Adopt Austin Marketers creatively rises from the ashes of layoffs

New approach

Being laid off may seem like a dead end to your career. It’s a nonchalant firing, one that you do not necessarily deserve, but one that you endure as collateral damage. Well, that’s one way to think of it.

However, a team of Austin marketers thought of an alternative. They created an opportunity out of starting over and found a way to hack the job-seeking process.

Born from adversity

Adopt Austin Marketers is a new site started by a group of thirteen local marketers. After finding out their company was relocating to North Carolina and they were being laid-off, they teamed up to launch the project (and stay in Austin).

The website showcases each marketers’ unique skills and “hidden talents.”

Upon clicking on a photo, recruiters can learn more about their potential employee and view portfolios and contact information via separate links.

The idea is to make companies come to them. Early on, team member Sierra Cook recognized that almost 80 percent of all jobs are obtained through networking. She shares that a large amount of the most sought after positions are never even posted.

Adopt Austin Marketers is a way for these skilled workers to stand out in Austin’s saturated market. And get “adopted.”

Cook thinks of it as their way to “work together and get the network effect.” This way, companies can seek them out and adopt employees to their team.

Makers

Adopt Austin Marketers may be a solution to Austin’s competitive job market, but it is also the result of it. Cook mentioned the “maker mindset” of the city. If you share something with the world, you will have the chance to get feedback and learn from it.

The site is the group’s chance to shake up the typical job-seeking process. It is a call to action for companies to find an employee that works for them. After all, they know what they want better than any potential candidate.

So far, so good

So far, one team member has already been adopted. Mia Bain found a home at Torchy’s Tacos as a graphic designer. Success is shared on the site as each member is adopted.

Adopt Austin Marketers is open to accepting new team members, however they are still in the early phases of this project. The goal is to find a place for the laid off team as they ask potential employers, “who will you choose?”

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