Recap: Secrets of the Job Board

AIGA ATX had a great turn out at the first event that tackles the myths and faux pas of creative recruitment in the “Secrets of the Job Board.” It was an insightful and juicy discussion with three recruiters who gave the audience some very valuable knowledge. During this panel event we learned about what life is like as a creative recruiter, the differences between in-house and agency recruiting, and how we can leverage a recruiter in a job hunt.

The panel included Molly Hitchings, Creative Recruiter at Mathys + Potestio; Raquel Chandler, Strategic Design Talent Delivery Consultant for USAA’s Chief Design Office; and Allison Williams, In-House Recruiter for Spreetail who is building out the marketing team at their Austin & Dallas office.
We’ve complied a list of essential insights for anyone currently on the job hunt:

• Most recruiters spend more time on your LinkedIn profile rather than your resume. The general time on your resume is 7 seconds, and 20 seconds on your portfolio. So make your LinkedIn update a priority!
• Always ask your recruiter or first point of contact lots of questions, and be prepared for that interview when the time comes.
• A recruiter will be looking for genuine qualities, so just be yourself.
• In your interview, do not ask about money up front, it’s best to keep this question until the end of your discussion. They will want to talk about money too!
• Definitely do not hand over personal information like SSN, without an offer letter in your hand.
• Although you’re in the creative environment, you do not need an excessively creative resume — it just needs to be clear & legible. And do not include your personal photo, it’s not a good look!
• Make your resume and LinkedIn profile specific for the job role that you want.
• Weird interview question ever catch you off guard? Those are used by interviewers to understand how you think. You can’t get these right or wrong. Just be yourself, and have a joke prepared!
• There’s no general rule on how long the recruitment process takes, as it depends on many variable factors. To keep things transparent, it’s best to let the recruiter know your timeline.
• Recruiters and hiring software systems look for keywords, so make sure these are relevant to you.
• Be open to feedback. This information could be key in landing your perfect role the next time around.
• Take every coffee and lunch opportunity when offered.
• A good recruiter will help you to prep for your interview — in fact, it is their job to help you prepare.
• Ask questions about your line manager specifically, it’s good to know their working style before going into the interview.

The team at AIGA ATX wish you all the success in your job search!