Talent Decoders, Part II: Hearst’s Eliot Kaplan

by Alexandra Ilyashov

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Trying to wedge your way into Midtown’s toniest glossies? You’ve probably courted Eliot KaplanHearst’s VP of talent acquisition. Here’s the full download on what kicks your résumé to the top of the pile and what will kick you out of 
the running. Plus! In case you missed it, check out what Time Inc.’s talent management whiz had to say about hiring wins and misses… 

Tell us about your pre-recruiting days.
I was editor in chief of Philadelphia for seven or eight years, and I was the No. 2 editor at GQ under Art Cooper for eight years before that. I also worked at Family Weekly and USA Weekend, and I got my master’s in journalism at Northwestern.

How did you end up in talent acquisition?
As an editor, I realized how hard and time-consuming it is to find people. What do editors do? They call up their editor friends and say, “Who do you know? Who’s available? Who’s good?” I realized I could make a living doing that full-time.

What’s your interview load like?
Over my 16 years here, I’ve done about 5,500 interviews.

You mostly recruit for high-level positions, right?
I’m doing the top-tier, six-figure kind of jobs. Other recruiters work with me on more junior jobs. A separate group does digital jobs.

Any crazy ways you’ve made a hire?
My beach house got hit by lightning so I called a house inspector—his secretary saw Hearst Magazines come up, and she said, “My God! My son’s girlfriend is looking for a job at Hearst.” I interviewed her, and she became Kate White’s assistant.

So you actually look at résumés submitted online?
Yeah, but it may be quickly.

How long are your interviews?
Half an hour, usually. I’m probably a little on the quick side. My interviews have been described as one-third first date, one-third shrink session, one-third deposition.

Do you ever receive gifts from interviewees?
I’ll get an occasional bottle of wine or flowers when I hire someone, but I don’t like gifts from candidates.

How about the thank-you note in print versus e-mailed?
Either is okay with me, but some editors want a snail-mailed thank-you card with perfect handwriting. We have one editor here who thinks they’re the dumbest things in the world, since we communicate by e-mail so much today. It is important for a thank-you note, especially at a junior level, to advance the conversation a bit. It could be something like, “I thought more about what you asked me” or “Here’s another clip.” You’ve got me for three more seconds—take advantage of it.

Do all candidates have to go through you before the hiring editor?
No, my job is to fill the job—if they can fill it without me, great. If an editor wants me to see a candidate, I’m happy to.

How often do you do informational interviews?
I hate that term! You’re interviewing for a job, whether you know it or not.

What kinds of roles are trickiest to fill?
Good art directors are so hard to find. I was looking for eight art directors for different magazines six months ago. I was going a little bit insane! It took a while, but we solved it.

What kinds of quirky résumés and clips have you seen?
People from Australia tend to have four-page résumés with their picture and birthday on it, which struck me as unusual at first! But your résumé should tell a story. What are you trying to say in the three seconds I look at this thing? I want to see logical career progression, or at least some kind of explanation for detours.

Is Hearst big on promoting internally?
We move people from one magazine to another a lot. We can keep them here longer if they move from title to title. I take an active role in doing that. Years ago, some editors were squirrelly about it, but now they know they lose and they gain.

What are the best questions you get in interviews?
Asking how their success will be measured; why this job has been open so long; why is this job turned over; what the career path is at a particular magazine.

What else peeves you in an interview?
It’s a very bad sign when people can’t answer one thing they liked in the newest issue. I’m shocked that there are still people who can’t fake their way through that question.

Which Hearst title could you see yourself editing?
I don’t want to be an editor at any magazine—I’ve done that already! That’s a very, very hard job, and I’m very happy doing what I do.

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