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Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming industries, so it’s easy to assume that the traditional agency recruitment model might be on the brink of becoming obsolete. To be honest, a few years ago I would have been an advocate for that school of thought.
However, having now spent over two decades within advertising and employer branding, with half of that time spent in talent tech, I’ve learnt that the specialist agency model remains indispensable (often despite my best efforts to persuade otherwise, sorry folks), especially in the creative and marketing sectors. In the world of advertising and marketing, the value of human insight, intuition, and creativity cannot be overstated.
AI can generate content, analyse trends, and predict outcomes based on data, but it can’t replicate the creative spark that drives successful campaigns. Recruitment in these industries is about finding individuals who bring fresh perspectives, innovative ideas, and the ability to think outside the box.
AI can sift through thousands of resumes in seconds, identify keywords, and even predict candidate success rates based on historical data, but it cannot understand the nuances of human interaction.
As someone who has practiced the inner workings of employer branding, I know that creativity is more than a skill—it’s a mindset. And identifying this mindset requires a deep understanding of both the candidate and the cultural fit within a team, something that goes far beyond what an algorithm can deliver. You need to have experience in the field.
Cultural Fit
In advertising and marketing roles and more broadly, cultural fit is paramount. Teams are often small, collaborative, and deeply intertwined, meaning that finding the right personality match is just as important as finding the right skill set. AI can match keywords on a resume, but it can’t assess how a candidate will mesh with a team’s dynamic or contribute to its creative energy.
Successful placements in these industries depend on the recruiter’s ability to gauge not just a candidate’s qualifications, but also their potential to thrive within a specific creative environment. This requires a nuanced understanding of the culture and values that drive both the candidate and the company.
The Complexity of Human Motivation
AI can analyse patterns in behaviour, but it struggles to comprehend the complex web of motivations that drive human decisions. Why does a candidate choose one company or agency over another? What are the underlying reasons behind their career moves? What is going on in their personal life that is impacting their current career decision. Experienced recruiters have the intuition and emotional intelligence (hopefully) to probe these questions and provide guidance that goes beyond data points.
Understanding these motivations is key to finding candidates who are not only qualified, but also passionate and driven by the right reasons at that moment in time. Predictive analytics cannot do that.
Trust
Recruitment is as much about selling a role to a candidate as it is about finding the right fit.
Marketing and creative professionals often make career moves based on relationships and networks. Whether it’s a designer who trusts a recruiter’s understanding of their style, or a marketer who values long-term career guidance, these industries are built on connections. AI may analyse career paths and predict moves, but it can’t build the trust that’s essential for long-lasting professional relationships.
Another critical aspect where AI falls short is in the negotiation, persuasion, and sometimes even mediation—skills that are deeply human.
Over the years, I’ve built countless relationships with both clients as a vendor, and candidates as a hiring manager, earning their trust and understanding their needs on a level that no AI could replicate. Some of those relationships have become personal and AI isn’t invited out to dinner with us. These relationships are the bedrock of long-term partnerships, something that the impersonal nature of AI-driven systems can’t achieve.
Adaptability in a Changing Landscape
The creative industry is inherently subjective. What resonates with one audience might fall flat with another, and what one brand considers innovative, another might see as risky. This subjectivity makes recruitment in these fields particularly challenging and requires a recruiter who can navigate these nuances.
Whilst AI can process vast amounts of data, it lacks the ability to understand context, taste, and the ever-changing trends that define the creative and marketing worlds. An experienced industry recruiter, on the other hand, can assess portfolios, understand the subtleties of brand identity, and match candidates whose creative vision aligns with the company’s goals.
AI adapts through machine learning, but it often lags behind the rapid pace of change in human behaviour and market dynamics. Recruiters, on the other hand, can pivot quickly, adjusting their strategies based on real-time feedback and market trends
A Hybrid Model
Despite the undeniable value of human insight, there are areas where AI will outpace recruiters, and my suggestion is to leverage those tools with gusto. Routine tasks like resume screening, initial candidate outreach, and even some aspects of interview scheduling are increasingly being handled by AI with remarkable efficiency. In these areas, recruiters should leverage AI tools to enhance and streamline processes, freeing them up to focus on what they do best—building relationships, understanding people, and making informed decisions
While AI will undoubtedly continue to play a role in recruitment, especially in automating administrative tasks, it will never replace the human elements essential to creative and marketing industries. The future lies in a hybrid approach where AI enhances efficiency, but human recruiters continue to lead the charge in identifying talent that not only fits the role but also the creative vision.
The need for human insight, relationship building, and cultural fit will always outpace the capabilities of AI. As we navigate the future, recruiters with industry experience are well-equipped to blend the best of both worlds—leveraging AI to enhance their work while maintaining the human touch that defines success in these uniquely human industries.
And as long as people are at the centre of work, the need for human recruiters will persist. (I won’t open up that can of worms just yet!)