Getting Hired
In the last few years we’ve drastically changed the way we recruit talent for LevelTen. Rising unemployment coupled with new social networking tools has resulted in “application overload” for many companies. Here are a few tips for those of you hoping to stand out and land a job at an Interactive agency.
General job-boards like Career Builder, HotJobs, and Monster are a thing of the past. For every qualified applicant we receive, we sift through 99 who were applying to anything and everything within a 50 mile radius of their zip code.
TIP: Target your search with industry specific job boards like 37 signals or aggregators like Indeed. You’ll find more relevant job matches with serious employers.
We have always relied heavily on applicants finding us through our website. If they applied directly through our site, chances were pretty good (but not always 100% surprisingly) that they knew enough about the company to know they wanted to work at LevelTen. In the last year, however, the sheer number of qualified applicants has become overwhelming. While we make a concerted effort to reply to every applicant, it’s almost impossible.
TIP: Applied but didn’t hear from anyone? Apply again. Persistence is key if you really want to get noticed.
TIP: Connect with your potential employer by subscribing to their newsletter, following them on twitter, or interacting with them on their website.
We are now spending much more time researching and sourcing candidates through Facebook and Twitter. What are we looking for? People who are engaged, active, and knowledgeable in their industry. What are we NOT looking for? Photos of you doing a keg-stand. Sure, potential employers should judge you on the quality of your work not how you choose to spend your personal time, but if you can’t manage your own online reputation then how could an employer trust you to protect theirs?
TIP: Practice good judgment and restraint when publishing personal information online...you never know who will see it.
TIP: For those currently employed who are looking to change jobs, too many personal tweets, blog posts, or Facebook updates during business hours is a bad sign.
People in our industry are notorious for being more comfortable in the virtual world than they are in real live world. While it is true that more and more candidates will be recruited, assessed, and hired without ever actually meeting anyone in person, there is no technology that can replace eye-to-eye contact and a handshake. In the last year, we’ve met the most promising candidates at professional events and networking meetings. In fact, we met our lead developer at a Drupal Users Group meeting.
TIP: Get out and meet people. Find events on LinkedIn and Meetup and tell people about your dream job. They just might offer it to you!
