text: Employment | Ryan Brough's Blog
  March 4, 2009 · 12:14 pm
  A new post by Seth Godin, (Seth's Blog: Three kinds of meetings), together with some feedback I've just had on a series of meetings, has led me to this post.
  As always, there is considerable pressure on time and money. Magnified by the current economic climate, this is pushing everybody to do more with less.
  I've just been involved in a series of meetings, or rather interviews, for senior marketing roles at 2 leading agencies. Interestingly, both roles went to 4 interviews. Yes, 4. And no – I wasn't going for the CEO role. Which I'm sure would be at least 4. But I digress.
  The interviews at both Houses (no, I won't disclose who these agencies were), delved further and further into the potential roles each time we met. For one role, I even had to write my own job description and detail the salary. Interesting move forward. Both Houses pressed hard on the ideas I could bring to the table for their clients, and prospects. Not to mention how I would go about gaining said new clients and who they were.
  I kept a lot of this info close to my chest. And for good reason. It turns out that both agencies were only half interested in new hires. They were dipping their toe in the waters. And with the economy plunging, they were looking for ideas.
  When the chips are down (and the economy), it seems that good people can turn bad. And interviews change from interviews to fact-finding missions. It's just a shame that not everyone at the table was told that.
  Advice to all job seekers in today's market: Don't give too much away. Play your cards right, but play them close to your chest. Don't give away the farm during your interview because you never know who is going to change the goal posts without telling you.
  For those still on the job hunt. Keep your chin up. Good things happen for smart folks. Don't let the economy turn you bad too.