The Secret to Successful Creative Recruitment

Almost three-quarters of all hiring processes have a major virtual component these days. This makes it hard to judge applicants when many of them will look similar, and it is even harder to find a new hire for a creative role. Many people are less creative in the nature of their applications to prevent any digital systems from binning their CVs.

So, how do you empower your creative recruitment process to pick out the best applicants without making your work much harder? Below, we run through several of the steps you can take to give yourself the best chance of drawing in and then noticing people who fit this description.

What Is Different About Creative Recruitment?

Creative work presents itself differently from many other roles in a company. In searching for a candidate, you will want to find someone who can think outside of the box and act in an original way. There are dangers to such a search, though, as sometimes these people are more likely to work in a way that does not fit a company's ethos.

As such, you must look for someone who can use your brand identity to foster new thinking instead of ignoring it. While you might want someone who can "move fast and break things" to create a new outlook, you do not want them to change your company culture.

Knowing how to balance these concepts can be hard, so ensure you go into this knowing what you are looking for.

Define Their Roles and Responsibilities

While it may be tempting to describe what you need as someone who is "creative", you need to be a lot more focused than that. Outline what the person's roles will be in a company in a very specific way. Try to define the core of what they will do on a day-to-day basis to give them a solid concept to work around.

Depending on what you need the creativity for, highlight specific skills you will want them to have. These include storytelling, concept development, or even ideation.

When you have all of this, ensure any job description you use has all of this information clearly and concisely.

What Does Creativity Mean in This Role?

You may even need to frame what you mean by creativity itself. Some companies try to give people a large amount of freedom to ideate or even to create their own processes. Others have a set way of doing things.

Make sure you communicate how you perform your role and where you can allow for more flexibility.

Make Sure the Company Culture Is on Display

A huge part of the joy of a creative role is empowering a company's culture to celebrate creativity. Creative recruiting needs to ensure people can see this culture when you discuss both the company and the role itself.

Show How You Foster and Reward Creativity

Talk about how your team encourages people to think in creative ways. On your website, have testimonials or stories that discuss how you foster creative thinking and innovation. Make sure everything about your brand identity continues this narrative so people can be excited to work for you.

Communicate How Their Career Could Grow

As they read through a recruitment advert, people are not only looking for one job to last them for the rest of their lives. Oftentimes they will want to know more about their future in the company. Make sure you show how someone's career could flourish in the role you offer them, even if it is much too early to think about promotions.

Choose the Right Recruitment Platforms

Finding the right places to start creative recruitment will give you a leg up in terms of the number of applications you receive. Look for places that have a focus on creativity to find the largest clusters of potential workers.

Online Job Boards

There are many places online that allow you to place an advert for others to see. You should look for creative-focused job boards that exist on the Internet. Many of these help to create a smaller community that revolves around specific types of work, rather than a larger universal job pool.

Professional Networks

Online networks like LinkedIn are some of the heavy hitters in this space but are in no way the only options. Use online forums, or even subreddits, that discuss creative opportunities to find more applicants.

Global Talent Agencies

Working with a talent agency can take a lot of the work off of your hands. These organizations have a strong focus on finding work for you and often have a pre-built network of contacts they can offer you in the short term. They can even give you advice on your recruitment strategy to ensure you present yourself well in your offering.

Ensure a Smooth Interview Process

Once you have people's attention, the work you need to do does not stop. You need to ensure you interview people in a way that both promotes your company and accurately analyzes the potential hire's talents.

Define Assessment Criteria

Before you perform an interview, plan for it. Ensure you define what you are looking for in clear and measurable ways if possible. Also, make sure everyone in the interview team is aware of these so you can all move forward with the same conception of what a good choice is.

Involve Invested Stakeholders

Whether it be creative directors, marketing teams, or UX developers, you need to involve any team that has a stake in the hire. Get their perspective on what you should look for in a new hire. If possible, include a member of their team in the interview itself, although be careful not to crowd out the applicant.

Make Sure Creative Tests are Relevant

When you create any creative tests to check for their ability to work under pressure, make sure they are relevant to your needs. It can often be easy to pitch them something too simple or hard, or irrelevant to the skills you will need from them later on.

When they do the test, make sure to answer questions but do not offer solutions. Watch their process and ability to resolve issues as they come up, as this will allow you to see if they will gel with the rest of your team.

Discuss Their Past Creative Projects

Learn more about their methods when they work on previous projects. This can often give you an idea of habits they might have that you may need to either retrain or latch onto depending on if they are useful. You should also discuss any specific challenges they had and how they resolved them, especially if they are similar to issues you face.

Focus on Key Soft Skills Too

Evaluate the candidate's ability to work as a part of a team. Even if they are the only creative individual, they will need to collaborate with major stakeholders. So finding out if they can communicate well is very important.

During the process, see if you can discover if they can:

• Collaborate
• Innovate
• Adapt
• Empathize

Each of these will cause them to stand out as someone who can handle a constantly-shifting set of requirements. They will understand why such changes take place and have the ability to communicate any changes that then need to occur. Understanding how to prioritize is also very important, or at least how to accept a change in priorities if this comes from a manager.

Ensure You Focus on Diverse Talent

One of the most important recruitment tips to come out of the last few decades is to recognize how diverse talent improves a company. This is even more true in creative roles, where new mindsets and points of view can provide more options for direction.

Use Inclusive Hiring Practices

Make sure to use gender-neutral language in your job advert and have people from varying backgrounds review CVs. Also, when interviewing, use diverse interview panels where possible. This helps to avoid some of the most impactful biases in the recruiting process.

Actively Engage With Underrepresented Groups

Many groups, such as women or minorities, are less likely to apply for a role if they do not feel they match all the requirements. It is important to reach out to these potential hires and ensure they apply anyway. You will often find people who can excel despite not having the same experience on paper as others.

Boost Your Creative Recruitment

With all the above tips, you should be well on your way toward forming a creative recruitment process that fits all your needs. Still, it can take a long time to pivot into a new method of doing things, and sometimes you need people sooner rather than later. This is where we can help you out.

We are a global recruitment agency with experience in finding the kind of people you are looking for. With a vast network of contacts and a focus on recruiting for creative roles, we can help you find the people you need. So, send us a message and let us know what you need to start the search process today.