Berdon's new recruiting approach.

"Recruiting publications for accounting firms and other financial services companies have fallen into a rut," said Thalia Zetlin, director of marketing for the accounting and consulting firm David Berdon & Co. LLP. "Their formats are very formal and traditional and the imagery is mundane and exactly what you'd expect -- skyscrapers, people in business suits, wood paneled offices." David Berdon has thrown out this tired, timeworn approach to attracting young recruits in favor of a vibrant, lifestyle magazine called Jumpstart.

"'When we were challenged to develop a recruiting product for our human resources group we first collected material from other firms," said Zetlin. "We were amazed at the similarity between each piece. Even worse, they were so interchangeable that you could easily slap on someone else's logo and no one would know the difference." Zetlin feels that these pieces fail at two very basic levels. First, they do not demonstrate how the particular firm stands apart from the competition. More importantly, however, they fail to communicate anything about the people, the culture, the activities, and the overall personality of the firm.

Jumpstart, on the other hand, lets it be known right away that it is not a typical recruiting publication. The cover features three Berdon employees having a grand time at the firm's annual after-tax party. "We chose the format of a lifestyle magazine because when you enter into a profession like accounting you are also joining a unique community of people," said Zetlin. "With Jumpstart we are able to convey the complete lifestyle at David Berdon from education to work to leisure activities."

The design of the magazine is colorful, with headlines like "Take a Bite Out Of The Big Apple" and "Make The Cut And You're A Cut Above."

The images range from classic work situations to a shot of an employee on an international assignment skydiving over Australia.