Let’s face it, today’s job market is bleak, both for jobseekers and hiring managers. It feels nearly impossible to find the right person or to land a job right now. So in an effort to bring some transparency to the often-guarded hiring process, we want to offer you hope in the form of three successful hiring stories. It’s easy to fall into despair, especially if you almost land a job but lose it in the end, or lose a candidate to your competitor. It happens! But it doesn’t always happen…
Case Study 1: Real Estate Graphic Designer
The Client: A boutique marketing agency in the real estate industry.
They needed a freelance graphic designer to design a website rebrand, marketing pamphlets, brochures, templates, digital layouts, and presentation materials for stakeholder events. Due to the nature of the agency space, they really needed someone who was available to be onsite at least a few days of the week. The ideal candidate was someone comfortable diving in and working with an already established, small team. This person also had to be the right culture fit: up-to-date on trends but also calm, collected, and a multi-disciplinary designer willing to go with the flow. There was also potential, with the right candidate, for this person to go full-time.
The Candidate: A mid-level graphic designer, well-rounded in illustration, graphic design and strategy, who lived (surprise!) in the same area as this boutique agency. This person had worked in both marketing agencies and had a background in the real estate industry. Plus, we had placed with them a different client in the past, so we were able to confidently recommend them for this job.
The Hiring Process: The marketing agency hired Artisan and one of our dedicated Account Managers was put on the case. She was able to collect a handful of aligned candidates, but there was one that just fit the bill perfectly, bringing fresh ideas to the table (our candidate above). The interview process moved slowly. It ended up taking about three months and the candidate was extremely patient throughout. Why the prolonged search? At first, the client turned down the ultimate hire after the first round of interviews. They wanted to see more options and thought about reposting the job. So how did our candidate ultimately get hired? Our strategist fought for the candidate, citing their extensive experience, their talents, patience, and ingenuity. Thankfully the candidate hadn’t lost interest in the position—and instead of landing a temp job, the agency hired her full-time!
Case Study 2: Agency Art Director
The Client: A small, D.C.-based ad agency
The hiring manager was in a pretty desperate situation: they needed to fill an Art Director role for a current employee who was leaving the company in just three weeks. This Art Director would have to be a jack-of-all-trades type designer, as this agency was small but mighty and fast-paced. They needed someone who could do everything from video production to web development to photography with a strong background in marketing and general agency life. The core components to finding this person would be (1) a great culture fit, (2) speedy work ethic, and (3) a diverse skill set.
The Candidate: An Art Director with an extensive agency background who is very comfortable in this type of fast-paced environment. They are a designer who was able to gel well with the company’s culture while also being interested in jumping into all different creative modalities for the agency.
The Hiring Process: The client was initially wary of hiring another staffing agency to help them find someone, as they’d had a bad experience before. But when Artisan was recommended by one of their most trusted clients, they hired us. Thankfully, they were not disappointed! We began by setting up interviews with a list of already-vetted, ready-to-go potential candidates. From this pool, the agency was able to finalize its decision within two weeks, allowing for a third week of training between the current employee and the new hire. Not only did we make a successful match, but we also helped the client and new Art Director get set up for success with a week of training. The CEO called Artisan a “life-saver”, indicating that over his 15 years of experience, Artisan had single-handedly changed his opinion of the staffing industry.
Case Study 3: Analytical Social Media Manager
The Client: An Indiana-based service provider
In need of a Social Media Coordinator, they needed to hire someone with a strong social media background and comfortable with analytics. They were open to recent grads or junior-level social pros, who could be trained and take advantage of a growing opportunity at their company.
The Candidate: A fresh face in the marketing world who had briefly held down separate jobs as a marketing coordinator and social media coordinator. They were comfortable with analytics and even content development, even though they’d never worked in the service industry before.
The Hiring Process: The job had been posted for months already, but the client was unable to find the right candidate on their own. The candidates they’d seen were simply not qualified. They decided to hire Artisan to help them find the right person. We presented three candidates within a week who were all qualified and made their decision very difficult—a nice problem to have when you’ve been searching for months! They held a round of interviews and were able to make their decision within a few days, making the complete hiring process a two-week journey. Ultimately our recruiters were able to put the company in touch with exactly who they needed to interview, helping them fill a niche role with the ideal candidate.
TLDR; Hearing about these hiring stories, you might be wondering either how you can hire the ideal person or become that candidate yourself. We’re going to be real: these aren’t always the results of hiring in this current climate. Frankly, the biggest challenge that our recruiters have communicated is long, drawn-out interview processes and potential candidates finding work elsewhere during those waiting periods. But with recruiters, like Artisan, to help facilitate both the client and candidate needs, you might just run into this issue a little less.
Considering working with us to find talent or a job? We’re here to help!
