Travis Kessel

Position: Director of Recruitment
Company: Edelman

Working for the largest privately held public relations company, can be  intimidating, but Travis Kessel doesn’t see it that way.  As Edelman’s Director of Recruitment,  recruiting talented individuals and matching them together with the right department.

Every day is different but most days is talking to 6-7 prospective candidates over the phone, fielding numerous emails or conducting interviews.

The field of public relations is a competitive field and part of Travis’ job is to make sure the candidate is the right fit for the company.

For  job seekers and potential candidate, this is the guy to know.

Travis recently worked with a talented intern at the company whose internship was coming to a close. She started as an intern at the company and  made herself available for  projects that were presented to her.  As the end of her internship was coming to a close, Travis knew she was a candidate that they would want to see grow within the company so he in examined the needs of other departments in the Chicago office and found AAE position for the intern.

I had to know where there times when he has come across a candidate, blown away by their talent but unable to place them? It happens occasionally but as someone whose job it is to find the right talent for the company, Travis will go to bat for a good candidate.

A candidate he brought in was initially not placed in a position at the company, but 18months later the perfect position became available, he remembered her and now she works for Edelman in an international position.

With changing landscape of Public Relations related careers as well as some people that may not have an extensive pr background but want to transition to PR, what can do to stand out? For those that lack an extensive digital background, it would be helpful to volunteer, run your own website or setting up a web presence via social media. Find ways that you can utilize the skills needed whether at your local non-profit or elsewhere to build a knowledge base.

The job is not a 9-5 in the sense that Travis needs to find the right candidate for the  company whether they are from Chicago or another state or country.  Being in the know with what’s going on in the city and what to recommend is a key to his success. In some ways he is not just an  ambassador of Edelman but also of Chicago to these candidates.

Travis not only loves his job but his great work has caught the eye of his peers.

The SMAGC honored Travis as the 2013 Talent Acquisition Specialist of the Year.

image credit: James Foster Photography