People often ask me whether as Chief Experience Officer I get to try all the experiences. It is not actually physically possible because we have more than 2500 experiences now listed… and we publish up to 50 new every month. That would be more than one a day.
There is one role that does get to do that in principle…ie the person has to be very close and truly understand the experiences – I think it is the best job in the country. Imagine saying “My day job is checking out experiences all over the country and New Zealand and making sure they are promoted in the best possible way.”
The role is the online product strategy manager accountable for the design and execution of this amazing experiences range. Why is it taking us such a long time to find the exact right person? It’s a product marketing role – maybe we need to put the word marketing in the job title?
RedBalloon is a great employer; we know this because our team tell us by having us voted – Best places to work, and giving RedBalloon an Employee Engagement Score of 97%. We recruit based on people’s values and best fit. Somehow for this creative role – there is little creativity in applications. There have been many (100s) of applications, and we have read each one. It is so obvious who is just cutting and pasting the RedBalloon name into the cover letter. How does that demonstrate a passion for what they are about to undertake or for RedBalloon?
We are looking for a person who has a burning desire to “change gifting forever’ and someone who is truly passionate enough to also be able to sell their own strengths and what they will bring to the role. We want the candidate to show us how RedBalloon will be different once they join… how we will wonder ‘how did we ever do without them’.
I read that:
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- “The recent Career Management Alliance conference in San Antonio brought together an array of practitioners, skilled in counselling, coaching, advising and supporting the needs of job seekers and career activists. Every presentation brought to the attendees new market trends information about storytelling, social media, federal opportunities, international roles, résumé and interviewing techniques, and how to conduct a “job search on steroids” in an uncertain economy using 21st-century tools.
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- The advantage for job seekers lies in the 3 percent separating them from everyone else. Weddle asserts that we are all just 3 percent different from each other, and those who identify, strengthen and express that small portion can become the A-players who are in demand in any economy. “Find the 3 percent that makes you special, your best self,” advises Weddle.
Everyone is an A-player – at something. Figure out what it is, and there could be a whole world of new opportunities ahead for you.”
If you are an A-Player, passionate about experiential gifts – please show us loud and proud… a small amount of effort means you can truly stand out.
jorge says
interesting post, albeit not uncommon for employers who really want to find and hire unique people (as opposed to just saying it on their website)
re. your question, no need to add marketing… if ‘product’ and ‘strategy’ haven’t given it away, then it will be unlikely than an additional label will yield a different type/quality of applicant
in addition to your essentials laundry list on the ad, may i just suggest you ‘pick’ specific people currently performing roles that may have gotten them prepared to do your product manager gig. think of all these wonderful EA’s, PA’s, office managers, assistants (chuck in whatever label you want) that have enough empathty and org/project skills to understand what a ‘portfolio of experiences’ may look like.
all the best finding the right candidate.