Meet Me In A Minute: Lee Shorter, Practice Manager Design & Development

What's your area of expertise?

My areas of recruitment expertise include digital marketing, data and analytics, content production and management as well as digital product and project management.

What types of roles do you recruit for?

I work on behalf of our Aquent and Firebrand divisions so I recruit both permanent and contract roles for our corporate clients. I mostly look after senior positions within the marketing space such as Marketing Managers, Senior Marketing Managers, Performance and Paid Media Managers and Product Managers.

Why do you love what you do?

I could be cliche and say I love what I do because I'm helping people, which is absolutely true, but one of the best things about my job is that no two days are the same. I get to work with multiple organisations, all of whom have different challenges to work through. To be able to support them in some way by providing solutions to fit their needs is something that keeps me motivated every day.

What industry experience/expertise are you looking for in Talent?

We work across multiple industries. Right now most of our vacancies sit within the financial services sector as well as in health, not-for-profit and software.

What are your top tips for Digital Marketing Talent looking for new job opportunities?

1. My number one tip is to be active on LinkedIn if you're looking for work. Keep your profile up-to-date, mark yourself as open to opportunities in your LinkedIn headline and in settings so that hiring managers and recruiters know you're looking, and be proactive in reaching out to organisations you'd love to work for. Let them know the reasons why you'd like to work there and what you can bring. 
2. Another piece of advice is to partner with a couple of recruiters who specialise in placing candidates in your line of work. They will no doubt be able to put you forward for roles that aren't advertised and you wouldn't have known about otherwise.

Describe an ideal client relationship

An ideal client is someone who trusts your judgement and will see or speak to any candidate you put in front of them — safe in the knowledge that you wouldn't have presented them for consideration if you weren't absolutely sure they were the right fit. That level of trust should come after proving yourself with a few good hires.

What are your top 3 tips for marketing hiring managers?

1. Don't judge a book by its cover. Take time to have conversations with candidates before dismissing them. Quite often marketers have to wear many hats and can't put everything down in a few bullets points on their CV. 
2. Assess your needs and then ask the candidate to articulate their previous experience in dealing with something similar. It's surprising how much experience people have in areas that are barely mentioned in their résumés. 
3. My other main piece of advice is to act quickly when hiring. You want to be first to the best talent and keep them engaged throughout the process. Dragging the process out over a long period of time, putting too many hurdles in the way, or allowing communication to drop off for days at a time is not in anyone's best interests.

How do people get in touch with you?

Mainly via LinkedIn. I'm active most of the day around meetings and like people to be proactive about contacting me if they're looking for work, in need of advice or looking to hire.

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