Random thoughts on Creative Recruiting

While I have a bit of time off between leaving Netflix Animation and starting my new role I thought I'd share some thoughts. This is a bit of a ramble, so please be kind in your comments.

When in primary school a child picks up a crayon and discovers that they can replicate what they see or imagine onto paper better than their peers a sort of alchemy happens. Some of their peers will admire their ability to draw (or paint, etc.), and will hold onto that admiration; others will let that admiration curdle into envy, "Oh, that's so-n-so, she thinks she's so cool because she can draaaaaw". (Sound familiar, anyone?) Their work may get held up in front of the other students as an example of what should be done and this feeds both the admiration and the envy of their peers. The young artist may now find themselves a bit of an outsider; viewed as a weirdo.

In middle school, where they are exposed to proper Art classes, they may meet others like themselves; members of their fledgling tribe. This may also be the time they start developing their own persona, experimenting with a new look for themselves. In high school this all gets amplified, they are exposed to more challenging teachers, students from other parts of town, artists better than themselves. (It was at this age I discovered punk and New Wave. I started dressing differently and hanging around the Art Class during lunch and breaks. That classroom became my home, hideout, and safe haven) Some may go off to college. There they discover artists who do not look or think as they do, teachers who push them beyond their comfort zones, their fledgling personas take to wing and they embrace being the “other”. Their artwork explodes in both volume and creative ability. They develop their style, their eye, and become more comfortable being critiqued.

Then upon graduation, it all stops. Without a classroom, peers, and teachers, there is no feedback. Some of the BFF's they made in college that filled that critical need fade away. While Life happens, the need to create and have that work vetted and critiqued remains like an ache. Knives stay sharp not from use but from being sharpened against a stone. Art created without critique is the same. One needs the other to become better.

That’s where we, members of the Creative Recruiting community can step in to help fill the void for those who apply to the roles we support. While we cannot, due to volume, critique every submission we can share common errors we are seeing, advice on how to better assemble portfolios and reels, and trends that are catching our Hiring team’s eyes via our social media postings, our speaking at schools and events. 

The common denominator of creative individuals is the desire to be seen. Just that, to be seen, to be acknowledged. To go above that, to offer constructive criticism, in the spirit that it betters both the one giving and the one receiving should be our common foundational skill.

While we may not create ourselves we are members of the artistic communities that create the images and performances our studios desperately need to entertain their audiences. We need to step up and play our parts.