City up close: Atlanta, GA

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City up close: Atlanta, GA
July 27, 2009
Heather Huhman
Examiner.com

The following is an approximate transcript from the first episode of my new podcast series, “Come Recommended Comes to Your City.” The focus is Atlanta, GA. Want Come Recommended to come to your city? Send an e-mail to comments@comerecommended.com.

Heather Huhman: Welcome to “Come Recommended Comes to Your City,” a podcast series in which we uncover city-specific entry-level job market data, tips and techniques through an interview with a local expert. I’m Heather Huhman, founder and president of Come Recommended. As a reminder, Come Recommended is an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers.

Today, we’ll be discussing the entry-level job market in Atlanta with Stephanie Lloyd. Stephanie is founder and CEO of Radiant Veracity: Where Talent + Social Media Intersect. With more than 15 years' experience in corporate recruiting and executive search, Stephanie works with hiring managers, HR executives, business owners and recruiting firms on recruitment and retention strategy including how to better utilize social media for talent acquisition and employee communication. Additionally, she helps individuals by providing guidance on subjects ranging from the job search to personal branding and career advancement strategies.

Welcome Stephanie, and thank you for being here.

Stephanie Lloyd: Thank you for having me.

HH: Overall, how would you describe the internship and entry-level job market in Atlanta?

SL: Like in many cities around the country, opportunities for paid internships – and for entry-level jobs – are tighter than under normal circumstances. This is a time to really get creative and see where it may lead.

In fact, just yesterday I hired two PR interns, Stephanie Perrett and Beth Farrar, both recent University of Georgia graduates, to help me grow my business, Radiant Veracity; a talent and social media strategies firm based here in Atlanta.

Rather than paying them a salary we have worked out a trade arrangement. They are helping me with various aspects of building and promoting my business – which gives them additional experience and more accomplishments to add to their resumes – and in return I am helping them by providing them with job search coaching, help with their resumes, cover letters, and job applications, and I’m helping them to significantly build and boost their professional networks. I have many fantastic contacts that I will be introducing them to over the next few weeks and months, and who knows? They just may land a paying job through one of them!

I am also featuring Stephanie and Beth in a series of guest posts on my blog, Radiant Veracity. In this ongoing series they will chronicle their internship experience. We’re hoping that by sharing their experience throughout a mutually beneficial internship other people will grab on to the idea and work together in creative ways to help one another in this challenging economy and job market.

HH: How often do people move around and/or change jobs in Atlanta?

SL: Atlanta has long been known for being a transient city. Many people relocate to Atlanta from various parts of the country for new jobs, job transfers, to be near family members, or to move to a warmer climate.

HH: What are the flagship industries of Atlanta?

SL: Atlanta is home to many wonderful companies, including Coca-Cola, Chick-Fil-A, CNN, Waffle House, The Weather Channel, TNT, Delta Airlines, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), AirTran, Rubbermaid Newell, 11 Alive News, UPS, Haverty’s, and Emory University and Healthcare System.

As you can see, we have quite a diverse industry population! You’ll find manufacturing, retail, hospitality, television and other media, airlines, and professional services here, to name a few. Many U.S. and foreign companies maintain a regional presence in Atlanta across various industries.

HH: Which industries do you think are up-and-coming in your area?

SL: According to The Ladders, media & advertising is up dramatically in Atlanta. Health/bio/pharma have also seen a slight increase recently.

HH: Which industries in Atlanta do you think will rebound the most quickly from the economic downturn?

SL: Because they’ve experienced such a dramatic downturn, I think that technology as well as the service industry will be poised to rebound quickly.

HH: How do you think the economic downturn has changed Atlanta?

SL: The city of Atlanta, like many other cities around the country, is experiencing deep financial trouble which has many impacts. Safety is an issue with the increases in crime that arise as a result of a poor economy and fewer police officers to deal with it.

Of course, we’ve also felt the impact of the housing crunch in Atlanta, like so many other cities; though not necessarily with same severity as other East Coast areas.

From a jobs perspective, according to The Ladders, telecom and tech in Atlanta have recently plummeted, while media & advertising is up dramatically. Health/bio/pharma have also seen a slight increase recently.

HH: Can an entry-level professional or intern live comfortably in Atlanta based on their industry’s average salary?

SL: Like anywhere else, entry-level salaries vary greatly by industry and by firm or company in Atlanta. The good news is that Atlanta has a very reasonable cost-of-living compared to so many other places in the U.S. which makes it much easier to manage expenses…especially as graduates are entering in to the workforce for the first time.

HH: What networking opportunities are available in Atlanta?

SL: Atlanta has no shortage of networking opportunities, that’s for sure! If you are active on Twitter you know that there are Tweetups (which is another word for meetup, or cocktail party, or networking event) at least once a week in the metro-Atlanta area.

I just co-hosted a very successful Tweetup last week, in fact, with Stephanie Frost and Rachel Rose. This event was the first ever Atlanta Chicks Tweetup – designed to bring professional women in the Atlanta area together for a Girls’ Night Out – and to network. We had 85 women in attendance at the brand new luxury St. Regis Hotel in Buckhead!

Due to the success of the first #ATLChix Tweetup we plan to make this a quarterly event. For more information women in Atlanta can follow the hashtag #ATLChix on Twitter or visit ATLChix.com in the very near future for details.

And, on August 4 beginning at 6 pm I am co-hosting a “co-ed” Tweetup at Pizzeria Venti on Lenox Road in Buckhead with Miriam Salpeter of Keppie Careers. The owners, Brian and Jaime Lackey, have been truly fantastic sponsors and partners to work with. For more information people can follow the hashtag #ATLMix on Twitter, or visit my Web site, radiantveracity.com.

For information on additional Tweetups and networking opportunities around Atlanta, people can check out the website atlantabuzz.com and search under Professional/Networking.

HH: What major changes have you seen take place since you began working in Atlanta?

SL: I’ve been living and working in Atlanta since 1997 and I have seen the marketplace here grow dramatically in terms of flexibility and creativity.

I’ve also seen a shift in a willingness to work together and help one another, rather than viewing others as the “evil competitor.” There is very much a sense of “if we help one another we all rise together” in this community.

HH: Where do you see the job market trends in Atlanta going in the short-term and long-term?

SL: Unfortunately, I don’t foresee a quick turn-around in the job market whether we’re talking about Atlanta or nationwide. From an economic perspective the stock market is a leading indicator and the job market is a lagging indicator; meaning that the job market is typically the last to rebound in an economic downturn. Unemployment in the state of Georgia is now at 10.7 percent and predicted to go even higher. Unfortunately, I think we’re probably looking at a couple of years more of higher than average unemployment.

The good news is that I do think we’re nearing the end of the massive job cuts; it’s just going to be a while before we see jobs really open up.