GLOO is hiring

I just wanted to thank everyone for recommending friends, daughters, sons, nephews, nieces, ex colleagues and contacts when I reached out on FBverse to look for hiring.

We are still looking, and though there are a few candidates already, but I would like to cast the net wider.

So we are looking for 2 potential hires, based on budget I would say we will need one AE and one SAE/AM - Account Executive (2.2 to 3k), Senior Account Executive (3k to 4.2k) and Account Manager (4k to 6k) I have also listed the expected salary range.

Account Executives - these would be fresh grads/diploma holders or people who are switching careers into PR. For AEs, I usually look for commitment, attitude and eagerness to learn. I want people with energy and who are excited to embark into this whole new career of PR that is in front of them. AEs who have the Responsibility trait (have psychological ownership of what they do) would be the cherry on the top.

Skillsets - It's tough to be a PR professional (as I have learned for the last six years) as there are many competencies needed to complete the circle. For AEs, in particular, I think the most important strength to have is Discipline (enjoy routine and structure) because AEs will be the support pillar for us. If this was League Of Legends, the AE will be the Healer class, making sure our health are in full bars while we take on eliminating the enemy.

Senior Account Executives – Staff who join us as AE can expect to be promoted to SAE in two years. Anything shorter would either mean that the staff is exceptional or we are desperate and need to promote faster. Taking more than two years to reach this level, I feel, means the staff is under performing or was a slow starter. The SAE has two key functions – to mentor AEs and to teach them the way of work while learning to eventually become an Account Manager where he/she will have even higher responsibilities. If there are no AEs (we are a small firm) the SAE must be prepared to continue to support.

Skillsets – SAEs must possess all of the skillsets and competencies of the AE and more. SAEs must learn to be the Tank – be the bulwark of the team. SAEs must master how to speak to client, how to exercise good Judgment, learn what is appropriate to say, build relationships with the media, how to craft pitches, create PR proposals. SAEs I feel are the superheroes of the team, because they need to be able to do just about everything

Account Managers – My expectation of AMs is this – if we get a new business, the AM is able to take the account and run with it. So the most important trait of an AM is having good Relationship skills. The AMs job is to set reasonable expectations with new clients, and then work hard to ensure those targets are met or overdelivered. AMs should also start learning (if they haven’t already) how to develop sales pitches and how to get new business, because that is what they will be expected to do when they become Senior Account Managers or Account Directors.

Skillsets – AMs are like the Lieutenants of the army. They lead the soldiers into battle, while managing the expectations of the higher ups in the system. Having charisma, strategic thinking, judgement, discipline and responsibility are the traits needed to succeed. Successful AMs are ready to eventually move up any agency’s value chain and be ready to be hired for in-house positions because the AM knows how to be the Carry to win the battle for his/her team.

Communication skills – I save this part for last. While being a PR executive requires many skillsets, the one competency that you cannot run away from is to be a strong communicator. You don’t need verbosity or a bulging vocabulary, but you must be able to speak clearly, pitch ideas without obsfucation and be able to write in a common sense way.

Why Join Gloo?

The DNA of Gloo is in consumer tech accounts and media relations. We have/are representing many consumer tech brands such as PlayStation, Canon, Jabra, PRISM+, Garmin, Karcher, 2KGames, Razer, ViewQwest, TPG, Circles Life, HP and more over the last six years. If you love consumer tech, then we will train you how to think like a tech journalist in figuring out the unique selling points of any product before you start any pitch to the media. I learned as an ex tech journalist for 15 years that a lot of PR folks do what is called Pass and Pray (they pass you a product and pray for a good outcome). While I cannot claim that Gloo has perfected every consumer tech PR pitch, we do instill in the team the need to be curious about the products we are pitching and to know the key features of all products that we pitch.

Over the years, Gloo has also grown to represent corporate and start up clients. We know the intricacies of executive comms (means you get the client CXOs into radio, TV, print and online with profile interviews and thought leadership bylines and get quoted by media as experts), We also represented many start ups and especially enjoy helping homegrown companies get into the big news.

It’s been six years, and Gloo has been profitable from day one. With the exception of last financial year (Covid), we have grown in revenue and profit year on year. While we don’t make a lot of money, we are stable and financially prudent.

The best thing about Gloo, I would like to think, is that people get to work with myself and Tammy Teo – and together we have over 40 years of experience in the media and communications business. We are open to share our knowledge and experience. I am good at pitching, relationship building, strategic thinking. Tammy is exceptional in client management, organisation and whipping people into action. I would also like to think that Gloo is a friendly workplace and that we value each and every employee very much. It’s a small team, and whether you are Support, Tank or Carry, everyone counts.

Please pm me or email at [email protected]. My deepest apologies for having such a long job post but if you read until the end, then I think I still have my journalistic skills