Ever wondered what it's like to be an Account Manager? What do they do all day? What IS an Account Manager for a staffing agency anyway?
Working as an account manager, you'll be the vital link between a company and its clients.
This can be a creative role that is very much about relationship building. The role is very sociable and involves a fair amount of hospitality and making clients and senior management feel good about the accounts and the way they are being handled.
We asked our very own Indianapolis Account Manager Josh Cade to give us a peek into his day to day.
Artisan: How did you end up in staffing?
Josh: In 1997, I was working my dream job in motor sports marketing as National Marketing Manager for ACDelco Racing and looking at moving to North Carolina and NASCAR. We were starting a family, and despite my love for racing, the thought of spending 40+ weekends a year on the road and away from my wife and new baby was horrifying, so, I contacted a small local Indianapolis staffing firm named MacStaffing.
As it turns out, they had an internal role open for a Marketing Director/Business Development Manager and offered me the position on the spot. I agreed to stay for a year to rebrand the firm and develop a new business model to include web design and development…. 20 years later I eat, sleep, and breathe staffing and marketing/digital creative. Who knew?
There isn’t really a degree in “staffing” and no one dreams about working for a recruiting firm when they grow up, but I have fallen in love with the industry and find it personally rewarding.
Why Artisan?
I had worked for a large international firm but had always heard great things about Artisan being a boutique, people-focused agency from many. So I connected with CEO Bejan Douraghy in 2009 and the rest is history.
Why Indianapolis?
My wife and I are both Purdue alumni, from Indiana, and wanted to stay here. I did have job offers out of college in Massachusetts, California, Missouri, and Texas but chose to stay near family. I can’t imagine grandparents missing all the baseball games, marching band competitions, basketball games, etc., over the past 18 years.
...and of course there is the Indianapolis 500! I have been to every race since 1982 except the race morning when our youngest son was born.
Describe a typical work day
I am 100% client-focused so I split my time between business development and client services. I have been doing this for 20 years and understand nearly any potential project, so I'm extremely confident if a client reaches out to Artisan, we’re going to deliver, and the client is going to be very happy with the results.
I love the challenge of a new project or a new job opening and it never gets stale or boring.
What's the most rewarding part of your job?
Nearly any time my wife and I go out to dinner in our relatively small city of Indianapolis, a client I’ve helped or a talent I’ve placed in a full-time job will come up to me and say hello. The satisfaction of finding literally hundreds of Designers, Developers, Copywriters, etc., a job over the past 20 years is beyond heartwarming for me, it’s an emotionally rewarding job where I feel like I’ve made a difference.
What's the most important part of recruiting?
People. That’s it.
Taking time to get to know people and making the best matches possible is the most important part. Large volume and throwing resumes at an open job just because the skill set lines up doesn’t work. Taking time to meet with and care about people is the key.
Do you have a favorite type of client to work with?
Being in Indy, we work with a ton of great insurance, finance, health care and pharma companies. Indy has also become a great incubator for tech companies and placing some of the first few ground-floor employees at companies with now thousands of employees is a personal point-of-pride.
But a favorite? No, that’s like naming a favorite friend or child...I'm not falling for that one!
What careers have you seen grow rapidly and which ones do you think will continue to grow?
It changes every couple of years or so, the largest area of growth recently has been Social Media Managers and Coordinators, as well Content Creators and Editors. Content and data are ruling the digital marketing world and will for years to come.
What's the biggest mistake you see from job applicants?
I think my biggest piece of advice is not to be a jack-of-all-trades, be a master of two or three important tasks and market that to the jobs titles you want. The “I do everything” candidate may show up to Recruiters in keyword searches but you’ll be far down in the search results and most will skip you over.
If a Recruiter is looking for a “Healthcare Copywriter” they are looking first at candidates who say that they are a “Healthcare Copywriter”, not a “marketing-savvy professional who creates diverse content for all industries.” It's okay to be specific.
What are some of your favorite ways to meet clients?
In Indianapolis, Artisan sponsors the AIGA Studio Tours. I attend AAF, AMA and other networking events and I also love attending all conferences that focus on our industry such as MBO in years past and the upcoming 2018 Dimensions Digital Marketing Conference.
Any words of wisdom for aspiring creatives?
Whether you’re a print, digital, or marketing-focused professional, start early and often. Start real-world projects in high school and build your portfolio through college. When you graduate I do not want to see any school projects on your resume or in your portfolio, I want to see that you volunteered or worked part-time or via internship on projects related to your passion. Needs are endless for non-profits like marching bands, churches, charities, marathons, etc.
What you learn on the mistakes you will make (and you will) on those early projects you will keep with you the rest of your life. How to communicate efficiently, how to price a project, how long it will take and how to manage difficult client demands is invaluable.
Favorite quote?
“Do or do not; there is no try.” – Yoda
(I don’t really “do” inspirational quotes, but I had to work Star Wars in this somehow.)
Want to meet Josh?
Follow him on LinkedIn or reach out online today.
