Thursday, August 07, 2008

5789: Creative Circle Or The Tenth Circle?


It’s hard to tell if talent recruitment firm Creative Circle is indeed a cesspool or a harbinger of the devilish days ahead for advertising job seekers. Probably a combination of both.

The joint regularly posts low-paying assignments requiring candidates bring their own supplies and act as stenographers—before writing and designing a brochure in a day.

Position: Freelance Marketing Copywriter
Location: Western Suburbs
Starts: Thursday, August 7th; One Day w/chance of extension
Rate: $25-$30/hour DOE

NOTE: You will need your own laptop to work on site with this client for the day.

Job Description:
Our client is seeking a freelance Marketing Copywriter with their own laptop for a one day assignment. There is the chance it may spill into another day but as of now, it is scheduled for one day.

We are looking for this person to sit in on a meeting with the partners of the company. You will be taking notes on the meeting, asking questions, and afterward, will make recommendations based on previous work in regards to coming up with some marketing collateral for this client. You will deliver a one-page brochure summarizing this insight for this client.

NOTE: If you happen to have the DESIGN skills to also lay this out, please mention this in your reply. (This is not required but could be a big PLUS!)

Creative Circle also emails requests for same-day service.

Position: ACD (COPY SIDE)
Location: City of Chicago
Status: Freelance
Estimated Duration: Days
Starts: TODAY
Rate: Up to $40/hour

Job Description:
Our client is looking for an ACD (COPY) to get started on a project TODAY!

Must collaborate with an Art Director on a variety of materials including innovative marketing concepts.

Will be working today (Thursday), Friday and potentially the weekend.

If you’re avail to do some great work and work with a creative team, let us know about you!

And the place is never shy about demanding award-winning talent to slave for its hackneyed clientele.

Position: Freelance Sr. Designer
Location: City of Chicago
Starts: TODAY; Duration TBD
Rate: Depends on Experience

Job Description:
Our client is a downtown branding consultancy, design firm and agency seeking the next VSA caliber designer to deliver amazing design solutions.

If you have design appropriate AIGA award-winning pieces, and are available as soon as TODAY, please let us know ASAP.

This is a great opportunity to OWN your design within this shop and really push the boundaries of creativity.

To keep things cordial, all Creative Circle emails feature a disclaimer essentially admitting they’re running a cattle call—you’re one of countless monkeys on their conveyor belt.

We apologize in advance if we’re unable to connect with you in person for each of your submissions. As you can imagine, we get quite a few responses. We are committed to review and evaluate each applicant’s qualifications. If you would like to opt out of future emails, please reply with ‘no more emails please’ on the subject and/or body of your response.

Not sure what’s worse: advertising agencies so dysfunctional that they require instant bodies or advertising professionals so desperate that they supply instant bodies. Regardless, it’s a sure bet that neither is worse than Creative Circle, which deserves a position alongside the other nine circles in Dante’s Inferno.

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