IABC Atlanta | State of the Job Market: Insider Viewpoints for Atlanta Marcom Professionals

Join us for a candid virtual discussion designed for business communicators navigating today’s evolving (and often rocky) job market. Our panel will share an honest look at what they’re seeing in the current Atlanta landscape from the hardest-to-find skills to the realities of applicant volume, what hiring managers are looking for, and why ghosting happens more than anyone would like.

We’ll also explore the role of networking and community when you’re in transition, along with practical résumé and positioning tips from the recruiter and hiring manager side. You’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at the interview questions hiring managers rely on most and what they’re really trying to learn.

Our panel of experts will include:

• Nancy Gamble, Founder and CEO, Hire Profile
• Katharine Rutherford, Director of Client Success, Hire Profile
• Greg Kirksey, VP, Brand & Marketing, Muller Water Products
• Elizabeth Baskin, CEO and Executive Creative Director, Tribe, Inc.

Also, note a special offer: Attendees will have a chance to sign up for complimentary resume review sessions! Sign-up logistics will be announced during the event.

Whether you’re actively searching or staying prepared for what’s next, this session will offer clear, actionable insights to help you stay ready and confident in your future.

About Our Speakers:

Nancy Gamble

Founder and CEO, Hire Profile

Nancy Gamble brings people together. She uses her connective superpowers for good as the founder and CEO of Hire Profile Inc. This former California girl got her marketing degree from CSU Long Beach, then worked in advertising in Los Angeles and recruitment in London and Atlanta, where she led the Creating Staffing Team at Aquent. Strong industry vision led Nancy to launch Hire Profile in 2003. 

When she’s not matching Atlanta’s top talent with its leading creative and marketing employers, Nancy volunteers on the AIESECLife National Team, cooks, gardens, and is a roadie for her musician husband. She lives in Alpharetta with her husband and their rescue dachshund mix, Scruffles.

Katharine Rutherford

Director of Client Success, Hire Profile

Kat Rutherford builds teams that drive growth. As Director of Client Success at Hire Profile, she leads business development, account management, and recruiting, connecting companies with marketing, digital, and creative talent that deliver results. A former agency executive, she spent over fifteen years driving growth for brands like InterContinental Hotels Group, Newell Brands, and Serta Simmons before moving into recruiting. 

When she’s not helping clients hire their next game-changer, Kat co-hosts Her Table Talks, a networking series for executive women in marketing, and recharges through photography, golf, and time outdoors with her cardigan corgi, Nadia.

Greg Kirksey

VP, Marketing and Branding, Muller Water Products

Greg is a seasoned Marketing Executive with extensive experience across multiple disciplines, including brand strategy, communications and creative development, product marketing, and merchandising. He cut his teeth in the ad agency world working with clients like Yamaha, Delta, and UPS. He transitioned to corporate marketing environments, specializing in manufacturing and B2B distribution with companies including AGCO, SiteOne, and Mueller Water Products.  

He has spent his career building teams and departments, often from the ground floor, with an emphasis on finding the right balance of skills and culture to create high-performing teams.

Elizabeth Cogswell Baskin

CEO and Executive Creative Director, Tribe, Inc. 

Elizabeth works with global and national clients to solve business problems through employee communications. She founded Tribe in 2002, starting with venerable Atlanta clients like UPS, Porsche and The Home Depot. In the years since, Tribe clients have included Amazon, Levi’s, PlayStation, U.S. Steel, Wawa and more. (Trying to go A-Z, but we haven’t worked with any brands starting with Z.)

In her spare (ha ha) time, Elizabeth writes fiction and will complete her master’s degree in the School of Letters at Sewanee (University of the South) in 2026.