#AskARecruiter presented by Medallia with host Jessica Chen

Welcome to #AskARecruiter presented by Medallia! Today's host is Jessica Chen, Director of Talent Acquisition G&A

Jess is part of a talent acquisition group focused on building an exceptional Medallia team where everyone owns the culture we are incredibly proud of - which compliments the amazing technology they build to help our client partners succeed when it comes to customer experience and customer loyalty.

👉🏼 Learn more about Medallia’s commitment to DEIB in their latest blog: “Bringing People Together: How Medallia Built a Community-Driven DEIB Program” www.medallia.com/blog/how-medallia-built-community-driven-deib-program/

Here's the recap from our Q&A event. 

1. Hi! I have been applying to #socialmediamarketing  and #communitymanagement  roles for four months and have been a final candidate a few times but have not received a job offer. I have been doing small freelance projects, but my goal is to have a position that offers benefits and higher pay. Being a  hashtag#jobseeker  in this market is emotionally and mentally exhausting. I am starting to think something needs to change. I realize that I may need to narrow down my search per industry (even if I meet the required qualifications) and edit my resume per job application. Question 1. What are some best practices when tailoring your resume for each job application? Question 2. Any advice on how to stay motivated during what seems to be a prolonged job search?
   
   Thanks for joining us for today's AAR and being open to sharing your experience and interest to get closer to the job you're looking for. From what you shared, it sounds like you've been doing the work - it's just a matter of time and the right opportunity to align. There isn't a simple answer to your question that I could just type here but I'd like to offer up time to connect with you over Zoom if you're open to a chat and I can learn more about your interviewing and preparation experience, and I can hopefully provide some tips as well.
   
   With what I've seen, entry-level, specialized roles can be challenging as companies/marketing teams might be looking for a someone with a broader background who can and would be interested in doing a mix of responsibilities. Bigger companies tend to have specialized roles vs. smaller-to-mid may have more broad marketing roles that cover a mix of social media, community management, and more.
   
   I'm not saying this is your scenario as I'd like to learn more but often the case, I've seen hiring managers lean into folks who have additional breadth of marketing experience.
    
2. As a marketer that possesses entrepreneurial experience with her own Digital Marketing Agency, and corporate experiences through analytical and coordinator roles at a corporate job, I have trouble applying for Marketing roles (specifically mid level).
   
   Q: what is a good way to represent entrepreneur and corporate experience to employers?
   
   Thanks for joining us today! I am happy to set up some time to connect with you on your previous experience and what types of roles you are targeting to further help with this question.
   
   Depending on the company size and what the hiring manager is looking for, candidates that have a blend of entrepreneurial agency and traditional corporate skillsets within Marketing can bring in a new view & perspective to the team that they may not currently have.
   
   When looking for and applying to mid level marketing opportunities, I would suggest highlighting previous product or work samples to showcase your broad skillset. Also be sure to highlight any additional trainings or certifications you have done as well that could be useful! The Pragmatic Institute has been one that my hiring managers like to see.
    
3. I am currently trying transition my career into marketing. I have a lot of volunteer experience in social media as well as video creation and editing. I've been applying for jobs as a content specialist, CMS developer, social media specialist, etc., and I haven't been having any luck.I recently obtained my MBA. I also have been a developer for 20+ years. I have a personal website that shoes some of my work. Do you have any advice on how I can transition my career into this area?
   
   Way to go in expanding your career aspirations. Definitely not a simple question to answer via chat and so I'd like to offer up time to connect with you directly to walk you through some of the possibilities in marketing where you can leverage your 20+ years as a developer and transition over time into where you want to be within a Marketing org. Marketing teams have a tech stack themselves, a corporate website, SEO/Web Optimization priorities, etc. that can probably work to your advantage. My high-level tip for you, if you haven't done so already, is to apply to Corporate Marketing roles instead of client side to start, and then continue making moves from there. Please look out for LI invite and we can connect 1:1 and I can share more given what I've learned in supporting our Marketing team here at Medallia.
   
   
4. If someone is looking to make a career pivot, we know they should focus ion highlighting transferrable skills. How should they handle skills and responsibilities that have measurable impact if they're no longer interested in producing similar results?
   
   For example, if someone has generated XX amount of revenue through social ads but they no longer want to be responsible for running social ads, should they remove?
   
   Fair question and probably common. =) I would recommend still mentioning it but have the bullet/accomplishment lower on the resume in that particular job section. Having familiarity with driving revenue through social ads is helpful if the jobseeker is still staying in Marketing...or is there another "hidden/transferable skill" within how they went about generating revenue that could be helpful for the new job they're looking to move toward? One could reword that accomplishment and focus on a key skill that could be meaningful to highlight.
    
5. I've talked to several peers who are interested in transitioning from one industry to another (not necessarily their role but the type of company). Though I am happily employed in the higher ed and impact space, some of my education colleagues--mostly marcomms--are interested in shifting to private industry, but unsure of how to make that move. What would you advise?
   
   The first piece of advice I would give is to ensure your resume speaks into the results of your marketing communications experience. Were you building relationships/attracting new clients maybe students? How many new clients found you due to the comms you created? Were you leveraging existing clients or marketing events what were the results of that? How many people came to the event who learned about it from your comms? This will allow to hiring teams to see that you can cater to and attract a specific audience.
   
   The second piece of advice I would give is to understand the target audience of the company you are applying to and try to align that audience as best you can to the audience you already have experience leveraging. So if you were working on admissions content in the higher ed space, your target audience would probably be current and recently graduated high school students and their parents or caregivers. I'd advise taking some time and looking for companies that target those same audiences as opposed to companies who may be focused on enterprise business clientele.
   
   The final piece of advice I would give is potentially moving into the talent attraction space. If you've done great marketing comms work in the higher ed space you'll find a lot of parallels in talent attraction, especially if that company is trying to attract those right out of college. So that could be a great way to transition out of Higher Ed but stay in the marketing comms space while leveraging your experience.
   
6.  I've worked in social media and content marketing for the past 7 years through both full-time roles and internships. I'm now looking to step into a branding and storytelling role. During my job search, I've found that what I'm looking to do seems more niche and I've felt challenged finding something that aligns with my interests. Do you have any advice on finding specific marketing roles in my area of interest? Is it too niche or do you recommend broadening what I'm looking for?
   
   Thanks for your question! I'm confident this is question many have on their minds. It's important to always remember that a jobseekers interests and skills have to ultimately align with a business' need. Keep transferable skills top of mind, your portfolio visible, pick up side projects as needed that allow you to "show" what you can do as this is very important for branding, storytelling, content type roles. If you have your portfolio easily accessible, the work will be front and center. For creative type roles, the portfolio is often equally if not more important than the resume
    
7. As a recruiter, does it look bad when an applicant applies to more than one role (at most two) within the company? With my background in communications/pr, digital marketing, and project management, I usually see multiple positions that connect with my interests and skills. Still, even if my talents align with more than one role, I don't want to give the impression that I'm not genuinely interested in the roles I've applied to.
   Great question and common one as well. I would recommend applying 2 at max at one company that you really would be interested and aligned to. It's not often we see applicants that would be a well qualified for multiple (i.e. 3+ roles) unless it is the same job profile. It happens but it's less likely. Your goal is to be the best qualified candidate to get the job. =)