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Wunderman's commitment to a more diverse agency world

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In a bid to smash the mold of the traditional agency demographic, Wunderman opened its entry level recruitment scheme to non-graduates for the first time with the launch of Wunder Hunter - a recruitment platform that targets university alumni alongside those without formal qualifications in a self-penned call to find “the curious and the brave”.

Wunderman’s reason is wonderfully simple: it wants to secure the best talent regardless of academic background. The scheme doesn’t want a formal CV or stuffy cover letter, instead applicants are shortlisted via an open-ended questionnaire designed to test quality of thought. It’s a clear reflection of the modern agency’s need to solve client challenges in innovative new ways amid a fast-evolving industry, and a recruitment model many others will likely have to adopt in the coming years to ensure their creative teams can offer the dynamism needed to keep winning clients.

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Inspired by a wave of their own staff, whose early career trajectories didn’t quite add up to their current day positions (“I dropped out of school and started my career as a teaboy” says ECD, Ian Haworth), Wunderman’s scheme is open to anyone aged over 18, inviting a breadth of different backgrounds to join the application process such as school leavers, people returning to work, those brave folk undergoing career changes, and those coming from more creative- or tech-oriented backgrounds.

In total, four successful applicants will be offered the opportunity to join Wunderman across the UX, Customer Experience Design, Communications, Strategy, Data and Account Management teams. Pip Hulbert, COO said: “We want to find the best talent for Wunderman, regardless of academic background. In return, we’ll provide a place for people to exercise their gifts, discover who they are and who they’re meant to become, and a place for them to become a creative ‘tour du force’. This is all about unlocking potential.”

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Curious as to whether you’d make the cut? You can check out the Wunder Hunter application form on their website, but to give you an idea here’s some of the questions asked:

Decision Making / Problem Solving / Analytical Skills: Imagine there’s a machine that produced £100, every month, for life. What would you need to know in advance to work out how much you would pay for it?

Creative Thinking: Describe the colour “orange” to someone who can’t see.

Personality: If a movie was made about your life, what would the title be and why?

Own It / Getting Uncomfortable: What is the biggest obstacle you have faced, and how did you overcome it?

Passion for the Industry: Tell us about the most iconic ad you have ever seen and how it makes you feel.

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Answers to the above questions are scored for strategic and analytical thinking. There are no ‘correct’ responses, just a want to find problem solvers who will face challenges with head on creativity.

In an era of eye-wateringly high tuition fees, Wunderman’s step towards the recruitment techniques of yesteryear (where you knocked on an agency door one day and turned up for work the next) is a refreshing change. Increasingly a university education isn’t something many people can afford and as the gulf between those who can, and those who can’t widens, schemes such as Wunder Hunter are a hopeful step in the right direction.

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