The Challenge:
We were tasked with finding a conversion-driven Graphic Designer for an eCommerce marketing agency called TransBiz.
The Result:
In 3 weeks, we had 10 calls that came from paid Linkedin Ads as well as our network (from a total of 150 people that applied via the website). We were able to narrow it down to the two top candidates, and by week 5 we finished closing the deal with a Graphic Designer who is proactive, had the right experience, and was a perfect culture match for the team.
In the end, the Graphic Designer that we hired came from our network.
Requirements:
The main goal of hiring this Graphic Designer for their team was to increase the quality of the creatives and have someone who can help strategize from the creative perspective.
One of the most important requirements for this role was that the person should have several years of Graphic Design experience, specifically in the eCommerce industry.
They also had to be problem-solver and a good communicator, as they would be an integral part of the strategizing process and it was important for them to be proactive in ideation.
Finally, this person should share the same values as the team. For them, culture is one of the most important factors in hiring and we had to make sure that they resonate with their mission & vision.
Biggest Selling Points:
The biggest selling point for this role is that the team is fully remote & international, working with clients from many different niches.
TransBiz also has an internal team for Learning and Development, and nurturing their team is a big priority. From the very beginning, the new team member would have a chance to create an individualized plan for themselves and set KPIs to achieve those goals. Feedback sessions and reviews happen often, so they have lots of opportunities to continue improving themselves.
Finally, TransBiz values and celebrates autonomy and experimentation, so team members have a platform where they can play around with new ideas. They would not only be executing but also bringing something new to the table.
Skills We Looked For:
- Strong creative portfolio - This role required this graphic designer to understand conversion principles and the elements that make a graphic ad converting, so we were looking for this in their portfolio and test task.
- Communication - As this person would not be working with just execution-based tasks but also contributing their ideas for new angles and how to improve the performance of campaigns, they needed to be a good communicator and able to share their ideas proactively.
- Research - One of the best ways to improve your work is researching the audience you’re marketing to, analyzing what the competitors are doing and seeing what works for them, as well as keeping yourself updated on marketing. This person had to have a good research process in place that allowed them to gain as much information as possible for them to create the very best creatives.
- Desire to learn - The marketing industry moves fast and you need to be up to date with new trends. Finding someone who wanted to always be learning about marketing, and graphic design would be a good culture match for the team.
Approach:
As we knew from previous experience, running paid ads for this role works and we decided to launch some ads in southern Europe. This role is fully remote, so we made sure that we highlight this aspect in our job description to be able to attract a wider audience. Overall, 150 people applied for this role and from this, we were able to narrow down and have calls with 10 of them. This is why it’s important to set the right questions in the application form as we can see their portfolio beforehand and see if their graphic design experience was relevant for this position.
Another approach we took was simply reaching out to our network. Over the last few years, Prosana and its team members have built up a solid network of talent from the marketing world, especially when it comes to creative roles such as Graphic Designers and Video Editors, so we tapped into it and reached out to those we knew.
Key Questions To Ask:
- What has been your most successful creative, and how did you achieve those results?
- How do you measure metrics to decide what is a converting ad and what isn't? How do you adjust?
- What is your research process? How do you generate new ideas to test?
Challenges We Faced:
When working with creative team hires, we often get a lot of applicants coming through the door. It can be a harrowing task to go through hundreds of applications and their portfolios, so we had to make sure we had a strict criterion of what we wanted to see from the initial application and what samples we were looking for in their portfolio.
Another challenge we experienced was finding candidates who not only had the experience of being a graphic designer but also understood marketing and the metrics. Although analytics can be taught, a basic understanding was required, and oftentimes people were working in an environment where they were not getting much feedback on their work or they did not understand conversion principles.
Key Takeaways:
- Graphic Designers WANT to be more analytical, so make sure that your team is sharing the metrics to help them continue to improve
- When hiring for creative roles, make sure you have a good growth plan laid out for them and what KPIs they need to be hitting to get there
- Graphic Designers need to have the space to explore and experiment with their ideas, so make sure you can offer them autonomy in their decision making
Tips For Similar Hires:
- Start to build a network of people in creative roles such as Graphic Designers and Video Editors, and keep them updated on when you’re hiring - build and nurture good relationships with them.
- If you resort to headhunting, use alternative platforms such as Behance to find talent based on their online portfolios.
- Make sure you ask for a portfolio of relevant work so you can identify if the person is a skill fit as early as possible.
If you’d like to expand your creative team, fill out the form on our website, and let’s get talking about how we can help you bring someone awesome onboard.