creative director resumes?
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- bigtrick
Hello,
I know someone who is in the job hunt for a CD position at an agency (a step up for her). our dilemma is, we don't know what sort of things to put in it... should the creative stuff be emphasized with strong links to a portfolio counterpart, or should the emphasis be on the people-management and client-management aspects? If anyone has insight, or better yet an example of a CD-level resume, that would be totally aces.
Thanks.
- fyoucher10
It probably should focus on all aspects -- creative, management, and even sales. Might want to also include how you can direct the entire process and see it out, from concept through completion through follow up and possibly through setting up to sell the next project.
- doesnotexist0
sounds like she's not ready for the step up if she doesn't know how to present herself...?
- that was kinda meanMeeklo
- she's been out of the ad industry for a couple years doing corporate in-house design.bigtrick
- doesnotexist, this thread poses a reasonable question, let's try to be more constructive, eh?arthur
- ohh sorry this must be the 1 serious thread- my bad!
jackassesdoesnotexist - i see doesnotexist's question simply as a way of saying "only you know how to sell yourself"ifeltdave
- exactly. if she doesn't know what she wants maybe take a step back and think about itdoesnotexist
- who said she doesn't know what she wants?bigtrick
- I think doesnotexist hit it on the head. It's not mean, just straight forward.jfletcher
- juskin0
the thing is, most agencies dont even care about your "creative skills" at that point its more about how good you are with clients, how much you can get out of your creative team, and how you can do all that and not want to off yourself. Its a high pressure position, which almost has nothing to do with being creative...
- I will respectfully disagree
creative skills MUST be top notch, if its a respectable agencyMeeklo - since when has a CREATIVE director ever created ANYTHING?robotron3k
- I happen to know, and respect a lot of CD, if they can't get their team's respect, then they probably shouldn't be in that positionMeeklo
- position, and in order to get that respect, I think a proven creative trayectory is essentialMeeklo
- I will respectfully disagree
- robotron3k0
Maybe she could somehow put in her resume that she has no real creative skills, but is well adept at speaking vague and convincing art directors and designers to work all-nighters, but she can still bring a project in under budget.
- bigtrick0
thank you for the words fellas - keep it coming.
i advised her to take advice from businessguysonbusinesstrips, but that may be counterproductive:
http://businessguysonbusinesstri…- My god, it just gets better and better, realer and realer. REAL.d_rek
- juskin0
well Meeklo I can post several CD's sites and show you how bad it is at "TOP" agencies, I know, its sounds crazy but its true, most are art directors that stick around long enough to where they get pushed up in the rank, not truly being "creative geniuses" if anyone falls into that category they market themselves to clients directly, and dont need agencies...
- vaxorcist0
Hmm.... I've worked with a few great CD's and a couple of not so great ones....
A good CD can set a tone of an agency, and often those sorts of agencies are formed by refugees from larger agencies who wanted to do things their own way...
Whereas, it seemed to me that CD's who were hired by a committee at a certain large agency I once inhabited were hired mainly on their client mangement skills and a certain public persona they could exude in meetings.....
So.... resume/pitch for a gig like that really depends on the kind of agency.. big = client centered, small = join our revolution
- Horp0
Creative Director resumes what? directing?
- monNom0
point form, describe how you are like Don Draper on Mad Men.
- deathboy0
id go all bruce lee and research the company that'd i'd want to work for and tweak shit as necessary for each individual company steez. don't think there is an all successful approach. unless your going for mediocre excellence, which has great sells potential, but too me just isnt very fulfilling.
- gramme0
Well in any event, I'd thoroughly describe creative as well as management, business, and sales strengths; but I think there could be some merit to writing different versions for different kinds of agencies.
Maybe for small–mid-sized agencies you push the creativity angle a bit further, since in smaller shops CDs usually do at least some amount of hands-on design work. Not to mention that every CD I know art directs photography as well, whether their shop is big or small.
For the bigger shops, talk more strategery.
In any scenario, keep the length at two pages or less. My resume is only one page, but that's because I've not been at this game nearly as long as your typical CD.
- UKV0
Hi, to offer you a little insight on the level a good CD should be at and what should be in the resume in some form or another (in addition to a jaw dropping book):
1) Should be capable of engaging with C-level executives and offer a compelling and articulate agency POV that motivates the client to dig deep and trust the agency. The desired outcome here is both a stronger relationship, and consensus about what must be done in partnership with the agency (a shitty CD will simply recycle a clients opinion instead of setting the table for killer work to happen).
2) A solid CD should be able to write creative briefs that expand on the possibility of the work vs. offer predetermined outcomes. In other words, frame the problem, not the bloody tactics. A work order asks for three print ads and a radio spot. A creative brief asks for a new way to see the world.
3) A good CD should know when there is blood in the water, and when there isn't and that the work simply isn't there yet. That often means having the ability to create, motivate, and otherwise terrify multidisciplinary teams to create truly noteworthy work no matter how shitty the odds... over, and over again. Its harder then it looks.
4) Should be thinking in big picture, culture changing terms and have that killer instinct to create opportunities for the agency where they do not presently exist. There are a lot of CD's doing good project work, but the big kids do integrated work and make it look it stupid easy (again, it never is... but managing perception is a big part of a CD's skillset).
5) A resume at the CD level should have more then "job duties", and should have specific instances outlined where they personally attributed to success of both the client, and the agency. Things like wins in new business pitches, measurable account spend growth because a campaign takes off, growing or reshaping agency practices and departments.
Hope thats helpful. Do some searches on linked in and you'll see some of this type of stuff. Talk to some recruiters and get theme to send some resumes your way. You might see some stuff you like, you might not.
- nikdaum0
If it were me, I'd include a photo of my ding-dog. If they don't understand why, it probably isn't much room for growth.