Just the job

There's a cartoon doing the rounds of a man going for a job interview with Ikea. As he enters the room the interviewer points to a neat collection of pieces of wood and screws on the floor and says 'Have a seat'. On the one hand this joke is saying that Ikea means flat-pack furniture. On the other hand it's suggesting that to get a job at Ikea you have to able to assemble their products. Not quite as funny but possibly true.

It has been said (possibly by C Northcote Parkinson ... he of the famous law) that the ideal job advertisement will only solicit one applicant and they will be perfect for the job. In the case I read, but can not find at this time, an applicant for a position as security guard is obliged to attend an interview in the middle of the night at a gym and (the clincher no doubt) must bring a pair of boxing gloves.

Interactive media rarely requires boxing gloves (although we have heard stories of fisticuffs) but the challenge is the same: how do you fine-tune your job advert to get the best applicants and then how do you interview them.

Spool back almost a year to May 2011 and pity poor London agency Poke, who lost a copywriter to the White House (yes really). They needed a replacement in a hurry and crafted what Andy Headworth on the Sirona Says blog wonders might be simply the best job advert ever written. It certainly takes a while to read through but it's significant that the applicant is set a series of tasks building on the link to President Obama. Only at the end is the question posed: 'What do you think it takes to be a good copywriter at a digital agency?'. It's somewhat like Frodo Baggins fighting his way to the depths of Mordor and being asked 'What do you think makes this ring precious?'

Assuming you get more than one applicant for interview, the strategy will probably either be 'assume they can do the job because they've done one like it before', or 'they have the certificate', or 'test them to destruction'. All have their place, and we know of one person who was so good at the programming task he was set that he was hired before he left the building.

Does your company have a set strategy for recruiting and do you, like Poke, bring some fun into the process? We'd love to know. Of course, you may sometimes let staff interview potential employees.

The CAP Code - are you ready for March 1st?

You've probably heard through the extensive ad campaign that the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) is getting ready to implement new rulings concerned with marketing on web sites from March 1st. The CAP Code (The UK Code of Non-Broadcast Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing, issued by The Committee of Advertising Practice) is in its 12th edition from September 1st 2010, but awareness about its effect has been raised by an extensive campaign from the ASA - all done with donated ad space, apparently. You can get access to the CAP Code at the Committee of Advertising Practice

Essentially the new ruling extends the power of the ASA's digital remit. It allows the ASA to name and shame non-compliers, place warnings alongside the search result listings of non-compliers, force the removal of paid links/adverts to the non-compliers, refer non-compliers to the OFT (Office of Fair Trading) and/or the Business Protection from Misleading Marketing Regulators.

There's quite a debate as to whether the notorious difficulty of policing the internet will dilute or even negate these powers, but companies should make sure that they understand the implications and take the necessary steps to devise and implement a strategy for them. This might include: regular checks on your web presence (this includes social media sites too), training any employees who contribute content to digital media, update any agreements used - particularly with advertisers/agents - to reflect the changes in codes of practice.

The paid link veto is supported by Google which had its own guidelines on companies using these links to improve their search ranking but which they found difficult to enforce. In fact they have part funded the CAP Code initiative. See Changes to the CAP Code - Google finds an ally in the war on paid links by Alex Postance 28th January, at Epiphany.

The ASA work from the premise of people producing marketing that is legal, decent, honest and truthful by applying The Advertising Codes, but this applies to communication that is wider than adverts, such as competitions and use of user-generated content if pulled into and used in a company's marketing for its own benefit. See the Digital Retail Advice page of the ASA.

It's just as well to understand new moves like these to make sure you are informed and take a company stance that suits you and the legal implications. You wouldn't want to fall foul and plead ignorance as it wouldn't help, now would you?