Wanted: People Who “Know” Social Media and Communications

sradick — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 03:34:05 +0000

My company, Booz Allen Hamilton, is actively hiring consultants who “get” social media. Let me explain – as I mentioned in one my earlier posts, I’m currently a consultant within the Strategic Communications team at Booz Allen. What does this mean? I’m part of the team that handles crisis comms, change communications, stakeholder outreach, public relations, media relations, etc. One of the other areas that we’ve branched out into social media consulting. This is the team that I lead, and I can tell you that my background in communications has heavily influenced my team’s approach to social media. For example, I can’t stand when clients ask me to “do a social media strategy.” I don’t believe in “social media strategies” – that implies that they’re created in a vacuum and that they’re separate from other strategies. My social media strategy is to integrate social media principles and applications into existing communications, collaboration, and/or knowledge management strategies.

Some of the things that I look for in potential candidates are:

Experience in using social media applications behind the corporate firewall – both as an individual and as a community manager
Demonstrated ability to incorporate social media into existing strategic communications, collaboration and/or knowledge management plans
Consulting experience working with clients in the public sector
At least a year of “traditional” communications experience where you were responsible for developing tactical products
Knowledge of the unique challenges that face public sector clients when trying to implement social media
Familiarity (not proficiency) with all kinds of social media applications (if you’ve never heard of MediaWiki or Twitter, no need to apply)
A desire to be a part of a small, but growing, diverse team of professionals who are focused on helping our clients integrate social media into their strategies – not on selling a specific piece of software.

If you think you’d be a good fit, head on over to the Booz Allen website to check out the official job posting and/or submit your resume. The system will ask you to create a profile before submitting your resume – please make sure that you mention my name (Steve Radick) in your entry so that I can be alerted to your interest and follow up. Looking forward to seeing who’s out there!

Social Media Strategery » recruiting

Wanted: People Who “Know” Social Media and Communications