Heather R. Huhman, founder & president of Come Recommended, has nearly a decade of public relations and marketing experience, specializing in media relations, content marketing, and social media. She is also a well-recognized career expert, an experienced hiring manager, and someone who has been in nearly every employment-related situation imaginable.
Additionally, Heather has been recognized by CNN/CareerBuilder for the past two years as a ‘top job tweeter you should be following,’ included in Monster.com’s ‘The Monster 11 for 2011: Career Experts Who Can Help Your Search,’ and is a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council.
What inspired you to start Come Recommended?
I originally started Come Recommended due to my frustration with the hiring process when I was a first-time hiring manager. I would love a candidate on paper and in the interview, only to be disappointed when it came time to call their references. When I launched Come Recommended in 2008, it was an exclusive online community for internship and entry-level job candidates and employers. My goal has always been to improve the hiring process and help connect job seekers and employers — that hasn’t changed. However, we somewhat recently shifted our focus to providing digital public relations and content marketing consulting services for organizations with products that target job seekers and/or employers.
What are Come Recommended’s goals?
I hope that through assisting organizations with public relations and content marketing, we can improve the hiring process for both job seekers and employers. We only take on clients whose missions we truly believe in and that we feel have an innovative solution to an issue facing job seekers or employers today.
How does Come Recommended connect students and employers looking for interns?
Our blog, Twitter feed and Tumblr account regularly push out content to help students and recent graduates in their job search. I write advice on numerous outlets, have written several eBooks on various topics (in fact, my newest eBook, Lies, Damned Lies & Internships: The Truth About Getting from Classroom to Cubicle is available on Amazon now), and wrote #ENTRYLEVELtweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle in 2010. Additionally, I host #InternChat and #EntryChat on Twitter and manage a #PRintern | #EntryPR group on LinkedIn where I post advice and job opportunities. We’re also launching an online tool to help young PR pros get back to work by providing a platform for employers to identify promising job candidates. Stay tuned!
What advice do you have for students looking for internships?
Use every resource available to you to find the best internship possible. Networking, social media, online job ads, professional associations, etc. can all lead to great opportunities. I often hire directly from my intern pool (and other organizations do as well), so it pays to find an organization you love as a student–you might land a full-time job from the opportunity!
What do you wish you knew when you were in college?
I wish I hadn’t taken on so much and rushed through my last few semesters at school. I was so focused on finishing my coursework and getting out into the “working world” that I didn’t take the time to truly enjoy college for what it was.
What is the best part of your job?
Since I work virtually (from home), I’m able to interact with a talented team of folks from across the country (interns included!). I’m also lucky enough to be able to set my own hours since I’m my own boss. Obviously, I also enjoy assisting students and recent graduates in their job searches!
Marny Smith is the Community Manager for NY Creative Interns. You can find her on Tumblr, Twitter and LinkedIn.
