Lessons from the unemployed

As some of you know I am an avid LinkedIn user. I sign in every morning and am actively connecting and talking to people. This past week I was talking with a new connection who had sent me a job posting she thought I would be interested in.

Unfortunately I wasn't qualified but that started a conversation with her where I came up with the idea of writing this blog post. We started talking about what type of job I am qualified for and where I want to work.

And there the thinking began.

I was laid off in September 2009 from an ad agency in California. It has been almost two full years that I have been in the job market. Now, this had me feeling like a big loser not long ago, until I realized, I have only lived in Colorado since September 2010. So, really it has been almost one year.

Now that year has been spent building up my connections and contacts, participating in multiple webinars on; how to use LI to get a job, how to find the "hidden job market", 10 steps to land a job,20 things to never say on a resume, interview techniques that are a must in today's job market, and the list goes on.

During the year of doing all of this, learning, connecting, writing my own blog, actually going out to meet people here in Denver, I have learned a very valuable lesson. After so many interviews of talking about what my strengths and weaknesses are I actually think I know.

Let me take you back two years for a minute. When I first hit the job market I was calling myself a "Marketing Generalist". One thing about being out of work is you are truly forced to look at yourself, your actual skills and strengths. When I first started this journey I thought I was a generalist, good at everything. Then over time I realized that having my toes in everything didn't necessarily mean I had experience in it or was even "good" at it.

The issue became, what does "generalist" actually mean? One webinar I participated in told me to have a specific title I was reaching for. So, I chose Director of Marketing, thinking that with all my years in the agency business, that shouldn't be a problem. Turns out, it was. Yes, I have managed teams to keep them on time and on budget. But, I have never been responsible for hiring and firing of agency staff. I have hired servers at restaurants and done all the training but that does not quite qualify for the professional world.

After taking a look at the position descriptions I changed my title to "Marketing Manager". It fits perfect, give me an opportunity to perform the tasks and learn so I can move to that director position. Oh, and let me add, an MBA is also asked for often with this level.

Let's return to the "now". One tip I learned in this down job market is that you must know what type of company you want to work for, what type of culture you require, and apply only to positions that actually fit those requirements. During my search for companies I want to work for, I have narrowed them down. This is not to say, I won't accept a position from a company that doesn't fit these exact requirements. After-all, I need a job and if I click with a company and a team, why not accept a position.

Here we go...I've narrowed my dream jobs down to a small to mid-size ad agency or a healthcare company with a smaller marketing department. I know now that my very best skill is managing a team, timelines, budgets, etc.

I have said it before, I have a strong personality. Not much scares me away and that is great when you work with a team of creatives. I love creative people and like to think of myself as one. They have a special quality that allows them to sit and design beautiful art and meaningful campaigns. They are also on their own clock. Timelines mean little to them during the creative process. It must be done right and to their standards or not done at all.

The balance for me and what I am really good at, is guiding them to meet the timelines. Talking to them about what the client needs from them. If they are an out of the box thinker and the client has a sand box we are required to play in, I know exactly how to get them to follow the rules. And I can do it because I respect what they do. I couldn't do what they do. Neither can the client. That is why we all have the jobs we have.

And this skill applies to everyone at an agency. I have been responsible for leading meetings to discuss traffic for the week, agency new business, and client creative briefs. keeping a group of people who are all passionate about what they do, on task and on topic is a special skill I have. How do I do it? I just say "Bring it back". Letting the conversation wander is an error and can lead to meetings lasting hours. I've seen it happen.

When it comes to budgets, managing the teams time is always an important aspect. The other important key is to budget high, find a lower cost, give those savings back to the client and have a joyous relationship forever.

Clients love it when you can save them money. And just because you say it will cost $10,000 and only costs $5,000 shouldn't mean you make that as a bonus. You already marked up the cost, the client knows you marked it up, and there is no need to take more. ETHICS people. Nothing turns me off faster than a cheat. I saw this done more than once and refuse to work with people like this.

Budgets are great! I love to know where I stand on a project. I love to know that if a client needs something designed, produced, and delivered in a time period that will require everyone to work overtime, I can budget that in. Client expectations are to always be exceeded...this is business 101. At the same time, it is our responsibility to set those client expectations from the start. We are not a charity, and neither are they. Well, they might be but that's not the point.

Making money, it's what we are all here to do. The clients need to make money to stay in business and we as an agency are no different. The conversations may be uncomfortable but when the rent is due, it is nice to know you have the funds to cover it.

And while I have been talking about agency work here, this all applies to a small corporate marketing team as well. Timelines, budgets and expectations all remain the same.

I mentioned above that I would like to work in healthcare and that comes from my time spent at IDG and KPA. There is something about the challenge of marketing medical device products and hospitals that keeps my mind moving. There are so many moving parts to being compliant with marketing messages that boredom is impossible.

Making a positive impact for the company I work for, the clients I work with, and for my own career is very important to me. This is why managing teams, timelines and budgets are my strongest assets. I am passionate about them and really good at them.

So, all that is left is to find the company that needs me, that I want to work for, and setting up my desk. It sounds so easy doesn't it?

I'd love to hear what your biggest lesson learned has been during your time looking for a position.