Creative Circle Reviews

Pros

Creative Circle seems to have a lot of connections and they got me a freelance job within a few weeks at the rate I requested. You work for and get paid by Creative Circle and not for the place they send you so you don't get benefits but you can just account for that when you quote them a rate. They also charge the place where you work almost twice what you are getting paid which encourages most places to offer you a permanent job if your project is more than a few months long. They also send email messages about open freelance opportunities so you can judge the market and decide whether to kick or stick.

Cons

No benefits
No paid vacation, which becomes an issue if you are on an assignment for more than 8-10 weeks. It would be nice to be able to take a day to handle personal stuff that can't be done on weekends.

Advice to Senior Management

Maybe boost the rate of freelancers after 8 weeks on one assignment. Most people who freelance either like variety or want a permanent job while any company that is keeping a freelancer on for 8 weeks is probably disorganized or unable to make decisions. Why not get the maximum revenue from those customers.

Pros

Creative Circle Boston at the beginning projects a professional image of wanting to sincerely collaborate with you, and help you, if they can.

Cons

However, from there, they really don’t follow up-very poor communication. The recruiter I met with was only interested in making a quick commission. The recruiter should give feedback even if they are uninterested or cannot help you.

Advice to Senior Management

Follow up with true professionals, and be a professional. Also, don’t waste time being insincere. As we all know, it only takes two minutes to communicate by phone/email.

Pros

* They somehow seem to have a lot of available positions.
* They have a large roster of talent.
* They are known in the industry.

Cons

* Hiring managers at agencies have developed a bad taste for how Creative Circle "spitballs" candidates and as a result, candidates are given low consideration based on their representation by CC.
* As a candidate, I found that the recruiters really had no clue about what my day to day duties require. I got calls for UXA, developer, and project manager gigs.
* They don't seem to communicate with each other at all. I was placed at a job by one Creative Circle recruiter, then another called and asked if I could go interview for another position. Do they even check my file?
* The recruiters are rude to candidates, but saccharin sweet to hiring managers. They seem to forget that sometimes these people are one and the same.
* This may or may not be isolated, but I was definitely misled by my recruiter about how long the position would last and if it was even open for conversion to full time.
* They create a cattle call environment by posting all over the job boards with listings that state "we have a client who is looking for" whatever the position is. It's a false lead. They just want to keep their talent pool stocked up. You're not going in to respond to a real job.
* I've hired from them, and I've found positions through them, yet no one seems to know that I've already been in for multiple "getting to know you" interviews.

I do not approve of Creative Circle's way of doing business. As a hiring manager, I won't use Creative Circle anymore because they lie to my candidates and they lie to me, then they poach their own placements.

Advice to Senior Management

Create a better system of communication between your recruiters. Don't burn bridges by misrepresenting jobs to candidates. Those candidates are your future (or current) hiring managers. They will repay your business tactics by blacklisting you, as I have.

Pros

Knowledge of Advertising industry and strong managment team. Great training!

Cons

Long hours but worth it in the end