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Every week, I am approached by recruiters looking to fill #communications manager or director positions. While I'm flattered and VERY happy in my #consulting business and serving fantastic clients, I always respond and willingly refer people in my network seeking new opportunities. Recruiters have a challenging job to do and I love to help. HOWEVER... Many of the #communications job descriptions I see are from technical companies who THINK they know what a Communications Director or Manager role needs to be. My "spidey senses" go up when the job description: 😭 Contains five or more skill sets in one position. The person is expected to do external, internal, social media, investor relations, employee engagement, government affairs, graphic design, multimedia production, etc., and... 🤑 Pays a salary of a junior-level professional while seeking senior-level expertise listed above, and... ⬆ Reports through another function, or worse, multiple functions (like HR *and* Marketing). This relegates communications professionals to a "lesser" and "reactive" role, and minimizes visibility and influence as a strategic advisor to executives. Ideally, Communications should be its own department as it interfaces and supports all functions within a company. What other "red flags" would you add here and why? How can we advise and advocate for better role creation in our profession?

#PublicRelations is well past the point of needing to standardize titles. Account Coordinator #PR Coordinator Assistant Account Executive Jr. Account Executive PR Specialist PR Specialist I PR Specialist II Account Executive Senior Account Executive As far as I can tell, these are 9 titles for essentially, 3 jobs. Why do PR Agencies do this? 1) It can be part of their branding. There has been a trend in PR Firm marketing to rebrand pre-existing terms as new, making it look like they are offering unique services or a more senior team than reality. PR Specialist I sounds more important than an AC. 2) It allows for them to put more responsibilities on employees while paying them less. There is no such thing as a "Jr. Account Executive" in terms of workload. It's just an AC but who is treated like an Assistant Account Executive. But rather than give the employee a full promotion, they give them this fake title and a minor raise. The employee still has all the expectations of results as if they were a full AAE, but with less time to develop the skills needed to find success or simply with less money in their pocket. It preys on the ego rush of getting a promotion, and the naivety of Jr. employees unaware of what a #StrategicCommunications career path looks like. What Additional Harm Does it Cause? 1) For pros looking to move to a new agency or go in-house, it becomes increasingly difficult to ascertain what would be a move up vs. a move down. 2)For the #HR pros, there is no consistent word for a specific level of experience from one candidate to the next. Under this system a Jr. Account Executive and an Account Executive have the same role on paper with drastically different experience levels. Suddenly a cost-effective hire becomes an ineffective hire, at no fault of the employee. The employee relied on the reality of the title structure of their past agency, unaware of their diminished preparedness for the role in a different title ecosystem. What Should be Done? 1) Set titles. It doesn't matter what they are, but there should be standardization. There should be set base titles, and additional titles allowed depending on the size of the firm. Giant firms like Edelman need interstitial titles because of their employee size, boutique firms do not. PRSA may actually have industry value here. 2) Set pay scales for those titles. This needs to be set by each individual agency. For every title, the employee should know the salary range. This gives them the security of being able to sort out their career projections and the agency some flexibility on how to plan for growth with some stability regardless of how economics shift. 3) PROMOTIONS SHOULD NOT BE TREATED AS AN EMPLOYEE RETENTION TOOL. Promote based on need and fiscal responsibility. If you can't afford to promote, don't. Be transparent with your employees about hiring or promotion freezes. No one wins when you promote without validation.

The nuance of & Something’s been bugging me in my job search, and I welcome anyone to weigh in. For me, there’s a notable difference between “Marketing Communications” and “Marketing & Communications” roles. Marketing Communications is a role that touches marketing but is mainly a communications function, while Marketing & Communications is primarily a marketing role that requires a specific set of marketing skills that many communications people lack. My issue is that I see the two titles used interchangeably in job descriptions, even though they're different, IMO. Thoughts? #marcom #marketing #marketingcommunications #recruiting

All of this - agree completely. Designing and recruiting at the wrong level, missing the opportunity to think about siting the role/team properly among peers, not enabling the access you need to be able to be effective, build trust and work in partnership with people, link in with strategic efforts at the right level to be able to impact business performance; just misunderstanding the value and impact in general. There's so much data and insight around now when it comes to the ROI on properly setting this up for success, I don't understand how so many organisations are just missing this crucial opportunity to succeed, become more aligned, efficient and build their reputations.

As a communications specialist, I resonate with your observations Shea Sullivan, MBA, SCMP® and would like to add a few more "red flags" that we should be aware of: 🔄 When job descriptions do not clearly outline the specific objectives and goals of the #communications role, it often indicates a lack of understanding of the strategic importance of communications within the organization. This could result in unrealistic expectations and misaligned priorities! 📉 A role that promises extensive responsibilities without providing adequate #resources, tools, and support is a significant red flag. Effective communication requires investment in technology, training, and a supportive team. 🛑 If the role does not include a seat at the table for key decision-making processes, it undermines the strategic value that a communications professional can bring to the organization. Being part of executive discussions ensures that communication #strategies align with the overall business objectives. To advocate for better role creation in our profession, I believe it is important to : 1. Build strong #networks with other communications professionals and industry leaders. 2. Create and share #frameworks and #guidelines that define the roles and responsibilities of communications professionals at different levels. (Organizations can gain a better understanding of what to expect and how to effectively support these roles!) 3. Offer #mentorship and #training programs for aspiring communications professionals. What are your thoughts? What do you think can be done to make #communication better?

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Hiring at the mid-level and senior level roles in the PR, communications, and marketing industries is a whole different ball game compared to sourcing for junior and graduate roles... ⚽ 📰 To give a fresh perspective to employers who aren't entirely sure what to look for, we have outlined in our blog how businesses can find their next ideal candidate for roles across account executive level right through to account director. 🤝 #henrynicholas #blog #PR #marketing #seniorlevel #recruitment

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