The Ugly Truth Of How To Get A Pay Rise in Digital

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Ugly Truth Of How To Get A Pay Rise In Digital...

You would think that the best way to increase your salary would be to do a good job, be loyal to your employer & be valued by the accounts you manage or work on. In theory that should be the best way to get a pay rise & in some cases that is how it works, but most of the time it does not work that way…

I know two candidates in digital who both work for a well known digital media agency. Both candidates work in the same team, are good at what they do and they both have 2 years Digital experience. Up until last week they had the exact same salary, however one of them was actively looking for a new job and secured 2 offers from competitors. So this candidate hands in their notice. Within a couple of hours the business had booked a table at a restaurant for the candidate to meet the MD of the business (someone he had never even spoken with before) they went on to deliver a comprehensive charm offensive, coupled with offering the incentives of a promotion and a huge £10,000 pay rise! So the candidate decided to stay and accepted the promotion and pay rise. I would probably have done the same thing myself.  At the end of the month these changes take effect and the candidate is very happy.

So what about the other candidate? Well they are not looking for a new job, they have not handed in their notice so they don’t get fast tracked to Account Mgr level and stay as an Exec, obviously they don’t get a £10,000 pay rise either.

This is the reality of the reactive world of Digital when it comes to companies paying their staff. If you stay loyal to a company, you will absolutely be on less money than the people who have made moves or at least threatened to do so. I’m not saying there is an easy solution for employers either, it’s difficult for them, they know the cost of replacing a good candidate is huge & gifting pay rises and promotions to make employees stay is good short term business. Quite frankly as a recruiter these tactics provide me with a wealth of good candidates as well, but is giving promotions and big pay rises once someone has a foot out of the door right? What about he person who possesses the same skill set and experience who did not hand in their notice? Why don’t they get the same up lift in benefits? Well they will but only when they decide to leave…

If you would like to find out more about Digital Minds give me a shout anytime. We specialise in PPC Jobs, SEO jobs, Digital Planning & Buying jobs, Social Media jobs, Affiliate jobs, Mobile jobs & senior level Digital multi channel roles. We also have fantastic referral and reward schemes. Referral a successful candidate and we will gift you up to £2000 & a Kindle Fire for Christmas. Work with us exclusively for a period of time and if we place you in your next job we will reward you with up to £1500 and a kindle Fire as a thank you! Nobody else does this, certainly not to this level so makes sense to speak with us first.

Simon halkyard (simon@digital-minds.co.uk)

Want to get the dream job in Digital? You need an interview coach!

Having an interview coach sounds very American, not really something we would entertain in the UK. However in my opinion as a Digital recruiter it’s fast becoming one of the smartest moves you can make when looking for a new Digital job. Interviews are not natural situations; if you’re in the first few years of your career you also probably have little experience of them. More and more we are seeing candidates who are strong interviewers winning jobs over candidates that are more technically gifted, people who get nervous or struggle to articulate are losing out, but it does not need to be that way!
Good recruiters can add significant value by coaching you through the interview process. At Digital Minds we often role-play interview situations with candidates that are looking for an edge over other candidates. At first for some it’s a bit embarrassing to do this, but that soon disappears and the value is undeniable. A lot of people who think they are good at interviewing are actually not! So If not via a recruiter who offers coaching then at least run through interview situations with a partner or friend and get them to give you honest and constructive feedback. You will be surprised what you might find out. It’s much better to find out your faults in a practice situation than during an actual interview.
If like me you are in your thirties with kids you may not go out anymore on a Saturday night! If so you may have seen Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night on the BBC. They have a new judge, prima ballerina Darcey Bussell. She has an annoying habit of saying ‘Yah’ at the end of EVERY sentence, god it annoys me! I’m sure someone on the show will mention it to her. I know that sounds insignificant, but you would be surprised what little habits we all have in interview situations that can be annoying or simply just don’t show you in the right light. I often get candidates who when discussing achievements talk about ‘we’ as in the team they work in, rather than ‘I’ as in what they have achieved individually. Again a minor point, however I have seen people lose out on a second interview because of something that simple. So the up shot is this. A good recruiter will coach you, if not then get a friend or family member to do it. Give it a go, don’t worry about looking stupid, you will learn from it, improve your interview technique and ultimately perform better in interviews. Don’t lose out on the dream job because you are not prepared!
If you would like to know more about me and Digital Minds please contact me anytime simon@digital-minds.co.uk I’m always happy to help regardless of if you are looking for a new job. We only work in Digital and specialise in: PPC Jobs, SEO Jobs, Digital Planning & Buying Jobs (Brand & DR), Social Media Jobs, Mobile Jobs, New Business Jobs, Affiliate Jobs & most other Digital disciplines. We also have fantastic reward schemes (see link below) if you work with us exclusively or referral a friend we have rewards for you paying £500 to £2000!
http://digitalmindsrecruitment.wordpress.com/digital-minds-reward-referral/
You can also follow me on LinkedIN and on Twitter @Recruiter_simon

#SHICKLEGATE A DIGITAL RECRUITERS VIEW

The resignation letter of Kieran Allen spread across Media Land like a forest fire yesterday. I was shocked by how quickly it started trending on Twitter & by the sheer appetite people had for it.

It really was a classic example of the power of Social Media. Here we have a man who had spent a dozen years building a successful career in media having his career crippled & permanently tarnished within the space of a few hours. The scary part is that nobody knew if the allegations made were true or not, it’s even more scary that it is now irrelevant if they are true or not as the damage has been done. It was trial by social media with a swift verdict. Working as a Digital Recruiter I found myself feeling sorry for both Kieran & Greg, their careers will always be defined by THAT resignation letter.

Digital media is a booming industry, people often work long hours & working to tight deadlines, it also has some big personalities. In this environment I expect many people in the industry have let off steam by engaging in office ‘banter’ that if written down in black and white would make them wince. As a recruiter I have had many senior people in the industry tell me jokes, stories, gossip that were delivered without any malice but are not for repeating. I expect many people last night have reviewed some of the things they have said previously that today would be horrified if they were circulated around the media industry. So are we now going to have completely sanitised office environments and updated directives, I doubt it. I’m absolutely not supporting any of the accusations that were made in the email, but equally many who have commented on #Shicklegate have probably also made some comments before that could be viewed as equally incendiary.

One of the key reasons people call me looking for a new digital job is because they do not like their manager or director. Another key reason is many people in the media industry are working crazy hours, don’t feel supported & just cannot sustain the workload they have been given. It amazes me how many digital agencies don’t invest enough in supporting their current staff and work harder on keeping people happy. If your people are working regularly until late & don’t feel appreciated when they do and also don’t get help when they ask for it, I can guarantee you they will be calling someone like me. Then that agency has to replace them with someone who may not be as good, who costs more to hire, train, develop and bed into the job and who carry a recruitment fee for a cherry on top!

 If someone has decided they want to leave I would certainly recommend a digital agency perform an exit interview that is not completed by the line manager or director but by an HR professional who is not emotionally involved. Someone who can explore the reasons why someone is moving so they can improve their processes, certainly when this is done consistently patterns appear that allow improvements to be made. Obviously there are also two sides to every story & when someone is moving their motivations for doing so should not be accepted as the whole truth, many will be honest, but some will have an axe to grind. But I would think by having an exit interview a lot of bad feelings could be defused to some extent & the companies could move forward with useful information about how to keep their staff in future.

Ultimately social media has shown that unsubstantiated accusations are just as powerful as substantiated ones & that within a matter of hours careers can be brought to their knees with the press of an ‘enter button’ on a keyboard. The fallout of this will be interesting to witness, especially how people change in terms of what they say and what people feel is appropriate to say in jest for example. No matter what happens I personally think it is worrying & unacceptable that a career that took many years to achieve can be harmed in such a way by unsubstantiated allegations. I also feel for Kieran because regardless of if his accusations are correct or not, he must have felt extremely stressed and under immense pressure.

If you are interested in finding out more about Digital Minds please feel free to contact me anytime, simon@digital-minds.co.uk you may well not be looking for a new role but just have questions about the industry, i.e. are you paid in line with counter parts in other agencies or client side roles. I’m always happy to help. If you are looking for a new role we specialise in PPC jobs, SEO jobs, Digital Planning & buying jobs, Social Media Jobs, Affiliate jobs, Business Development jobs, Mobile Jobs & many other digital roles. We also have a couple of outstanding reward schemes that can be reviewed via this link.

http://digitalmindsrecruitment.wordpress.com/digital-minds-reward-referral/

Simon Halkyard

New year new Digital jobs 2012!

Today is my first day back in the office. Already the avalanche of new Digital Jobs has landed. Digital stops for nothing not even christmas and at the moment the jobs are coming thick and fast. PPC / SEO / Digital Planning & Buying & Social Media jobs lead the way, but if you work in any area of digital and want a new job then 2012 should provide numerous opportunities.
At Digital Minds we work differently (check out our website) www.digital-minds.co.uk and it is not all about putting people in jobs. We welcome speaking with anyone who wants help and advice. We can give you useful information on you salary and if it fits with what others in similar jobs are being paid. We can help prepare you for a salary review - no pressure to move jobs just good advice that will help you and then  down the line if you are looking for a new Digital role hopefully you will remember us!
Here are a few examples of the roles we currently have on offer:-

PPC £25 to £55k
SEO £25k to £45k
Social Media £20k to £40k

We also have a great reward scheme / referral scheme (see website for info) which pays £500 to £2000 for successful recommendations in 2012. If you know someone looking it pays to give me a shout!

So 2012 looks like being a busy one in Digital Recruitment. Remember pick the recruiters you work with wisely, most work on commission, a lot will send your CV's to companies without your permission. Plenty of good ones out there that will add great value to your search if you take the time to find them.

Simon Halkyard
Director
Digital Minds