Before pursuing a career in Recruitment Marketing, Shaunda Zilich was a real estate agent, insurance agent and even operated her own motorcycle shop. To use Shaunda’s own words, she has a “crazy diverse background.”
Today, Shaunda holds the title of Global Talent Brand Manager for Qualtrics, and RallyRM Mentor.
“I tell people it’s not very prescriptive. I think you can have a very wide array of things in your background and have it all make sense toward Employment Brand,” Shaunda told the Rally Team.
How did you transition to Recruitment Marketing?
When Shaunda interviewed for her former position at GE, they were hiring for a “Social Media Recruiter” position. The responsibilities of the role were somewhat vague. She says the company knew there was a Recruitment Marketing need, but they didn’t know what it was and how to go about it. Together, she says, they built up the role and eventually created a global Employer Brand team as well.
“I was talking to the Vice President and he asked, ‘What do you think about this HR deal?’ And I said, ‘Well, it seems even better because instead of marketing people and products and services, I’m actually marketing experiences and plugging people into the opportunity, hopefully, of a lifetime,’” Shaunda said. “It was really neat to see that come together. It took a little while. First stepping into it I thought, ‘This is going to happen overnight. This is a big company!’ It really didn’t. It took some selling of key stakeholders.”
Is there anything you would have done differently in the beginning of your Recruitment Marketing career?
In the beginning, Shaunda admits she was intimidated when it came to approaching GE leadership about some of the Recruitment Marketing initiatives she had in the works. She thought she could move forward without it. In hindsight, she wishes she had gotten leadership on board right away because it wasn’t until then that her famed “Brand Ambassador” program really took off. The buy-in, she says, is crucial.
“I think the other thing I would have done differently is discover sooner what my passion was. I knew that I could do marketing, but I didn’t realize that the passion part of it was for people. I think that’s where Employment Brand and Recruitment Marketing really start to play into my passions and talents. To me, that’s part of your purpose and what you discover,” Shaunda said.
What would your “elevator pitch” be to a company considering adopting Recruitment Marketing?
Shaunda has a pretty concise “elevator pitch” for any company toying with the idea of implementing Recruitment Marketing tactics.
“You can really think of it this way: We’re getting to the point where people don’t even want to do business with another company that doesn’t respect their employees or doesn’t have a reputation that it’s a great place to work. If people don’t want to do business with a company like that and people obviously don’t want to work at a company like that, you’re really losing out,” Shaunda said.
Shaunda’s insight and experience are invaluable. As Rally members look to expand their current roles and adopt more Recruitment Marketing practices, they can take inspiration from Shaunda. She’s an example of just jumping in and being fearless.
