Trouble finding that dream creative role?
It’s possible you’re not looking in the right place.
Or perhaps you have found it, but are worried you won’t make it to the top of the employer’s shortlist.
In both scenarios (and quite a few more!) a creative industries recruitment specialist can help.
Here, we share some key benefits of working with a recruiter, as well as several tips to ensure you get the most out of the relationship and secure your ideal creative job.
Benefits of Working with a Recruiter
In the highly competitive creative field, it’s important to gain an edge over other candidates. Working with a recruiter offers you these key advantages:
Wider network = more opportunities
Many top creative organisations work directly with creative industries recruitment agencies. As such, these recruiters are often the first to know about some of the best digital, marketing, creative and communication jobs hitting the market. By aligning yourself with a specialist recruiter, you can access such opportunities – sometimes before they’re even formally advertised.
An insider’s look
One of the hardest parts of job hunting is getting a realistic understanding of a company’s culture. A good recruiter knows the value of the right cultural alignment between candidate and client. They will take the time to understand both the company’s culture and what you’re looking for, to ensure there’s a match.
Coaching and CV support
Landing a role you love comes down to preparation – from tailoring your CV to ensure it beats the bots and lands in the right hands, to honing your interview technique to showcase why you’re the best candidate. A specialist recruiter can support you with these endeavours.
As a bonus, they can also provide you with prompt and useful feedback after an interview, which is something you don’t always get directly from a potential employer.
Speedy search
Finding and applying for a role takes time (on average 82 days according to Indeed research). But you can exponentially speed this up by partnering with a recruitment agency and making use of their tried and tested best practice job search processes.
Forget about worrying if your application has been received, or wondering when it’s the right time to follow up after an interview. Your recruiter takes care of this for you, keeping both sides updated throughout the recruitment process.
Collaborative approach
The best relationships are based on mutual trust and understanding, where recruiters can represent your interests openly and honestly to employers. The more candid you are about your career goals, the better – that way, they know how best to support you. Ultimately, when you work with a recruitment partner, they only win if you win!
Tips For a Successful Recruiter-Candidate Relationship
Now that you have a clearer picture of how working with a recruiter can enhance your job search, here are seven tips to help you get the best out of your partnership with your agency.
- Be prepared
Before meeting with a creative industries recruitment agency, it’s a good idea to ensure your resume and portfolio are up to date with your latest projects, as well as any additional formal or informal training you’ve recently undertaken. Try to use action words where possible in your CV, and be ready to talk through your experiences and achievements in a simple, clear way during the interview. Touch base with your referees to reconfirm they’re happy to still act in this capacity.
Take some time to reflect on what you really want from your next role. What are your career goals, both short and long-term? Do you have any deal-breakers (i.e. does the job need to contain a flexible work option or be in a specific location)? What about your salary expectations? Are you ready to make financial sacrifices in order to find a role that is more aligned with your values and expectations?
- Treat your initial recruiter meeting like a job interview
Your recruiter will want to get an idea of how you will present yourself to their client/s. That’s why it’s smart to treat your initial meeting as if it’s a job interview, taking care to be punctual, professional and positive.
A great interview is two-sided with both parties seeking to learn more about one another to determine if they’re a suitable fit. And it’s the same with a recruiting relationship – you should have a few questions prepared to help you understand if the agency possesses the experience and processes to help you progress your creative career.
Some possible questions:
- Can you tell me a bit about your experience with placing candidates with my skillset in my specific industry?
- How do you market your candidates?
- Will I have a dedicated recruitment consultant?
- What services do you offer candidates (coaching, CV rework, etc.)?
- What types of clients do you work with?
- Be upfront
The more a recruiter knows about you, the easier it is for them to find you the right role. Here at Macpeople, we appreciate when our candidates are upfront enough to share their goals, as well as telling us exactly what they do and don’t want, and why. This covers the entirety of the role, including the type of role (permanent, part time, freelance), salary and benefits expectations, work culture and values, work flexibility and so on.
While it might not be comfortable to discuss, it’s also good to share why you left past roles or have gaps in your resume. These insights cumulate to help your recruiter create your individual ‘candidate story’ – one that they can effectively market to potential employers.
Be sure to let your recruiter know if you’re working with other recruiters, and/or have a job offer on the table. They’ll appreciate the professional courtesy, and also understand you need to cast your net widely in your job search.
- Be open to feedback
Your recruiter has years of experience interviewing and placing candidates in your field. Make the most of their expertise by asking them to provide you with a candid appraisal of your strengths and weaknesses. Be open to receiving constructive criticism and implementing advice. It will only serve to enhance you professionally and positively impact your job search.
- Be responsive
Recruitment can move fast. By regularly checking your email and promptly answering recruiter calls (or returning them quickly), you not only demonstrate your eagerness to secure a role, but can also benefit from a time-sensitive opportunity, such as locking in a next-day interview.
- Keep in touch
Your relationship with your recruiter doesn’t end once you’ve landed that coveted creative role. A full-service recruiter will stay in touch to see how things are progressing during the first week, month and beyond. If you have any issues, you can let them know – nipping them in the bud before they have a chance to bloom into a bigger problem.
- Spread the word
If you’ve enjoyed your experience with your recruiter, they would be happy for you to spread the word, either by leaving them an online review, submitting a testimonial and/or referring them to family, friends and colleagues.
Connect With Us
That covers our seven best tips for cultivating a successful working relationship with a recruiter. If you’re ready to partner with a creative industries recruitment specialist and boost your chances of job success, please get in touch with us.
With many years of placing candidates in exciting creative jobs here in Sydney and beyond, we’d love to support you to find your right role fit.
