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March 22, 2012 |
HUNTSWORTH PROWLS FOR GLOBAL,
DISCIPLINED, BIG THINKERS |
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By Kevin McCauley
What does a PR executive need to succeed during the next decade?
Huntsworth chief Peter Chadlington told this month’s PR World Congress in Dubai that high-level job candidates must pass at least five of eight tests before being offered a job.
He provided O’Dwyer’s with a transcript of the speech, which lists the eight-point check-list.
- A person must understand how business works. “I want that aura of certainty which comes when you are sitting with the client chief executive and he feels that you have been there before and that this is your rightful place,” said Chadlington. A person cannot be “tongue-tied” or appear “out of depth.”
- Digital fluency is a must. Chadlington called digital the “great opportunity for the next ten years.” PR people are “content specialists” and “must think digital first and analogue second.”
- Hi-tech gadgets are cool, but they are just useful tools, not work. A successful recruit is a thinker with the ability to reflect on a client problem without reverting to what has worked in the past. “Shallowness compensated by charm is yesterday's PR executive,” said Chadlington
- Huntsworth looks for articulate people who can write, speak and argue coherently and persuasively. Chadlington wants people with personal confidence without a sense of arrogance. They can “put forward a case at the highest client level and be strong enough to know and admit when you have got it wrong.”
- A global view is a requirement, which means “travel, unsocial hours, managing family and personal commitments.”
- A person must be hungry for success and driven by the desire to do a great job and make money for the client, agency and himself.
- Huntsworth staffers are disciplined, possessing the knack of organizing a series of disorganized events or creating order out of disorder.
- Since PR is about face-to-face relationships, trust and loyalty are paramount. A job candidate must possess the highest personal code of conduct and be loyal to Huntsworth and its code of ethics.
Chadlington said he puts great emphasis on those criteria for people that he is recruiting at Grayling and the enlarged Huntsworth Group, now and beyond.
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Responses: |
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Veep (3/22):
I love this. Harsh truth that many in this business would benefit from reading.
Kevin Foley (3/23):
Solid advice for anyone trying to advance their careers in this business.
Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd (3/28):
Certainly outstanding and instructive requirements, most of which have to be developed by personal initiative since little of those ideas are addressed in the academic environment. When speaking to MBA classes, I urge more study of three areas including media relations: government/legislative relations, regulatory affairs and of course written and oral presentation. Most deans with whom I have spoken would love to include the material but are restrained by budgetary problems. Those realities should encourage concerned PR professionals to bring their knowledge to the college campuses. |
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