Companies
Julie Batliner, President of Carmichael Lynch and Carmichael Lynch Relate; Erica Samadani, Executive Director of PR for MullenLowe PR and Cofounder of Momternships; and Val DiFebo, CEO of Deutsch New York, join CI Conversations host Jennifer Sain to discuss the recruitment programs their agencies have created to facilitate DEI-friendly hiring in the advertising industry.
After the murder of George Floyd, Carmichael Lynch knew they had to act. So, they developed an externship called the BIPOC Career Explorer, where BIPOC students learn about all six Carmichael Lynch firms, receive a $1,000 stipend and gain in-agency experience. Meanwhile, as available childcare dipped during COVID, leading to a reduction of the number of women in the workforce not seen since the 1980s, MullenLowe PR created its Momternships program which helps moms who took time off from their careers to get back into the workforce. Likewise, Deutsch New York created its own Deutsch Summer Camp program designed to recruit potential students who might not otherwise have access to careers in advertising and communications.
For the future, these programs are looking into how the use of AI could potentially be used to build resume templates and help participants practice standard interview questions. Expansion may also be on the horizon for one or more of these programs.
