You guys asked for me to re-post this piece, and your wish is my command. Share this with hiring managers, your CMO, and everyone looking into considering either creating or filling a position requiring Social Media management skills:
Tip #1: Social Media Directors should know how to do their jobs without having to ask for help every five minutes:
So I look down and the (twitter) DM reads: “Hey, can you help me out? Not sure how to do this. How do I use Twitter to gain traction for my company? Thanks!” I stare at it for a while and decide to blow it off for now, not because I have better things to do (which I do) and not because I don’t really have time to build a Twitter business plan for this person right this second (which I don’t), but because that DM comes from a newly minted Social Media Director at a fairly visible company who basically just asked me to help them hold on to a job they obviously didn’t deserve to be hired for.
I slide my Blackberry Storm into my back pocket and find myself flashbacking to 11th grade: It’s final exams time and I am in hour two of IB Biology. The essay section. One of the kids in my class is behind me, gently kicking my chair, whispering, begging me to move my scrap/notes where they can read them.
And I am almost tempted to do it.
That same conversation starts taking place in my head. I’m in a position to help someone in need. But wait… cheating is cheating. Don’t do it. But still, I feel that I should help. Arrrgh…
I reach for the blackberry, launch Twitterberry (which is not my favorite app, by the way), and respond: “Wait… You got the job, right? Don’t you know how to do this? Isn’t that why you were hired?”
For hours, no response. And then it comes. “Yeah, but I’m in a little over my head. I’ve never worked with Social Media in a business context before. ;)”
Again. This from a Director-level individual now working for a pretty well known company.
Not cool.
I suffer through similar exchanges weekly now, and I am not happy about it. What does this trend say about what types of people are going after Social Media management jobs – and landing them with alarming frequency these days? At the very least, I am worried about how this is going to end up hurting Social Media’s legitimacy in the business world. (Watch the video for my reasoning on this specific point.)
If the video doesn’t launch, you can go watch it here. Thanks, Viddler).
Tip #2: There are three types of people currently vying for Social Media Management jobs. Be very careful whom you consider for this key position:
With this disturbing development weighing on me more and more these past few months, I’ve been thinking long and hard about what is going on in the Social Media “management” world, and I’ve basically come down to two conclusions: The first (which we’ll get back to in a few minutes) is that the qualifications of Social Media Directors may not be entirely clear to the folks interviewing and hiring applicants for those positions. The second is that as a result of this, confusion, we are now looking at three distinct types of Social Media Directors/Managers scampering about in the corporate world, some good, some okay, and some really bad.
The first type is the best type: These folks are super smart, talented, experienced in a broad range of disciplines, have an established footprint in the Social Media space (through blogs, Twitter, Ning, various communities), are recognized as thought leaders (or as emerging thought leaders), and are unquestionably passionate about what they do. Folks like Chris Brogan, Frank Eliason, Amber Naslund, Mack Collier, Beth Harte, Valeria Maltoni, etc. These are folks who are truly writing the book on how to build social media practices and smoothly integrate them in the organizations they work with.
The second type isn’t quite as savvy, but it isn’t lacking in talent, smarts and enthusiasm. These are people who basically don’t know how to be Social Media directors yet, but are learning fast. And most importantly, they are completely open about the fact that they are still in that learning stage, which means that their employers are okay with it. In spite of the fact that they are still very junior, the companies they work for saw in them a lot of potential and decided to hire them toward that end. (I dig people like this a lot.)
The third type is what I would call the bad type. Not bad as in cool, but rather… bad as in unethical, inept and unprofessional. These are the con artists. The shams. The hacks. The folks whose egos and selfishness led them to a moment in their lives when they unapologetically took a job they knew they weren’t qualified for. And now here they are: Social Media Director for Company ABC, soon to move over to Company XYZ, and so on. One position validating the next, one impressive brand on their resume justifying consideration by the next, and so it goes: A perpetual daisy chain of high profile Social Media management job built on unadulterated douchebaggery and thinly-disguised mediocrity.
(Ironically, this third group tends to be the same one that perpetuates the notion that Social Media ROI either doesn’t exist or is “unwise” to try and measure. Yeah. Convenient, isn’t it?)
Note: Having been a Social Media manager for a major brand doesn’t mean jackaloo. Don’t fall for the old name-dropping trick. Even if the applicant was indeed “Social Media VP” for superbrand XYZ, what did they accomplish while in the position? What did they actually do? Hint: You don’t want to be some idiot’s next unfortunate employer. Don’t let someone’s previous job title dazzle you. We’ve already established that any idiot with a little game can be a Social Media Director these days. Be careful.
Tip #3: Before we go on, here are some red flags to help you identify deadbeat Social Media Directors:
A) Every time you see a major global consumer brand engaging with less than 5% of its active (vocal) customers on a popular Social Media platform like Twitter after 8-10 months of activity, you can bet that their Social Media Director belongs to that third category.
B) If every time you walk into your monthly status meeting with your new Social Media Director and ask them for the latest, they either talk to you about Google analytics, confuse you with endless spreadsheets or launch into a “Social Media takes time” monologue, chances are that they belong to that third category.
C) If you ask your Social Media Director why their efforts aren’t scaling very fast or producing the numbers you expected and they give you a story about engagement not being a numbers game, chances are that they belong in that third category.*
D) If when you ask them for real business metrics, impact analysis and (god forbid) ROI and they either give you a blank stare or explain that these things don’t apply to Social Media, they probably belong to that third category.
E) If they measure Social Media effectiveness mostly in terms of “engagement metrics” and after six months, you still don’t understand what or how they are measuring “engagement” (most likely through some arcane equation that magically merges followers, the media value of a tweet and number of blog comments), guess what: Third category.
F) And when you ask them how they plan to integrate Social Media into customer service, Human Resources, Public Relations, Marketing, Business Development or any other silo in your organization and they schedule a later meeting to address that instead of answering on the spot, guess what category they probably belong to.
The thing about that third category is that they’ll never admit that they don’t know something. Because they get by every day by producing massive amounts of bulls**t, they will automatically default to making something up on the spot or deflecting questions with well crafted excuses. That’s their most damning trait, and what gives them away every time: They always know, and they’re never wrong (except… they don’t, and they are, and now you’re wise to it).
* Simple test to prove or disprove a “depth before breadth” response:
First – On Twitter, look at the number of brand mentions vs. the number of your brand’s account mentions. Big difference? Ask why. Then ask your Social Media Director what they are doing to raise awareness for your presence in the space. Breadth matters, no matter what your overpaid hack of a Social Media honcho tells you.
Second – Look at the number of comments directly aimed at your account. 20 per day? 50 per day? Now look at how many of these requests for attention were acknowledged with some sort of reply. 100%? 80%? Less than 25%? If your Social Media Director claims that they are focusing on depth of engagement instead of breadth, yet they only respond to less than half of the handshakes thrown at them daily, maybe it’s time you found out what he/she actually does with his/her time.
Tip #4: What should you be looking for in an applicant interested in becoming your next Social Media Director ? (The only Social Media Director requisition primer you’ll ever need)
I could go on with my indictment of poser Social Media Directors all day long, but I would rather put this post to a more productive use: Since so many of these hacks are getting through the recruiting filter, why don’t we focus on helping interviewers distinguish good applicants from bad ones, starting with some traits and skills they want and need in a Social Media Director. Think of this as a checklist for would-be Social Media Directors, and please feel free to add your own suggestions by leaving a comment.
- Applicant has developed and managed marketing programs before. Not just campaigns but programs.
- Applicant has had a continuous professional presence in the Social Media space (via blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Ning or other platforms) for at least one year.
- Applicant has managed a business blog and/or business community for a minimum of one year.
- Applicant has built or managed a community for longer than one year.
- Applicant has at least two years of experience managing projects and working across organizational silos.
- Applicant has managed a brand or product line for more than one year.
- Applicant has demonstrated a strong ability to forge lasting relationships across a variety of media platforms over the course of his/her career.
- Applicant understand the difference between vertical and lateral action when it comes to customer/community engagement – and has working knowledge of how to leverage both.
- Applicant demonstrates a thorough knowledge of the Social Media space, including usage and demographic statistics for the most popular/relevant platforms as well as a few niche platforms of his/her choice.
- Applicant has managed national market research projects.
- Applicant demonstrates a thorough understanding of the nuances between Social Media platforms and the communities they serve. (Example: MySpace vs. Facebook or YouTube vs. Seesmic)
- Applicant understands the breadth of tools and methods at his/her disposal to set goals and measure success in the Social Media space. (Applicant’s toolkit is not limited to Google analytics.)
- Applicant can cite examples of companies with successful social media programs and companies with ineffective social media programs. He/she can also argue comfortably why each was either successful or unsuccessful.
- Applicant has been active on Twitter for more than 8 months.
- Applicant knows who Chris Brogan, Jeremiah Owyang and Peter Kim are.
- Applicant is comfortable enough with business measurement methods to know the difference between financial impact (ROI) and non-financial impact. He/she also knows why the difference between the two is relevant.
- Applicant demonstrates the ability to build and manage a Social Media practice that works seamlessly with PR, product marketing, event management and customer support teams within the organization.
- Applicant has managed a work team for more than one year. He/she was responsible for the training and development of that team.
- Applicant has spent at least one year in a project management role outside of an ad agency, PR or other Marketing firm.
- Applicant can tell a personal story involving either Digg, Seesmic or both.
- Applicant has been responsible for managing a budget/P&L.
- Applicant demonstrates a high level of proficiency working with popular Social Media platforms and apps such as FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Ning, Seesmic, YouTube, FriendFeed, WordPress, FriendFeed and Tumblr.
- Applicant is capable of mapping out a basic Social Media monitoring plan on a cocktail napkin.
- Applicant is more excited about engagement, building an internal practice and finding out about your business’ pain points than he/she is about firebombing you with the full scope of their Social Media skills’ awesomeness.
- Applicant already has the framework of a Social Media plan for your company before he/she even walks through the front door, and thankfully, it doesn’t involve setting up a fan page on FaceBook.
- Applicant actually knows how to use Twitter to help your company build brand equity online and offline without having to DM people like me for newbie level help.
Your turn. What do you think is missing from this checklist?
Let me know if this is helpful. Please, please, please, for the love of puppies, STOP. Don’t hire “that guy” because his resume says he worked with Brand XYZ in Digital or Social. It isn’t enough. (Who hasn’t?) Dig deeper. Get knowledgeable about this space. Don’t get suckered into hiring an unscrupulous hack job looking for another free ride off an unsuspecting company.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
One last thing: Will this topic be covered in Red Chair executive trainings (the next one is in Portland, OR on March 11)? You bet. To register for the Portland event, click here. (The first 5 registrations get $100 off, so sign up fast!)
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Don’t you think some of these are subjective? Do I need someone w/that much experience, regardless of the business/target?
“unscrupulous hack job looking for another free ride off an unsuspecting company”. Those are pretty strong words to use when one doesn’t know the circumstances surrounding the hire. I have several friends who are actually doing an excellent job w/what they are supposed to do, who don’t meet all of your requirements, and they aren’t unscrupulous in the least.
I’m sure I know where your request came from. I actually found the piece helpful.
First, yes, absolutely: Hiring someone for a job is subjective. Recruiters shouldn’t just look at the CV. They have to evaluate personality, drive, communication skills, enthusiasm, character, charisma, and dozens upon dozens of elements. The hiring process is subjective and discriminatory in nature.
Objectivity only leads to the interview. Subjectivity drives the hiring. Good or bad, that’s reality.
Your second point: Every SM management position is different, so criteria will vary from organization to organization and from position to position. I don’t mean to imply that EVERY item on the list is a must-have. Ideally, for the most senior SM role at a large company, yes, you would want as many of those points as possible. But for a lesser role or a smaller company, you don’t necessarily need to have a check mark next to each one on your CV. Some of your friends sound like they might be in the second category, and that’s great. As long as the hiring managers and their bosses are clear on what they know and don’t know, life is good.
If however, they misrepresented themselves during the hiring process, that’s a different issue altogether. 😉
You need to follow this up with an “interview” that is being recorded on video, somehow. Sort of a “Candid Camera”, but let the person know they are being taped. You wouldn’t have to be a fly on the wall, you (or someone you hire, not as well known in socmed) could interview for the position. See what happens.
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Hi Olivier, thanks for a very important post. Anyway, I think your list of criteria says a lot about the crisis of social. That is: Many loud people, nobody with experience. I work as a social guy at Razorfish and if I look at my colleagues from…let’s say design, I could not imagine anybody being ready to fit into a director’s chair with 1+ years experience. There is Chris Brogan and then there are those many, many people out there who read about twitter during the Mumbai attacks. Does that qualify them for a director level position? No. Does that qualify them for bashing the agency business? Yes. Because simply they have never worked there…
Yeah. And you know, inexperience is fine. This space isn’t brain surgery. Everyone can learn how to use SM for a business as long as they work at it and experiment a lot. I learn something new every day. I know it’s cliche, but I do. And I love that.
I just want people to be honest about what they know how to do and what they don’t know how to do. The noise, you know… that’s just the nature of the beast. 😉
Thanks for a great post… I opened it with dread because I am doing a lot of social media work. I was relieved to find that apart from knowing who Jowyang was… I fit the bill! I hasten to add that I am not trying to be the Social Media Director of any Fortune 500 companies… but it sounds like I could do a better job than your friend. Life just ain’t fair…
Yeah, it’s all about honesty and disclosure. It’s one thing to overshoot your skillset by a little bit, but another completely to take a job you aren’t even 20% qualified for. 😉
80/20 rule: If you feel 80% qualified for it, apply. If you feel 20% qualified for it, be honest about that.
Honesty is tricky for some people.
I’m not at a director level, but I am “social media developer” here and hope that I’m fairly literate in category #2 above. I’m reading and listening and thinking it’s a combo of the person just looking to make a buck on something untried, taking advantage of company/people who don’t know what they’re asking for, and then on both sides of that taking the easy way out to “just hire someone” and that someone just says the right buzzwords and looks like they know the part.
Why do you think so much of this feels vague, feels “out there”, when we’re talking about social media as “the next big thing”? Because I’ve got to be honest: if I don’t look at my own stuff as just tools to get real business case things done, if I look at twitter and facebook and all of it as something it’s not, I get overwhelmed. These are tools, times are changing – so let’s change and use these tools to meet our business needs in new ways that are impacting now… etc etc etc.
I don’t know what the confusion is, honestly. For me, SM’s role in business is crystal clear. When I hear recruiting managers talk about SM roles, I have to wonder why they didn’t bother to spend 20 minutes researching the topic. It’s an HR fail, to a great extent.
It’s soooooo easy to see who is for real in this space and who isn’t. That’s what’s so frustrating.
Agreed – I think that was my ill-worded point, that the “HR fail, to a great extent” is at least as much of the the problem as the other.
Olivier,
This is a great post and one that needs to be shouted from the mountains.
Another great yet often complex question:
Can your Director draw quantifiable correlation between the activity in one communications channel with activity and performance in another?
Example: The corollary relationship between blogging and SEO?
Great question. Yes. Your example is good: Blogging’s impact on SEO. You can also look at how twitter activity pulls traffic to specific pages, for example.
But for me, performance goes well beyond clicks. Measuring media only gets you half-way there. In my world, the ultimate conversion metrics involve transactions and positive recommendations. In other words: How does your SM activity 1) impact transactions and 2) impact overall brand sentiment.
Ideally, sentiment and positive WOM through SM will impact transactions, which is why I find it so important. 🙂
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Great resource. Finally starting to put some foundation underneath the internal systems needed to succeed with social media for brands.
Thanks. I hope it’ll help some recruiting managers.
Great piece!
But here is the rub: I still think Social Media is still so much of a mystery to hiring managers that Perpetrators will continue to land these positions. And it’s a mystery because it is like they DON’T WANT TO LEARN ABOUT IT.
They won’t read pieces like yours, won’t actually log on and try to understand these tools themselves. They will let themselves off the hook by saying, “That’s what I am hiring someone for!”
They will let some fool in the door…and when the situation ends badly (as they often do in these cases), they will blame a “dishonest employee.”
Bad hires are often the result of bad decisions made on both sides.
Exactly. You hit the bullseye.
Wow. Awesome post. I run a social media company, and I often struggle with the perception in our industry that so many “me too” guys/gals exist—people that jump on board the social media marketing bandwagon without any real or measured knowledge of what they’re doing. I know they must exist, but I guess I’m in denial…Maybe I even fall into that category in relation to certain niches within our industry? Gasp!
I really appreciate this post because it helps me understand what NOT to be as well as what types of professional traits I should be striving for. My business partner and I have been working with clients for over a year now, and it’s exciting to see what we’ve accomplished, but also humbling to realize how far we have to go. I know we have the talent and lots of relevant experience, but we aren’t perfect. We still have a lot to do to grow our expertise, and I’m thankful for posts like this that open my eyes and push me in the right direction.
Bravo, Olivier!
Thanks for the comment.
And yes, many people jump into this actually thinking that they are qualified and equipped to develop, integrate and manage SM programs because they feel comfortable with Twitter and Facebook. Unfortunately, as you know, the reality of doing this professionally – and for a large organization – is very different from daily personal use.
It would be like me learning how to make a few decent dishes in my kitchen, and then jumping into the role of head chef at a busy restaurant. It just doesn’t work that way. People need to take a step back and realize that even community management is difficult, and that is NOTHING compared to being an SM director for a major global brand.
Too many egos, not enough brains. 😉
What a great post. Your stuff really is top notch. Super nervous because I’m about to start a new job with a huge focus on running a big social media program (though the scope of the job is larger than just SM). Pretty sure I fit into category two there, but am going to do the research so that I do know the answers to your questions above (even though they’ve hired me! 🙂 Good stuff, man.
There you go. As long as you never let yourself slip in to the third category, you’re good to go. 😉
Another great post Olivier – Look forward to seeing you again at the next Like Minds event in just over 2 weeks.
Yes! I can’t wait.
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I typically fall into the category of people who don’t ever leave comments…but I wanted to at least thank you for writing such an excellent post! Bravo!
I’m glad I made you break your habit. 😉
Thank you.
I loved this piece, I always work with small businesses and I have seen this in all areas of internet marketing not just social media. It comes up every time the latest fad is banded around the internet. I am not saying that social media is a fad, but it will be for those who do it badly and give up after five minutes. It used to be the same for website content, flash, search optimisation, link building, videos and now it is social media.
I meet many excited business owners who have spoken to a consultant that would fit into your third category perfectly. They have been promised the earth for five minutes of blogging and a couple of tweets. A bit of forum spamming and banning later and with no results, they promptly write the whole thing off as a complete disaster.
However, like the other areas of web marketing, as more and more people get to grips with social media and what it really means, this third group will move onto the next overhyped internet marketing trick, leaving the social media way clear for real professionals.
I’d like for them to start moving on right now. Maybe we can start a Google Buzz consulting fad. That might work. 😀
hey there olivier,
i recently got a job as an intern social media manager at an ad agency called cubic creative, located in tulsa, ok. im a senior at Oral Roberts University studying public relations and advertising, and i plan on becoming a consultant for an ad/pr firm. id like for you to check out my first posts on my wordpress and tell me what you think. (and be honest, cause i love constructive criticism, its very helpful)
http://ttgerard.wordpress.com/
http://ttgerard.ning.com/
thank you
Thanks, man.
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Great post! Love the video too – you’re a natural with those 🙂
I must admit I am still shocked every time I get a message (usually on Facebook, for me!) from someone saying, “I do social media, but would like you to teach me more”. Then I Google them and they don’t show up anywhere. Awesome.
We talk to organizations a lot about Charlene Li’s great quote about social media eventually being “like air” – we try and prepare them for the time when everybody will be doing it throughout the organization. It’s fine to hire someone right now (either consultants like us or in-house), who can hopefully help set up the internal processes needed to do the work of social media (the listening and responding across departments, to start with). But I truly think this kind of position will be short lived once more and more people start integrating social media into their daily work.
Online community managers, on the other hand… that job requires a very interesting balance of skills and I think we’ll need those for a long time. Which is good for me 🙂
I agree. The “Social Media Director” role is a transitional one. Lifespan = how quickly a company can integrate SM into every facet of its business processes. 2-3 years max, and even that’s a stretch. It’s an assignment, not a permanent role or a career. 😉
Olivier, I only wish I had your talent for expressing things! Love the post.
One point you made in the video I’d like to highlight. You mentioned Frank at Comcast who has taken his knowledge of customer service and social media and meshed them together. This is key. EVERY professional needs to understand social media in their own context so they can *interpret* it into their profession and job. This by the way should be part of a social media director’s job – educating.
I must take you to task on one point however. I think you fall into a common trap in your definition of “first type” using “recognized thought leader” as a criteria to be considered “first tier.” I see this generalization of “celebrity” in social media equating to “first tier” as an equally disturbing problem in the social media profession.
I have the privilege of working with many professionals who equal or often out-think those “thought leaders” every day, who have been evolving with the web culture longer, who deeply understand and interpret social media in a broader business context, and who are plodding away profoundly changing the way businesses run, understand and interact. They are behind the scenes, quietly affecting change. They engage with the tools to understand consumer trends and cultural shifts, then interpret them for the business.
I applaud your list of competencies (marketing focused as they are), as they get at the heart of how to identify these “invisible giants.”
In my world view, a Social Media Director needs to be able to broadly address your point about cross-functional impacts – marketing is only one application of social media.
You are always a joy to read and follow.
That’s a post in and of itself right there. Thank you. 🙂
Olivier, useful post as usual!
You ask “What do you think is missing from this checklist?”
The answer is dividers, breaking down the checklist by function – someone recruited to use social media to do customer service will not need the same skills for someone using social media to do HR.
Recruiting a “social media director” is as meaningless and pointless as recruiting a “Paper Director”.
Social media can be used in a number of businesses functions – customer service, human resources, R&D, marketing research, internal communication, sales, PR, and marketing.
Surely recruitment should be to the function first, with successful experience using social media a prerequisite to recruitment. So you recruit a social media marketing director, not a social media director.
Sure, there is a problem of employee/consultant credibility in the business use of social media, but is it not made worse by suggesting one person can do customer service, human resources, R&D, marketing research, internal communication, sales, PR, and marketing?
Well, yes and no. There’s a caveat. 😉 Let me explain:
The Social Media Director “role” isn’t meant to be a permanent one. Agreed. In an organization where Social Media has been properly integrated, the function is pointless. HOWEVER, during the transition (social media integration and operationalization), the role is needed to make sure the process is done properly.
So in essence, the function of a Social Media director is one of change management. In my opinion, it is a temporary assignment (1-3 years maximum). Once the organization has embedded SM into its everyday functions, SM no longer needs a dedicated, centralized manager for the entire organization.
Great observation though. You’re on target. 🙂
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Olivier
Sorry I’m late in responding to this post/video but I just came across it, via a referral from another blogger, which I found through an email that was providing a list of events to attend in Portland, OR. I really enjoyed your post and whole-heartedly support your decision to turn off your DM responses to questions from Type 3s.
I’ll be honest that I didn’t know of Frank Eliason from Comcast before I read your post, so I immediately jumped over to his twitter account to take a look. And that’s where my own mind cleared on social media a little better. I saw his name and his position as Dir. of National Customer Service Operations for Comcast. And the beautiful assumption that he probably is not a first-line member of the marketing department in his company.
As a 30-year veteran of marketing/advertising/communications I am a life-long student of mass communications. My position was eliminated over a year ago with an ecommerce/catalog retailer start-up and since then have become tired with the deluge of social media experts, all from the communications arena, as well as employers that are jumping into social media with no concept of how or why to use it. Between your post and Frank’s twitter account, I am now seeing social media more as a business tool, much like the machine tools of the Industrial Revolution. Social media is not all about marketing for a business. As in Frank’s case, as a Customer Service professional, he uses social media as a tool to provide excellent customer service for his company. I can easily see a product manager at a high tech company, using social media as a research tool (as he gains interaction with customers or future customers) on the next new technology he is going to discover and develop for this company.
So my musings make me wonder if we will see, in the future, businesses with Social Media departments, much like an Operations Department, that set up processes and procedures that actually help all departments facilitate the utilization of social media for their own unique uses. OR since “media” is used in its description, will it always be used and seen as a marketing tool and consigned under the Sales/Marketing umbrella in a business.
What we are really talking about here isn’t media. The term Social media is such a misnomer when it comes what we DO with the ecosystem called Social Media. Socialized digital communications may be more appropriate.
And I see the evolution of SM being an integration piece, just like every other kind of person-to-person communication. Socialized digital comms will be embedded in every department, with PR using it to enhance its functions, HR as well, mktng, legal, IT, bizdev, etc. No matter how great I am at managing communities, I can’t do PR’s job on SM channels. 😉
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Thank you for posting this and I know this is over a year later. I am looking for an entry level marketing position and if I don’t find it I am considering creating a start up to improve communication between part time and full time employees.
Which might not be a good thing to create because if they hired someone who actually acknowledges the part time staff from the get go or took ten minutes out of their day to update a Yahoo group to engage the part time staff and make them feel like they are part of the team instead of a separate entity the platform wouldn’t be needed.
I was not considered for this role with the organization because I didn’t have the online experience they were looking for even though I have been actively involved in their digital space since 2002.
Now I discovered this was a problem and was thinking a platform could solve the problem. But what you stated hiring the right person who thinks about the organization from the inside out is really what is needed. Because the social person is one part public relations, another part community building, another part customer service and problem solving. So the person needs to be aware of all that is going on in the company and the company needs to be aware that there should NOT be a divide between part time and full time staff.
Here’s what I think: Many hiring managers know exactly what they need and know how to find the ideal candidates. But a lot of hiring managers also couldn’t find their way out of a paper bag if you drew them a map. It is very possible that I wouldn’t have gotten the job either. Now take a minute to think about that. I probably don’t have the “digital” experience needed either if you look at my CV the way many recruiters do. I run into cases like yours ALL THE TIME. And at the same time, I see complete jackasses land key digital jobs they are not qualified for at all. It is one of the reasons why I wrote this post.
Here is my advice: Keep trying. For every company that will see the potential in you, there are probably 150 who will simply reject your CV without having even looked at it. If you want to launch a startup, that’s great. Go for it. But don’t expect a tool or a platform to cure the laziness, stupidity or incompetence of a good chunk of clueless recruiting managers. You can’t fix stupid, basically. 😉