Where Are We Now? A Recruiter Roundtable with COLLINS, Oatly, & TikTok
Michael O’Donnell / EDITOR
On Wednesday, April 28th, Working Not Working Co-Founder and CCO Adam Tompkins led a pivotal conversation with three creative recruiters, who offered their unique perspectives and expertise to answer a question racing through the minds of so many creatives: where are we now?
Over the course of an insight-packed hour, Yocasta Lachapelle (Director of Talent at COLLINS), Sophie Worth (Global Creative Talent Acquisition Partner at Oatly), and Cristi Diez (Talent Acquisition at TikTok) shared what hiring looks like a full year into a global pandemic that halted entire industries and threw a major curveball at classic hiring practices. They touched on topics like shifting priorities, empathetic hiring, remote work, and portfolio feedback, and also fielded pressing questions from a live audience of creatives looking for advice on landing work and a glimpse behind the scenes at these three sought-after destinations for creative talent.
It was an honor to provide the WNW community with direct access to this all-star panel. Before joining Oatly in November, Amsterdam-based Sophie Worth spent 8 years at Wieden+Kennedy, where she served as both a recruiter and then as a Talent Director. This gives Sophie a unique perspective on both the brand side and the agency. Yocasta Lachapelle has spent the past six years as the Director of Talent at COLLINS, a design company who’s staggering creative output has not just maintained but elevated during the pandemic. Yocasta’s perspective on adapting to these times was an invaluable addition. Cristi Diez joined TikTok as a Talent Acquisition Partner in March of 2020, right on the cusp of the pandemic. TikTok, soaring in popularity over the past year, is building a team that reflects its globally diverse community of creators. TikTok is currently hiring for plenty of full-time creative positions. See their latest open roles on Working Not Working.
Below, we’ve included a few select quotes to set the scene before you dive into the full conversation.
A Priority Shift
“A lot of people have reassessed what's important for them… ‘Is this a good relationship with my work or is this a toxic relationship with my work? What's important to me? What matters?’ On the one hand, there's a lot of fear because it was fear of layoff or, ‘Oh my goodness. I've been laid off. What's going to happen to me?’ And in that same moment, there's a lot of fearlessness that's been happening as well because people have started to think, ‘Well, hang on a minute. Am I happy? Is this good for me? If the world's coming to an end, is this where I want to be? And is this what I want to do?’ That's going to be something that we need to understand and think about as recruiters and as companies, because the talent is going to be expecting something else.” - Sophie Worth
Talent Is Human
“This is human capital that we're dealing with here. And I think that there's been a major shift in the way that we approach recruiting in a more empathetic way and understanding that these are major life decisions that people are making. And how can we think about that during the recruiting process? How can we be more empathetic? How can we be a little more understanding? We're all going through a really tough time right now.” - Cristi Diez
The Future Is Hybrid
“This past year working remotely has taught us how we can still collaborate successfully and cross-functionally yet still stay connected culturally with our team. It also has allowed us to engage with a broader range of diverse talent in different places. And of course we still miss that in-person time, but I think for us, it's evolving into a more hybrid model so that we can reap the benefits of both.” - Yocasta Lachapelle
Shine On
“Look, every recruiter is going to tell you something different, but the whole point is YOU have to shine through your portfolio. I need to get a sense of who you are. And just showing me a collection of ads that you're never going to do again, doesn't tell me who you are. It's only part of the story. So give me the full picture…You don't need anybody else, but yourself to get that going.” - Sophie Worth