Creative Circle

I’ll keep this pretty short and concise. This was my first experience working with a staffing/​employment agency. After a fairly out-​of-​the-​blue company layoff, I was left in the unemployment lurch. Creative Circle (CC) was a huge help during this time. I worked with a few different people there; each one very nice, knowledgeable and attentive. Natalie A. in particular not only provided me with a host of attractive job opportunities, but also thoroughly prepared me for interviews, delivered timely feedback and helped me during the consideration process. CC as a whole, and Natalie specifically were great, I’d highly recommend.

I took my name off their list. I would get emails from them no recruiter ever contacted me after the first visit. They do have a plush office in downtown. If they spent money on professional people that work there and not their office maybe this would improve their service. Stay away from them you will waste your time!

I cannot pump this firm up enough. I am speaking to at least three representatives almost every day. They have garnered me more interviews and face-​to-​face (I don’t want to use f-​2-​f) interviews than all the other firms with which I work. They are relentless… and if you are not working in your field, that is what you want. Laura, Emily, Natalie, Cass… you have my undying thanks!!!

I have to be completely honest and say that I have met and worked with a number of various staffing firms and personalities in the past. In no way, shape of form have I ever met a team with such an upbeat and amazing personality. From initially speaking with Laura F. via phone after applying for a job, to our first in person meeting today, she made me feel completely comfortable and that I mattered to her. It was as if she and I have been long lost friends/​co-​workers for years! In addition, I was greeted by Tracy D. upon arriving. Both of these Creative Circle team members reaffirmed the possibility that there is in fact light at the end of the tunnel and that this team may in fact be the reason that I will find my next amazing opportunity!
If you are looking for a new opportunity in the track that you are interested in pursuing, you need to know that Creative Circle has to be the most professional, yet fun firm that I have ever worked with. Their approach is way more proactive than reactive, and it is apparent that they go above and beyond for their talent, ultimately highlighting your abilities to their clients. This further iterates why I feel so incredibly confident in working with their firm, versus anyone else. You really feel like you have an «advisor» that understands you, rather than someone who is just trying to fit a square peg in a round hole… they want you to love your next opportunity, rather than the other side of the coin.
I cannot wait to see where this relationship may lead and look forward to continuing to work with the Creative Circle team as I begin the next chapter of my career!

I had a great experience with Creative Circle. Unlike some other agencies, they took the time to bring me in and understand what I was looking for in short term and/​or long term opportunities. They provided me opportunities to interview in the fields I wanted to pursue and kept me busy for sure! The team is friendly and provide enough information to assure you’re prepared for the interviews.
I just recently accepted a position and it all happened in a short time with the help of CC.

I’ve had an extremely positive experience working with Creative Circle. I found a full-​time job and contracted for over a year at a reputable agency through them and have also recommended them to work with my friends.
On both occasions, CC reached out to me about the opportunities, two excellent jobs that I would have overlooked in my own search but that I was/​am a perfect fit for. These peeps know exactly what they’re doing and if they call you for a job or advise against another, IT’S FOR A REASON. I never responded to the job emails they sent my way – I always had a pro (yes, an actual human) pitching an actual job to me, which goes against what many on this site have said. Before being sent to interview for each position, CC was invaluable in helping me craft my resume and speak to my abilities specifically for the kind of roles they had in store for me. I only went on two interviews through the agency, and landed both jobs I applied for.
As a contractor, I was paid well, received overtime, and had support if I ever had issues with my company. I can’t express how helpful the staff has been through my time working there – Lauren and Natalie specifically. They provided solid career advice and even emotional support through less than stellar points in my career as a contractor. So in my experience, yes, they work for the companies doing the hiring, but they also care about you as a person.
I think to the have a great experience with CC, you have to: stay active with them – they work better with phone calls than emails. If any of my emails ever went unanswered, I’d always get my answers from a super friendly and knowledgeable person on the phone. Have patience – these people know what they’re doing so they’re not going to send you jobs you’re not an absolute perfect fit for. Sometimes that means you won’t hear from them for a while, but hey that’s the job market, no? Lastly, you’ll have to fill out a time sheet and it will have to be approved by your supervisor. Find out what the policies are (who approves, by when, etc) and establish an approval process with your supervisor. I’ve only had issues with time sheets once; it wasn’t CC’s fault but they expedited my paycheck regardless!

I have never been more impressed with a staffing agency in my life. New to the Boston area, Creative Circle welcomed me with open arms and took great interest in helping me land a great role.
All of the employees I had the pleasure of working with and meeting, including Natalie, Laura, Brian and Kurt, were a dream to work with. They provided several opportunities and interviews that landed me a full time gig within the first two weeks of working with them. Unfortunately, the company I started with full-​time closed up shop six months later. Creative Circle didn’t miss a beat and aided me in finding several freelance jobs right away.
They are a fantastic group of individuals that truly care and know talent when they see it! I can proudly say Creative Circle, once again, provided me the opportunity that resulted in my current full-​time position at a large ad agency. Their commitment and loyalty to the talent they find is extremely admirable and widely appreciated.
Thank you guys so much, for everything!

This place is a complete waste of time. I have been freelancing for three years and in the process realized I wanted to focus on environmental graphic design. Jobs for this type of work are fairly rare, so when I saw a full-​time opportunity I applied even though I had never dealt with Creative Circle before or worked for a staffing firm.
I was asked to come in for an interview and was immediately frustrated because Natalie showed up twenty minutes late after I had arrived on time. I had also told her over the phone that I was freelancing on site somewhere that day, so when she showed up with no apology or explanation I was annoyed. She came across as very phony and offered little information about the position itself. I had also filled out a questionnaire online in advance and she clearly hadn’t looked at it because she asked me several of the same questions I had already answered.
Natalie told me that she would write up a description of my skills and send it to me to review within a couple days. I emailed her after two weeks asking for it and she never responded. I did receive a few emails from Creative Circle people about freelance positions that offered much less than the minimum I told them I would work for and required much less experience than I have. They were clearly just emails they were sending to as many people as possible with little regard to their skill set.
I never heard back from them about the position I initially applied for, but I don’t care because I got offered an amazing full-​time job on my own doing the kind of design work I want to focus on.

Quite simply Creative Circle is the best thing that has happened to my career. Less than a day after I met with them I had a steady stream of work coming in — for a freelancer that was priceless. A few months in they paired me with the digital team at MSLGROUP Boston. Soon after I had a job offer and I’ve been there ever since. Couldn’t be happier. The folks there are some of the nicest, most down-​to-​earth people I’ve dealt with in the creative business in Boston. They know talent and they know how to deliver it to clients. Such a great, unique service that helps everyone!
I highly recommend anyone with a creative skill set to meet with Creative Circle.

I’ve been dealing with three different staffing groups in the Boston area and the Creative Circle has been the best! They may not have the biggest staff in the industry but they make up for what they lack in numbers with effort. Daily e-​mails with opportunities in my desired industry led to several interviews which landed me a full time position with an amazing company. I recommend anyone struggling to find any level of work to give the Creative Circle a buzz, they will be quite happy to help!

There are a few things I would caution job seekers to keep in mind when dealing with Creative Circle, if you choose to look for work via their agency.
First, the maximum hourly rate they allow workers to charge is quite low for anyone mid-​level, experienced, or non-​entry level. Most of these agencies take a cut of the hourly wage they quote and CC is no exception. If you are a student or entry level worker, the pay would be probably be okay. But for me, especially given the hassles I went through (read on) I decided the lower rate of pay wasn’t worth it.
Second, in my experience, Creative Circle’s timecard system is not user-​friendly for clients or for employees. You have to fill out one card for every week you are under contract with CC, whether you are working or not, because the system will not allow you to file additional timecards until they are accepted/​approved in chronological order. Someone (it is unclear who does this) has to sign off on each card, even if there are no hours worked on it, before the system will let you advance to the next week. So if you forget to sign in and fill out a zero-​hour timecard, or you never hear back about a zero-​hour timecard being processed, you are stuck. That’s what happened to me with the one and only project I ever got from CC, and after a month of waiting in vain for someone to help me, I gave up. My client didn’t get billed for the last week I worked, I didn’t get paid, and I decided at that point to unsubscribe from CC’s emails and not pursue additional assignments.
Third, if you want to get work through other agencies or directly for any company who might be a CC client, AND you want to be certain there is absolutely no conflict of interest, you have to terminate the External Employee Agreement. (This is not a matter of my opinion – it’s a matter of etiquette and professionalism. If you find another agency is more responsive and helpful, or if you want to work with a headhunter, you should terminate any other agency contract you signed. It’s not kosher for two agencies to have you on record as ‘their’ candidate.) However, there’s a catch. Even though Massachusetts is an at-​will employment environment it takes time to unentangle yourself – more time than you might imagine, even if (like me) you haven’t done any recent work for CC. I sent a general email through CC’s web site requesting a termination of the Agreement, a week went by, and I got no response. When I called the office number listed on the web site, I was routed to a recruiter who didn’t have the authority to terminate the Agreement or send me a confirmation email. So I’m still in limbo despite my best, relatively calm, entirely acceptable, and wholly legal efforts to get out of this relationship.
In summary, my experience with Creative Circle brought me: low pay, lost wages, needless frustration, and lingering annoyance. I wish I’d never signed on with them and I don’t advise anyone else to get themselves into my situation.

I have dealt with every single employment agency in Boston and the only one that has actually helped get me work has been Creative Circle. I have been mainly dealing with Brian Pope who has been awesome. He’s on point and has helped land me multiple jobs since I started with Creative Circle 5 months ago. If you’re looking for work in any creative field don’t hesitate to contact them!

I’ve had a great experience working with Creative Circle. When I told them what I was looking for (and what I wasn’t) they listened to me. Nearly all of the opportunities they approached me about were well-​matched, and with very strong companies. They finally helped me land an amazing role doing all the things I wanted to be doing at a kick-​ass company.
What more can I say? I highly, highly, highly recommend Creative Circle.