3 Mistakes To Avoid When Hiring A Creative

I am a Creative Services Director at a local tv station in a medium sized market. Think of it like running an internal marketing agency. That means when I go to hire for a creative position, I have to find someone incredibly talented on a small budget. I'm certainly not going to be flying candidates in from around the country and taking them out to lunch at 4 star restaurants. But that also gives me an edge. I can spend my time looking for someone with untapped potential and hidden skills that I can use build a better team and take our work to the next level. I've learned that the typical hiring manager rules don't apply when seeking the best creative talent. I think a lot of people in my position at tv stations know this, but I also think it translates to the rest of the hiring manager world. So here they are... mistakes I've seen made that you can all avoid.

STOP LOOKING AT THE RESUME/CV FIRST

The best creatives I've hired didn't have the resumes I would have preferred. But as I discovered, they did have something else: incredible potential. Potential I would have missed if I weeded candidates out by looking at their resume first. So I stopped. I skipped their resume and looked for something more telling: a portfolio or a website and I looked at that first. I could tell immediately what their skills were, what they cared about, what work they've done, and what they could be capable of. If you're not the type of person to be able to read into this, find someone who can help, because trust me, you're missing out on great candidates if their work isn't the first thing you analyze. Resumes can make you biased against a candidate that could be the best hire of your career. Oh, and if they didn't provide a portfolio link or a website, move on. You will be surprised at how much better this narrows your search. A good creative believes their best work is a part of who they are and they want to show it off. If you can, ask them to see their work they're most proud of, even it was never used or seen by a previous employer.

EXPERIENCE ISN'T EVERYTHING, DON'T DENPEND ON IT

Okay, so you've seen their work and the hidden gem is there. Then you go back to the resume and there it is... or rather there it isn't. A complete lack of experience. This is hard to stomach, but try to understand it before dismissing them completely. Have they run into poor hiring managers that missed their talents? Did they graduate and just get the first job they could to start paying off student debt? Creatives often need a break, and the right ones can rocket past your expectations if you can dig a little deeper into their lack of work history. Alternatively, some creatives with a long list of employment might be burnt out, and underwhelming... which means you need to take a second look at that portfolio. Is the work fresh?

STOP USING KEYWORDS TO WEED OUT APPLICANTS

Yes, this is a big ask. I know most big employers can't afford to go through thousands of candidates. But if you can... avoid the trap. It's easy to use the searches and use the algorithms, but creatives don't work like that. They don't play the trendy word games to get an edge in their job search. Many think their work will speak for itself, but it never get's seen if you've just clicked away the 60% of candidates that don't have "Brand Synergy" on their applications somewhere.

Bonus tip: My biggest advice is actually not avoiding something, but rather seeking something out. Take the time and call more candidates. A ten minute phone or video call with a creative candidate can tell you a lot. Are they passionate? Do they have positive energy? Can they think on the fly? Do they attack a problem or shy away? Screener interviews are too easy to avoid. But you might just find a better candidate if take the time I saved you from what you can avoid and apply it to a more personal connection... and in the end a you'll make a better hire.

I mean, you should really spend more time finding the right person for a position that doesn't pay great, creates endless content that represents your company right?