What's in a Name?

A company's name has a lot to do with its ability to attract good job candidates. A well-recognized name strengthens an employer's recruiting efforts by creating a favorable impression in advance of the first communication. A company's name and logo, along with its consistent and thoughtful application, can convey the products or services offered, a cohesive vision, or even a corporate culture. Companies with high name recognition generally attract more candidates - both skilled job seekers and lower level workers - because they have had an opportunity to build an affinity and preference for a company that is familiar.

Lesser known employers must work harder to attract candidates because a baseline of knowledge may be minimal or possibly nonexistent. These companies must do more to market themselves and their employment opportunities since they cannot rely on name recognition alone to draw in the best candidates.

Some companies have names that are well known, but the public is either not familiar with or confused about their products or services. Name recognition alone may not be enough to overcome preconceived notions that the public or job candidates may have. Many larger companies are well known, but the public has no real basis to judge what type of employer they are.

Imagine the confusion in the marketplace for Sallie Mae and Fannie Mae when it's time to recruit new employees. Neither one of these are people, but dynamic and thriving Fortune 500 companies right in the Washington metropolitan area. However, not everyone is clear on what they do, what job opportunities exist, or why anyone would want to work for them. What these companies have in common is that they were originally chartered
by Congress to provide financial assistance for education and housing. Now they are public New York Stock Exchange-traded companies. The SLM Holding Corporation, better known as Sallie Mae, provides help to people needing school loans. Fannie Mae, formerly the Federal National Mortgage Association, provides affordable mortgages for home buyers. Both organizations recruit and employ a host of information technology and other professionals. These companies, like those with lower name recognition, must face the challenge of educating or even re-educating the public and potential candidates about what they offer both customers and employees.

Bethesda, MD-based U.S. Generating Company (also referred to as USGen) is experiencing a lack of name recognition even though it is one of the United States' largest independent power providers. The 10-year-old company, a wholly owned subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, manages a $5 billion portfolio of power plants, yet it is not well known by potential job applicants.

"We have been able to sell our company to information technology professionals based on the technical opportunities themselves, said Liz Fricke, manager of recruitment services at USGen. "We've found that many IT people are driven by the types of projects offered and not just the company. These job seekers want more technical training and a chance to work on super projects, which is what we offer at USGen."

According to Fricke, IT candidates are also sold on the entrepreneurial spirit of USGen. They are attracted by its team-oriented work environment and excellent benefits package, all backed by a large power company, but without the high level of bureaucracy associated with some larger companies. Add to that an information systems department that is small but growing, enabling IT pros to work on a variety of projects without being stovepiped into specific niches, and USGen becomes a company that candidates want to consider. Candidates are often only able to appreciate the excellent opportunities at USGen after speaking with some of the company's recruiters, employees or visiting the website.

Mitretek Systems, Inc., a McLean, VA-based nonprofit research organization providing information, telecommunications, and environmental technology solutions in the public interest, is also dealing with name recognition issues. The organization, which employs nearly 700 people, compensates for low name recognition by using non-traditional recruiting methods such as advertising more frequently, seeking and participating in networking opportunities, providing speakers for conference seminars, inviting candidates to chat with managers, and distributing the company's web address on business cards. The organization also uses traditional recruiting methods such as employee referrals, newspaper advertising, trade publications, participating in job fairs, and the Internet to. interest candidates.

"We're working hard to get our name recognized by promoting employee involvement in the community. They are spokespeople for the company. Our referral program has developed into one of our best recruitment tools," said Mosetta Blackmon, director of human resources, at Mitretek. "Also, as a nonprofit, we provide independent technical services which serve the public good."

Candidates applying for positions at Mitretek Systems, Inc., are sometimes more familiar with the company's predecessor, the Mitre Corporation, which also provides technical solutions for government clients. At times, when companies "spin off' it can add to the confusion in the marketplace as they try to differentiate themselves. The new Mitretek is currently recruiting for a variety of positions, including infonnation security engineers, information systems engineers, environmental engineers, and telecommunications systems engineers.

"Candidates should always be willing to talk to companies with little name recognition. Like Mitretek, they may be diamonds in the rough," said Blackmon.

SRA International, Inc., is comfortable with the use of an acronym as its corporate identity as it works to further improve its name recognition. SRA's core business is to provide systems integration and technology consulting services to business and government. Because acronyms are so prevalent in the infonnation technology industry - EDS. AOL, CSC, TRW, and BTG, to name a few - SRA does not believe that an acronym name puts it at a disadvantage in the marketplace.

SRA employs approximately 1,700 people nationwide, with nearly 900 working in the Washington metropolitan area. According to director of recruiting Kerri Morehart, the company is looking to fill several hundred more information technology positions before the firm's fiscal year ends in July of 1999. The company uses many recruiting methods in tandem to attract professionals and receives approximately 600 to 1,000 resumes per month.

Kerri Morehart, Director of Recruiting at SRA International, says the company uses newspaper ads as one way to attract potential employees.
SRA increases its name recognition by encouraging employees to use and wear items with the company logo. SRA shirts, hats and mugs are for sale in the company store.

"We use unconventional methods to brand our name as we recruit new employees," said Morehart. "For example, we advertise on screen at movie theaters during the previews and we advertise in Washington Metro subway stations. We want the public, especially high quality potential candidates, to know our name and to think of us as a premiere employer."

Morehart feels the SRA acronym has no impact on the company's recruitment initiatives, partly because of an effort over the past few years to increase the visibility of the company in the media and in the community. For example, SRA has received prominent press coverage in publications such as Information Week, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

"We are fairly well known among IT professionals because they have either seen our ads or visited our web site," said Morehart. "Our reputation in the community and the high tech marketplace has helped us to get job candidates at all levels, including senior staff, because of our creative approach to recruitment. "
SRA International is using its creativity to kick off an Internet recruitment campaign featuring an animated penguin, which is also seen on hats, mugs, and t-shirts sold at "The Penguin Shop" company store. The popular penguin mascot, first used as an internal communication mechanism, will now be used externally to attract and recruit candidates in a full circle marketing process. Employees will be sporting these items as they work on company-sponsored community service projects for Greater D.C. Cares and a Partnership for Education with Key Elementary . School. Through Greater D.C. Cares, SRA employees have participated in activities such as refurbishing affordable housing and a women's shelter, neighborhood and park cleanups, youth field trips, and meal preparation for the homeless. The partnership with Key Elementary School has resulted in more than 30 SRA volunteers that regularly tutor students and help implement the school's computer technology program.

Creativity in recruiting does not single-handedly ensure positive name recognition or a steady stream of good job candidates. The company's commitment to its employees and customers is also driving their recruitment efforts.

"We have a strong culture of honesty, service, quality work, and customer satisfaction," said Laura Luke, SRA International's director of corporate communications. "We believe in giving back to the community that has given so much to us. Our people are our business, our passion, and our future."

Luke also believes that SRA International's name recognition has increased in recent years because it has so many satisfied public and private sector clients.

"Our clients have helped us increase our name recognition because they talk about our high quality work to others in the industry. This is one of the best boosts to our name recognition," said Luke.

SRA International's clients include securities finns CIBC Oppenheimer Corp., and Wheat First Union, which are using the firm's Assentor e-mail message screening and archiving software to prevent insider trading and stock hyping; and work for nearly every federal agency, including the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and Treasury. SRA International is currently working on the National Practitioner Data Bank, the federal national database of adverse information about physicians and dentists, and a year 2000 project for the U.S. Postal Service.

High name recognition does not necessarily mean that candidates flock to your company, inundating human resources managers with resumes and telephone calls. In 1990, the Clorox Company, a leading producer of household cleaning and other consumer products, needed a workforce for its new manufacturing distribution center in Aberdeen, Md. Although Clorox is an established national brand, it was unknown in Harford County as an employer at that time. The company, which has more than 6,600 employees worldwide, developed a community relations and outreach program to help the surrounding communities understand Clorox's culture.

"We have a widely recognized name in the marketplace, but few people could know what kind of employer we are when we first came to Harford County." said Jim Berger, plant manager. "We've worked hard for almost a decade to be a solid corporate citizen and participate in our community."

In 1998 when Clorox expanded its manufacturing center and advertised to hire 50 additional employees, the company discovered that the outreach efforts are paying off.

"We got an abundance of high caliber candidates through our recruitment process even in a tight labor market," said Berger. "I believe that our rapport with the community and the innovative things we're doing with our employees is becoming known, helping us to become one of Harford County's preferred employers."

Name recognition is one of many important factors impacting an employer's ability to attract and retain the best professionals. For candidates, not being familiar with a company is no reason to rule it out when searching for that next dream job. Candidates should use the Internet, family and friends, and other resources to find out if an employer is right for them. Job seekers may be pleasantly surprised to find that there are many good companies that are not household names but could take their careers to the next level. So it's not, "what's in a name?" Find out what's behind the name when seeking new opportunities.

IT Careers with Non-Profits: Are they Profitable?

Christine Williams is so busy recruiting technology professionals for the National Geographic Society, where she is Manager of Staffing and Recruitment, hat she barely has time to stop and talk about what it's like for such professionals to work in non-profit organizations. But it is apparent that the market for IT professionals in that segment of our economy is robust. What may not be so apparent is that non-profits can offer an attractive alternative for IT job seekers.

Williams doesn't believe technology workers necessarily think of non-profits when they begin looking for positions. "They consider the big corporations first, or maybe they look for a technology firm," she says. "Fortunately for me, many prospective applicants see the National Geographic name and choose to apply because of our worldwide reputation for superior quality and integrity of content. It also helps that the Society has a strong commitment to utilizing the most current technologies. We have a lot to offer a prospective employee."

There's certainly no lack of employers in the non-profit world, particularly in this area. The Baltimore/Washington corridor is home to thousands of non-profit organizations, from hospitals and universities to charitable foundations, small community organizations and very large groups, such as the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), with nearly a half billion dollars in annual revenues. Countless advocacy associations, such as the Humane Society of the United States and the US Chamber of Commerce, have their headquarters in the Washington area in order to have access to federal officials. Many large non-profit organizations, like the NAACP and International Youth Foundation, have recently selected Baltimore for their national headquarters, following organizations like the National Federation for the Blind and the American Urological Association that located their national headquarters there some time ago. These non-profits often have substantial operating budgets and relatively large staffs.

A recent study by Lester Salamon of The Johns Hopkins University demonstrated that nonprofits are a vital part of the economic engine that drives the state of Maryland. From 1989 to 1996, non-profit organizations accounted for half of the net new jobs that Maryland generated, with 35,000 new positions. More than 185,000 people in Maryland - about 8.4 percent of the total workforce - are employees in the non-profit sector. With wages of more than $5.3 million in 1996, they accounted for 7.4 percent of all Maryland wages that year. It's likely that one would find similar statistics for the Northern Virginia and District of Columbia. Says Peter V. Berns, Executive Director of the Maryland Association for Non-Profit Organizations, which worked with Salamon to produce Private Action/Public Good Maryland's Non-Profit Sector in a Time of Change, "When we talk about the vitality of our economy -in Maryland and throughout the Baltimore Washington corridor - we are not getting the full picture if we don't include the non-profit sector."

So, the employers are there. What does that have to do with you? The opportunities in non-profits abound for IT professionals. If you thought your job search should be confined to banking and finance, technology or distribution companies, you're overlooking some interesting prospects.

First, you'll find respect. Although there are exceptions, most non-profits have relatively small IT/IS staffs. You won't be just another "tekkie" in the crowd. The skills and experience you bring to your internal clients will be appreciated, valued ...and much in demand. LiAaron Johnson is the MIS Manager for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a Baltimore-based family foundation with more than $1 billion in assets. "Technology is highly valued here," he says of his three-person staff. "We're like fire fighters. If we're doing our job - preventing fires - we're invisible. When we have to put out a fire, our internal customers really appreciate us."

You'll also find variety. "Associations like ours tend to be smaller enterprises," says Michele Fantt Harris, Assistant Vice President of the 300-employee Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). "That means the IT professional has to be a jack of all trades." Other employees at the AAMC tend to come from colleges and universities, so you might find an unusually technology-sophisticated group there.

Johnson confirms Harris' observations. "You're not pigeonholed into one thing, with just a small piece of a project, like some of my friends complain about their jobs. Our staff is cross-trained and we all participate in brainstorming for solutions." It helps to have a variety of technology skills, although other in-demand specialties include web enabling, Y2K readiness, systems integration, database management, server technologies and others.

You'll also find support for professional development. "We have a lot of diverse needs and individuals have a lot of opportunity to grow and broaden their capabilities beyond those they had when they joined us," says Harris. Johnson adds that continuous training improves the "idea pool" and speed of problem-solving. In addition, his staff is very involved in training other employees to work with new technology. Last year's complete changeover to a new grants management system, from a DOS-based system to an NT platform, was successful, in Johnson's estimation, because training was required for every Casey employee before their equipment was updated.

When you join a non-profit, you will find that the organization's mission is the primary driver for new technology, budget decisions and, often, for its corporate culture. At the Casey Foundation, technology is expected to support and enhance the Foundation's mission of improving the welfare of children across the nation. Established by the family that founded the United Parcel Service (UPS), Casey has. formed partnerships and alliances across the globe and uses technology to maintain those relationships, often raising the level of technical sophistication of its partners. Says Johnson, "Since we're a non-profit, our budgetary constraints center more around "What's the most efficient technology to get this job done?" That can be a far more intriguing question to answer than "What's the most we can spend on this project?"

While very small non-profits are often under severe budget constraints, you'll find that salaries at the large and mid-size organizations are very competitive, with reasonable benefits packages and perks. Many technology employees of these groups will tell you that they find that they, too, become infused with the missions of their employers. When you combine that kind of job satisfaction with competitive salaries and benefits, you may just discover that a career with a non-profit organization pays big dividends for you.