“You’ve got to get on LinkedIn”, someone I knew kept urging me to do, years ago. So, giving in and signing up, back then… there I was, with the opportunity to connect with “the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful,” according to a description of the website.
Included among the millions of professionals on the site — I just found out — are some Trump administration staffers who have been updating their resumes, as their West Wing employment concludes this week. But, as they say in business, they’re having some difficulty ‘landing’, according to a number of media outlets, including Vice Magazine.
Now, I’ve got to tell you… this is unusual. We once had a former White House staffer in our corporate PR department, who had served years ago in the West Wing. And also years ago, a former colleague of ours got a White House job, and was hired by a big corporation when she returned to the West Coast.
Some of the Trump White House staffers have LinkedIn pages that “play up their ability to adapt to non-political roles,” like in this example, according to the article in Vice:
Leader with a successful track record of building effective teams, managing staff and producing measurable results.
And this, too:
Public relations professional experienced in crisis communications, strategic media engagement, and brand management… Extensive background in fast-paced and high-profile work environments.
That’s how a “White House Deputy Director of Communications” describes himself.
One can only imagine the crisis communications experience Trump White House staffers gained, considering President Trump, himself.
So, how come they’re not landing?
Here’s what a recruiter told Business Insider:
Morally, it’s hard for people to want to work with them…They’re all very all about themselves with narcissistic attitudes, thinking any company in the country will want them.
Be that as it may, PR people always have the option of launching their own PR consultancy business. The word – ‘launching’ – by the way, is used in the publicity business. It has more oomph, more gravitas. And, sometimes, people who launch their own consulting business have the word – ‘group’ – in the name. It’s the Susan Smith Group, or Joe Jones Group. Even if the person launching the firm is the only one in the business… serving as the founder, chief executive and staff, all rolled into one.
Well… let’s wish the former Trump White House staffers best of luck. They’ll need to do more of one important thing, though, if they do land a corporate PR job, or get hired by one of the big, established PR firms, or if they go it alone, in their own consulting business. They’ll have to engage more with reporters, than, perhaps, they engaged during their stint at the White House.
And, all that fake news stuff. They’ll have to get over that.
Harvey Radin is former senior vice president in charge of corporate communications and media relations, Bank of America Western Region. He makes his home in Redwood City, CA.