Area Headhunters and Artists Friendly Organizations
worth the phone call
Our executive director went "undercover" to see what the Boston
Area Permanent Placement Agencies were like. She worked with them to see a)
if they actually returned phone calls b) if they were nice people and a nice
agency c) if they could actually work with some one who was both an artists
and from the non profit sector. Usually these agencies place in the for profit
world, but occasionally they do have jobs in the rather well funded non profits
(ones that can pay the agency's fee!).
Here are her recommendations (she also sent her own brother, a very recent college grad, to these people so you know they are good!).
I began my investigation of placement agencies in winter of 98, partially due to the fact that I was writing an article for the Artists Foundation's web page on job search strategies for artists and also due to the fact that as a cost saving measure, I was phasing out my paid position at the Artists Foundation (I am still going to be the Executive Director but more or less I won't get a regular pay check- just a very small monthly stipend). The agencies that I recommend are listed in alphabetical order, not in a ranking order, for they are all great folks and agencies.
Some of the agencies might test you on your computer skills- so If you don't know a computer program, be up front with them. You can do free computer training at their site. I recommend to take the tests to see what you know and what you are asked to know. Get the results and then study for the retest. You may also need to take a typing test as well. Again you can practice. At each place you will be asked to fill out paper work so figure at least one hour per interview with an agency.
Please tell them you got their name and agency from the AF Web site. And when you do get a job you should call all the head hunters you "registered with" to let them know. Remember to always conduct your own job search via the help wanted sections - in the end that is how I got, what we call at the Distillery Building where the AF is housed, my "big girl job".
-Kathleen Bitetti
Executive Director
February 2004
Cleary Consultants, Inc.
21 Merchants Row Faneuil Hall
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: (617) 367-7189
Fax: (617) 367-3202
Contact: Mary Cleary, President
I found Mary Cleary to be quite an extraordinary woman. She was very supportive and sent me out on very interesting job possibilities that were very good matches with my skills. Her attention to detail and finding the right match was great. I actually made one good friend from one of the interviews! Her agency tends to have more experienced positions than entry level jobs. Many of the jobs her agency has are in the gray area between senior support staff and management. This is why I contacted her because I am definitely in the gray area when it comes to my experience level. She is someone that I plan to keep in touch with on both a personnel and professional level.
Fanning Personnel
20 Park Plaza Suite 1228
Boston, MA 02116
Phone: (617) 728-4100
Fax: (617) 728-4115
Web page: http://www.fanning-boston.com/
Contact: Chris Kennedy, Vice President
Chris Kennedy has one of the best senses of humor and is straight forward. She was recommended to me by a friend of mine who she placed into a really great job. Most of her clients are in the financial sector which is a very interesting area to go into (those are the organization who buy real art for their walls). She is definitely hip and wanted to get me a job with great benefits and bonuses. She understood that nonprofit work tends to lack in these areas and wanted to find me some security (a foreign concept in the non profit art world). This is the only agency I liked, besides MIT, that is on the web.
Franklin-Pierce Associates,
Inc
One Liberty Square
Boston MA 02109
Phone: (617) 654-8842
Fax: (617) 695-0683
Contact: Frank Gentile, Vice President
email: fgentile@jeffreystaffing.com
I really liked Frank. I thought that he was very personable and honest. He was the only man who I met in the permanent placement business world who I clicked with and would recommend to others!! His agency places secretarial, administrative and financial support personnel. He was very up front when he didn't have anything that would interest me on the job front. He is very accessible and actually answers his direct phone line.
Hollister Associates, Inc
31 Milk Street
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: (617) 654-0237
Contact: Pamela Claughton
email: pclaughton@hollister-inc.com
Pam and I really had a great time working together. She was always a pleasure to speak to in person or on the phone. She always made the time to call me back and she even called to congratulate me when I got a job through my own endeavors. She also sent me on interesting interviews with really nice young hip companies- many of them in the computer industry. Hollister, I must say, had the best looking lobby area and was the only agency that had original contemporary art on their walls!! I liked Pam so much that I gave her a piece of my artwork!! Pam is presently focusing on placing multimedia, IT, and Internet-savvy skilled people.
Kennison Associates Inc
21 Custom House Street
Boston, MA 02110
Phone: (617) 478-2888
Fax: (617) 478-2887
Contact: Nell Hesener or Felice Brenner
Kennison, Nell Hesener and Felice
Brenner are AF favorites. It was this agency who contacted us to collaborate
on having artist work in their Staffing/temp department. Anyone who understands
the needs of artists and wants to employ them is ok in our book. The agency
has already worked with Stage Source to recruit actors. And Felice is a dancer
and her brother is a musician, so she understands artists and their needs.
She is also very straight forward on what one needs to do to secure the job
of "their dreams or needs".
____________________________________
Although MIT isn't a placement agency- their Personnel Office is very artist
friendly- I mean they love to place artists! However, they have very specific
guidelines/directions for applying -so you must either check out their web
site or pick up MIT Positions Available Publication at their office to get
their directions on applying. It is worth taking the time to do this.
MIT
Office of Personnel Services
400 Main Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
Web address:http://web.mit.edu/personnel/www/
(no phone calls please)
MIT is an interesting place to work. There are tons of artists who already work there. MIT's part time jobs (over 17hr per week ) give full benefits. My contact was Ken Wolf- a great guy who really likes artists! When I went on my interview with him, he told me how he loves to place artists and that he just had placed two young opera singers. And he was very excited about being linked with the AF's Web page!! It is a great university environment with wonderful benefits including access to incredible campus resources. They even have an "Artist's behind the desk" series that highlights the creative folks working at MIT!
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