Celebrating One Year of SDZR Success Stories!
Mindy Schultz | November 29th, 2010
Happy birthday to us! Yes that’s right, with the craziness of the holiday season right around the corner, Six Degrees of ZR is celebrating its one-year anniversary a little early! The newsletter, which was originally launched in January 2010, is marking this current issue as its one-year anniversary. And in what better way than to tell you what we’ve been up to!
SDZR began when a couple of friends approached Zack Rosenberg, now creator of SDZR, about needing help in finding work. Zack pitched in by reaching out to a few contacts. A few contacts became several. And several, became everyone he knew! After experiencing successful results from these contributions, the idea to launch SDZR erupted. The blog started with about 325 subscribers in January 2010, and is up to over 2,000 people currently. SDZR is now a growing monthly newsletter, including a PR section for readers, two part time writers, and several new friends.
As the one-year anniversary approaches, the SDZR team is creating new and innovative approaches to help continue its success in the future. And, as the newsletter would not be successful without success stories, SDZR has decided to get in touch with just a few of the people it has helped succeed! For the purpose of this blog, Karin Hoesl (KH), Joy Reines (JR), and Andrew Gussman (AG) were asked to answer a variety of questions inquiring what they’ve been up to, how SDZR personally helped them, in what ways they believe it can continue to help others and more!
Q. What is the name of your company and your title within that company?
A.
KH: Account Manager, Media Shakers Corp.
JR: Account Manager, Platform Development, eXelate, Inc
AG: WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) / Account Executive
Q. How did you hear about SixdegreesofZR and what role did it play in helping you land your current job?
A.
KH: I met Zack while working for Niche Media – our companies shared office space. From a friendship with Zack I learned of his plans to launch Sixdegrees and immediately signed up for the newsletter, as I was looking to leave my current job. Sixdegrees ended up playing a huge role in landing my current position, as I learned of the opening from the newsletter. Through Zack’s help and relationships with the people at Media Shakers, I landed the interview and things just went from there.
JR: Zack and I were connected via LinkedIn, which is where I found about Sixdegrees. I knew that Zack had a lot of connections in the industry, specifically some of the places I was looking at, and so I asked if he would make an introduction.
AG: I helped Zack at Mochila implement, an ad campaign for BP on NYDailyNews.com. We connected on LinkedIn and I learned more about his newsletter/blog. Soon after, I found myself in the job market searching for a new role. I reached out to Zack with my resume to post on Sixdegrees and one week later, was contacted by the Director of Sales for WWE requesting to meet with me!
Q. How long would you say it took you to find a job once you started looking? Did SixdegreesofZR help speed up the process? How long have you been there now?
A.
KH: Looking for and landing a new job is always a process, at times a lengthy one. Sixdegrees definitely sped up this process, as I now had a personal connection with the people I was interviewing with. I would say from the initial interview to when I was actually hired it was probably a process of about a month and a half. I consider this speedy in comparison to other times spending months and months of searching before landing anything (a process I went through before getting hired at my first job). I have now been at Media Shakers for 8 months.
JR: It took be about 2 months to find a job. Zack was able to put me in touch with the right people and it just worked. Sixdegrees really did help me get this job. I have now been at eXelate for exactly a month at this point.
AG: Seven weeks from start to finish. Zack was able to cut through the HR clutter and connect me with a decision maker. I’ve been with the WWE for six months.
Q. Describe a typical day at work for you. If there are no typical days, describe essentially what you do there.
A.
KH: As Media Shakers is an ad network, we work with both publisher and advertiser accounts. My job is to manage both sides of our business, mainly concentrating on our publisher efforts. I create and manage the IO’s for our advertisers, and track their campaigns. I also am constantly looking to recruit new publishers to join our network with the potential of increasing revenue.
JR: I do day-to-day management for the network exchange accounts we currently have. I make sure things are running smoothly and act as a liaison between them and the tech team.
AG: My role at the WWE is to develop advertising partnerships and drive revenue across digital, print, and pay-per-view platforms.
Q. Since your employment, have you continued to use SixdegreesofZR and in what way? Have you recommended the newsletter to friends/family?
A.
KH: I have definitely recommended Sixdegrees to friends, some of whom are currently looking for new positions. I continue to read the newsletters to see what’s happening and to see if any useful introductions can be made through it.
JR: It’s a good tool for company’s to use. It is expensive to have a recruiter so word of mouth recruiting is always good for finding candidates.
AG: I definitely refer the service over to friends and family. To people searching for jobs, I recommend that they get in touch with Zack.
Q. What is your favorite thing about SixdegreesofZR and/or what would you like to see from us in the future?
A.
KH: I love the ability to make personal introductions through SDZR and how it keeps me in the know of various things going on in the industry and what people are looking for. I love that a blog is being excited, and am excited to see where the newsletter goes from here! Keep it coming J.
JR: I read the newsletter every month and I tell other people in the industry that is a good tool. I like being able to share what I’ve learned with friends and family that might be looking for work.
AG: It is interesting to see what’s available in the industry right now, and the talent and qualifications they possess. It’s always interesting to see other people’s resumes and what they are searching for. It is great that there is no recruiting fee and that Zack is really just trying to connect people and build a database.
Related posts:
- Why Blog?
- Finding a job by networking
- How to Succeed in Your First Year of Business
- Launching of the 212 ConnectU Mentoring Program
Tags: Andrew Gussman, eXelate Inc, Joy Reines, Karin Hoesl, Media Shakers Corp., recruiter, Sixdegrees, World Wrestling Entertainment, ZR is celebrating its one-year anniversary
About the Author: Mindy Schultz is a recent college graduate from Indiana University. Aside from looking for a full-time position in Journalism or Communications, Mindy spends her time writing for SixDegreesofZR.com and is a part-time employee at the University of Houston acting as a TA for a professor. She is best known for her bubbly personality, sweet nature, and dedication to work. Mindy holds a BAJ in Journalism from Indiana University as well as a Certificate in Business.
