The interview you all wanted. Aleisha McCall responds to adland’s ‘worst’ job ad of 2020
Aleisha McCall has attracted criticism this week for her ‘demanding’, ‘demeaning’, ‘diabolical’ job ad – but she is defiant. Is she sorry? No. Does she accept the criticisms? No. Will she back down? No.
She is, she says, being bullied, and won’t stand for it.
In this Q&A with Mumbrella’s editor Vivienne Kelly the evening after she attracted headlines for all the wrong reasons, McCall doubles down. Strap in though, it’s a long one.
INTERVIEW
Aleisha McCall, founder and CEO (and author of that job ad), Ultimate Edge Communications (AM)
Vivienne Kelly, editor, Mumbrella (VK)
VK: Now obviously you want to tell your side of the story, for want of a better phrase, about this job ad that’s attracted some attention online. I’m sure you would have seen and read some of the criticisms on Twitter and whatnot. What is your response to people who have been critical of how thorough the demands of this job are?
Not so long ago I had an awful day at work and in my personal life, messaged my Dad talking about how tough it was, how everyone can pile in and how easy it was for people in jobs to criticise those trying to create jobs.
He replied with this: “It is lonely and you fight for every dollar, but you are changing people, influencing careers, putting people into home ownership through your ingenuity and all with your own initiative.. that is why entrepreneurs need to be rewarded and deserve every penny. Sadly few in society understand it. Keep going, will be with you every step.”
Good for you Aleisha, and know there are some of us out there who really respect you doing this and giving things a try.
R/ThatHappened
You basically dismissed the most pressing questions of the ‘Donna’ ad, published by your mentor and colleague, as well as the Glassdoor reviews… If you have the time to commit to this sham of an interview at least provide sufficient answers the controversial topics….absolutely pointless!
Just look at the feedback on GlassDoor – an unethical and antisocial operation that should be stopped!
Comment above…definitely written by her.
“I’m a woman and have kids” You think that somehow makes you special? A joke job ad for a joke company.
Thx 4 sharing UR side of it.
So your staff are unhappy and your employee churn is over 100% because you “ had to systemise scale and automate”. Ah ok, sure. Look, i’m all for buzz words, but you need to use them in context
So her clients expect her EA to not have tattoos or piercings? That’s rather presumptuous. Who are her clients?
It’s actually discrimination.
Yet another reason to steer clear, both as a client and an employee / potential employee.
And…
$100-$150k is the salary range…. I’m no mathematician, but that seems like more of the type of marketing bs we are all trying to avoid as ethical marketers.
And…
Top 30 under 30. Says reams.
I believe there may also be gender-based discrimination shaped in the ad by the use of words like ‘governess’…
I found this interview quite frustrating. How many times can you mention ‘woman’ and ‘working mum’… It’s not an excuse for a deplorable ad and work culture. When everyone can see that there’s a problem and you can’t, that’s pretty unfortunate…
Too Right…
Not so long ago I had an awful day at work and during my lunchtime as well, so I messaged my Dad talking about how tough it was, how everyone can pile in and how easy it was for people owning companies to justify their actions, no matter how screwed up, through saying they do it all for other people, and they have an incredibly hard life having to be perfect.
He replied with this: “It is bullshit, and you fight for normality, most people don’t put up with narcissists but you can never make a narcissist see what their problems really are. They will probably say they are changing people, influencing careers, putting people into home ownership through their ingenuity and all with their own initiative.. that is why they think entrepreneurs need to be rewarded and deserve every penny. Most in society understand these personalities. Run away, fast, and sanity will be with you every step.”
Good for you Aleisha, and know there are some of us out there who really understand who you are, why you doing this and giving things a try in this way.
I worked with all above mentioned staff before. And just like the “bad day” mentioned, I had one. I got called into the meeting room and told – if you have that kind of mood, it rubs off so stop doing it.
Essentially, I was told off for being in a bad place (mentally) and be “like a duck” (go frantic below the water, but be calm above). I respect people who can do that, but I could not.
I tell this story, because I had another boss, who did the same thing, but differently. This boss who I still greatly respect, tapped me on the shoulder and brought me into the meeting room. Calmly told me that my negative demenour is worrying my team. He told me the same duck story, then asked me, “So, what’s on your mind”. He stopped and cared about what was going in my life.
Ever since I’ve left UEC, this is something I’ve been wanting to tell Aleisha and Marc. They work hard, hats off to that. They may want to help you improve in their own way, I respect that. But I didn’t appreciate how I got treated in that meeting room.
So I guess this isn’t quite true?
https://www.marketpressrelease.com/Ultimate-Edge-Communications-Confirms-It-Switched-To-A-4-Day-Workweek-Earlier-This-Year-1568159917.html
I worked at UEC and the 4-day work week was great. I miss the flexibility, i’m going to be stuck back to the M-F 9-5 routine when covid’s over 🙁
According to all the legitimate glassdoor reviews, all the staff seem to be working 50-60 hours a week and still somehow in deficit to the organisation. Not sure how I would feel about cramming 50-60 hours worth of work into a supposed 4 day week.
4 day is a lie, as an ex employee you will get stuck answering calls and emails on the weekend and if you don’t or push back your reprimanded
Nobody that works there did 4 days a week while I was there
sounds horrible! stop doing 4.35 minute videos, say what you mean not just jargon and you might have a bit more time on your hands.
How many applications were received before the ad was pulled?
Worryingly she doesn’t even seem to understand the issues with the job ad. Somehow being a mum or a woman or full force or whatever is some kind of justification for the obviously terrible workplace that obviously follows.
Aleisha, I suggest you take the time to read your feedback on glassdoor using your full force.. as it’s very telling. And you can’t fix those issues with buzzwords, cliches and double speak
there are 3 things i dont like
1. “as a working mum” takes equality back 50 years
2. me me me – seems like everything is about her
3. “Im being bullied” – it seems like there is a culture of bullying – she must be helping construct.
Looking forward to the follow up interview addressing the glassdoor reviews. She brushes the question off so easily despite there being a whole bunch of reviews from this year!
I am happy to supply the wine
I’ve been following this with great interest over the last few days, so thank you to Tim and Mumbrella. Obviously there is no merit in a witch hunt against this individual, as her right to self expression is as valid as the next persons. However I have a couple of observations. Firstly the total lack of humility of understanding that she completely misunderstands the mood of both the marketing community and the world in general. The vacuous buzzword double speak for a starter would just be cringeworthy, if it wasn’t highly detrimental to our industry. Clients, staff, the whole of humanity are not impressed by using seven impenetrable words, that just cause even more confusion. Speak clearly, calmly and simply to get your ideas across. If you can’t do that, swallow your pride and invest in someone who can help you. Secondly don’t play the mother card to divert from bad behaviour, here’s a thought we are all parents. But don’t find the need to use it as a shield for not respecting our fellow humans.Be nice, be empathetic and teach your children a real lesson. And mostly, just admit you could have done this better, learn from the feedback and feed it into your future actions. That will be far more impressive than your vague idea of a ‘strong’ and ‘tough’ person.
Great points but just to clarify we are not all parents but we are all children if that’s what you meant?
To be fair on Aleisha it does seem that many of the staff issues with how the agency runs are directed squarely at her business partner (http://www.marcdussault.com/), who appears to be quite a special case.
Many of the ex-staff Glassdoor reviews call out a significant disconnect between her stated vision and hard reality of working there.
It would be interesting to hear Marc’s take on why the agency is structured / operated the way it is, how that impacts on staff churn and agency culture, and (ultimately) their quality of performance for clients..?
Wow, a real life Alan Partridge
I’m all aboot this.
This is great banter
I came back to say I’m still laughing about this
More than a few that think this would be a good idea…
Mumbrella, what a massively wasted opportunity. I believe what we have here is at the very heart of a lot of issues facing marketing and comms consultancies. I can’t imagine why you ran a fluffy interview light? If you are going to do this, do it properly take some time and actually address the very obvious issues here. This comes across as an advertorial at best. Very disappointed.
Hi ‘BFS’,
Shockingly, I disagree, but you are, of course, entitled to your opinion.
The spotlight was on the ad, its implications and its demands. I asked about the overly onerous requirements and recruitment process, the discrimination implications, the poor reviews of working at the agency and the allegations she had made up B&T Award wins.
I can’t control the answers she gave.
Based on the response, I’d hardly say this whole exercise has been viewed as positive PR or an ‘advertorial’, and I’m sorry you see this as a waste of time.
Vivienne – Mumbrella
Hi Vivienne,
Great job covering this and thank you for the interview, it seems you highlighted many of the obvious concerning points on this topic, yet Aleisha seemed to have danced around everything with a bombardment of verbal diarrhea rather than clearly addressing any of the concerns. This seems to give insight into the lack of awareness of everything around her. I find it amusing that she’s claiming to be bullied, yet according to GD reviews, her and her management team seem to be the bullies within their four walls.
My question to you Vivienne is…
When will you follow up with Episode 3 of this saga, and if you plan to dive deeper into this business partner who seems to be a recurring theme.
Agreed
Caught her on the hook, let her off the hook.
Didn’t push any of the openings. Was it an email interview?
16 hour days should not be expected from employees whether you pay them $100k or $1m. You might be happy to do those hours because it’s your business but you literally have a vested interest.
People get paid overtime in other roles. A big salary is to compensate them for working overtime. No issue with that.
Let’s stop pretending like $150k justifies working 16 hour days? There are literally Heads and C-level execs who can’t flip a PDF getting paid $300k for delegating. If it’s $150k before tax, that’s equivalent of low level Director pays for AdTech in AU. Heck I know Campaign Managers/AMs getting paid 100k before tax and even they would never work 16 hour days.
Granted, pay is subjective and there will be people happy to take $150k. All I’m saying is it’s not exactly a huuuuge salary. IMO definitely not worth working 16 hour days.
Overtime is a period that’s clearly defined and specified outside the allocated working hours. Nothing is clear here.
This ad was not only nebulous, contradictory, poorly written, narcissistic and patronising…it’s also a dismal attempt at trying to prop yourself up when you clearly have no credible clout.
Pls, just learn from this experience and do better.
Using the mom card multiple times as a shield from criticism is weak. Employers like you, who take advantage, are everything that is wrong with the marketing world in Sydney. I said it under the last post and I’ll say it again, you need to hire a nanny, PA, and a digital specialist and you are cheap and looking to cram them into one. What a self important load of bs this interview was and Mumbrella shame, what a waste of an opportunity. I’m not entirely convinced this wasn’t a PR stunt for attention. All businesses are struggling with Covid and there are lot of moms who find the balance. Perhaps take a step back-not hire an indentured servant. Absolute narcissistic rubbish.
If you have a look at their advertised jobs on their (her), website, they are all written from the same ilk, slightly toned down from the junky plethora of a job ad that was pulled.
So no, not a PR stunt. This is who they are, who they want to be and be seen, and how they act. Terrible face for our industry.
It would make for entertaining reading am sure to do a follow-up interview with the dozens of past employees that have left according to Glassdoor. Or do a part 2 interview with the EA that gets the job in a few months, if the person is still around that is.
Speaking as a Mother…
Look I didn’t bothering reading much of the interview because ultimately, we’re talking about mental health here, Aleisha needs support and help rather than beating her up or allowing her a platform to humiliate herself. Maybe putting her in touch with a mental health professional to help her is a better way forward?
Very few narcissists would believe they have mental health issues, much less seek help or support.
“Not many people would be bold enough to want to give this more air time and to want to do the interview”
Then why are we giving this more airtime!?
Supply and demand, my friend.
On the supply side, Aleisha asked for the interview both in the comment thread of the original piece, and over LinkedIn.
On the demand side, based on the volume of comments (both published and unpublished), and the texts I was receiving, and the traffic numbers, I could see there was an appetite for the follow-up that was on offer.
Aleisha wanted to tell her ‘side’ of the story, and people wanted to hear it.
As I said, me? I wouldn’t have done the follow-up had I been in her shoes, but that’s for her to decide.
If, however, it does not interest you, I’m not sure why you’re here?
Vivienne – Mumbrella
Did you not read it? This trainwreck is a gift that keeps on giving. Please do Pt III “The saga” 3 hour Mumbrellacast
She comes across as the comms world’s Lance Armstrong. Narcissist in the extreme.
“We did what we had to do to win. I wouldn’t change a thing”
This entire thing is rendered void by the complete sidestep of the HUGE number of glassdoor reviews that make it clear this is a toxic place to work. The fact she has to dodge that and focuses on playing the victim is all you really need to know.
Many of us are working mothers, we’re just not so entitled as to think you can ask ‘everything’ of a candidate, regardless of remuneration. You need to understand boundaries and potentially split up your myriad business and personal ‘requirements’ across multiple roles.
“Look”, the world isn’t like this any more and expecting these OH&S based impacts on worker well-being to be put aside for the sake of fitting in with an entrepreneur/business owner’s lifestyle is pretty uncool. This is a role for two people if the hours are required like this. Stagger shifts, get two people to work part time and job share, split out tasks, get a freelancer on retainer for certain tasks – get creative about solving the problems rather than breaking rules and harming people.
Being a “working Mum” is not any worker’s problem, nor a right to expect other people to fit into your world. Innocent people are after work at the moment and just because they applied for the job doesn’t make it right. Unfortunately I think this just might be a matter of lack of education on the rules, as an employer. If anyone actually made a workplace claim against the company they’d win. So, best get educated about the rules. This is a good learning for the whole industry, that hasn’t been that great over the years.
I may work long hours as a business owner but no way in hell can I expect a worker to do that for me. That is outright exploitation. Good on Vivienne for asking these questions and having the people involved the opportunity to hang themselves out to dry with ill-informed answers. Sadly the answers showed ignorance and arrogance that is misguided – time to get proper HR support I suggest. There are outsource services available.
A good article for the future may be an outline of what the rules actually are, and how to run a creative business and not go to jail over it.
Aleisha, you must think we’re all stupid. Your flat out denial of the “Donna” ad is appalling. It’s very painfully obvious that it was from your company and you’ve used the same ad this time around, so you are clearly lying through your teeth. It’s clear your business partner wrote the Donna ad and you’ve revised it to this new (equally obnoxious) job ad but you approve every piece of comms that goes out.
So straight up lying regarding the Donna Advert? That was Marc Dussault, advertising for this exact same role of magical office manager/child minder/slave
Can I get a workplace abuse pass please?
I thought for a moment, this was Jason Dooris’s new business.
Having checked out the website, the style if writing and the claims being made !
Wowsers.
Thus is not what our industry should be. Stamp it out please!
I love the fact that many answers started with “Look…”. A trait that does not emit positivity. If one has the need to explain themselves each time yet does not have the humility to consider other rationale, everything about this is all to self serving.
The most qualified candidate for the job is a slave.
I’m with the mental health check point and possibly some offline time.
Why did the interviewer not push her harder on her BS answers about how she’s a “mother” and therefore she has different needs and priorities from others? It’s not like she’s the only parent in the world and honestly it felt like a missed opportunity to actually nail her on some of the more ludicrous requirements for the job.
Why is a Youtube video necessary for a job application as an executive assistant? A more cynical reader might see this as her wanting to screen out certain groups of people or even just unattractive people in general.
Sure she says that she has family members who have tattoos and smoke, but that doesn’t excuse her language in the ad that “Most of our team don’t smoke and resent smokers who are often absent outside having a smoke or vaping”
Honestly this entire piece felt like a PR piece for Aleisha rather than any actual journalism.
A couple of weeks ago I was forwarded a UX / UI job ad for the same agency for the LOLs. You’re not hiring “best in class” when your job ad excludes individuals based on lifestyle choice or level of perceived commitment to the role – you’re hiring “best of a narrow field of candidates who are willing to parrot the same drivel I spout”.
Would give their clients a wide berth – there’s at least one who isn’t exactly celebrated for their positive work culture either.
If you have a look at their advertised jobs on their (her), website, they are all written from the same ilk, slightly toned down from the junky plethora of a job ad that was pulled.
So no, not a PR stunt. This is who they are, who they want to be and be seen, and how they act. Terrible face for our industry.
Wins a 30 under 30 seven years ago and now acts like she can hire people to help her fix her life decisions.
This level of unethical entitlement is a disease in our industry and it needs to be completely stamped out.
I’ll take a page from her book and begin this comment with ‘As a woman’…
As a woman, it’s infuriating to hear another woman justify the expectation to work 16 hours days and devote one’s entire life to their job as though it’s part of some kind of ‘corporate sisterhood’. Calling you out is not a slight on you ‘as a woman’, or ‘online bullying’ – it’s simply illustrating how ridiculous these job requirements are. It’s an insult to women who work in this industry that you use your sex as a mantle to protect yourself from criticism.
Referencing Sheryl Sandberg and using other meaningless buzzwords is exactly that – meaningless. You are a female CEO and have the ability to be a real leader for change, diversity and work/life balance in an industry full of overworked and underpaid talent.
With that in mind, I truly hope you can evolve from this experience.
I could not agree with you more and I beg this woman to take a break, stop drinking her own cool-aid and actually become the role model her daughters should be proud of.
‘Woman’, ‘Mother’, ‘Working Mother’ or ‘Female’ are not excuses for this behaviour or the ridiculous expectations being implied on the candidate that would be unlucky enough to get this role.
You are one of a select few female CEOs and entrepreneurs in this industry and you have an obligation to be a leader that champions positivity, inclusivity, work-life balance and set expectations in the workplace that allow your staff to deliver their best without burning out at the age of 30.
Here is some advice from one C-Suite female to another. Stop the ‘poor me’ narrative, actively listen and read what your people have/are saying about you and your business (because it isn’t good) and find some humanity – not just for your business but for yourself and your own health and well being. And I promise if you do this, and make changes, you will not only find genuine perspective but an army of other women (and men) there to support and lift you up.
You may even find you won’t need job ads anymore as you will have a desk full of people asking to work and learn from a true leader.
Good Luck.
Well said. If women in leadership can only succeed by exploiting the women below them it’s not really progress.
Exactly, the ‘as a woman’ and “mum” bit seems a way of trying to fend off valid criticism.
And expecting people to be available most of the time probably breaches OH&S/worksafe issues.
I’m not sure how this became so controversial – said someone responding to a stream of outrage. It’s a pretty dumb ad and unlikely to attract the best candidates. The fact tattoos and personal hygiene is even mentioned is guaranteed to turn smart people off the entire thing. Those people assume you are recruiting for talent and smarts and if you have those you’re unlikely to need these criteria. It’s also got too many responsibilities – very few humans can be good at that and getting the kids to ballet which seems to be part of the gig. The interview is pretty dumb too and it’s annoying but I suspect I’m not the target. However job ads are often for the clients – to see you are recruiting and how you talk about yourself and this is really not doing a great job. It implies chaos and lots of shouting and pointing and thats not really what clients want. They want order and strategy.
However she is a young woman having a go. She has started a business under her own steam and is trying to attract and employ staff on what seems like a pretty good salary. If she pays attention to some of the commentary she’ll be better off in future.
As it sounds like Aleisha and her family are reading all of these comments, a suggestion for you all.
Help Aleisha cut ties with the Exponential Business Strategist. Clearly he hasn’t been helpful to her business and now his influence is having an impact on her personal reputation. Support her from getting the hell away from this toxic influence and get a chance to run the business herself.
Aleisha there are several female CEOs with families in the media industry who have staff that are extremely loyal. Ask them to mentor you instead.
Once you’ve flicked the so called business strategist, invest in a GM to help you run the business up instead of into the ground, then that should also give you the opportunity to find a true EA instead of this slave – because you’ll have time to run your own life again.
This comment and the comment from Z above are the most constructive pieces of advice on this entire topic. I have been following both of these articles with growing concern about what this would be doing to her mental health. She’s the young and sole founder of a business in a tough industry and she’s right to be proud of that. But she’s apparently made a questionable choice with her mentor/business strategist and it has clearly been extremely detrimental to her business. As this commenter says, cut ties with him. Look at your business through your own lens, get an honest and authentic GM to help you and start rebuilding your company’s reputation in a positive way.
Agree!!!
Is she the ALT ROXY JACENKO?
I’m another ex UEC, who got forwarded this by another fellow UEC er.
To be fair to Aleisha, I have always had some degree of respect for her hard work, but it all stopped after one way.
One particular day, when I was having a “bad day” (just like anyone else), I got brought in to a meeting room by management (The two memeber mentioned) and told to “stop having a bad day” and be like a duck (paddling frantically below water but be calm above the water). Essentially told off for having a bad day, didn’t make my day any better.
The reason why this echoed to me, was because a few years before, I had another boss who did the same thing (clearly I didn’t learn the lesson). The difference was, after telling me about the duck, he then took me out for a coffee and said, “So, what’s on your mind”.
The first hand experience of the two nearly identical experience was, at UEC, work and work performance always came first. Were we ex UEC surprised to see this? Yes, that it got to this level, that they actually said what used to be more subtle. What was actually said, not at all.
Let’s raise the salary to $250K and I’ll do it.
Why on earth would you want your executive PA to also be involved in your home life (nanny) – talk about seeing how the sausages are made…
It looks like she is getting some bad advice from the business partner who comes with demonstrable failure as a business coach as reported in the smh..A little naive and brainwashed, but certainly not all her own doing.
Please do the glassdoor follow up interview. 1.8 stars sounds horrible workplace
https://www.glassdoor.com.au/Reviews/Ultimate-Edge-Communications-Reviews-E2240231.htm
hmm, the donna ad even made it to SMH. https://www.smh.com.au/national/myob-s-chief-set-to-take-business-council-reins-20190808-p52fbo.html
Why did she lie about it?
Aleisha I’ve only just stumbled across all this now and I’m sorry to have read these comments, which I know must be so painful for you to read too. But I do hope you’ll read and consider this comment carefully.
Firstly, you’ve made some major mistakes here, which you can and must learn from. If you’re maybe reassuring yourself that it’s ‘not that bad’, you really do need to pause for reflection. Trust me, it’s bad.
That’s not a criticism btw. It’s just an acknowledgement you need to make to yourself that you’ve made a mistake. A number perhaps. And the biggest mistake, from I can gather, is to let MD have such a pervasive and poisonous influence on you and your business. Again, if you’re reassuring yourself that he’s ‘not that bad’, you’re wrong. He’s bad for you. He’s bad for your business and brand. And he’s very bad for your people, who are the single most important thing you’ve got going for you.
What you’ve done really well up until now is to build your brand and your relationships and hopefully your business and your knowledge. Now you’re at a fork in the road where you can do what you’ve done here, and double-down in your own defence and defiance with more moves like this terrible interview (no criticism of Vivienne, who has been much kinder and fairer than she could have been). Or, you can can take a big and brave step forward and take all this good you’ve started and turn it into something bigger and better and real and true. Free of buzzwords and filled with just genuine, authentic, awesome you and your amazing people, who genuinely like and believe in you.
I hope you’ve worked out by now that you can’t do that with MD in your life though. Or any of the other poison or pretence that’s holding you back right now. If so, just learn from this, then leave it and move on (and whatever you do, don’t respond to any of these toxic comments here).
I wish you all the best.
I wonder if their main clients Mortgage house, Virgin Active and Clear skin care clinics will keep this horrid agency or if they will move on to a proper agency.
She has always been an exceptional objection handler… This interview was one be display of that.
This is just wow.. I would front that bottle of NZ wine for that follow up
This has probably already been said, but ‘being a woman’ does not give you a right to pose unrealistic and unhealthy work practices on new and existing employees. I am baffled by this interview and this organisation. For someone who works in communications you never actually get to your point and you reveal WAY too much information. Your business bio outlines the three stages of media buying, why? You say the names of candidates applying for the role, why? You even say the names of those candidates with children, why? As a client I would be very concerned, and as a working professional I am very concerned of the mental health of your staff and I know how horrible it can be to work in a business that is ‘all consuming’. You need to promote work life BALANCE. We do not live to work. And in your response to ‘keyboard warriors’ I am sure many of the people calling you out online would be happy to discuss this with you face to face, we just live in a world where this is the form of communication. Please reflect rationally on all of these comments and ask yourself if this is how you want to run your business. It’s not sustainable.
They say nothing is new in the world. The “Strategist” advertised the same role last year, and SMH seem to have taken him to considerable task given his form at running a business into the ground.
Found here:
https://www.smh.com.au/national/myob-s-chief-set-to-take-business-council-reins-20190808-p52fbo.html
9/8/2019
DOCTOR WANTS A DONNA
Things must finally be looking up for self-styled business coach Marc Dussault.
Dr Dussault – for a doctor he is – is offering up to $250,000 for an “executive assistant extraordinaire”. Or as he puts it, a “Donna”.
Self-styled business coach Marc Dussault is looking for a “Donna” to sort out his fledgling comms shop. Illustration: Illustration: John Shakespeare
Self-styled business coach Marc Dussault is looking for a “Donna” to sort out his fledgling comms shop. Illustration: Illustration: John ShakespeareCREDIT:
That would be a reference to the all-seeing, all-knowing Donna Paulsen, Harvey Specter’s secretary in TV’s Suits, played by Sarah Rafferty.
Your man Dussault was once chairman of the now-collapsed motivational speaking outfit EmpowerNet. On his watch it reported about $27 million in losses and was described by this column in 2012 as “one of the dud listings of the last decade”.
These days he markets himself as “the world’s #1 Exponential Growth Strategist”. Go figure.
According to Dussault’s nightmarish 2637-word job ad, this is no ordinary gig. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join him as he enters “the next phase of my career”.
And what is that? Well, he pledges to reveal his plans “privately, if we end up meeting”.
As Dussault acknowledged over the phone from a “work-cation” in Bali, the job is actually based in the Sydney office of Ultimate Edge Communications, where he’s engaged as a business strategist.
The “boutique” media/comms shop is run by a certain Aleisha McCall, a former junior figure skating champion and now wannabe Roxy Jacenko. UEC’s clients include voucher outfit RedBalloon and lender Mortgage House.
As far as the new hire goes, it seems like a standard Girl Friday gig at a small agency. But Dussault assures us it’s so much more.
For one, he demands the successful applicant give “24/7 commitment” for the next 5-10 years, and adopt “Exponential Mindset Thinking”, whatever that is.
In return, Dussault promises “deployment on a global scale” and remuneration up to $250,000 on a “results-reward basis”. But he tells CBD: “Most people aren’t worth that.”
Dussault says men are welcome to apply to become his next “Donna”, and that he’s already received some 32 responses – with 10 making the shortlist.
Good luck to them.
Can you do a feature the successful candidate too?
and people wonder why those outside the industry tend to regard advertisers/marketers as useless greedy grifters. well wonder no more. Look up Bill Hicks’ advice.