Having the Best Career Experience of My Life

The title of this post, that’s me, Beth Ward, 17-year communications veteran and a Fleishman-Hillard lifer (minus a 13-month deviation to an experimental integrated marketing agency).

I started at Fleishman-Hillard when I was a 24-year-old intern. The agency paid $7.50 an hour, provided free parking and bestowed overtime riches when we worked more than 40 hours a week. I had a great group of colleagues at the time, including Andy Craig and Allison Collinger — two of several who have gone on to forge successful careers in communications. Al Fleishman roamed the halls, John Graham feverishly built the business and our client list included names like Hasbro, Compaq, Anheuser-Busch, Emerson, ConAgra and Energizer.

Some of my first Fleishman-Hillard projects include working the crowd as Baby Shamu at the St. Louis County Fair and Air Show, hanging with the winningest female musher Susan Butcher at the 1994 Iditarod Race in Fairbanks, Alaska, and appearing on CNN to promote Healthy Choice pasta sauce when an untimely absence of our dietitian spokesperson left me in the booth to speak on behalf of the brand. I worked under all the current leaders of our firm: John Graham, Dave Senay, Kurt Wehrsten, Bill Anderson, Susan Veidt and Janise Murphy, among others.

These leaders, my mentors, taught me everything I know in public relations, but more than experience, they gave me the opportunity to work on anything I wanted (within reason). So I’ve done media relations, product publicity, mergers and acquisitions, special events and new business pitches, and then I went on to oversee the creation and implementation of our company’s first portal-based intranet. Later I had responsibility for the redesign, content overhaul and relaunch of our corporate website — twice. And now for my current assignment, I recruit for the agency I adore.

You see that Fleishman-Hillard is different from any other large integrated marketing agency. And I think I know why. First, its roots are in the Midwest — in St. Louis of all places. A town distinguished by great universities, cultural institutions and an easy cost of living. A creative, aggressive agency like Fleishman-Hillard can thrive in this environment. Second, as noted in the 2010 Holmes Report card, we consistently outrank our large agency peers in providing professional development opportunities, practicing our values and offering fair compensation. And third and most important, once you prove your worth to your clients, your leaders and your colleagues, you have more opportunities to pursue your passions than any other agency.

Examples? How about Annalise Coady, who has worked for the agency on three different continents and currently leads our Middle East operations. Or Beth Boswell, a native Canadian who has lived and worked in seven Fleishman-Hillard offices and currently contributes to the growth of our Southeast Asia, India and Indonesia offices. And we have Kathie Thomas, who managed the St. Louis print and creative team for more than 10 years but whose devotion to creativity and innovation drove her to start her own practice group five years ago. Now she travels the world meeting with clients and colleagues to get them to think differently and more ingeniously. Finally, there is Jay Beisman, a 58-year veteran of the firm who, in his mid-80s, is the laser eye and the final print check on Fortune 10 annual reports.

So yes, our career tagline is ambitious. But Fleishman-Hillard practices its own PR and, by doing so, differentiates itself from all of our competitors. Our corporate philosophy and our roots are ingrained in the center of the U.S. but have translated successfully around the globe. Our agency stands as the pinnacle job in an ambitious communications career. And the opportunities we present to anyone who joins Fleishman-Hillard truly make it “the best career experience of your life.”℠

Beth Ward
Senior Vice President and Partner

June 8th, 2010 | 3 Comments

We have some exciting news to share. Fleishman-Hillard has been named one of the “Top 50 Companies for Executive Women” by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE). This list highlights organizations whose policies and practices encourage the advancement of women’s careers. To add to the good news, in our first year on the list we are among the Top 10 companies the only communications represented.

I can personally attest to the career opportunities here and feel fortunate to have access to many successful women across the organization who have grown their careers at FH over time. This is great recognition for Fleishman-Hillard and speaks to the agency’s commitment to providing employees the best career experience of their lives.

Check out the full press release for more details.

Chris Frede
Senior Vice President & Partner

March 3rd, 2010 | Comment on this.

As part of an ongoing commitment to match PR job seekers with the industry’s best opportunities, we’re excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned FleishmanHillard.com. At first glance, you’ll notice we’ve highlighted the things that matter most to you: jobs and internships. Upon further examination, you’ll discover several key technical changes — all created to greatly enhance your experience. Here are just a few of the improvements:

New RSS Job Feed
Now you can learn about opportunities at Fleishman-Hillard by subscribing to our new RSS job feed. You can also customize your feed by subscribing based on your city or field of interest.

New Alumni Section
Current or former members of the Fleishman-Hillard family are now able to connect with other communications professionals to exchange ideas and contacts.

Interactive Maps
Use our new Global Network to quickly find everything from local office contacts to driving directions.
Plus, you’ll get an even better sense of the Fleishman-Hillard culture by exploring our new home page videos, featured thought pieces from agency leaders, links to dedicated microsites for our many capabilities and insights from our network of bloggers.

So check out Careers on the new FleishmanHillard.com and discover “a place where exceptionally talented people do the best work of their lives.”

Agnes Gioconda
Chief Talent Officer

February 24th, 2010 | Comment on this.

Recently the Fleishman-Hillard Washington, D.C. office teamed up with the LAGRANT Foundation on a career workshop for 20 local college students. The LAGRANT Foundation is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the number of ethnic minorities in the fields of advertising, marketing and public relations.

Fleishman-Hillard’s partnership with LAGRANT goes back several years and includes two previous career workshops in Los Angeles and St. Louis.

Along with a number of FH DC account staff, I had the opportunity to lead a three-hour workshop for students from American University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Howard University and the University of Maryland.

The presentation provided a global overview of FH, an in-depth look at FH DC, information on FH’s specialty practice groups (Hispania, African-American, Out Front) and internship program, and an interactive Q&A session about social media and job search tactics.

It was a fantastic event and will surely lead to further opportunities for both the students and FH DC.

Brian

September 28th, 2009 | 2 Comments

We all go through job interviews in our professional lives, and we live in a time where we can find advice on how to ace an interview everywhere we look: books, magazines, Web sites, etc. These quick-help books and strategies are a double-edged sword. On one hand, these publications can help job seekers become familiar with interview methods and processes. On the other hand, formulaic responses may encourage candidates to provide standard boiler-plate answers instead of presenting a true picture of who they are and what they’d like out of their next position.

As the director of Talent Development for Fleishman-Hillard’s China offices, I recommend that a candidate take the interview opportunity to really figure out what the interviewer is looking for with the questions he or she poses. A seemingly simple, chatty question may involve complicated and serious thinking.

For example, when an interviewee appears tense and nervous, I may start the interview with, “Did you have a tough time finding this place? How did you get here?” Not that the means of transportation really matters, but this “non-interview” question allows the candidate to relax and paves the way for an open dialogue.

Speaking from experience, every question I ask a candidate has a purpose — from putting a candidate at ease to addressing skills and qualifications to determining a person’s ability to fit into the culture at FH China. At the end of an interview, I want to know the following about a candidate:

• Is this person the ideal candidate for the position given her experience and potential for growth?
• Is the interviewee a good match with the culture of the firm and spirit of the team?
• Is the interviewee a person interested in gaining knowledge and experience, as well as pursuing excellence on the job?

For me, the best way to handle an interview lies not in any particular question-answer method, but rather focusing on how best to present your true self: your experience on and off the job, your potential for growth and your character traits. The key to a successful interview is knowing who you are, what you want, and how you will contribute to the company and team.

Yu Li

September 25th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Lorna Croft is an account manager in the London Healthcare practice. Earlier this year, she spent six weeks working in our New York office. Below are the highlights of that experience.

I’ve been at Fleishman-Hillard for three years now and recently undertook a fantastic opportunity to transfer to the New York office for a short-term assignment. Would you say “no” to the opportunity to learn from some of the most respected individuals in the business, our FH New York healthcare colleagues? At the same time, it was a tremendous chance to get an inside perspective into the evolving American healthcare system under President Obama.

Many people have asked, “How did you do that?” The answer: Well, I asked! Fleishman-Hillard is committed to its staff members and their development, and during a meeting with my manager, I discussed my personal career goal of working in another city. We had an open conversation, and months later I was on my way.

In May I landed in New York City, got settled in and dived right into work. I set about learning the ropes of the New York office and the healthcare team by immersing myself in everything they do, from client brainstorms to internal team meetings and media events, as well as helping organize the social side of agency life.

The weeks flew by as I enjoyed the 24-hour city as a short-term resident. And looking back, it was an invaluable experience where I learned many things:

• The U.S. and UK are very similar in some respects, but also different in many ways. That sounds obvious, but it’s not until you get the hands-on experience that it becomes clear what those differences are.
• I quickly found that the healthcare PR landscape in the U.S. is geared more toward consumers, given the U.S. direct-to-consumer approach. For me, this was a great opportunity to return to my consumer roots and engage with this audience.
• The current U.S. healthcare landscape is dominated by the changes Obama’s administration is proposing in healthcare legislation.

In addition to these key learnings, I was also able to share “London (U.K.)” points of view, listen to New York perspectives and meet many colleagues outside of the healthcare team, including consumer, digital and media relations team members. I had the opportunity to share my time with newfound friends and colleagues, and it reminded me how invaluable our large network is for business and resource sharing.

Lorna

September 18th, 2009 | Comment on this.

My Washington, D.C. colleagues recently put together a video to showcase the culture and people that make FH D.C. one of the world’s leading PR offices. As the cliché goes, without people, it’s just a building.

With approximately 200 professionals and a number of practice groups (digital, healthcare, public affairs, corporate communications, to name a few), D.C. is the second-largest office in FH’s global network and serves as the hub of the firm’s digital practice area.

The office has a broad base of local, national and international clients in the private, public and government sectors. There are dozens of Silver Anvil and Webby Awards in our lobbies on the 10th and 11th floors.

It takes a lot of great talent and a positive corporate culture to do all this award-winning client work. But maybe the two foosball tables, basketball arcade game or 25-cent vending machines have something to do with the office’s success as well …

I guess you’ll just have to watch the video below and find out FH D.C.’s winning formula!

Brian

September 8th, 2009 | 1 Comment

Fleishman-Hillard is a global agency with a strong — and quickly growing — presence in Asia Pacific. Our Kuala Lumpur office is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and Ku Kok Peng, the office’s general manager, was recently interviewed on BFM Radio’s Breakfast Grille. Listen to Ku discuss how he started his PR career and his views on what makes good communications strategy.

Shirley

September 4th, 2009 | Comment on this.

Martha Boudreau’s life has taken her from sailing ships in the Carribbean to running the ship at FH Washington.

Martha, who now oversees the Mid-Atlantic and Latin American regions for the company, was interviewed by The Washington Post. She shared some great advice: “This is my 23rd year at Fleishman-Hillard. The key to longevity, at least for me, is that I personally share the values of this company. If you’re going to stay somewhere, you have to have shared values and support the mission of the corporation. It’s a tough business and the work is very demanding. But I was lucky early in my career to find a company that supports personal growth and promotes teamwork.”

You can read more of the interview at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/02/AR2009080202097.html

Congrats, Martha!

-Brian

September 1st, 2009 | Comment on this.

Each year, the St. Louis Business Journal nominates 30 young professionals from the St. Louis area who exemplify a commitment to their profession and their community and set an example for their peers.

This year, Katy Lachky, Managing Supervisor at Fleishman-Hillard, was nominated and received the prestigious 30 under 30 award.

Katy, who joined Fleishman in 2007, currently works on global accounts such as Great Wolf Lodge, Boston Market, Save-a-Lot and national pitching throughout the network. In her spare time, she serves on the steering committee of the GenNext Program, which is dedicated to strengthening the community by organizing various community service projects across the region.

Congrats to Katy — we’re very proud you call FH home!

Mary

August 14th, 2009 | Comment on this.