6th March 2025
Despite the growing evidence against this claim, our industry might not be as deep into a talent shortage as we think.
It’s not yet time to panic.
While there’s no denying there’s been a downfall in suitable applications for creative roles in recent years, there’s a bright side.
Many of our recruitment calculations haven’t considered the potential of the workforce that isn’t actively looking for jobs in our sector.
These “passive candidates” could be some of our best and brightest, equipped with the skills we so desperately need.
Every day, you could be unknowingly interacting with some of the most creative people in the UK.
See, just a few years ago, young talent faced drastic problems landing their dream roles, eventually forced to settle into steady careers elsewhere.
These initial barriers they faced getting into the creative industry has deterred them from reapplying, an issue we need to rectify (along with others).
“It’s not a reliable career option.”
How many of us were discouraged by our parents to pursue a career in the creative industry?
While we ignored their advice and made it to where we are now, not everyone will have overcome the doubt.
From 2010 to 2017, headlines were flooded with articles titled, “7 Hard Truths About Building A Creative Career” and similar.
It’s no wonder, then, that we’re now facing disaster when trying to recruit. Potential employees have turned their attention elsewhere, to roles in:
Today, if we want to tackle the supply gap head-on… there’s some work to be done.
Ultimately, the lack of creative candidates in our sector comes down to a misunderstanding.
Candidates seem to think that there aren’t enough opportunities for them to enjoy a reliable and successful career in our market.
This is entirely false.
Our first priority, then, is to reignite confidence about working in our sector by educating talent that we have a space for them.
This will require extensive social recruitment, where firms and leaders should take individual responsibility to build up their network and reach passive candidates.
Remember, a structured learning and development scheme can negate the need for specific experience or qualifications.
Popular specialist roles such as:
All have skills that can be taught on the job.
Plus, employee training can be used as a “carrot” to convince applicants to work with you over your competitors.
Finally, we need to be more open with our selection process to secure creative candidates.
This will ensure you identify the best employees for your business.
For some, increasing your recruitment horizons means accepting applications on an international scale. For others, this means reducing bias to accept workers from all backgrounds.
It’s devastating to look back and realise how many brilliant employees we’ve passed on, simply because we didn’t have a role for them at the time.
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible to reach out to these individuals and reconnect with them.
As an industry, we need to….
If you need to efficiently fill gaps within your organisation, the experts at Ross Clifford & Associates can help.
We recruit for various job positions across the creative, marketing, technology, and digital environments and are confident we can find the perfect fit for your business.