Zach Canfield, Director of Talent for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners asked a rhetorical question on Twitter last spring.
I don’t know many @replies his question generated, but I do know I could help him locate some talent. Talent isn’t hiding, it’s toiling in the salt mines–a place that doesn’t coddle and doesn’t reward; hence, the lack of visibility.
More recently Adrienne Waldo, writing for Ad Age, asked Canfield, “What makes an application stick out among the countless resumes that go across your desk every day?”
He said:
I look at every single thing sent to me. And ultimately it comes down to the work. Wrap it in a golden foil and have 40 virgins hand-deliver it, or just fold it into a paper airplane and fly it through my window onto my desk: Good work is good work.
I have a hard time believing that Goodby has a hard time finding good creative people.
Canfield doesn’t just hire creatives. He finds acct. people, media people, you name it.
I don’t doubt that it’s hard—GSP sets the hurdle kinda high.
I don’t doubt the standards are as high as they should be, but considering Goodby’s rep among the best creatives in the world that tweet makes him sound like a rich guy asking where all the good caviar has gone. I hear ya, buddy. Life’s a bitch ain’t it? How ever will you cope?
I think that it takes digging to find talent. His standards must be very high. With so few jobs available and so many people out of work he should be able to find talent.