I’ve worked on many different brands in the United States and overseas.
When it comes to strategies for hiring in the creative department, there are basically two distinct approaches:

1. The confident leader attempts to hire people who are as good as, or even better than, he or she is. Or, people who have the potential to be as good or better with the proper mentorship and creative opportunities.
2. The nervous, egotistical or selfishly motivated leader doesn’t want anyone beneath them to be a threat to his or her position, future, power, or perceived creativity. This kind of leader wants to hire people who are just good enough to keep everyone afloat.

It should be no surprise that the first approach works better for every stakeholder, not the least of which is the firm itself. Why? The simplest answer is better people create better work. No one can argue that. Better people also get to better solutions faster, saving the firm money. Better people can generally juggle more assignments effectively than lesser talents. Better people are more persuasive with clients because they are presenting better work. And all of these factors can mean greater productivity, so you need fewer people than you would with a department stocked with average talent. Even if you pay good people more, you still come out way ahead in the end.
A creative department stocked with good people attracts other good people who want to work on that team. That makes hiring so much easier. In the design community, word gets around quickly, so make sure it’s a positive word.
Lastly, hiring good people who do outstanding work doesn’t threaten the leader. It makes the leader look good. Assembling a rock star crew, or developing one, almost a certain key to success. As a result, you should be handsomely rewarded by your grateful employer. If not, you should be in great demand by other organizations who are hopeful you can perform your magic for them.
These POVs brought to you by an experienced member of Boom Ideanet where crowdsourcing is civilized.

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By Nathalie Heywood.
An oft repeated question, “do you have a job description?” made me realize that people have a hard time verbalizing what they do and what they want when hiring a new employee. After all, everyone wants the “driven, go-getter, multi-tasker, dynamic, amazing, creative, out-of-the-box thinker,” but what is the job!?!? The truth is adjectives and adverbs are not what gets the job done — it’s all nouns and verbs.
I began to research. I “Binged,” and I “Googled”; I read articles in Crains, Business Insider, Harvard Review; and I found “lists” of all types: 5 Quick Tips, 10 Quick Tips, 3 Quick Lessons, 8 Surprising Effective Things, Things You Should Do, Things You Shouldn’t Do as well as Principles, Rules, Absolutes, and Must-Haves to writing a job description.
So, after several hours of reading, I have this to contribute:
A job description is a framework to find the right candidate.  First, it’s best to write one for yourself. It should cover 4 key areas:
1) A list of the specifics
2) A must list
3) A wish list
4) A personality profile
Next, edit it for general consumption by the public and posting online.
Last, remember to update it as your team develops and requirements change.
Below, I’ve created a basic outline to work from. By filling in the blanks, you can create your personal guide for new hires. It will help you give direction to your recruiters, create a job posting, and pinpoint your need. Once you bring in the new hire, it will also provide a three-month framework for setting milestones, training and guiding your new team member.
Outline:
Title: Naming the position – gives purpose, direction and definition to the position and communicates professional responsibility.
Salary: Helps identify if candidate is right for the role, is over or under qualified, and has the right level of experience.
Major responsibilities:
Sets the framework for what you are looking for in a candidate overall.
Day-to-day work:
What gets done daily and how the day should be structured for someone new to the group.
Reporting and supervisory responsibilities:
Who they are reporting to; what are the lines of communications; what is the training structure for incoming person
Expectations for the role:
What do you need from this person and how do you expect them to fit into the group.
Goals for the first year of this hire:
What is the person working toward. What resources will you need to put into play to create success for you, your team, and the new hire.
What do you have to offer the person coming into this role:
What is your contribution to the new hire as their manager or supervisor.
An example of the easiest and the most complicated project in a given time period:
This helps further breakdown responsibilities, skills, and what you are going to need from the new hire.
Purpose of the role and possibility for growth:
What you have to offer the candidate for them to make a commitment to you. Where this new person fits into the company and why they are important to the company.
Level/years of experience needed for this role:
Is this a junior, mid-level, or senior role.
Degree:
If it matters – what level of study, what areas of concentration.
Software knowledge:
List all the ones you must have, then the ones that are a plus, then what you have interest in exploring.
Background which has been most successful for this position:
For example, must have studio production, advertising, creative services for consumer goods.
Prior industry knowledge needed to perform the job:
For example, must work well with technology – understand medical terms – comfortable with reviewing analytics, etc.
Skills the incoming candidate can learn through internal training:
For example, Lotus Notes, project management, or a billing system or in-house tracking system, Excel
Personalities that work best with my style:
Note a word of caution – a personality you work well with isn’t supposed to be someone with whom you can be “friends” even though that is often the benefit.  The personality traits you work well with should be based on how well and efficiently the person works and how they strengthen the overall team. Think of it this way – is it better to deliver on time or have a great sense of humor. I know, ideally both but in truth “on time” wins.
Last note, I didn’t mention culture or brand in the above outline on purpose. Comprehensive outlines like the framework above help you find people that fit the culture. They fit the culture because they have the same values and principles. They will be a brand ambassador for the company because their belief system and work ethic is the same. Remember, using a framework helps you identify the true needs of your department. It helps streamline communications between you, and your team, as well as guide the HR group, outside recruiters and senior management.
Nathalie Heywood, Update Graphics an Update Inc Company
NHeywood@updategraphics.com

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