A majority of our business is to provide flexible talent resources to brands, agencies, ad tech companies and any digital marketing team that needs help getting the work done. This has been an amazing success, but also a bumpy, yet interesting road.
The hiring patterns and talent pool in the ad tech industry have gone bonkers. The demands and expectations of today’s young talent is unrealistic and unjustified. This makes me wonder – what is going to happen with the next generation of our industry? In a world that would rather lower standards and increase the pay scale even when performance is not up to par. What are we allowing now that will shape the workforce for tomorrow? While I may not do a lot of hiring currently, (I hire when needed and love my hardworking team), I have done a lot of hiring in my career and have even developed trainings and guidelines on how to hire and onboard new employees. In my current role, I am still involved in every hire for my company, as well as working with heads of talent and HR. So I still have a front row seat to what goes on behind closed doors.
A part of my business depends on the current job market. Are there open roles, is there talent to fill those roles, what additional value does SMB bring to the table? These are all questions I am constantly asking and the answers are constantly changing. So I like to keep up with hiring trends/requirements, talent pools, company needs, etc and I try to be in the know of such things.
But it kills me when I am reading report after report about how companies are changing requirements, lowering standards, etc during this time when it’s harder to attract talent in general. There are basic requirements and business etiquette I still need to review with younger hires, like show up on time, don’t chew gum in a meeting, look presentable and other silly reminders that make a big difference when speaking to a client or prospect. Things that influence a first impression and set the stage on how that person views you in the business world and if you take you will be taken seriously. I don’t think we need to lower the requirements, especially when it comes to technical positions. We need to provide better training, onboarding and job education to make sure the candidate is 100% aware of what the job entails and what expectations are. I always like to think of the candidate interviewing me and my company just as much as I am interviewing them. While there will always be another job if you aren’t happy or make a bad decision, there is something to be said for loyalty, perseverance, and determination to be successful no matter what! Those are all traits I strive for when looking to staff my team. Values and lessons that can only be taught by real life experience and being in difficult situations to get stuff done.
It seems from my perspective everyone wants recognition and a paycheck for just showing up. Not fully understanding or wanting to put in the time and effort to learn and build the experience/expertise it takes to truly be successful. There are those who have a natural talent, a great idea, or are just lucky, but that is the exception not the rule. Pushing people to be their best selves is what the objective should be. Ensuring they are learning and set up for long term success should be our obligation as a boss, business owner, manager, etc. Work can still be fun while being hard. In life, everything worth doing is hard!
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