The Creativepool Recruiter Insight series is a new batch of podcasts we'll be bringing you over the coming weeks, which aim to answer the questions on the lips of every Creativepooler: “What will it take to bag me a job at my dream agency, and what are the steps I need to take to make it a reality?” As the name suggests, these are insightful, entertaining, and often surprisingly frank discussions that pull back to veil on the world of creative recruitment, and should prove essential listening for anyone even considering making a serious career move in ad land and beyond.
Here, Creativepool founder, Michael Tomes, catches up with Robert Stone, McCann London's Head of Talent, at the McCann offices in Russell Square, and discuss his self-appointed “Cliche” role within the agency and what the current process of recruitment is like at McCann, one of the most respected global agencies in the world. Robert, who is responsible for overseeing and managing Talent at McCann London, McCann LIVE, McCann Enterprise & CRAFT, tells us that the agency, and much of the industry at large by extension, has started to focus more on strategic hires of late.
“We look globally at who's won awards and what campaigns are trending, and try to pinpoint who's responsible for them before we try to bring them over to the dark side”
The recruitment expert tells us what McCann looks for in a candidate, and the balance they are trying to create between pedigree hires and more adventurous hires, including a recent hire from the police force, which he feels has helped nurture a more diverse and eclectic workforce with a wider set of skills. As far as new talent is concerned, McCann doesn't currently have a graduate scheme in place, though he does stress that internships and placements are still a big part of the recruitment process. As long as you have a decent amount of agency experience of course.
Robert also, perhaps more interestingly, goes into great detail about the challenges himself and McCann face when scouting for talent, as he admits there are so many fantastic agencies out there picking from the same pond due to a crippling talent shortage in the market. He also makes it sound as if, in terms of middleweight recruitment at least, the lion's share of the power is very much with the creative individuals, not the agencies, and that's rather encouraging. He seems to believe that it can be most difficult to talk someone out of a good role at a great agency, but then if there's one man who could hack it, it's Robert. For more Recruiter Insights, check back with Creativepool over the next few days as we delve deeper into the world of creative recruitment.
