The Creative Group

After getting laid off from my previous job, I was freelancing and looking for full-​time work for quite some time. After having no luck, I signed up with TCG and right off the bat I got a few interviews. Within the same month of signing up I landed an interview and was hired the same day as a full-​time temp, which led to me being hired full-​time on staff. Pretty easy and straight forward, they give you great interview tips.

Please read this TRUE review. Stay away from TCG or mostly known as «The Phony Group». I have heard from multiple people and friends that TCG is no more then just a waste of time. They post jobs all over (Craig’s list seems to be their first choice) and the recruiters are clueless. Let me say that again slowly… C-​L-​U-​E-​L-​E-​S-​S. They claim to have the «perfect» job for you and call you in only to use you as a guinea pig for their training purposes for recruiters. I was called in to meet with a recruiter only to have that recruiter share our meeting with her boss via video conferencing so her boss could listen in on how the recruiter asked questions, reviewed my resume etc. I finally had to ask the recruiter if my interview was an «audition» for her to keep her job. She didn’t seem pleased at my comment.
It gets better.
The recruiter didn’t even look at my professionally done resume prior to the meeting and asked me about my work experiences AFTER having my resume sent to her three weeks in advance. A few of my friends had the same experiences with TCG so I was glad I as not alone here.
Advice? Use your time wisely and attend industry events, connect with people on LinkedIn (not TCG members) and don’t use TCG unless you want to waste your time and feel bad for not being called back for a job you are probably way over qualified for anyway.

Although most recruiters haven’t been a big help for me in general in my career, I just recently had a horrific experience with a senior recruiter at The Creative Group who initially expressed interest in my work in an e-​mail. When I called her back, she told me that my work wasn’t ‘real copywriting’ and that I was just a blogger. I’ve worked as a copywriter for three different companies, where all of my work was published online, and if none of what I did is copywriting in her eyes, then I have to ask why The Creative Group continues to employ people who still live in the Stone Age. This is a company that prides itself on hiring people who are creative and innovative, but I didn’t even get a chance to interview with the company that they were representing. Hopefully the woman who I spoke to is the only dinosaur who works at this company, because I did talk to a younger recruiter who seemed to actually know her stuff. The conversation that I had today with ‘Mrs. Real Copywriting,’ however, was probably the worst work-​related experience that I had in my life, and made me think very poorly of The Creative Group as a whole.

I originally posted this review in the summer of 2014. I stopped calling TCG two years ago. My experience has been the same as the others on here. I kept calling them and no one ever answered the phone, except the receptionist who put me through to the recruiter. It was the recruiter, Megan Holstine, who never picked up her phone. Other recruiters there did the same thing.
Sometimes, Megan would send me an email detailing a job, I would respond within minutes of receiving the email, only to never hear from her about it. I have more than enough qualifications, yet none of the recruiters ever gave me the time of day. One recruiter, Chris, left the company in 2010, but did not notify me about it. I was calling and leaving voicemail messages for him two weeks after he left. No one told me he was gone. When he was with them, he would send my resume to different employers, but not follow up with them or tell me if they had any comments. He even hinted that clients for whom I did work were not satisfied with my work, but did not explain.
Recently, Chris had the nerve to send me an email soliciting cash to fund his art exhibit and sent me two invitations to connect on LinkedIn. LIKE HELL!!!
TCG, I don’t buy the bull that no one is looking for a copyeditor/​proofreader/​researcher/​fact-​checker/​­writer with both print and digital, B2B, B2C, publishing, ad agency, and in-​house ad agency experience.
TCG read this review and asked me to send my phone number. I did and spoke to a Vice President. He put me through to a recruiter named Ashley. Ashley spoke to me, said she would look for jobs that fit my background, and we kept in touch each week. She never got me into any job. I found work through other agencies, and when a temp job ended in May of 2015, I called to see if Ashley was in. They told me she left and put me through to someone named Alison, and she wasn’t in, so I left her a message. She never responded. I emailed her my resume twice, and got no response, so it’s the same old story.

They were able to get me an amazing job that was a perfect match for me, even when I didn’t think it would be. Super friendly and really good at what they do.

I never really heard good things about recruiting agencies. But after doing some research (and meeting my recruiter) they aren’t bad as people say they are. The offices are very corporate because The Creative Group is part of a bigger company, Robert Half, and the vibes at TCG are less bro-​y from the people I have talked to. There were a lot of positive vibes and I felt good choosing this agency in helping me with design opportunities. I toggled between agencies (Creative Circle and here) and felt like there was more of a personal interaction at TCG. When I met my recruiter Megan Holstine, we really hit it off right away. I told her my interests/​focus, goals and showed her my work. We talked about immediate opportunities that I would be interested in and throughout my time working with TCG, it didn’t feel like they were pushing jobs down my throat or mass-​emailing me every freaking opportunity that came through their stream. But Megan really made the effort of curating opportunities with me to what I told her I was interested in our initial meeting — I felt like we really worked together on it. After taking on a freelance job with her, she made sure to see if I am enjoying it and if everything is good. She is super great at what she does, very professional and extremely down to earth. There are some cool benefits that TCG gives you and their site is very easy to use. I would recommend this recruiting agency and most definitely Megan to all of ya’ll. #yas

I’ve worked primarily with Megan and she is phenomenal! Prompt and professional and super down to earth and funny.
Their online system is great — you can access and report your timesheets there, as well as see your financial information. So much better than having to fax everything in by hand.
it’s a huge plus when you are working on-​site with clients! Seriously!

I just got hired into a great new position via The Creative Group.
I was a freelancer working with all types of digital media and my portfolio was built of a broad range of skills in multiple short term contracts. My recruiter, Ashley Westbrook, helped me see the merit in my diverse skills and the potential that I had when it came to looking for a permanent position.
Ashley helped me find what I was looking for and was there for me throughout the process up to the point where I became a new hire at a challenging corporation. The combination of her positivity and strong knowledge are unmatched when it comes to other recruiters I’ve encountered and I believe she is a pillar at The Creative Group.
With that said, when it comes to The Creative Group, you must put your best foot forward. Everything matters from how you present yourself to how much thought and effort you put into building your resume and portfolio. The more you work on yourself, the better they will be able to help you. Recruiters will vouch for you if you can show them you are ready.
Personally, I had a fantastic experience and I am very grateful. Thank you, TCG — and thank you, Ashley Westbrook!

So I thought I’d leave a review since I found it crazy that the rating for Creative Group was lower than another similarly named agency.
I second some one else who mentioned Ashley Westbrook: she’s phenomenal and she’s been wonderful at helping me find long term gigs before. She will also show your resume to other recruiters and put you in contact with her coworkers so that they can help place you even faster. I’ve always appreciated her for this and found her to be a great resource. When you start assignments, she calls you up to ask you how things are at your current gig. Even when your needs change, she is always understanding and great at listening to candidates talk about their experiences.
I do understand that people might find CG frustratingly slow in terms of communication, but also realize they’re working with a ton of candidates, and probably have more candidates enrolled than they can provide for. It’s always best to use agencies as back up and to be willing to apply to jobs as well, directly. But by all means, the folks at Creative Group get 4 stars from me.

In a difficult economy TCG has been working very hard to help me. They do what it takes and they keep in contact. I noticed many negative reviews and I’m sorry those people did not have much luck. I am still working with TCG to get my career started and they have hard working employees to so their best.

Creative Group is the reason why I am employed full-​time, and I have nothing but good things to say about them. Ashley Westbrook was my recruiter, and throughout the process, from our initial meeting, to getting me placed as a freelancer, to facilitating and advising me when it came to full-​time and salary negotiation, she was nothing but helpful, kind, and a great person to work with.
Even though it took a couple months to get me placed, I had many, many interviews with potential employers that CG had set up. They were extremely quick in getting my resume to these agencies and setting up times for me to meet with them. Some were a good fit, some weren’t, but that’s the way it goes in a city where you have probably 30 other candidates who are qualified for the same position. I can say that I felt like after a couple months of not getting placed right away, I felt like my recruiter really went the extra mile to help me find something that would work for me. Eventually, she found a great match, which is where I am currently working.
I would highly recommend Creative Group in NYC for people who are motivated to find work, but also want to make sure that they get the job that they want. It may take a little longer than you want it to, but it will be worth it in the long run.

In follow up to my reviews: Yesterday I was contacted by the regional Vice President to discuss the issues I outlined in my original post. He told me that they had taken notice of the uniformly poor reviews of TCG and agreed that there were issues regarding follow-​up and common courtesy by their recruiters which need to be addressed. That remains to be seen but I appreciated the phone call. Anyone else hear from them?

Where to begin. You meet with someone. Fill out a TON of paper work and then never hear from them again. You call to follow up only to find out your recruiter has either left (they must be really good at finding jobs for themselves) or is out of the office and your call goes unreturned for what seems like a century. Not to worry though, you will randomly get an email from a guy who replaced someone who replaced another person who was the original person you met with way back when. They also have this online database that you put all of your information into which is nice except they never look at it (or use it for that matter). Stay away from this trap!

I’ve been registered with this «placement agency» since Dec. 2013. I met with this woman who looked to be about 24 years old for the interview. Since then, they have not sent me on ONE interview or have provided a SINGLE lead. Don’t waste your time.

I met with a recruiter from The Creative Group earlier this year, and the smooth, fast process gave me hopes that I would be able to land a new job through this company. A division of Robert Half International, they place people in all types of print, web, and interactive jobs, appeared to specialize in technical positions, and prefer to work with experienced candidates. My recruiter was pleasant and quick and explained their hiring process to me while answering any pressing questions I had.
The issue with TCG only manifested a bit later. My recruiter was working hard to put me in front of opportunities, but I got the feeling that the client companies were using internal candidates for real jobs, and only using my recruiter to «window shop.» A couple weeks ago, I received an email notice that she left the company. She worked hard and had a friendly demeanor, so I hope she landed on her feet. I tried in vain to reconnect with TCG and the woman who claimed she was now my recruiter, but I’ve only experienced radio silence since then.
So The Creative Group is a mixed bag, particularly if you’re on the technical side of the so-​called creative industries. Add it to your search strategy, but make sure you get some headhunters, tech search firms, and inside contacts into that mix, too. It’s not a good idea to depend on any one source when you want to change jobs, anyway. I think your experience with TCG depends entirely on which recruiter you get. Paulina P’s sounded awesome… maybe sometime I can connect with her — if she’s still working there! (Turnover in recruiting is INSANELY high.)

I have recently started working with Jamie Roberts from The Creative Group. I connected with her through a friend’s recommendation. I’ve worked with several recruiters in the past and my experience has been that they are unresponsive, I have to constantly chase them down, and I’ve felt like I was just another number in the candidate pool.
Jamie is the complete opposite. I’ve had nothing but personal attention from her. She sends weekly update emails to all of her candidates, in addition to individual ones. Jamie is very responsive to emails, always responds the same day, if not within a couple of hours. She is also extremely honest and manages my expectations very well.
In our first meeting, she went through my experience and goals and then she helped me restructure and redo my resume because we felt I wasn’t representing myself in the best way. By the time I returned home from our meeting, I had several emails from her with more helpful tips.
I recently met with her again because I felt that my cover letter needed more polishing. In no time, she offered to meet with me and we spent some time constructing a new letter.
I am confident that Jamie works very hard to place her candidates in good positions and feel I am in good hands with her and The Creative Group.

A division of Robert Half International, a mega staffing agency the specifically targets the creative, advertising, marketing, web and public relations industry. In hopes to attain employment in the area of my undergraduate studies, this agency is very particular when selecting candidates for their clients as they only choose those with at least ten years of relevant experience to the position. Unlike myself with four years of legal marketing background which is a remote cry to product marketing, I was without doubt, immediately declined. The Creative Group do NOT offer entry-​level position for recent colleges or middle level positions for experienced candidates who seek a lateral change. They do not depict a open door policy for candidate who have transferable skills as their clients are very selective without time to spare to train newbies. The question is: HOW does one gain the very specific relevant experience for the position if their employers are so bloody picky?
This is my local office whom I’m registered with for several years as my resume is spewing into their database. Recruiters from this office often appears at local job fairs as I continue to venture to their booth in hopes of attaining employment, but sadly, I seemly fail. The Creative Group is UNCREATIVE for its niche to discriminate the inexperienced candidate.