The Creative Group?
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- JackRyan
Has anyone here worked through these guys? Was it good/bad? I just met with them here in Denver.
- JackRyan0
Oh, they're a staffing agency for creatives. Forgot to mention that.
- madirish0
too bad they don't have a website...
- http://www.creativeg…JackRyan
- ; )madirish
- *shakes fist in the airJackRyan
- sintaxera0
Ive never worked for them before, but we've used them in the past to hire for temp work. They seemed pretty good....we got some good designers through them.
- Mimio0
Right, and if you're good it can be difficult to get them to negotiate on your behalf for a higher rate.
- e-pill0
ive dealt with them, in nyc. they are in my opinion the worst placement agency ever. they dont care about you the creative at all as long as you are placed is all that matters to them. and they do not pay attention to your needs or your goals. i advise to not use them but to use them for their connections but do all the work yourself, there is no need for them to have a cut of your hard work when they themselves arent working for you at all, so why hlep them pay their rent??
- ‹‹ also they dont place for hourly rates over their budgeted limite-pill
- I sat down with the NY office and was told "If you can go out there and get 70,000 a year for Art Director then go for it; but I don't see that happening."
jteore - Jteore, but you what? what were you saying, please finish the sentence. thxSoulFly
- spendogg0
Hey Jack. They have gotten me a few interviews, but they seem to call me for contract work when I already have a contract. Because I am mostly print, there just aren't that many of those jobs out there right now. How's the search going?
- It's going alright. I've had a few jobs here and there that's keeping me afloat, but it does seem like things are drying uppJackRyan
- designbot0
My experience (when I was in Minneapolis, MN) was that they pretty much sucked. I went in an interviewed with some old guy who was like 60...he didn't know jack and kept telling me I needed to stay at my current job a minimum of 3 years before looking for another job. He said nobody would hire me until then.....I got a job a few weeks later on my own.
I can't be positive, but I got the impression that they charge a hefty fee (more than most headhunters) if you get hired anywhere based on their recommendation. Which of course, means....you make less.
- Tark0
Try them out...I did a remote gig through them and had to pull teeth to get more $ pumped into the project when the client wanted to add something. I got payed quite a bit less than the time I put in at the end of it. Creative Group was nice though but they also deal with the Account Temps side so they don't really understand a lot of the process. Try them out at least and see what you think.
- mudchicken0
suckage
- SoulFly0
The company itself- the Creative Group is amazing. They have options for insurance, paid time-off, and they pay on time, toll-free number, etc, etc. I'm sure other agencies offer all that also...
What you need to understand, is that the driving-force is not the agency, but, the agents... The agents here in the New Jersey office, are really good, I think they are probably above average in getting jobs and the do care for the designer. Now... it all depends on the office. maybe Denver has some kick-ass agents also there in the CG.. who knows... You gotta have chemistry with agents just like you need chemistry with clients, etc.
It's simple math, yes they will take half your pay, and the client company knows they are paying $45 an hour because they are paying for a pre-screened trusted designer... a company will not pay $45 for walk-ins... they will pay $25 or $35... and you as a designer don't have to worry about paperwork, or getting paid on time, or looking for a job...
- duckofrubber0
I used them on and off for 4 years here in St. Louis. The agents here are great, and they defended me in a few situations with clients.
There is always a trade-off when dealing with placement agencies, but they can find you good work for those in-between times. You do sometimes need to be a bug in their ear, though, and make them want to find you work. It's a great resource if/when you need it.
- I would recommend giving them a shot if you need the work.duckofrubber
- cannonball0
Worked with them in NYC. As it was mentioned above, they push you into positions without any regard to anything you want to do. For example: "We have 400 banner ads... with the slight possibility of a microsite.. we're not sure though. By the way someone already art directed and animate all the banners. You are just going to resize them. It's a day rate too."
That said if you don't care about the type of work anymore (like me) you can get a month's rent out of the way in a coupla days.
- stumpgrinder0
cannonball, but you always have the option to turn those kind of jobs down.
I think e-pill is just bitter because he was broke as hell at one point and got forced to work steady, instead of his random bouts of freelance vector asshattery that he currently enjoys. He strikes me as someone who would cry if he had to work 8 hours a day.
- You really have no idea about e-pill. He's Brilliant.jteore
- utopian10
They are pimping out designers by the sozens, don't be one of their whores.
- TheFatBaron0
Bump time:
Has anyone succesfully gotten off of their email list? I get so much crap from their NYC office (I worked through on of their NJ offices for a couple weeks a couple months ago) that I've ended up creating filters just for them on my mail server.
Yes, creating filters is a big deal for me. It's a whole step beyond hittig the 'delete' button.