miami last month, I caught the I’ve Got Work to Do episode of the sitcom featuring comedian Martin Lawrence. Martin was forced to find a new job after losing his position as a radio disc jockey. Detroit’s employment office placed him on one jobsite after another, but Martin quit them all after only a few days. He was just too great to flip burgers and deliver mail.

What makes watching throwback shows like this fun—aside from the great comedic timing and remembering the jokes we often took to school with us the morning after—is seeing the outdated technology. What looks like an enormous cell phone to us must look like a telegraph machine to Jasmine.

Nineties technologies not only appear in this episode, but what’s also evident is how far we’ve come in streamlining our processes, like searching for employment. Here are a few things from this Martin episode that will make you appreciate pocket-sized smart phones, the internet and job-seeking in the new millennium:

Martin called information to get the number for the employment office—from a landline. I only know a handful of people today who actually have landlines in their homes. Most of us would perform a Google search on our smart phones for the number and simply touch the screen to dial.

He couldn’t use the internet or social media to look for another job. Martin was a disc jockey for a radio station in Detroit, a major market. If LinkedIn existed, then maybe it would have been easier for him to work his contacts to find a new job at another station.

Afraid that people would recognize him, Martin wore a disguise to the employment office. Unfortunately, no one knew who he was. Because he worked in the age before the internet was a mainstay, the radio station had no website with photos of the personalities. Martin was embarrassed because he thought of himself as a local star. But there was no way for him to search for a new job from a computer in the privacy of his own home.

There were pay phones at the employment office. While driving back to the Washington, DC area from Lynchburg, Virginia, I saw a man standing at a pay phone outside the Crossroad Store on Route 29 holding a roll of quarters. Odd? Yes. When was the last time you’ve seen someone use a pay phone? When was the last time you’ve even seen a pay phone?

While buffing the floor at his new position, Martin is listening to a portable CD player. CDs were hot in the 90s. But now, MP3 players and devices that stream music are the norm. I’ll bet Martin would’ve loved Spotify.

Permalink to Mad Men’s Roger Sterling is a Dream Killer

Mad Men’s Roger Sterling is a Dream Killer

by Angie Sanders|on May 7, 2012 |in Just good business, What's on TV |tagged , , , , , , , |6 Comments

Dream killers are people who poke holes in your aspirations. Or they pull down their pants and take a smelly dump on everything you hope to be and achieve. Misery is the main reason why they brandish their salty words at unsuspecting idealists. These common thugs are unhappy with their lives — personal and/or professional — and take pleasure in dragging hopefuls down in the pits of despair.

Dream killers can pop up anywhere. In this season of Mad Men, copywriter Ken Cosgrove’s dream of becoming a science fiction author stares down the barrel of Roger Sterling’s gun — plated with a shiny coat of hater chrome.  At a dinner party with agency partners Roger, Pete Campbell, Don Draper, and their spouses, Ken’s wife Cynthia brags about her husband’s gift for writing thought-provoking fiction. Little did she know, she’d just ordered a hit.

“When this job is good,” Roger says during a one-on-one meeting with Ken at the office, “[this job] fulfills all your needs.” After Roger busts a cap in Ken’s dream, viewers can almost see the blood on the carpet. At the end of the episode, Ken tells Peggy Olsen that he’s abandoned the silly idea. As he walks away, he tracks blood on the floor with his shoes.

This episode got me thinking about how our personal aspirations fit in our 9-5 lives.  Latoya Tardy, president and owner of Work Wonderful, explains how much of our lives our employers truly own and gives advice on how to save our dreams from sudden death on the job.

Why is it that companies believe they’ve bought an employee’s entire life with a salary?
Employers believe employees should be grateful to have a job.  These employers pile on extra work, are less mindful of employees’ personal obligations and assume employees’ will stand for the treatment because they have no other options. Many employers don’t realize that the job market is actually changing.  When they experience excessive turnover, they’ll realize employees can’t be bought.

On the other hand, the minute your employer knows that you’re the “super employee”— meaning you’ve been there for a few years, don’t rock the boat, accept incremental raises, and always put your best foot forward — your life has been purchased. You’re paid well for what you do according to your employer, and for those reasons, they’ll use you.

Technology has increased our accessibility for better and worse. How much of an employee’s time does a salary actually buy?
When you move up or around in an organization, you’re expected to make certain sacrifices.  Time is usually one of those sacrifices.  We’re always connected and essentially always working.  Salary does not buy time, but the expectation that employees are responsive and attentive has been taken out of context because of technology. You set the bar for how much time you’ll allow your employer to take from you.  If you answer the e-mails on Saturday, the bar has been set that you’ll always answer e-mails on Saturday.  Even doctors break away sometimes.  Everyone should.

How can employees balance their 9-5 job with outside, lucrative interests?
If you trust your employer, you should disclose your outside interests to them. Most companies require employees to disclose outside endeavors that require time and resources and generate income.  If an employer feels that you’re being totally honest with them, then they’re less likely to scrutinize your outside opportunity.  Build it into your vision of growth for the company.  Show them how your outside endeavor can help you grow and help the current business.  Once you have their buy in, they’ll be more understanding if you can’t stay late because of another obligation.

Mad Men is set in the 60s. Do you think employers are less or more supportive of employee’s endeavors outside the office? Or do they care?
Do employers care about these endeavors?  They absolutely do!  Retention is becoming a problem and employers are getting nervous. They’re less supportive if it means this endeavor could potentially take you away from them. They also need to be sure you’re not sharing trade secrets. Employers are supportive of your outside endeavor if it’s not deemed as direct completion for the company, doesn’t use the knowledge you gained at the company and if the employer feels you’ve been up front with them about your career plan.

Latoya Tardy is a human resources professional with 13 years of experience in building teams, managing recruitment, creating staffing and retention programs, managing compliance and observing behavior in corporate America. Work Wonderful is a northern Virginia based consulting firm designed to help both employees and employers forge better working relationships and create workforce synergy.

Permalink to Should You Jump in Your Employer’s Social Media Fight (and throw a sucker punch)?

Should You Jump in Your Employer’s Social Media Fight (and throw a sucker punch)?

by Angie Sanders|on April 11, 2012 |in Social Media |tagged , , , |3 Comments

Time Life Books employed my father-in-law for close to 30 years. Even today, he tells me stories about how the company “rolled out the red carpet” for its employees by organizing outings and offering flex work time and other perks. “But if you have a deadline or there’s work to be done, you’d better do it,” he said. “They treated us well, but they weren’t scared to fire us if need be.”

Although friends and relatives complain to each other about their jobs and their employers all the time, there are some people out there that are generally content, much like my father-in-law was at his former workplace. So as our personal and professional lives converge online, should these content employees be expected to defend their employers if others are dissing these companies in social media?

This question was raised back in February during the “The Ethics of Social Media in Today’s Workplace” session—part of Social Media Week DC—hosted by the Ethics Resource Center at Powell Tate’s new offices.

The panelists all said that they would jump in a social media fight and beat back their employers’ opposition.

“This raises an interesting point,” I added after raising my hand. “What about in the case of the media? If I defend my employer, can a journalist quote what I say? Is that considered ‘on the record’? What if the journalist contacts me directly for comment?”

Panelist Adam Benson {@EthicsRC}, communications director at the Ethics Resource Center agreed that dealing with members of traditional media within the social media space is a bit tricky. Another panelist, Rachael King {@rachaelgking}, (former) social media account executive at iostudio said that her company has designated spokespeople and that employees are not allowed to speak with journalists on or offline.

I’m a firm believer in designating only a handful of core spokespeople to speak to journalists on the company’s behalf. This and other basic communications rules that applied before we even knew what a Twitter was should apply now. When well-intentioned employees are allowed to respond to social media rants about the companies they work for, the door is held open for the employee to possibly misstate company facts or misrepresent the company’s mission, goals, or purpose, therefore creating a whole new problem.

The panelists also agreed that it’s helpful for companies to have social media guidelines in place to provide employees rules for these gray situations. During Social Media Week, I learned about socialmediagovernance.com, a smart policy database created by Converseon Executive/Strategist Chris Boudreaux, featuring guidelines documents from companies like the American Red Cross, Best Buy, and Coca-Cola. Let’s not reinvent the wheel here. Check out how the big boys are doing it and figure out what rules will work for your company’s social engagement efforts.