Spotlight: Sonia Jairath
by: Julien Sharp | October 13, 2009 | No Comments
Sonia Jairath, Founder/President of Metierlink, is a recruitment and talent specialist who represents leading professionals to progressive companies in marketing, advertising, media and areas within the digital workspace. She primarily focuses her network on the representation, management and development of the most talented professionals in the industry.
As a former Account Management and Marketing professional, Sonia has had the opportunity to work with leading companies and brands including GCI Group/Grey Inc. on Gerber, Fairchild Publications, Wunderman/Y&R Brands on USPS and AT&T, Ogilvy on IBM, McCann Relationship Marketing on Sprint, TEQUILA/TBWA/CHIAT/DAY on Sprint/Nextel, Hill Holliday on Verizon and AIG on Corporate eBusiness.
Last February, Digital Mindshare Editor Julien Sharp had the privilege of sitting on a panel of one of the many Meetups Sonia organizes in Manhattan for people interested in learning more about the digital and creative industries, and it is a pleasure to have connected with her again for this Spotlight.
DM: Nearly our entire readership is working – or wants to work – in the digital space. What kind of services do you provide?
SJ: Metierlink’s services range from recruitment for larger established companies looking for talented full time professionals to small innovative start-ups looking for short-term freelance consultants.
DM: We all know hiring has been…slow. What have you been doing with your time?
SJ: Well, I’ve used this slower time to do some major updates in the way I do business. I have a new website launching later this month. It will facilitate all of the “connections” I make, including space for banner ads and announcements. I’ve got a great publicist, and have already had some placements in metro papers and HR journals. Metierlink was recently featured in a CNBC article on October 8th, entitled: Helpful Tips for HR and Hiring Managers as Hiring Freezes Start to Thaw. I’ve also begun to work with two business development professionals to help expand my reach.
The main thing we have done is to build our reputation for connecting people – not just in the traditional “employer/employee” sense. Metierlink is the proud organizer of a really popular series of Digital Media, Online Advertising and Career Management for Progressive Professionals Meetups. We have nearly 2000 members.
DM: What’s your key to success as an entrepreneur, especially in this economy?
SJ: While all of this is happening, I have begun to focus on the “career development” aspect of my business. There are so many talented people who want to get into the digital space, but maybe they don’t have the right resume, or they need help with interviewing, or job strategies in general.
So we have really expanded our services, to include career management for candidates looking for resume and online profile writing assistance, mock interviews, job searching strategies or creative portfolio updates.
In this economy, we all have to be creative entrepreneurs and consultants.
DM: It’s been a crazy couple of years in the employment industry. What do you see happening right now and in the coming months?
SJ: Right now, at least in the digital and creative industries, employers are using freelance workers. They are treading very carefully, which makes sense…and of course many of them won’t have new budgets until Q1, anyway.
But Q1 looks to bring some very good news. I’ve been speaking with the internal recruiters of a lot of companies. They are getting staffing plans in place for January, so as the year comes to a close, head count and approvals are going to start.
DM: What skills do people need to be able to land a job in the digital space in 2010?
SJ: I tell everyone who asks the same thing: It’s vital to network and think outside the more “traditional” ways of looking for a job. You have to go outside your skill set. First, you should list everything you are good at and passionate about…and find ways to do that any way you can.
For example, people I work with are doing a day gig or working freelance in something completely outside their interest, in order to make money. But – they are doing their “passion” on the side. They are gaining experience, meeting the right people, and getting closer to doing what they want to do fulltime every day.
I can’t stress this enough: Identify your goals and take on little projects, or take some classes, or do things for friends for free…whatever you have to do to build your portfolio so it becomes clear that when you are presenting yourself, you have the skills to jump right in.
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