The Value of the MBA

I have long since had doubts about the true value of an MBA degree, especially in the realm of digital media.   Granted, MBA study is an appropriate training ground for good habits in finance and marketing, but when it comes to entrepreneurship, I tend to regard "book" learning as less valuable than practical experience.  All that said, I have a few MBA interns working on several of my current projects and their creativity, hard work and brilliance is unparalleled and invaluable, so I respect the programs highly... but I also think that the MBA students I tend to hire are the exception and not the rule.

An article in the Sunday NY Times caught my eye because it draws attention to the preponderance of the MBA degree given the current financial crisis and the less than stellar performance of financial leaders:

The master’s of business administration, a gateway credential throughout corporate America, is especially coveted on Wall Street; in recent years, top business schools have routinely sent more than 40 percent of their graduates into the world of finance.

But with the economy in disarray and so many financial firms in free fall, analysts, and even educators themselves, are wondering if the way business students are taught may have contributed to the most serious economic crisis in decades.

The article also shares some interesting figures from GMAC that demonstrate that the MBA degree is used by students as a credentialing effort to gain entrance to financial companies: the majority of students entering business school come from varied backgrounds, but the majority then switch to finance and consulting once they graduate.

It should be interesting to see how the current graduates of MBA programs enter the job market this year and next.  In the end, I agree wholeheartedly with the Times piece and think that it may be time for a bit more scrutiiny of the training of those who are put in charge of our financial markets.  Indeed, it is time for the MBA to gain a conscience and sense of social obligation.

CrunchBoard

A good techie pal just turned me on to this job board and newsletter...

I felt so out of the loop that I hadnt heard of the site till I read that it was just launched on August 3rd...

A good percentage of emails coming to me every day are from people asking me which companies are hiring, or from companies asking me if I know someone who would be a good fit for a job.

I keep a separate email folder with these emails and introduce people as often as possible. But this isn’t a scalable system, and I wanted to do more to match companies with people. So we built a job board and launched it today at CrunchBoard.com. Now these people can connect directly.

Our goal with CrunchBoard is to build the ultimate web insider’s network. A thirty day ad costs $200. I’ll consider CrunchBoard a success if we manage to put the right people together and make the entire ecosystem a little more efficient. RSS feeds are available for all listings as well as for each category.

Always great to have more competition on the job board block, especially job boards that focus on Digital Media talent.

Congrats to the Crunch crew, I look forward to working with the product.

(p.s. - For anyone who noticed, I did have some url and server issues, so the blog was a bit out of order for a few days... alas, all is now very well).

Myths About Networking

Myth #1: It's all about you.

The most successful professionals view networking as a two-way street. A networking alliance should benefit each party, experts say. In fact, many say it's better to err on the side of giving more than receiving. "You can't build your network and always expect to get something," says Marlon Cousin, managing partner of the Marquin Group, an Atlanta-based executive search firm. "To get something, you give something." Morrison concurs: "The best approach from a networking perspective is to ask, 'What can I do to help you?'" he says.

Morrison notes that everyone has something to give, whether it's time, talent, or performance. But perhaps the most valuable networking currency is information. Morrison didn't always focus on networking for a job or promotion; often it was for information that could be helpful.

Myth #2: It's about a party. Most are familiar with networking "mixers" or, as some recruiters call them, "card parties."

In the midst of drinking and socializing, strategic networking oftentimes gets lost. Though some experts recommend avoiding mixers, others note that networking can be done anywhere. At these events, it's important to make a connection instead of just socializing. Indeed, some parties are fertile ground for networking. Attending internal corporate functions can help you raise your corporate profile and bring you into contact with people you might not otherwise have ready access to. Morrison says he would attend retirement parties at Prudential for that reason. "Especially if they were [for] a senior individual, because I was likely to meet someone I was looking to meet or talk to or follow up with," he says.

The key to social networking is knowing your goal, figuring out who you need to know to facilitate that goal, and deciding where you're most likely to find that person, experts say. In some cases, you can do some homework in advance. If you're attending a conference or panel discussion and want to approach a particular panelist, research the person. They may have been quoted in an article, compiled a paper, or may presently sit on several boards. Having that information beforehand will make you more confident and conversational in your approach.

Myth #3: It's is a quick hit.

The most you can hope for at an initial meeting is to make a contact that, with care and time, could blossom into a fruitful relationship. The key is to view networking as a long-term career strategy and to be diligent about following up with contacts. Always send a note no later than a week after the first exchange.

Cousin recommends jotting down some information from your conversation on the back of a contact's business card to make following up easier and more relative to your initial meeting. Following up should be continuous, he says. The benefit in your meeting may not happen that week, but it may happen six months or a year later. When Angela Morris, a former human resources professional in banking, was looking to enter diversity recruiting, she contacted a former colleague who was working for her company's rival, Bank of America, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The colleague passed Morris' resume to the hiring manager and, though he had nothing immediately, it was the beginning of a relationship that resulted in Morris being hired as the bank's diversity recruiter. It didn't happen right away, but Morris kept in touch through periodic phone calls and e-mails asking how things were going. She was offered a job three months later.

Morrison realized early on that it would take time to build and nurture his relationships, so he has always been methodical in his approach. When he first joined Prudential, he made a list of the few African American executives at the firm, introduced himself, and asked for mentors. "Once they said yes, I had free rein to try to engage them," he says. Morrison cultivated his relationship with each executive through breakfasts and lunches, e-mails, and phone calls all while continuing to widen his circle at corporate meetings and other events.

He would prepare questions to ask the executives about the challenges of working at the company and how they had become successful. "I wanted them to give me specific advice around something," he says. "They were all very open." Morrison later expanded his initial list by asking those executives to recommend other influential employees and officers at the company. He would solicit specific information about backgrounds, perception, likes, and dislikes useful information that would help him begin the process again. "By the third time they'd seen me, they'd remember who I was."

When Morrison arrived at Cox, a major media and automotive services company, in 2002, he used the same strategies that worked for him at Prudential. He made a list of "key influencers" he might not see regularly in his day-to-day activities, which included senior executives and those on whom an executive might rely. "Depending on the individual, I have them on a monthly lunch schedule or a quarterly lunch schedule," he says. Morrison also maintains contacts outside the firm. Compiling a list of CIOs at other Atlanta companies, he has created an informal group that meets several times a year for lunch to exchange experiences.

Myth #4: Only people within your professional or social group can help you.

If you subscribe to this belief, you may already have missed opportunities coming from unexpected places. Those looking for a job or promotion often focus only on hiring managers and executives above their level. But experts say employees should network sideways and down, as well as up. "You just never know where information is going to come from," notes Larry Hollins of the Hollins Group, an employment recruitment company with offices in Chicago, Atlanta, and New York. In addition, you never know where a former colleague may eventually end up in his or her career.

Lance Coachman, CEO of EXI Inc., an Atlanta-based executive recruitment firm, says many people make the mistake of discounting those whom they consider below their professional level. "Don't ever blow off the secretaries," he advises. "They are the greatest source of information of any company." They also handle the bulk of inter- and intraoffice communications. "Some know the whole historical hierarchy of upper management." When Coachman started his firm, his best sources of information were a secretary and a shoeshine man in a corporate building in Atlanta, with whom he would chat while he was having his shoes shined. In their conversations, Coachman learned when companies were acquiring new divisions and closing others. "They assumed he didn't understand what they were talking about," Coachman says of the executives, "and I didn't assume he didn't."

Randy Latimer, a marketing director with UPS in Atlanta, networks down as well as up. In addition to lunches with colleagues, Latimer, 40, typically has three or four lunch engagements a week with people outside the company. He sees networking as a constant exchange and finds that networking with junior employees provides him with information he might not otherwise have. "[They] are the ones that are actually doing the work on projects I'm close to," Latimer says. "They can give me added insight about what is going on and at the same time I can give them value in terms of how they should proceed with their career."

For Dr. Heather Neblett Alexander, a pediatrician in Columbia, Maryland, the road to her new position began with friends from church who owned a business in a building where a new pediatric practice had opened. There wasn't an opening, but months later she was given the opportunity to meet with another practice, thanks to their referral. Soon after her second meeting during which she was told the practice wouldn't be hiring for months she received an offer. Her advice: "Let people know that you're looking so they can be your eyes and ears. You never know what contacts people have."

FEATURE
Career Strategies
How Networking Really Works
Debunking the myths that prevent professionals from moving ahead
By Laura Egodigwe 

*Posted by "Lamar Faulk"  on the Young Black Professionals YahooGroup, shared by Jim Neusom.

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet life - check back often

Wire Less

On the heels of yesterday's pat-on-the-back to Virgin Mobile's marketing team, I want to comment on an interesting trend I have been seeing when hiring and recruiting for wireless and mobile digital media talent.

Apparently, it takes only about 1 year of professional experience with a wireless or mobile media company in order for a candidate to be considered "qualified" as having wireless experience. 

The wireless content industry is fairly young and fairly small, especially in the US domestic market.  The majority of candidates I see who have strong mobile content experience - regardless of strategy, business development or product development - are from oversees (Australia, Europe, and East Asia).

That means that if you can land that elusive 'first shot' at working for a wireless company, perhaps working with one of the many wireless content aggregators, then you should take it.  Within 1 year, you will have enough experience in an industry where few others have had much exposure.

That is not to say you will be an expert or that you will land a senior-level position.  My advice is really for junior talent, pre-managers, and those recent grads who feel that burning inner passion to create and manipulate digital media assets.

Personally, when I headhunt for my Director, VP and above levels, I tend to ignore anyone who hasn't been in digital media since 1999 or, at the very least, 2001.  For wireless roles, I hunt for those who hopped aboard the gravy-train at least in 2004 or earlier.

Digital media is not new.  Consumers are just now deciding on the ways they prefer to integrate digital media into their lives.

Wireless may still be considered new, so the gate has not yet closed... but it wont be open for too much longer because wireless is not really new.

If you are working in digital media and wireless extensions of your content offerings have not yet entered any part of your company's strategic product plan or roadmap, then it may be time for you to cut the strings and try something new.

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet life - check back often.

Rich Media Indeed

Someone shared this article with me a few days ago and I meant to post it earlier.  I cant seem to find the original publication, but I believe it is from BusinessWeek.

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Dearth Of The Salesmen

Mammas, let your babies grow up to get Web ad gigs. With the online ad business up 30%, to $12.5 billion last year, a labor crunch is raising salaries and recruitment efforts. Clark Kokich, president of Avenue A/Razorfish (AQNT ) in Seattle, the No. 1 Web ad shop, says pay for some jobs -- such as creating ads or measuring their impact -- has risen as much as 20% from 2005.

And openings abound: Boston's Digitas (DTAS ), an online ad shop with a staff of 1,500, advertised to fill nearly 100 positions in April alone. T3, an Austin (Tex.) interactive-ad agency also is struggling to fill openings. "I've kind of gulped at a few salaries, but I'm willing to pay," says President Gay Gaddis, who adds that not long ago a freelancer turned down a creative director job at T3 paying $150,000 to $200,000 a year.

One reason for the shortage is that making Web ads can require high-level tech knowhow. Rich-media ads involving flash animation or video, for instance, call for math, programming, and design skills. Gaddis says she stopped by a cubicle recently where two employees were using calculus to program video game ads. "It's hard to do both -- left-brain and right-brain," she notes.

Buying online ads and crunching impact-measurement data (a skill in high demand) require sophisticated quantitative approaches as well, one reason Web advertisers and site publishers also are vying for candidates. "There are dollar signs in the sky," says Randy Wagner, marketing chief for Cendant Travel Distribution Services, which owns Orbitz.com, a big Web advertiser.

Piper Jaffray (PJC ) media analyst Safa Rashtchy says labor issues are the top barrier to the online ad industry's further growth.

Beyond paying higher salaries, agencies are responding by moving some jobs to where the talent is, by dropping some smaller clients, and by amping up training. "If you can find the people," says Kokich of Avenue A/Razorfish, "you can find the revenue."

By Timothy J. Mullaney
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So, this article makes me want to do a bit of horn-tooting.

Toot toot.

Indeed, finding the right people to do the job has always been the key to digital media. 

As the market tightens even more, I hope fellow recruiters and headhunters in industry will step-up performance and truly focus on the needs of the hiring group, rather than simply throwing canidates at the wall to see which stick.

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet life - check back often.

Under Cover

I have an amazing senior level marketing position that I am currently recruiting for in the teen-brand space.

The job description for the role is perhaps one of the most *passionate* that I have seen from a hiring manager... the team really took the time to detail what type of person, personality and creative vision they seek in candidates.

So far only about 10% of the candidates who have applied have written pointed cover letters that speak to the job description.  In fact, about 10% didnt even write one - these people were automatically deleted, regardless of resume credentials.

Normally, I am not a stickler for cover letters - I advocate making one good version and making extensive use of the copy&paste function. 

However, I do believe that once you see a role that really "speaks" to you then you should absolutely use the cover letter as a platform to document your interest in that specific role.  An applicant should use the cover letter to demonstrate that they have researched the company and have a sense of its strategic direction.

While it is important to point out the position's relevance to experience in your career history, don't use the entire letter to blow your own horn or to make assumptions about what you see as a "the perfect fit" for the team.

A good cover letter is original and thoughtful. 

Try your best to treat each job application uniquely, just as a company considers each job unique.

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet life - check back often.

In Resume Veritas

Not sure if most people caught this article about RadioShack's CEO:

David J. Edmondson worked nearly 11 years with RadioShack Corp. before he became president and CEO. But after less than a year at the helm, he has stepped down following questions about his resume's accuracy....

Edmondson had claimed that he received degrees in theology and psychology from Pacific Coast Baptist College in California, which moved in 1998 to Oklahoma and renamed itself Heartland Baptist Bible College.

The school's registrar told the Star-Telegram that records showed Edmondson completed only two semesters and that the school never offered degrees in psychology. The school official declined to comment to The Associated Press.

Edmondson said last week he believes that he received a theology diploma called a ThG, but not the four-year bachelor of science degree listed on his resume. He could not document the ThG diploma.

er.... ThG? 

This example of resume-embellishment underscores a larger issue in the employment market: most people think it is acceptable to stretch and bend the truth on a resume... it is not. 

And, if Sarbanes-Oxley has anything to do with it, you may well hang yourself and your career.

Lesson#1: Never lie on your resume.
Lesson#2: Never (ever) lie about your education, which is easily verifiable.
Lesson#3: Never lie (ever, publicly) when you are the CEO.

Photo is St. Thomas Aquinas

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet life - check back often.

Overqualified - Pt. 2

I've been having conversations recently with two of my hiring managers who both have  "hard to fill" positions in online-consumer-products-marketing.

There has been a lot of great talent knocking at our door, but still no solid matches. 

Since the online marketing space is still in a nascent phase, the positions are naturally in a state of flux and evolution to synch with the changing digital media market. I don't expect to see resumes that are a perfect fit.

In fact, the hiring team and myself spend a great deal of time discussing all the pieces of the puzzle that are necessary to make the right hire, looking at strong elements within each candidate's career and deciding how crucial it is to the overall role. Truly a case of survival of the (best) fit.

Since the job descriptions are somewhat broad, the roles have been enticing to quite a few senior executives.   Therefore, as much as I hate to admit it, a few of the candidates I've seen have been overqualified. 

In this case I will focus on the hiring team's perspective rather than applicant motive, so now overqualified really means one of two major things:
1 - you've earned far more money in the past for bigger jobs and we doubt you will be a long-term hire given the current compensation of this position, OR
2 - you've had far more responsibility in the past and we doubt that you can really step back from macro-level thinking to do hands-on micro-level work.

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet life - check back often.

 

Playing the Field

I've made prior comments about my thoughts on job jumping in digital media - I dont really hold it against candidates as long as they do it with aplomb and grace... and smarts.

A recent article on a Salary.com survey claims that 65% of the US work force is currently "looking around" for new opportunities:

The survey of 14,000 workers and almost 400 human resources managers also revealed that bosses haven't caught up with the changing mind-set of employees who are enjoying more options.

"The economy getting better has opened a door of opportunity to consideration," Bill Coleman, Salary.com's vice president for compensation, told Reuters.

"I'm not saying that everybody is going to jump ship, but they are thinking," Coleman said. "It doesn't prove intent but it does demonstrate a disposition to look."

Employers still think workers will quit only if disgusted by poor management, and don't grasp the extent to which employees are contemplating the increased salary, opportunities for advancement, recognition and excitement that might await them in a new job.

So, it IS about the money, honey?  Sure... it is always about the money.  That is why we work, no? 

If it isn't about the money, then I expect that you are a social worker, teacher, or some other form of modern day saint.

What I find more interesting about this article are the quoted percentage increases in salary that will make one forgive an evil boss or a work-life with no benefits:

A 10 percent raise would compensate for dissatisfaction with working conditions, corporate mission, discrimination, lack of advancement and impact on health, the survey said. A 12 percent raise would make up for inadequate benefits.

This is a great market for shopping around, but the surge of opportunities in digital media should make job seekers a little more cautious about taking the new, next step.   

You want to avoid stepping into a bad situation or environment as companies (yes, even the big ones) figure out the marketplace and reorganize their leaders to adapt to the changing digital media landscape.

Longevity and stability should return to the job-seeker's vocabulary, and if senior enough, thoughts of "contracts" and "employment agreements" should enter all new job opportunity discussions.

This is a brilliant time for digital media workers.  If you play the field correctly, you will win the game.

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet work-life - check back often.

The Polyglot in You

Traveling often brings many things into perspective.   
Perhaps because of all the high altitude. 
Perhaps because it is intrinsically circular, bringing us back to our point of origin.

For me, my recent trip to Brazil opened my eyes to my own lack of language skills. 

As a monolingual living the American dream, I've never really considered my one-tongue to be a detriment to my career growth.

In the past, I've struggled with working with Japanese companies, but always with a bilingual Japanese partner at my side.  So, my lingual equation is to rely on external sources for my business language needs. 

No more.  The one-tongued beast is a dinosaur in the workplace:

Scores of Western companies have been cutting costs by shifting software development, engineering design and routine office functions to countries such as India, where English-speaking workers are plentiful and wages are low.

But, jobs are jobs, right? 
A banker and a plumber in Paris. A banker and a plumber in Little Rock. 
A software developer in San Francisco.  A cheaper software developer in Bangalore.
An English speaking call center rep in Fargo.  A cheaper bilingual rep in New Delhi.
An English speaking digital media consultant in Madrid.  A bilingual digital media consultant in Madrid.

Ok... Berlitz, anyone?

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Career Check provides sound advice for a smoother career in digital media and Internet life - check back often.