Visit multiple websites, listen to different radio ads, or walk into various homes, and often, creativity is the distinguishing factor! Clients who hire a creative professional for their projects get satisfying results–tailored to their taste.
Though innovation is impalpable, it has a massive impact on business outcomes. According to Adobe & Forrester Research report, brands that have an innovative culture are 3.5X more likely to record a 10 percent jump in their revenue goals than those that don’t prioritize creativity. Furthermore, those companies are 50 percent more likely to surpass competitors and dominate in their niches.
Innovative experts play a primary role in all industries. Once you read our definition of the term “creative professional,” you’ll understand why nearly all sectors need these services.
To put things into perspective, 2019 findings by the National Assembly of State Arts Agency showed that arts contributed more to the national economy than most industries. Boasting a colossal $919.7 billion (or 4.3 percent of the GDP), arts outshined giant sectors like agriculture, transport & warehousing, travel & tourism, mining, construction, and utilities.
This post has been updated in September 2021.
Who is a Creative Professional? What’s their Job?
A creative professional or creative specialist is anyone who uses their talent and expert skill sets to execute projects that require creativity.
Let’s say you needed a radio advert to market your brand; how would you go about it?
Of course, you hire a radio-ad scriptwriter to come up with the words and let a voice-over expert do the recording: Both are creative professionals.
But there’s more to innovation than that. These skills could be anything, including:
- Art
- Writing
- Design
- Dubbing
- Audio Ads
- Video Production
They may also include notable roles like:
- Interior design
- Marketing
- Product development
- User interface development
- Curriculum or course building
Because most creative specialists like voice artists and writers also sell their talent to secondary roles, it’s difficult to limit them to specific functions.
Hire a Creative Professional in 7 Steps
It would be best if you had a well-thought-out strategy when searching for creative talent. A plan is a must-have because most of these jobs consume huge budgets, are time-bound, and should only be outsourced to competent workers.
Drafting the search process upfront also simplifies your talent search while increasing the likelihood of hiring a competent
So what are the steps to hire a creative professional?
1. Write down the project plan
Before embarking on talent search, draft a project plan detailing all the activities from beginning to end.
This plan should give you a clear picture of the specific skill sets you’ll need from your creative expert.
Using this reference point, you can easily create a checklist of the must-have competencies to look for in candidates.
2. Identify the platforms to source your talent from
Are you after creative writers, or would you like a voice-over artist for your next marketing campaign? Narrowing down to the specific skills needed helps you identify the right platforms to source and hire qualified creatives.
For instance, you can search for voice artists, actors, writers, scriptwriters, UI designers, and interior design experts on freelance websites like Bunny Studio. You could also search for an expert in companies offering the services you need. Alternatively, you can post your project on job boards and meet solo freelancers.
Whichever approach you use, be sure to vet platforms for quality; check out their portfolio and what customers say about their services.
3. Compare rates
Remember to compare rates early because you don’t want to point the finger at a preferred creative expert only to realize that you can’t afford them.
Most creative professionals earn hourly, while others prepare you a quote depending on your project type. Be sure to understand these before committing to a deal. That way, you can incorporate it into your budget and work out the total project cost.
4. Check out samples of previous work
Well, you’ve just run into an interior designer who claims to be the creme de la creme. You give them the benefit of the doubt. But still, you’ll need to confirm their skill sets; what do you do?
Ask for samples or a portfolio of their past projects. For example, home designers document their work by taking photos and short videos of all the properties they renovate.
Collect samples from various experts and compare these while taking note of the most relevant candidate. This will ease your job down the road and increase the likelihood of meeting a badass interior designer.
5. Narrow down to a few candidates
Eventually, it would be best if you narrowed it down to a few select candidates based on their portfolio and relevance to your project.
For creative experts, it’s essential to balance between talent and professional know-how. Sometimes, experience (or years in business) doesn’t count because freelance platforms offer new talent freelancers with all the competencies you need.
6. Interview the candidate(s)
Interviewing candidates enables you to meet with the talent behind the samples you liked. It also allows you to scrutinize the candidate for the skillsets they claim to have. Furthermore, it helps you determine the candidate’s understanding of the project.
With video tools like Zoom, you can plan virtual interviews even if the job is a remote project.
During the interview, focus on the candidate’s relevance to your brand or campaign. Do not investigate their academic background or focus on other resume/CV junk as this won’t lead you to a competent candidate.
7. Hire a creative professional
Depending on the project type and where you source an expert, you can hire with the click of a button or go through lots of formalities, e.g., signing agreements, etc.
Hiring from legitimate freelance platforms is much easier than working with a registered Agency, as most have a hassle-free hiring process.
Still, you want to ensure that the agreement protects your bottom line from stuff like copyright infringement (e.g., when a creative expert shares your work elsewhere).
The 5 Skills to Look for before you Hire a Creative Professional
Spotting a creative candidate isn’t that difficult. For most clients, the challenge is to narrow down to the skills that will allow them to tap into the expert’s creativity and achieve your brand’s goals.
Up next are the seven most crucial creative skills to check for when vetting creatives to onboard permanently or temporarily:
a) Teamwork abilities
The best creatives don’t operate in a silo.
To produce tailored results that will help drive growth, you must gather ideas from multiple departments and operate as a team to put creative thoughts into action.
When looking to hire a creative professional, check the candidate’s background of “teamworking” on tasks. Ask if they have been part of a group, led a crew, or served in a professional company.
b) Time Management
Creatives are rumored to be latecomers; some psychological studies have attempted to back this claim. While this may sound like a word on the street, hiring a lazy artist can slow down your project and delay time-bound activities like product launches.
For recruiters, it’s crucial to vet a candidate’s time-management skills. Ask which time tracking tools they use, their general strategy and time plan for your specific project, and the ETA for the deliverables.
c) The knack to receive and give instructions
Because innovation projects are interdepartmental, it’s crucial to hire a specialist with the knack to issue and receive instructions.
This goes beyond just having good communication skills; you need someone outspoken and willing to voice their concerns.
Moreover, your artist must also be a good listener. They must be able to take and execute instructions.
Vetting these skills matter more so when searching for someone to lead a team.
d) Do they fit your culture?
Brand culture is what defines your company. It starts from your organization’s beliefs, spreads to employees, and then trickles down to your product or service offerings.
The creative specialist must understand your brand culture and get along with the team. According to the Society for Human Resource Management report, hiring an employee that doesn’t fit into your culture can cost your firm up to 60 percent of a worker’s annual pay.
A separate study shows that workers who fit nicely into a brand are:
- happier at work
- serve longer
- record excellent performances than those who don’t resonate with the brand
To increase the likelihood of finding a good fit, ask your employees to refer some experts.
e) Passion
Minus passion, talented artists can get tired down the road. This doesn’t mean your artist must be at their 100 percent all the time. Instead, you are searching for someone with a natural liking for whatever they do–something that inspires them beyond just the money.
Passionate workers are active workers, and that attitude has a positive effect on business. One Gallup survey involving nearly 200 organizations found that brands with the most engaged staff were 21 percent more profitable than those with the least engagement levels.
Reasons to Hire a Creative Professional
Outsourcing work to creatives offers troves of benefits to small businesses. Besides guaranteeing quality results, they also relieve you of the burden of shifting between running your business and handling innovation projects.
Below are some benefits of hiring a creative professional:
- They take care of technical tasks
- Handle everything from scratch to finish
- Give your innovation a professional touch
- Ensure timely completion
- Help you source most of the things you need for your campaign saving you lots of money
- Give insights and ideas that can benefit your project
- They partner with various departments to ensure a perfect deliverable
Lastly, these experts work with your budget and still deliver quality results.
Final Word on How to Hire a Creative Professional
Doing your creative projects alone can lead to mistakes and a counterproductive result. No matter how simple an activity looks, there’s more to it than meets the eye, so it’s better to outsource to an expert.
When hiring, don’t rush to onboard the first expert you bump into. After spelling out your needs, spend time searching for the right one. Follow this guide to increases the chances of meeting a competent creative.
Bunny studio is a trusted freelance website serving hundreds of thousands of companies. Submit your project details and hire a creative specialist for your writing, scriptwriting, animation voice-over, Graphic design, or interior design campaigns.
