If you listened to the mainstream media you would assume that no one was hiring, that the majority of Americans were cashing unemployment checks on a weekly basis, and bread lines will soon be forming in most major cities. While it is true that certain sectors have been devastated, most notably financial services and construction, the overall job landscape is down, but not totally bleak.

At Hawthorne Executive Search our recruiters work daily across a diverse set of industries, so we get a pretty clear indication of which industries (and even which cities) are doing better than others.

Specific to the two segments of most interest to YP Talk readers – the local search and directory spaces, overall, there is a good amount of activity, although down significantly from the very robust growth of the past several years. On the traditional publishing side, despite the reports of its pending demise, there is no doubt we have seen a significant decline in hiring due to fewer expansions and some consolidation. But many independent publishers are continuing to hire most often in second and third tier sized markets, while larger publishers still continue to add sales representatives in selective markets.

The online sector still remains relatively robust, with companies focused in the online marketing/search engine marketing doing better than others. Within these companies, there continues to be a build up of the sales force, with the trend being to hire more inside sales professionals than outside. As a result, individuals who are account managers or have technology background continue to receive job offers. Salaries in both the online and traditional publishing space have remained level from last year.

While I would estimate that the overall decrease in activity between 25 and 35 percent, remember this is following several years of robust growth and expansion, which at some point was bound to slow up anyway. There are still companies that continue to march ahead, add to staff, and realize that this is a tremendous time to add some extremely talented individuals who haven’t been looking for a job in quite a few years.

For employers, you need to remain focused on keeping your top performers happy and working away. A client called the other day very frustrated at their inability to find high quality talent given the large numbers of unemployed out there. I counseled him that while there may be some 5 million plus people unemployed right now, you can’t assume that all of them are capable of selling your product, or are even located in your geographic area. If you needed an experience stock broker in New York City, a drill press operator in Iowa, a construction worker in Orlando, yes, there are plenty of those skills available. Some simple but obvious suggestions:

1. Communication is critical. Talk to your people.
• Give them the big picture on mission, vision, values
• Explain why, and what their roles are, and what’s in it for them if they succeed.
• Walk the talk -- Directly interact with them regardless of your reporting structure


2. Don’t baby them.
• Set expectations up front.
• Clearly define their roles and responsibilities (in writing)
• On performance reviews be a “straight talker” – give them both the good and bad


3. Support them
• Model the behaviors you expect from them—they will only respect you if you do what you ask them to do
• Find situations to reward and publicly acknowledge results


4. Have a sense of humor. Take the time to have some fun! This isn’t about life or death here. No one wants to work at a place that’s just straight drudgery



5. BE POSITIVE! As managers, you need to leave all those negative feelings in the car when you arrive at the office. Put a stake in the ground. Let’s get some positive energy going.



6. Coach vs. Manage. Now more than ever this is critical. Here is an example:
• Manager’s message: “This is a down market, we’ll just have to wait it out.”
• Coach’s message: “Companies need to advertise to grow their business, no matter what the market conditions. Let’s discuss your prospecting strategies.”

For employees, you too have some things you need to do also:

• Invest in your career. What are your weakest points? Are they things you can get some training or coaching from a manager to improve on? When was the last time you bought a book talking about some of the new ways on improve your productivity?



• Get in shape. These times require stamina. Are you dragging by end of day? Time to get some exercise.



• You need to communicate too. Talk to your manager. Tell them your expectations and needs. Tell them what challenges you are facing, and what steps you are taking. But as one manager always said to me – “don’t bring me a problem which is already dead on arrival, because at that point I can’t do much…”



• Bring a suggested solution for each problem. A 5 year old can identify a problem. A professional should also have a recommended solution. It may not be the one that is accepted and implemented, but you may have the best prospective on what action should be taken.



• Are you being positive? Do you coworkers or clients want to be around grumpy, unhappy people? Would you.

• Regional Sales Manager
• Senior Vice President of Client Services
• Production Manager
• National Account Manager
• Vice President of Sales
• Vice President of Business Development
• Account Supervisor
• Media Planner
• Managing Director