A few weeks ago we shared a post on LinkedIn about clients only looking at candidates with specific experience. With over 25k views and a lot of support we felt it was necessary to document this argument.

Creatives Natives strongly supports looking for talent from all walks of life. How can advertising and marketing agencies be offering anything unique if they keep hiring the same people?

Not only has the landscape changed, but the world has also changed. It’s now more important to be hiring emotionally smart people who are adaptable, over a safe pairs of hands who will keep things ticking over.

One of the biggest things that I’ve struggled with over the years is taking job orders from Clients that will only look at people that have experience working in their category.

Examples are agencies only wanting to meet talent with FMCG or property experience. I completely understand for many businesses it’s a much easier process to find someone who knows the field already. Having someone new to the category brings a fresh set of eyes, a hunger to learn, and a new perspective. Marketing has evolved and Clients are wanting new ideas and I believe they’d much rather have an emotionally intelligent person than someone who has been doing the same thing for years without progressing.

I’m not suggesting that there isn’t a place for specialisation, but why not try looking outside of the same talent pool and look for transferable skills?

I’d love to hear people’s views on hiring based on EQ as opposed to the business’s only looking at cv’s from their competitors. I’m hopeful that hiring managers post-Covid keep an open-mind!