On The Hunt? Jobs That Might Leave You Gobsmacked

April 1st, 2010 | Shonali Burke | 2 Comments

Note: if you don’t read all the way through this post before jumping to put in your application, you may indeed be in danger of being gobsmacked (image: Clint Bohn, Creative Commons).

Job hunters with a yen for clean speak might find this interesting:

Director of Communications, the Ronald Wilson Reagan Hand Sanitizer Project, Washington, DC

Foundation seeks Director of Communications to develop and implement strategic goal of having every hand sanitizer in the United States named after Our Greatest President while promoting healthy habits. Duties include strategic planning across all 50 states and US territories; lobbying on Capitol Hill; op-eds; news releases; event planning; social media; and coordination with industry manufacturers and distributors. With your support, every hand sanitizer in every office, restaurant, medical facility and sports complex will bear the name of The Great Communicator. Resume and Party Affiliation to: RWRSP, The Ronald Reagan Building, 1776 Ronald Reagan Avenue, Washington (Reagantown name change pending), DC 20086.

On the other hand, if you’re going through social media rehab, this might appeal to you:

Communications Specialist, Campaign Against Butt-Dialing, Foggy Bottom, DC

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Of Job Hunting, Cologne… and Twitter

April 13th, 2009 | Shonali Burke | 4 Comments

On April 2, a few friends and I put on the “Dream Team” hats that Ned Lundquist, ABC, bestowed on us some years ago, to help folks “Pimp My Job.”

What on earth is “Pimp My Job,” you ask?

If you subscribe to Ned’s free, weekly “Job of the Week” newsletter, which I sometimes guest-edit, you know what we’re about. But in essence, we’re a group of communicators from near and far who provide advice – sometimes mercilessly – to those brave enough to ask for it. They submit their on-the-job – or job hunting – nightmares to us, and we have at it, maintaining their privacy. Advice is compiled and published in the newsletter. You can read previous PMJs here.

PMJ Meets IABC

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Recruiters: PR Also Means “People Relations”

February 18th, 2009 | Shonali Burke | 11 Comments

Yesterday I received one of the most unusual calls in recent memory. It was from a recruiter with Profiles, who’d presented me for a position here in DC several months ago. Times are bad, hiring is slow; still, the process with this particular position has been dragging on for several months now.

When my path first crossed that of this recruiter, I made it clear to her that I didn’t expect her to “get me” this job; but what I did ask for was for whatever the final decision was to be communicated to me. I’ve encountered some recruiters who don’t do that, and there is nothing more off-putting than not knowing where you stand. As Rachel a.k.a. Jennifer Aniston said, “That, my friend, is what they call ‘closure’.”

Well, this recruiter walks the talk. While I have no idea whether we’re anywhere near the finish line, she has consistently kept in touch with me to try to keep me engaged. She follows up regularly with the hiring organization, and lets me know what their response has been. And when they do make their final decision, I know she will communicate it – whatever it is – to me.

For someone who’s not working for me, as Lindsay Olson explains in this excellent post, I call that pretty good “people relations.” Good people relations is something that not just PR professionals, but everyone, should aspire to – including recruiters.

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