Communication Leadership’s monthly First Friday events are an excellent networking opportunity, where students can learn about different organizations, interact with prospective employers, and bond with their cohort in a casual setting. Our program’s contacts within the Seattle business community are far-reaching — past and future hosts have included Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Tableau, Weber Shandwick, WE Communications, Edelman, REI, KUOW, Revere, Avvo, and UW CoMotion.
Current students and alumni are encouraged to register for October First Friday RIGHT HERE!
Founded by Lisa Hufford in 2006, Simplicity Consulting is the premiere, on-demand Enterprise Marketing Services Consultancy for today’s changing workplace. They help companies accelerate growth, add a fresh perspective, and increase capacity — at the speed of business — with access to its curated community of marketing, communications, and program and project management experts.
We’re so excited to continue collaborating with Simplicity, coming off of the groundbreaking “Transforming Silence Into Action” event series earlier this month which we co-sponsored together, along with Jodi-Ann Burey.
TongTong Qu of the Alumni Fellows caught up with Simplicity recruiters Markelle Linstedt and Erica Elliott to give you this preview Q&A with the team you’ll get a chance to speak with directly on Friday!:
Who is Simplicity Consulting?
We are a consulting company. We help get consultants onto contract positions. We don’t place anybody on a direct-hire role. Sometimes these contract positions do convert to a full-time role at the company. For example, Microsoft. To be clear, you will be employed by Simplicity and have benefits through Simplicity. But you are a consultant or a contractor to a different client where you are doing the work. We found the project/role and then the candidate gets hired on.
How can I become a consultant?
You can fill out a consultant profile. This will give the recruiters more information about what your skills are, what’s expertise, what’s your passion, what are you looking for including compensation etc.. These will be very helpful for recruiters to get to know you [future consultants] better and start the conversation when it’s the time. You may receive phone calls from recruiters or if there’s a matched role, you may receive the job description and more details about the role. Once all aligned, recruiters will submit you to the client.
Simplicity Consulting provides a lot of interview prepping and coaching as well as back-end support. The founder Lisa will also provide extra support to help candidates craft their brand statement and better position themselves. Simplicity cares about how its consultants show up for their roles! There are client success managers who help consultants set up and make sure they are on-boarded and ramped up on the team. Colleagues from Simplicity also do a project kickoff between the consultant and the client and make sure that everybody’s on the same page and knows what their goals and responsibilities are.
I don’t have much professional experience. Can I become a consultant?
It all depends on clients’ needs and what the available projects are.
For people who may only have one or two years of experience, that’s the really cool thing about consulting — you have the autonomy to work with different companies, different groups, or on different projects. While you are doing your job, you can figure out your passion and dive deeper. Consulting can be a good way to get your foot in the door with a company and try out different things while you figure out your interests.
No matter if you are already a subject matter expert or new grad, we encourage you to become a consultant and continue exploring your passion and grow your skills and networks.
Can you give a few tips for a virtual job interview?
Make sure your computer is set up properly and test the equipment. Have your camera on and bring a notepad with you (to reduce the noise of typing). Make sure you are sitting straight and looking at the camera (like you are really talking to someone).
Want to get a head start? There are a lot of resources on the Simplicity website about activating your network, and building your personal brand.
Is your organization interested in hosting a First Friday? Please contact commlead@uw.edu to get the networking ball rolling!
University of Washington
Department of Communication