Creative Circle Employee Reviews about "no one"

Pros

I don't know. I get emails sometimes. The new recruiter they put me with seems to be a lot better at responding.

Cons

I've been with Creative Circle in Seattle for years. Had my intro interview on site, was excited about getting some jobs. Went months being unemployed, ended up finding my own full time job. Never heard anything back, even though I'd reply to jobs I was way overqualified for. When I finally called them to ask why no one was responding to my emails, turns out my recruiter left the company and I was just left in limbo. Responding to no one. They didn't even tell me. Now I've been laid off from my full time job, I've been applying to everything under the sun (not even CC jobs.) I'm considering going to another company, as they have not even gotten me one job in the several years I've been a contractor. They have only responded to maybe 2-3 emails of mine about jobs since I signed up years ago.

Pros

Some of the agents are nice

Cons

They really don't rep you, support you, listen to you, or typically understand what it is that you do/are looking to do. Unlike the other agencies in town that have their business model a little more dialed in—as in, actually trying to get you working in gigs that make sense and pay—these people are clueless, or lazy, or crooks, or simply don't know what they are doing. It's difficult to tell which it is. On paper these places kind of look alike, and CC actually has the younger, hipper vibe dialed in pretty well in terms of who they hire. One would think they might know some people and be able to 'get it' or make moves, etc. But NO. I'm constantly busy with work, but it's never from them. In fact, the only time I've got anything good through CC, I've been the one who has put in all the legwork, but it's been with places they 'put me in front of' months back and no one ever paid attention to my book (or even updated me to let me know they'd put me in front of said client), and I had to go back and give them half my pay that I'd actually negotiated. This has happened a few times. I actually suspect I've lost at least as much money going through these guys as I have made going through them. If you are experienced and can get agency work, you may wish to go through other shops in town.

Pros

Friendly co-workers, computer and desk phone provided. Travel team that arranges travel for you. Medical, dental, and vision coverage when you start. Open workspace and casual work environment. Paid holidays and performance rewards.

Cons

I had to front my own money for much of my travel expenses such as bag fees, transportation to and from the airport, airport parking, and more for the first three weeks. They changed my travel dates without notice and required me to pack my things and get on a flight with only a couple hours notice. While traveling for my 'informal training' I was required to complete tasks which required using a phone in which mine was broken; so were the first, second, and third pair of headphones they tried to give me. The software used to complete training tasks did not work on the computer I was told to use while shadowing and no one in the office assisted to fix the issue. I was sent to a different state to 'shadow' a different office and not given the name or contact information to anyone in the office, wasn't given a time to arrive. The training girl called my manager to tell them I was late. Very disorganized and unprofessional; total lack of communication between the training office and the manager. For informal training you are to observe existing account executives and recruiters but there is no incentive for them to teach/explain what they are doing. As a result, most of them did not want their call volume to suffer because of slowing down to answer questions about processes. They only give you $50 per day total for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. When traveling in cities like D.C. or San Francisco, that was very challenging to afford before receiving a single paycheck. (Again, you do not get a corporate credit card for travel expenses) You are expected to pay for coffee/lunches with clients weekly out of your own pocket and be reimbursed weeks later. You don't begin to make commission for nearly 6 months after starting. The entire training program they sell themselves on is very unstructured for the first 2-3 weeks in which you are given a binder to work out of and told to ask people for help in working on it. No one is actually responsible for taking you through the training excercises. I was told managers give you leads on companies to call and set appointments with; however, you're actually expected to cold call these people until they threaten you to stop calling. My manager had never actually managed anyone before and didn't have much time for me. He was a great guy but more of an independent worker responsible for the fate of my career.