Love The One You’re With!

WARNING! The below survey results are DAUNTING for job seekers and managers alike - but there is a light 💡 at the end of the tunnel - so read on for my proactive tips to get ahead of the bad news. ⤵

Over the last month, I’ve been conducting research by taking a poll with over 4000 of my Creative Industry Leaders & Hiring Managers about the state of the market. It will come as no surprise when I say that the state of the creative/marketing industry is a bag of mixed messages.

Jump down INTEL:👇🏼👇🏼

• ➡ ➡ CREATIVE LEADERS & HIRING MANAGERS

• ➡ ➡ JOB SEEKERS & CAREER DREAMERS

• There are hiring freezes in Q1 and Q2. And layoffs.

• 70% of my network are planning their own moves (🫨 Yikes. See below. ⬇️ )

• Work volume has increased, due to fewer staff, adopting new strategies, and pulling creative/marketing in-house

• Burnout is here.

So what are we gonna do about all of this? I connected with hundreds of my Creative Leaders, Hiring Managers, and job seeking Creatives, and here are just a few of my tips, insights, and INTEL below:

➡ ➡ CREATIVE LEADERS & HIRING MANAGERS

LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH! Instead of focusing on how you will get it all done, I want you to take a step back and think about how to keep the ones you have. You see, in times like this, there is a real risk of overworking your team, and - based on my research - many of you (and your team) are even planning their very own next moves!! You cannot afford to lose who you have in place! Here’s what I know my top-performing Creative Leaders already have in place:

• Schedule short 1:1’s with all directs. Do that now!

  • Check-in. Ask them how they are. Listen.

  • Use the "Stop, Start, Keep" method. Ask them what they would like you to Stop Doing, Start Doing, Keep Doing. Take notes. 

  • Schedule another 1:1 for Q2 and add these two items to the agenda.

• Initiate a Team Review with Leadership

  • Identify and discuss key talent.

  • Identify and discuss flight risk talent.

  • Identify talent holes, and discuss if talent shifting can help fill holes.

  • Discuss ways to retain key talent.

• Line up your Short-term Talent now!

  • Utilize Freelance & Contract talent to prevent overworking.

  • Book Freelance/Contract talent with a Recruiter and/or Staffing Firm as a workaround if full-time hires are on hold. 

  • Think about the big picture! (A client of mine brought in short-term UX/UI designers to expedite the launch of a new product - and even managed to launch ahead of schedule!) 

  • Get a shortlist together so you can jump right in when you need to. 

➡ ➡ JOB SEEKERS & CAREER DREAMERS

If this hits close to home for you and/or your Manager has yet to employ some of the above, I dare you to take the lead!

• Book your own 1:1. Do that now.

• Jot down what you see as your most valuable assets.

• Jot down theirs.

• Highlight a stellar team member in your department.

• Bring all of this up to your Manager in your 1:1!

• Offer to organize the Team Review for them.

• Start jotting down all your daily duties and tasks in a doc or note as you do them. Do this daily for at least 1-week. This may come in handy for your 1:1 and if you need to update your resume.

• Portfolio over 12 months old? This is your official nudge. (Check out Semplice)

• Send my team your updated site for a review, use the word “Loom” in your email subject and you may just get a quickie audit on the house!

OK, that is it for now. I mean - that is ENOUGH for now! 😉 

- Keva
#BFFRecruiter
📌 CEO | The Expert Creative Recruiter with 23 Years' Experience Placing Top Talent | Driving Client Success & Revenue Growth! ❤️ #BFFRecruiter

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