They work very hard at it. They work at developing contacts within the advertising business who let them know just when and where there will be a job opening.
But make no mistake about it, personnel agents don't get you a job. All they do is find you a job lead and set up an interview for you. You have to get the job yourself. And no one can force you to take a job if you don't think it's right for you.
How does a personnel agent make money finding you a job? Simple. He gets paid for it. Either by you, or your employer, or both. And you can find out just who pays what before you ever go out on an interview simply by asking. In fact, when you register with an employment agent, you can establish up front whether or not you'll even consider taking a job for which you'll have to pay all or part of a fee.
How much of a fee should you expect to pay? If you're just beginning your career, there's a good chance you'd pay very little or possibly nothing, because the salary you'd be getting would be pretty meager compared to advertising salaries in general. So, some personnel agencies just don't bother to charge beginners. They help them get started more or less as a favor to the industry, then hope those beginners remember their "friends" when they get some experience and look for another job at a higher salary level.
Not all personnel agents are this charitable, though. Some feel they should be paid for their services, no matter who they're helping. And no one can really blame them for feeling that way. So, just to give you an idea of what kind of money you could expect to pay, the present finder's fee charged by most agents is around ten percent of your annual salary, if you're a beginner. (The percentage can become much dearer if you're a hot-shot executive.) The fee can be paid by you or by your employer, depending upon what you agreed to. There are several arrangements that might be made. Sometimes the fee must be paid as soon as you start your job. Sometimes a little can be paid each week. If you're going to foot the bill, you might be able to arrange with your employer to have a little deducted from each paycheck until it's paid off.
Money isn't the only thing that's discussed on personnel agency applications. They also ask you just what kind of job you're interested in, what kind of money you're looking for, plus whether or not you'll consider relocating to accept a job in another city.
And, just for the record, don't concern yourself with thinking that personnel agents own you once you sign a contract with them. They don't. And the reputable ones don't pretend to.
A personnel agent is a tool you can use to help you find yourself a job, nothing more, and nothing less.
The best thing about personnel agents as far as you're concerned, though, is that some of the most successful specialize in advertising jobs. They don't spend time with anybody else in any other field.
Two of the most widely used of the personnel agents who specialize in placing advertising people are Jerry Fields in New York and Altanta and Judy Wald in New York, London, and Paris. This isn't a free plug for those agencies; they just happen to be the ones with which I've had the most personal experience. There are loads of others in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles - all over the country. Most of them are highly competent, professional, and completely discreet. You'd probably do well to let any one of them go to work finding you a job.
But don't feel that least bit funny about putting more than one personnel agent to work for you, even though each one will want to handle you exclusively if they think you've got potential. (The better you are, the more money they can make on you.) The more people you have looking, the more leads you're going to get, and even if you do find out about a particular job opening from two different places, it's more than worth the duplication of effort if you get an extra lead later.
Personnel agents can find you job leads all over the country with different agencies and advertisers that have earned their reputations for being experts in different areas. From a large pharmaceutical agency in Chicago that's earned its name in marketing, to a small packaged goods agency in Minneapolis that's earned its reputation by having a brilliant creative department; from a large book company which spends most of its money in direct mail, to a small shoe company spending most of its advertising budget in television.
Even though personnel agents who specialize in placing advertising people undoubtedly get the most advertising job leads, they don't get them all. There are plenty of other personnel agents who don't specialize in placing people in any one industry. Some of the jobs for which they need people are in advertising, especially the kinds of low-end jobs that are just right for beginners, such as secretaries and messengers. These jobs are a lot easier to get than a job as an account executive or broadcast producer, which requires more expertise and offers stiffer competition. Many times, both advertisers and agencies are more inclined to hire a secretary who has aspirations of working her way into media than one who is satisfied typing letters. Just be sure you tell the employment agency what kind of job you're looking for up front. Don't let any employment agency send you out on an interview with someone who wants a key punch operator if what you want is a job as an assistant media buyer.
