And return it has! Four months ago, counter offers were most likely to occur between legal communications teams but with more private sector agencies winning business, the phenomenon has now spread across the board to include corporate PR, particularly in the financial services sector.

We’re not just talking counter offers between a current employer (understandably wanting to retain talented staff they’ve trained and invested in) and another potential employer, but bidding wars between three or four employers all keen to secure the best hire.

Without doubt, the main driving force behind this round of counter offers is money. Talented individuals, frustrated by the recession-enforced career inertia of the past two years are now chancing their arm at interview(s) primarily to boost their salary.

Arguably, some of the candidates we’ve seen who have ‘won big’ at counter offer are those who were genuinely underpaid. One agency candidate even doubled their salary whilst eventually staying with the original employer. Doubling salaries may be exceptional, but it’s been our candidates’ recent experience that significant pay hikes are a factor again.

However, as flattering as a counter offer is employers and candidates should proceed with caution.

National surveys of employees consistently show that of those who accept counter offers, 50 to 80% voluntarily leave their employer within six months of accepting the deal largely because of un-kept promises and the reasons other than salary why they were looking to leave haven’t gone away.

To ensure you don’t become one of those statistics, it’s worth asking yourself the following questions: “Will your loyalty be in question by remaining in the job, especially if future redundancies are likely?” “Is the counter offer just a stalling tactic to avoid short-term inconvenience or a genuine desire to progress you career?” “Will this preclude next year’s bonus?” and “Do the proposed improvements eliminate the reason you went for a new job in the first place?”

But perhaps the most important factor when considering counter offers is the longer term professional consequences. PR careers and professional reputations aren’t made in a moment, whilst a counter offer may be. Just remember that making the wrong choice could leave a potential employer with a lasting negative impression of you long after the bidding war boxing gloves have been removed.

Out of those 62%, exactly half are from candidates with an agency background, i.e. those agencies with public sector clients.  Given that this time last year we received not a single CV from a public sector agency candidate, it’s clear to see where the budget cuts are beginning to bite.

The question is: where does this leave the PR / in-house communicator with a predominantly public sector background? Unemployed? Perhaps for the short term. But unemployable? We hope not. Here’s our advice.

If you’ve come from an agency with public and private sector clients and have first hand experience of servicing both, then private sector employees will be more receptive as long as you can demonstrate a proven track record of private sector successes and relevant media contacts. Bridging the two sectors will also show your adaptability and a transferable skill set, perhaps even putting you at an advantage over those with ‘pure’ private sector experience.

For those with no recent private sector PR or Comms experience, the battle to win HR hearts is undoubtedly tougher – but by no means impossible.

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is the perception, real or imagined, that the public sector is process rather than results or profit-driven; that perhaps the pace is slower. There is a tendency, particularly during and post recession, for employers to pigeon-hole candidates into the sector they have come from. Employers are more reluctant to accept that skills and knowledge acquired in one environment are transferable and have relevance in another sector.

Being able to demonstrate that you are an ambitious self-starter, have transferable skills, and are able to apply the knowledge you’ve acquired to benefit a private sector employer is therefore imperative. Achievements that are measurable are what private sector employers will be looking for.  Have you met and exceeded targets or KPI’s, for example? Having cultivated strong relationships with key media contacts is equally desirable in the private sector wish list.  But most of all, particularly if going for a fast-paced, results-driven agency position, candidates must be able to show that they understand the differences between the public and private sector, what drives the market (and current market conditions) and be able to respond as immediately and as well as those with a proven private sector track record.

Changing sectors is always a challenge. In this climate of increased competition and job insecurity, where the private sector is still in recovery post-recession, being willing to consider a drop in seniority, salary or perks until you have more experience may help you appear ‘more attractive’ to a prospective employer.

Of course, there’s also another factor to consider. With top talent in short supply, employers will ALWAYS choose the ‘best hire’.  Which means there are win-win opportunities for both sides; outstanding public sector candidates and open minded, flexible private sector employers.

1. Prepare for the meeting. We’re not just talking about doing your homework about the role and company you’re being interviewed for, but anticipating tricky interview questions such as ‘what is your weak spot?”. By rehearsing your game plan pre-interview (why not practice in front of friends?), your interview performance will be much enhanced and you’re less likely to be floored by killer questions designed to trip you up.
2. Think of yourself as a brand – how are you going to position yourself? With so much competition for each post, how you define and project yourself, skills, dress and personality,  is all important. Interviewers are more likely to remember the ‘troubleshooter with a demonstrable track record in communications success’ or the ‘team player who has increased profitability by X% over a two year period’ than the person who is unsure of what their successes actually are.
3. Talk about your input and your results, rather than hiding behind the smokescreen of ‘we’.
4. Be specific and have details/examples to hand. What are you proud of? What have you achieved? How have you contributed? Interviewers love facts, figures and statistics so they can be confident they’ve hired someone who’ll positively influence the wider company’s profitablity and bottom line.
5. Remember that there is a balance between modesty and being overly confident. You’re being interviewed for cultural fit, being part of a wider team and organisation, not world domination.
6. Be genuine. If you don’t know the answer to something, say so, perhaps turning a negative into a positive by saying “I  don’t have the experience to answer that question but what I do know is….”. Honesty is always the best policy no matter how great your acting ability.
7. Be aware that social media is desired – even if you don’t do it, make sure you understand it.
8. Be mindful. An hour is usually allocated for a meeting. Refrain from telling them your life story.  Instead, be succinct, to the point and use that hour to your best advantage.  If you don’t, someone else will…
9. Have questions prepared – there is always something you can ask. What are the company plans for the future? What is the office culture like?. Questions are a good way of demonstrating a real interest in the business. Remember, you’re interviewing them / the company almost as much as they are interviewing you.
10. Be aware of the skills that employers are interested in now, such as new business, emerging trends or markets or digital skills.  If you’re not sure of what they are – do your homework!

There’s a kind of identity theft used by so-called professional recruiters that we thought we should warn you about, candidates – and employers. It’s a practice that despite being illegal, is uncommonly, well, common.

The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses 2003 regulations state that a recruitment agencies MUST get confirmation from a candidate that he or she is willing to work in the position before putting his or her details forward.

However, in a recent 300-strong discussion on LinkedIn, it’s clear that this is not the case. Not only are some recruitment companies  sending out CV’s without first obtaining a candidates permission (whether because they are unaware of the regulations or are choosing to ignore them), they are also claiming a fee from employers on the basis that ‘they got their first’.

So, how do you protect yourself – and stay on the right side of the law when job-hunting and recruiting?

First, ensure you are signed up with a reputable recruiter. REC (Recruitment and Employment Confederation) membership is a good indication that the recruiter subscribes to best practice. Secondly, when you’re registering with a recruiter, make they don’t ask for ‘blanket permission’ when it comes to forwarding your CV to employers. Any recruiter worth their salt should only be putting you forward for suitable job roles, and logging each time they are sent out.  CV’s should be targeted for the right role, to the right employer and not sent out scattergun – something which also increases the likelihood of your being called for interview. Thirdly, ask whether they are compliant as part of their terms of business.

Employers wanting to protect their brand and ensure they get properly briefed, vetted and prepared candidates  should likewise refuse to deal with non-compliant recuiters.

Simples.

The Recruitment & Employment Confederation’s marketing, media and creative sector group has argued that investing in government communications is crucial in the current climate, given an already distrustful electorate.

But, in the swings and roundabouts of public sector / private sector fortunes,  the position of internal communicators isn’t as precarious as one might think.  “The recession has meant that in-house PR’s have had to work hard to keep employees motivated and engaged, conveying often difficult corporate messages throughout,” says Lynne Wilkins, The Works Co-Director. “Their profile will be further raised because of the need to keep employees, shareholders and customers informed about upcoming changes in policy, ” adds Lynne.

The strengthened position of internal communicators is borne out by a recent survey,  which found that 68% of respondents reported that their senior executive teams are either generally supportive or active champions of the discipline, a 12% increase on this time last year.

Which can only be good news for those looking for promotion or new in-house communications positions…

No so former Brunswick and now College Hill Partner, James Hogan who, having just released his book, The Art Upstart’ (an autobiographical look at his life in PR and how his hobby, art, has become his passion) is now receiving critical acclaim for his creative talents outside the office.

With plaudits from the likes of Sir David Frost, Greg Dyke and Adam Boulton, it’s clear that James is not only an accomplished PR, but a talented artist, too. So much so that the first 28 pictures from what will be an eventual portfolio of 225 works is set to go on show in a one-man-artistic-exhibition on 7^th June at Cork Street, with a proportion of the sales being donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

It’s also clear that in overcoming the reputedly snobbish art establishment, James is using his PR skills to great effect courtesy of a viral marketing campaign. The Art Upstart, a beautiful book in itself, also has its own website (www.theartupstart.com), Facebook and Twitter pages and is generating deserved media interest.

Anyway, can’t tell you any more because we really must get cracking on that novel, but feel free peruse this at your leisure: http://bit.ly/bxfu6e

As recruiters, we know just how crucial getting those privacy settings in place are. Facebook is by its very nature  a very effective, easy and instant way of keeping in touch with family and friends. Used correctly, it can also be a way of giving future employers a more ‘rounded view’ of a candidate.

Used incorrectly, ie not having the right privacy settings to manage what messages we’re sending out and to whom, well, you can insert your own drunken/ bikini-clad/ swearing post/ inappropriate nightmare scenario here. Believe us, we’ve seen more than our fair share…

The fact is that savvy recruiters and employers do and are conducting their own searches as to the suitability of candidates ia social media outlets such as Facebook. Until the privacy issues are addressed, we suggest candidates address their own online privacy issues, and fast. To help you do this, a couple of useful links – http://bit.ly/facebookadvice and http://bit.ly/checkprivacy

Whilst target searches and headhunting allow us to deliver the quality of candidates required, there’s a lot you can do to ensure your CV makes the grade, not the reject pile.

Here, we highlight the ten most common CV mistakes to avoid:

1. Don’t include your date of birth. Even without age discrimination legislation, it’s irrelevant. A company wants to know about your experience, what makes you better than your peers and how you can deliver quantifiable results, not how many candles you’ll be blowing out next birthday.
2. Unnecessary personal information such as marital status, number of pets, children’s names. Ditto mundane personal profiles.
3. Photos of yourself. Save them for Facebook. Or your mantelpiece.
4. Outdated work experience. Again, irrelevant. Yes, even that three weeks delivering newspapers in 1987.
5. Jargon and abbreviations that only you and your current work colleagues understand.
6. Colour. Textures. Glitter. OK, the last one’s an exaggeration but you get the gist. Don’t make it pretty. It’s a document, not a work of art.
7. 5 page CVs. The CV is a door opener, not a literary tome. Two pages maximum is an industry standard for a reason. That means no purple prose, no listing off responsibilities taken from your job spec. Bullet points can help, though.
8. Using the third person. Unless you’re royalty, of course.
9. Spelling mistakes. With stiff competition and hiring deadlines, including a spelling mistake is an instant rejection, fast-tracking your CV to the shredder. Take particular care of the word ‘liaise’. Liaise. Liaison. Liaising. No creative alternatives, please.
10. Weird interests can make you look like an oddball to those who don’t share them. Cultural fit is one of the criteria employers will be looking for.

For a start, there’s his unusual career progression which has seen him swap stockbroking for (Board-level) PR, with a decade of journalism (and afformentioned tear gas / stones) in between, something he aptly describes as a very ‘unique sandwich’.

Stones? Tick! Sandwiches? Tick! High flyer in leading PR and Public Affairs consultancy? Tick! Dr Evil? Tick (yes, really). Read on to find out why this month’s profile truly deserves the title ‘rising star’. Be educated. Be informed. Be entertained. We were…

Name: Christian Mahne

Position: Director and Head of Lansons Live

Company: Lansons Communications (http://www.lansons.com/)

Can you summarise your career path to date?

Two years stockbroking, ten years journalism, two years public relations. It’s a unique sandwich which gives me a different perspective on communications.

Describe your role:

I run Lansons Live, the Direct Communications arm of Lansons. We are all about disintermediated communications, putting clients and customers together through content, with no-one in between. We have a studio and production facility in the basement and do a great deal of original production (live programming, edited films etc.) for our clients’ internal and external audiences.

What’s been your career highlight to date?

Getting on the Board at Lansons has been a wonderful highlight and recognition of the value and importance of content driven strategies in the new PR world.

Getting pelted with stones and tear gas while stuck in no man’s land between both sides while covering the G8 summit protest in Prague a few years ago comes a close second.

And greatest challenge?

Anything on the cutting edge can be hard to get signed off because of the uncertainty associated with new things. In risk-averse times budget holders understandably want to be certain of the outcomes before committing. Luckily being right at the forefront of developments enables us to provide added value consultancy and our clients know they can rely on our advice.

And your ambition?

Oh, my ambitions are limitless. Austin Powers’ nemesis Dr. Evil has nothing on me – “The world is mine… the world is mine…”

What advice can you offer to other comms professionals who want to get ahead in the current climate?

Don’t underestimate the power of original thought. Copying the last successful idea will only get you so far! The approach to public relations consultancy is undergoing a revolution with new direct communications channels opening up between brands and their audiences. It’s an exciting new environment where the rules haven’t been written and there are no maps yet. So, fuse your gut instincts with existing industry knowledge and generate true innovation. Just look at Dali, whoever would have thought about putting a lobster on a telephone, but it kind of works doesn’t it? (http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?workid=2988)

The other important thing, play the long game. You’re not in a race with your cohort to achieve greatness. The road to success is littered with the carcasses of people who ran out without looking first.

How do you feel about what you have achieved so far in your career?

People need different things at different times in their life. When I started out in journalism I just wanted to see myself on television. Now I get a buzz from understanding communication in its entirety. I was zoomed in but the big picture is actually the more interesting one.

The more I’ve done, the more my perspective has widened. You can’t learn good judgement; it just comes through experience, so get as much breadth in your life as you can.

What recent current affairs issue are you most interested in, and why?

Right now, the BA strike actually. For three reasons, one – I’m flying with them soon (or not as the case may be). Second, it’s about as high a stakes game of reputational poker as a brand can play and I’m interested to see their strategy and thirdly, I love aviation and learned to fly while I was based in Australia.

What challenges are you facing in your current position?

I work in a hot area. Lots of competitors, lots of bright people with great ideas. The challenge is to bridge the old and the new. Successfully combining the latest tools and techniques with the proven essentials of communication, unchanged for decades. Ultimately, it’s about helping clients tell compelling stories, or as Lord Reith (first Director General of the BBC) put it so well: “educate, inform, entertain”

Do you have an unusual, impressive or inspirational career path? Are you able to offer sage career advice to other communications professionals? If so, we’d love to hear from you! To nominate a colleague or be featured as the next ‘rising star’ yourself, contact us at: sarah@the-works.co.uk or tel. 020 7559 6690.