Building a Career in Ad Tech: Q&A with Julie Kim, Senior Talent Director

Hi Julie! To kick things off, can you tell me about how you get started in talent acquisition and advertising? 

I moved to New York City right after college graduation. I’ve always wanted to work in advertising. I’m one of those people who absolutely love ads. I think they’re so exciting and creative.

I started as a recruiter at a direct marketing agency. I eventually went to a recruiting agency and loved it. But there was a piece missing. I was hiring exceptional people for other companies, without getting to see the cycle of how they’re doing, growing, and how I contributed to that part of their career. At the time, I knew I had to find a home. I wanted to experience both sides and help people grow in the positions I’ve placed them in.

That’s when Jun Group came about. It was a perfect match because they needed someone like me. It was love at first call with [Mitchell Reichgut] (Jun Group’s founding CEO), and I loved the rest of the senior management team. I also believe in the product and I’ve been here for six years now.

You’ve personally hired many of the people who are here today, myself included. What’s it been like seeing them grow and thrive? 

It’s my favorite and most rewarding part of the job. There are people I’ve hired as interns who are now directors, or coordinators who are now managers, which is just incredible.

We have a unique perspective on hiring. For example, one thing that drew me to Jun Group was a sentence in the job application that said, “We’re seeking the right candidate over the right set of keywords.” What inspired that?

We hire people not for today, but for tomorrow. We’re always looking for people with potential, rather than someone who would fill the responsibilities for the job we have open. We’re focused on what they can do a month out, a year out, or even in the next couple years.

We also look for qualities that aren’t trainable. Product knowledge can be taught. Our processes can be taught. But what’s important to us is having a great attitude and work ethic. Those things really stand out when you get to know someone. 

I feel like this is a controversial topic in your field… What do you think makes a great resume? 

A resume has to tell a clear story that caters to the position you’re applying for — I like to see tangible examples. If you’re a sales person, I want to see the revenue you’ve brought in. If you’re a marketing professional, I want to see what types of campaigns you’ve planned, how you’ve executed them, and how you drove success for the company.

You play a big role in making Jun Group a positive and uplifting workplace. What’s your favorite part about our culture?

What I love about Jun Group is everyone is goal-oriented, yet open-minded. Once we set a goal we know where we need to go, but we’re flexible on the ideas for how we’ll get there. I think that’s one of the unique things about us. We like having processes, but we’re open to hearing people out because there’s always room for improvement and incorporating new ideas into existing systems.

Overseeing talent acquisition for a company isn’t a light task. How do you achieve work life balance? 

A big part of it is being able to set boundaries, which is something I think a lot of people struggle with. It’s also important to focus on being productive during business hours while being able to give yourself grace outside of them, especially on weekends. Another crucial piece is being able to understand the urgency of a matter. Of course, there are times when something really urgent comes up and you need to be responsive, but a lot of things can simply wait until Monday. 

In our industry, we’re constantly operating in a digital world, but at the end of the day we’re human beings like everyone else. To wrap things up, can you tell me a bit about what you do for fun outside of work? 

I love to read and cook, and do those things quite often. I’m a huge football fan — it’s my favorite season. Lately, on weekends I’ve spent a lot of time watching football. Go Titans!

Follow Julie Kim, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition, on LinkedIn.