Body language: noun “the conscious and unconscious movements and postures by which attitudes and feelings are communicated.”

Okay, so you are in an interview for your dream job; you are chewing a piece of gum to mask the smell from the cigarette you just had outside. You are crossing your arms and slouching a bit because you want to seem “chilled”. You can’t seem to look the interviewer in the eye, as this makes you nervous. Chances are, you are not getting the job – all of the above is very negative body language.

So what would classify as a positive body language?

1. Posture

Your posture should always make you appear open and approachable. Remember the basics; keep your shoulders back and never sit with crossed legs and crossed arms, as this makes you appear distant or closed to interaction. When meeting with the interviewer make sure to look him or her in the eye and always introduce yourself with a firm handshake.

2. Eye Contact

Maintaining eye contact with your interviewer will show that you are confident and that you are listening to what he or she is saying. You don’t have to stare and not break eye contact once…that would be freaky, but, looking at the ground or at your hands while talking will indicate that you are very nervous, that you are hiding something or that you aren’t really serious about the interview.

3. Hand Gestures

Using your hands or arms while talking can be a good thing, just make sure to keep the movements small and subtle. Gesticulating while explaining a scenario or telling a story will show that you are passionate or excited. Tip: Refrain from using symbols such as the thumbs up, pointing of finger etc. This can land you in hot water when meeting with different cultures or nationalities. What we see as a positive sign of encouragement can mean something totally different in another culture or religion. While we are on this subject, you should definitely NOT fidget. This nervous energy will distract the interviewer from what you are actually communicating. Fidgetting includes; chewing gum, touching your face, biting your nails, putting your hair behind your ear, rubbing your neck. All of these are big no-no’s.

4. Voice delivery

Avoid speaking in a monotone. Vary your tone, speed and pitch. Don’t overdo this though, you might come across as being overly emotional or excited. When speaking make sure that you don’t rush your words, rather slow down a bit and make sure that the interviewer can hear you loud and clear. Before answering a question, take a breath and think of how you are going to answer first. Your tone of voice should portray that you are strong, confident and equal to the interviewer, not that you are feeling sorry for yourself and trying to win points by laughing at everything they say.

This might sound like a cliché, but the interviewer will judge you by the first impressions he or she gets from you. This means that he or she may have an idea within the first 5 minutes whether they will be hiring you or not. So make sure that you are prepared. If you don’t prepare you will start fidgeting and avoiding eye contact. NEVER chew gum during an interview, this is considered rude and unprofessional. Focus on your posture and keep eye contact with the interviewer. People tend to mirror each other in situations like these, so make sure that you are friendly, confident and approachable.

Good luck and remember, the human body is the best picture of the human soul.

Every student leaves University with stars in their eyes; you can’t wait to start in the perfect job and make a lot of money. This was no different in my case, I studied hard and I was ready to walk into an advertising agency, work from 8 to 5 and earn a pretty penny to spend in Zara and Country Road…I mean that’s what working life is like, isn’t it?

Well, let’s just say Zara and Country Road won’t be seeing me soon. The awful truth is that it is really difficult to get an interview…anywhere. You get tired of rejection, your CV has been pulled apart and edited a hundred times, you are still living with your parents, and then finally…you decide to turn to recruitment.

I have to be honest, my first encounter with a recruitment company was horrible. I phoned them numerous times, I sent my CV to all of the recruiters, I never heard anything back from any of them. Needless to say, I wasn’t a big fan of recruitment agencies.

Today, 4 years later, I am a digital recruiter for one of the best recruitment companies in Cape Town, and I have never been happier. I can with all honestly say that this is the most fulfilling job that I have ever had.

I would love to debunk a few myths that some people might have about recruitment in general, some myths that I myself thought to be true:

Recruitment is recruitment is recruitment

I have heard on numerous occasions that recruiters all just post ads on job sites, wait for CV’s to stream in, and forward them on to the client. If this was true, I wouldn’t be in this profession. Recruitment is an ever changing profession where you work with a different array of people everyday. I handle every single client differently and I give them my 100%. We are people focussed. We pride ourselves in being very different to any other agency out there.

Recruitment is not difficult, just hard work

Whoever said this, I dare you to go and sit across from the CEO of a leading agency and convince them that they need your candidate in their company. Recruitment is not a job, it is a passion. You need to have a passion for people, a strong personality, a positive attitude and a whole lot of wit!

Recruiters ignore people

Okay this can sometimes be true, but you have to understand why this happens. As recruiters we get a 100 CV’s a day – if I receive a CV with no cover letter, no introduction, no subject, just a CV attached…why should I reply to you? The candidates need to remember that they have to sell themselves as well, seeing that this is a job that a lot of people are competing for. So please remember to apply for jobs that you qualify for, and be creative.

They don’t do much for their money

I can’t speak for all recruiters, but in our agency we really work hard and we won’t stop until the job is done. We work really hard on building relationships with both clients and candidates and we always go the extra mile to make sure we place the cream of the crop. I could do the minimum and play around on social media all day…but then I would never get to see the inside of Zara or Country Road.

Recruiters are all the same

Just like second hand car salesmen, recruiters will always have a certain stigma we need to live down. What I have learnt is that by your actions you can shut people up and prove them wrong. I am so happy that I am working with a team who shares my morals and style of working. Through honest, hard work and always putting the client/candidate first we provide efficient work.

I have only been in recruitment for 2 months now, and I already call it “home”. There is something extremely liberating about helping someone better their career, or helping a company to be more efficient and successful. So I challenge each and everyone to work with us, I am sure we will be able to change your perceptions.

“Your career is not what your salary brings home. Your career is what you were put on this earth to do – with so much passion and intensity, so much so that it becomes a spiritual calling.” – Virgil

My team and I attended the event for the first time and we were seriously amped to be involved  – with added excitement with Recruit Digital being one of the events category sponsors. It was great to see so many of our clients there on good form, and also to meet up with so many of the individuals within the digital scene that make it such a thriving community.

On the whole, I think the Bookmarks was a success, although it wasn’t problem free. The main purpose; to award achievement within digital was definitely achieved and for those within the industry that attended it was a good opportunity for knees up – the free bar allowing for plentiful overindulgence.

I thought Gareth Cliff was good, and when the AV failed to deliver he managed to hold everything together through his usual witty persona, but despite his efforts the lack of video to support the gold winners especially – was a big let down. Whilst I appreciate those who entered and judged have seen the work first hand, the rest of us had not. The lack of context or evidence to support those that won awards was a real shame – and with much of the emphasis being on the stringent judging of measurable results – having no behind the scenes insight was a big opportunity missed in my opinion.

The mash-lab stuff was fun, although again I’d have much rather that time and energy be focused on elaborating on the core focus, which is digital – perhaps an overview of the judging panel, or an example of the process maybe would have been nice. Sounds dull, but some creative thinking around how to deliver this, through video or even simple info-graphics would have been great. Hopefully the organising committee next time around can pull the tech together, offer some depth into the decisions and give the more neutral spectators in the room some real context to grip on to.

All in all we had a great time and are looking forward to next year. Meanwhile, we offer a huge congratulations to all those who won on the night and we encourage everyone involved, however big or small to continue to support the Bookmarks and compete for the top honours. The growth of the event in recent years is a great testament to the sector as a whole and the individuals who drive it forward.

This is important, more important than the elaborate and often embellished CV. A place to house and showcase your work. A platform that is available 24/7, to any one, anywhere if they wish to see your work or find out a bit more about you. Yes, by me being in Recruitment this may mean that I am looking and discovering new creatives a bit more than the next person – but by having an ‘online portfolio’ you open yourself up to so much more possibilities, because you open yourself up to the world.

You allow people to approach you with feedback on your work, collaboration possibilities, job opportunities and appreciation – which I think all creatives need every now and again.

When finding a new job – gone are the days of applying with massive PDF’s, zipped folders and attachment after attachment. Copy your link. Paste your link. And its all there – saving you time, as well as the person on the recieving end.

Below I’ve listed my personal, Top 3 Portfolio Platforms.

1. BEHANCE

Behance is my number one pick. Not only is it a quick and easy place to house your work proffesionally – but also to connect and network with creatives around the world and in your field.

The website traffic is said to be 15 times greater than other popular portfolio platforms, which is amazing if exposure is what you’re looking for, and when you are looking for a job – thats exactly what you want, maximum exposure. It also has a super simple load and publish system, that almost anyone can use – all while looking clean and professional.

You can also upgrade to Prosite, which is a personal portfolio site builder that allows you to customize your layout so it looks like a personal site. You can also link your profile to LinkedIn, therefore dislaying your Behance Portfolio ‘thumbnail’ making it easy for people to click through to your Behance Portfolio straight form LinkedIn or visa versa. Then there’s the community aspect – you can like, follow and comment on fellow ‘Behancers’ profiles and work and see what people are doing around the world within the different creative genres.

http://www.behance.net/

This is the standard Behance Profile, it can also be customized.

Below, 4 Prosites, and how they have been customized by the individual.

2. SQUARESPACE

It is believed that Squarespace targets a niche market with it’s drag and drop functionality, focus on rich imagery and overall highly polished, and finished feel. This said ‘target market’ are designers, boutique business owners and people looking for a portfolio platform – perfect!

This is a paid for platform, but first try it out, play around and explore with their free 14 day trial, then choose from one of three payment plans, which are all relatively small, and definitely worth it. Squarespace offers a wide range of clean and minimilastic templates to get you started, which let your work or personalization of them shine – rather than the template itself. The templates give you extensive styling options, making it easier for the less ‘coding inclined’ of us to create a personal and professional site, that is also responsive – perfect for the ever growing number of mobile internet users.

http://www.squarespace.com/

The example on the left shows 6 different SquareSpace sites and just how much flexability you have in terms of aesthetics.

3. WITHTANK

Proudly South African, this platform was created by the Cape Town-based start up, ThisArmy. Again, ideal for anyone looking to house their work on a website, but without having to build their own; or getting someone to build one for them. There is a free version, with limited disk storage and traffic – followed by a middle of the road and premium option which are paid for.

“This is by far the best web-builder solution we have ever have come across. You have left all the fun parts to us and taken all the work out of creating your own site. I have created a fully working site in a couple of days. The instructions and help are succinct & easy to follow. The skins simple and clean. The widgets a great short-cut and starting point. We are blown away.” Andrew Stode

http://withtank.com/

Withtank and most of the other platforms are now built to be responsive for viewing across different technology.

A clean, simple example.

With these options, and so many more – there is almost no excuse in this day and age to still be sending enormous portfolios. If none of these float your boat, just do abit of exploring – there are many more out there.

Although the cultural differences of these diverse workplaces need to be acknowledged, the ultimate goal is to establish yourself in a role that is rewarding, relevant and will ultimately make you happy.

Marketing is just marketing, isn’t it? Agency or client’s side… We’re all one big family of marketers with a wealth of experience and a sack full of valuable skills that we can shift from one discipline to the next.

Shifting your career path is something that requires a great deal of thought – not to be taken lightly. Below, I go into a bit of detail about the differences between Agency and client life.

Agencies move at lightning pace on many projects simultaneously and everyone handles many jobs and brands simultaneously, so you often find yourself acquiring new skills at a rapid pace. If you’re a born multi-tasker and love to show your creative stuff, agency life is the place to be. Never a dull moment.

Client side you will get work on a variety of campaigns. Often times projects will be the same year over year, which means you’ll be a part of building and maintaining those brands as time goes by. Your schedule will probably be a lot more predictable than in the agency world. Which could become dull at times.

Many people are tempted by the ‘cool’ agency lifestyle, yet others are driven by the opportunity to look after one individual brand in its entirety month after month.

The differences in the marketing, advertising and communications world are crystal clear – agency or client. Agency folk could be flamboyant and ready to burn the candle at both ends; client-side executives would sit behind a large desk with a picture of their children on it and have a team to boss around.

In an agency there is a sense of togetherness. You feel like you’re pulling together for a common goal and you don’t get this in a big client organisation, as there tend to be more conflicting objectives, not just between departments but also in your own team. You have to become an expert at political maneuverings.

While agencies offer variety and diversity of work, in-house or client-side roles provide longevity and stability but can lack variety. In a good agency the teamwork can be amazing– nothing on the client’s side is like that ‘up all night, working on a big pitch’ feeling – or those moments when you really get it right. Looking at it like that, it is clear why people often choose agency over in-house roles. But there is a chance that you could end up on stress medication, or worst case scenario, in a loony bin

So, before you make any rash decisions- please do some research, start early and have sufficient time to digest the information and even change your mind a few times and ask around…

What’s more important to you? The money factor? Growth? being in a fun and youthful environment and working crazy stressful but “creative” hours or in a very cooperative and mature environment, working standard the standard 9-5?

From what I have written above – I’m sure you will be able to distinguish which of the two careers options are best suited to you… Everyone is different, don’t just follow… “because, everyone else is doing it”.

Please feel free to comment, on your thoughts perhaps, or your experiences. Would love to hear what you have to say… 

In the Recruit Digital sponsored category there are 4 people up for the honor of Greatest individual contribution to SA digital – these being Fred Roed (WorldWideCreative), Yoav Tchelet (JWT), Jarred Cinman (Native) and Andre Rademan (Bizcommunity). Wishing you guys and all the other finalists the best of luck for the big night, and hope to connect with you and so many more at the party in November.

Thanks to the DMMA for starting the initiative – The Bookmarks is a fantastic platform for leaders in the digital field to showcase and gain recognition for delivering excellence in their respective arenas. It’s largely considered a benchmark for recognizable achievement, innovation and pioneering digital success not just locally but on an international scale.

Recruit Digital is proud to be a Category Sponsor this year, for the much coveted BEST INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION TO SA DM&M award. Previous winners include the likes of Nikki Cockcroft, Jason Xenopoulos and Adrian Hewlett.

We’re the first recruitment agency ever to get involved in the event which so many of our clients are a part of. We really feel its a great opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to working in tandem with the digital sector, supplying talent and giving our clients a competitive edge – and hopefully contributing to the award winning success that awaits them on the night.

Both my team and I will be at the event, so please look out for us and come say hello!

Its a big shout, and to be honest its probably quite accurate. Numerous industries have been affected by this scenario. It’s not a new concept for technology to replace human function, from robotics replacing automotive factory workers, to automated phone systems replacing call center agents, and online software literally eating into industries such as retail for example; with online stores requiring far fewer shop assistants than high street ones!

In respect of the recruitment sector, this argument is largely based on the reasoning that companies can hire themselves, directly, using online methods in order to track, source and recruit staff, essentially having access to the same tools that us recruiters use.

Personally I’ve never believed that the recruitment industry exists merely because we had tools that hiring companies didn’t. After all many years ago before the rise of the internet; newspapers had the lions share of recruitment advertising, and were available to both recruiters and hiring companies.. with the emergence of the web came job portals and again were open to both parties, and now LinkedIn – also available to both.. its always been a fairly level playing field when it comes to resources.

The point that people often miss, is that job advertising is actually largely ineffective and only reaches about 20% of the candidate pool – those who are ‘actively’ looking. Hence why we’re still here. Recruiters (the better one’s anyway) exist because we source in the 80% pool; the ‘non-active’ job seekers. This is where the real talent is found, and whilst we do advertise (to cover bases) the real value is found by using a blend of traditional and modern recruitment methods to search, select and acquire the talent that’s otherwise out of reach.

So whilst I believe there will be a profound impact on the recruitment sector, I think its come at the right time and believe its for the greater good of the sector as a whole. The recruitment industry is littered with non-pro-active generalist recruiters, those that have missed the very essence of what recruitment is all about: people & relationships. It’s through establishing, and building relationships that allows us to deliver where internal HR departments and online advertising simply can’t.. having the inside track on peoples’ movements, the relevant sources for industry information and the reputation to unlock key roles and candidates breeds a constant supply of otherwise inaccessible talent, those who prefer to work exclusivity, in a discreet manner, through a recruiter they trust. As much as technology can replace a lot of human function, it cannot build literal relationships and its this particular element that can never be replaced, not by a website, and not by any networking/crowd-sourcing tool or technology.

The niche, specialist, pro-active recruitment companies – those with the strongest of these relationships will prosper and can raise the bar as far service delivery and intrinsic market understanding are concerned – acting as tangible business partners, not just another outdated paper shuffling recruitment agency.

The digital industry in South Africa is a rapidly changing, evolving marketplace with so many spirited entrepreneurs and innovative business concepts. There is high investment, rapid business change and huge growth – and so the need for switched-on, intuitive recruiters to compliment them has never been greater.

I believe the future of recruitment is integrated. It involves getting to the very beating heart of an industry, understanding the people within it and building lasting partnerships through the strength of these relationships and our reputation. By combining these fundamental, human qualities with emerging technology and online innovation – we have ourselves a powerful combination.. and long may it continue.