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

New cash rewards from Digital Minds!

DIGITAL MINDS REWARDS FOR CHRISTMAS 2011...

We are always thinking up ways of rewarding our candidates & the people who refer people to us & help us raise our profile via social media. If you have any questions about our reward scheme or would like to find out more about Digital Minds contact simon@digital-minds.co.uk in the meantime get involved with the promotions below. someone will win an iPad2 and our reward scheme pays out ££££ each month!

1.    Refer a Digital candidate to Digital Minds and receive up to £1500* if they are successful in gaining role via us.

2.    If you register with us exclusively & ‘like’ our Facebook page, If we place you in your next role you will receive a cash reward of up to £1500*

3.    Share one of my job tweets with your Twitter network before Dec 16^th & be entered into our iPad2 raffle for Christmas! (one entry per person)

4.    Share one of my job updates with your LinkedIn connections before Dec 16^th & be entered into our iPad2 raffle for Christmas! (one entry per person)

5.    ‘Like’ our Facebook page before Dec 16^th & be entered into our iPad2 raffle for Christmas! (one entry per person)

*Reward scheme pays a minimum of £300 & a maximum of £1500 all dependent on the candidate’s salary.

5 things you can do to attract the best Digital talent!

Tales from the recruitment industry...

5 things you can do to attract the best digital talent!

We all know that digital is a growth market and a candidate driven market so it is becoming more and more important for you to ensure you are doing al you can to attract and secure the best talent. Here are 5 things you may find useful…

1. Promote your business:- sounds simple enough but you would be surprised how many clients think an interview is all about the candidates promoting themselves and telling them why they should be hired forgetting about promoting their company. This is crucial, especially in a candidate driven industry such as Digital & in roles such as PPC, SEO & Digital Planning & Buying. These digital candidates have option, they have multiple offers, fail to promote your business and prepare to lose the best talent to the companies that do! Should always be 50% 50%.

1. Enthusiasm:- it is not just about promoting your business – it is how you promote it. One of my favorite quotes is. “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good they think you are,” On the surface this can sound a shallow quote but what it means is how you say something matters and if you say it with passion and enthusiasm you will make more of an impact. Often clients will be interviewing candidates back to back and will be asking the same questions over and over again so it’s easy to become lethargic. I have had candidates many times make a decision based on the enthusiasm and passion of the person they interviewed with and would be working for.

1. Have a clear structure:- What I mean is ensure that candidates who come for an interview are treated well from beginning to end, that the experience of interviewing with your business is a positive one. Regardless of if they join you they will speak with others about their experience, we all know how tight knit a community digital is. Candidates are often left waiting in reception with no explanation as to why. Often they walk through an open plan office on their way to the interview room and what they see and hear or don’t make a big impact. I have had candidates turn down jobs because when they walked through an office that had a poor atmosphere, it was quiet, people did not look happy etc. Sounds a minor thing but what candidates see and hear is vital. Moving on to the questions, don’t just use the same old questions – mix it up, add in something fun, make yourself different. I have one client who asks candidates what their favorite film, TV show, band, is at the start of the interview in order to break the ice and gain an insight into the candidates’ personality. The first 5 to 10 minutes of the interview is all about building rapport, it will have a significant impact on the tone of the rest of the interview.

1. Feedback:- Clients are often found lacking when it comes to providing quick feedback. This is especially true when clients do not want to move forward with a candidate. Again remember the people you interview will speak with people in the industry and if you don’t provide detailed feedback you will leave a poor impression on them. I have had many candidates turn down interviews because their friends have had poor experiences with them previously. Good or bad always give clear feedback and do it quickly. Candidates really appreciate it and it makes you stand out.

1. Improve your technique:-Ask the recruiter what the candidate thought of you and use the feedback to improve your interview technique. Nobody ever really asks me this but I wish they did, digital is so candidate driven that any edge you can get will improve your chances of securing the best candidates – the candidates who have multiple offers. Interviewing is not a natural situation to be in and if you can be humble enough to accept that you may have flaws in how you interview candidates you will benefit. I have a couple of clients who are very focused on improvement and they have me sometimes sit in on interviews and to give my opinion afterwards. This is something we do free of charge and is really useful. I have interviewed 1000’s of people of 10 years and a recruiter can give you some useful help and support.

So that is 5 things that clients can do to help them attract & secure the best digital candidates. Digital is the fastest growth sector and if you can make improvements you will reap the benefits. More often that not candidates have multiple offers, don’t miss out on the best digital talent because you are not prepared or promoting your business effectively.

At Digital Minds we only work in Digital and we feel we are different to most other recruiters, operating in a different way, a consultative way that benefits candidates and clients. If you are looking for a new digital job in:- SEO jobs, PPC Jobs, SEM jobs, Display jobs, Digital Planning & buying jobs, Social Media Jobs, Mobile Jobs, Affiliate Jobs, BD Jobs, Web Development jobs or any other digital job please get in contact for a confidential conversation.

Simon Halkyard

simon@digital-minds.co.uk

10 awesome questions to ask at interview!

Tales from the Digital Recruitment Industry

10 Awesome questions to ask at interview!

Regular readers of my blogs will know I am always going on about preparation for interviews and making sure you maximize your opportunity to impress. Here are 10 useful interview questions to ask…

1. Has the company received any major awards or recognition recently?

2. What are the current and long-term goals for the company?

3. What would be expected of me in the first 90 days and my first year?

4. How does this specific position fit into the company’s current and long-term plans?

5. What is the most important responsibility for this position?

6. Was my manager promoted from within the company or was he/she an external hire?

7. What are some characteristics of people that perform well under this manager?

8. Is this a new position?  If not, where did the previous employee in this role go?

9. Have any of the executives at the company worked their way up into their current role from entry level or mid-career positions?

10. Are there any other questions that I can answer for you? Anything from the interview you felt I did not cover in enough detail?

I could put 100 questions on this list but all of the above are useful, sensible questions that will broaden your understanding of the role and provide insight into your suitability for the position.

All I do is recruit in the digital industry and I am always available to digital candidates who want to chat. PPC jobs, SEO jobs, SEM jobs, Display jobs, Digital Planning & Buying jobs, Mobile jobs, Web Development jobs, Social Media Jobs, Affiliate Jobs, Business Development jobs and most other jobs within Digital. However most of the people I speak with are not even looking for a new job they just want more information on the digital recruitment market or how their job balances out against similar digital jobs in other companies. We are different to most recruiters, we don’t earn commission we are not targeted sales people. We simply like to speak with people in the digital industry and hope that by building long term relationships when you are looking for a new role you will remember the help and support we have provided previously. For more information on Digital Minds give me a shout anytime. Simon Halkyard (simon@digital-minds.co.uk)