Years ago, I applied to work with this temp-to-perm agency. I thought it was a very cool idea to have a temp agency that focused on jobs in the creative fields. I can't exactly remember what the job was, but there was some interest in one job I wanted and I physically interviewed at their Chicago office. (I'm not sure the downtown location is there anymore.) Shortly after, I ended up getting a full-time editing job with another company that I applied to on my own, so I never got to find out what the company was like. Fast forward several years (maybe a decade?) later. A couple of clients came and went in my full-time freelancing career. I'd randomly applied for jobs with this organization but never held my breath because I always seemed to be getting rejection notifications. (I don't take those personally. I realize there are hundreds of other people all applying for the same jobs.) But I'd been completing freelance work for about eight years and just had no desire to sit in an office again. I have had a handful of remote clients since the pandemic and LOVE(D) working with them. I decided to sign up for Creative Circle again after I stopped for years because of the rejection notifications. I found it was much easier waiting for invites than to apply on my own because the recruiters (obviously) knew what their clients were looking for. I accepted one job invite (along with a few more), and BOY, DID THAT MAKE ME LOVE CREATIVE CIRCLE! The recruiter (Liz) who I briefly talked to was nice. The HR and Payroll team are pleasant. Cesar (who I completed the interview with) and Paula Jean (Engagement Specialist) have been amazing to work with. And best of all, I really like the job and the duo from that company that I work for via CC. I don't know if I would've had this great of an experience a decade ago. All I know is it came "right on time" this year, and maybe THIS TIME was the right time. Even if the project is just for this year, I can easily recommend and compliment Creative Circle for how they treat their contractors. I have zero complaints with CC or the external client. I'd recommend them to anybody. read more

Words cannot express how grateful I am for these people. In the ever competitive market of digital creatives looking for work, Creative Circle does an amazing job of matchmaking you with opportunities that surround your skills and interest. They have opened so many doors for me that now I have the confidence and experience to deliver quality concepts and ideas to my personal clients and acquaintances. In my personal opinion... any individual leaving negative feedback or bad mouthing their service is probably the real problem behind why things didn't work out. I would recommend them to all my peers in the industry and can vouch for others that have landed career level dream jobs at major agencies in NY, LA, and beyond. Who am I? Just a guy looking to make my mark in this world. https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielmillett Cheers guys! read more

I have been working with Creative Circle off and on since 2017. They have placed me in a number of contract roles that I have really enjoyed. I've worked with both Casey Buss and Brian Pope and I can't say enough good things about them. They always offered to lend an ear if I needed to bounce ideas off of someone and never made me feel pressured to take a job just because. I am now in a full time role that Casey helped me find and I don't think I will ever be able to thank her enough. She helped me schedule all of my interviews while I was working another job and when the offer came in she was just as excited as I was. Creative Circle will always be my staffing agency of choice especially with people like Casey and Brian on staff. read more

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. read more

I was referred to Creative Circle, and specifically Casey Buss, by a temp worker that came onto my team. I was thinking about changing jobs at the time. Overall, I had an exceptional experience that I'll detail below and would highly recommend her to anyone in the creative industry looking for a new role! I am a digital graphic designer coming from experience in an agency-like advertising environment. I was unhappy after a good 3 years there so was contemplating my next step. I was initially hesitant as I'd never worked with a staffing agency, but Creative Circle was awesome from the get-go. They did an in-person interview and briefing with me in Boston to get a handle on what I was looking for, skills, industries I'd like to work in, etc. So right off the bat I felt I was being listened to and that any jobs they sent my way were tailored somewhat to my interests, unlike ZipRecruiter or Indeed which was sending me roles that were really off the mark. I had a lot of choices both contract and full-time. Casey sent me a posting that checked off ALL the boxes I was looking for (In Greater Boston area, competitive salary and benefits, 100% design job responsibilities, advancement opportunities) and helped me all the way through the interview process, serving as an advocate for me and a resource when I had delicate questions about anything from salary negotiation etiquette to adjusting my start date. She was incredibly responsive and on the ball, getting in touch via email, text, and phone whenever possible. I felt like I was in really good hands. I did a phone screen, then an in-person interview, then one final round, to accepting the offer, all facilitated through Casey. She made every step super easy, and I never had to pay anything for the service, so I found it incredibly worth it. Not only is Casey professional and incredibly responsive, she is also super energetic and supportive. It was like I was working with a trusted friend. Thank you, Casey and Creative Circle! I can't wait to start this new dream job. read more

"Chris" from here was a total A-HOLE, deserves to be fired honestly. I work in the "creative" realm and JUST BECAUSE on my resume I bolded my first name and not my last (done on purpose...which I explained.....hence creative.....) he completely was a jerk about it. I'd suggest just going on craigslist...must better and less of a headache. Oh and they spam the F*** out of you. read more

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. read more

I need a vested recruiter that gets what I do and where I should and could be employed, not a co. that relies on google analytics and SEO keywords to solicit me for jobs I DO NOT DO and am not appropriately suited for. These guys toss you in an electronic bin and bombard you with solicitations hoping you'll apply. This is fine if you are looking for a general design, IT, or fits-easily-in-a-box qualified Joe-employee. But for experienced multi-taskers with a diversified skill set they just get confused. If you don't easily fit in a slot, their employees and system will try to shove you in somewhere and hope it all works out. And most importantly, other than to initially qualify them, CC employees aren't trained to leave their computers to understand and meet with clients or candidates That would be really inefficient, right? Quantity not quality is the goal here. Toss out a large enough net and you're sure to land a few fish, but I sure as heck don't want to be one of "the chosen", working somewhere that makes no sense for me. I worked as an executive recruiter for a while and this outfit fits the bill for WHAT NOT TO DO. They may have an okay FILL rate, but I bet their retention rate on employees is less than stellar. Word of advice to CC recruiters: The customer has to think you care before they care what you think. Get to know your clientele and candidates! read more

Boston's creative community would be better off without Creative Circle. They're not creating creative jobs, or matching creative jobs to creative people in any meaningful way. They're not doing anything you couldn't do for yourself. They're simply inserting themselves in the middle of the process, soaking up time and money. They use a shotgun blast approach, spamming as many people with as many positions as possible, to see what sticks. I made the mistake of giving them my email address like 4 years ago. The spam has not stopped. I've asked several times for them to stop, and even reported their emails as spam and set up email filters. They actually use different email addresses to get around filters. The few times one of their positions actually matched my background and interested me, I would email or call back. Sometimes, I'd talk to someone, and they'd say "Great, I'll set up an interview," and I'd never hear from them again. I suspect they go through their roster of potential applicants, find the person willing to work for the least amount of money so they can take the biggest cut, then stonewall everyone else. Next week, they contact you with the same rigmarole, like it never happened. I wish I could share more about my experience with Creative Circle, but that's actually my whole experience. I've never had the fortune to do any work through Creative Circle. Finding work without Creative Circle has yielded much better results. In conclusion, skip Creative Circle and contact employers directly, if you can. read more

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. read more

Working with Creative Circle is a complete waste of time. I got a call from them after applying to some of the jobs they represented, and they wanted to do an interview. That part was okay enough: I filled out a lot of paperwork and met with a recruiter, who I spoke with for a half hour; she said they'd make a dossier about me and work with the companies they know to try to get me some interviews. However, that was pretty much it. You see, Creative Circle doesn't actually spend time looking for jobs for you; they expect you to just look over their emails and web listings and re-send in your resume to them every time. If you don't do that, you'll never hear from them again. But even if you do, don't expect anything: I responded to their job opportunity emails for a few months, and got ignored by them literally every single time. (For the sake of comparison, during the same time period, I got probably a dozen interviews by just sending my resume to random listings on job boards.) I emailed my recruiter after like two months (I'm a student, so happily, I wasn't in a hurry to find something) to ask what the next steps we could take were. Her response was to keep emailing responses to their listings and be patient. Eventually I actually did hear back from someone at CC about a job I responded to, and he said he'd be in touch with the company; I never heard from him again. To be fair, they did give me two ExpertRatings tests; I scored "expert" on them, so I put that on my resume. But that's literally all I got from them. Maybe I'm naïve in assuming that a recruiting agency would actually spend time looking for jobs to match with people they supposedly represent. But in the end, in the time since my Creative Circle interview, I've gotten quite a few interviews by just sending out my resume to various postings on job boards, and absolutely nothing from Creative Circle. For anyone who gets an interview with them: if you live close to downtown Boston and don't mind killing an hour, I suppose it can't hurt to meet with them. But otherwise, don't waste your time. Dealing with Creative Circle has probably been the least productive use of my time in looking for a job. read more

Creative Circle was professional, attentive, and worked with me when I was having trouble to get me a freelance job quickly. That job was supposed to only last a month, and I've been here a year now and now have been hired to contract directly with the university I work for. I am very thankful for Creative Circle for giving me a first stepping stone in my career as a recent college graduate in the creative space. read more

Most of the jobs they advertise don't exist - I'm absolutely sure of that (same can be said for PSG and a couple of other agencies, however). Yet I'm going to give them 2 stars for placing me into a 3 day temp job - it was initially supposed to be a 3 week one, but it got nowhere really fast after my supervisor broke his tooth. My agent was very courteous and professional, which is a big plus. Pros - they do have some jobs at least, but very very few far and in between Cons - Posting bait on job boards and even if they do place you, it probably won't last for long. Interview preparation is ridiculous - I understand that a lot of people lack common sense, but still....no need to repeat that you don't come to an interview in jeans 20 times. read more

I had an excellent experience with Creative Circle. They made the process of finding potential jobs so much easier and introduced opportunities I never would have found on my own. Casey was attentive, professional and comfortable to work with. In just a month I had a great full-time offer and am loving the new gig. I'd recommend them to anyone looking for new creative opportunities. read more

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! read more

People need to remember that staffing agencies work for the people hiring, not the people being hired. You shouldn't sign up with one if you expect top-notch, around the clock service and a job with a 6-figure salary in a week. You also need to understand that the rates offered are a bit lower than you might expect because the agency needs to make their cut. That said, Creative Circle provided me excellent service and an opportunity to freelance at a well-known Boston agency that turned into a fantastic full-time job. In my experience, if you stay active with them, reply to posts or call about positions, and ..oh yeah.. are GOOD AT WHAT YOU DO, you'll probably find some great opportunities! It's a shame they get such a bad rep because people sign up one day and don't have a job the next. Consider they work with A LOT of people and you need to give them a reason to want to submit to a job. If they don't think you'd be a good fit, you probably won't get submitted. I worked primarily with Laura but also Lauren and Natalie frequently until I found my new job. I can't speak of them highly enough! Thank you guys! read more

I worked with Creative Circle recently after being away from the work place for a couple of years. They were thorough reviewing my resume, skill sets and what I positions I was most interested in. I was very pleased how they highlighted my experience and presented it to potential employers. They provided a range of potential positions for consideration and when it was time to interview, I felt I was given the background information to be successful in my research and prep. CC does a great job getting potential positions lined up, but it's also important as the job seeker to be pro-active and ask questions, follow-up and be realistic and open about your parameters (salary, location, commute, etc.). Brian and Natalie were very helpful in answering my questions, setting up expectations and providing feedback during my job search. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them and their teams. read more

Graphic Designer: Creative Circle has helped introduce me to my past two jobs. They are professional, understanding, and always accommodating. I have had experience working with other staffing agencies in the Boston area and Creative Circle has been by far the most helpful. The agents that I have worked with have always been just a phone call away and have responded timely to emails. They are a great resources and can really help make the job hunt a little easier. read more

Very impersonal, not a drop of communication, no representation. I've been able to get interviews and jobs through other recruiters CC would've even consider me for. Not sure what their business model is but it's terrible. read more

I had an absolutely AMAZING experience with Creative Circle. I worked with Creative Circle as an employee for close to 8 months, and now work with them to build out the department at my job (that they placed me at!). The entire experience has been wonderful, and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a job or a company looking to hire staff. read more

After a terrific 'intake' process, I have have gotten nothing out of Creative Circle. I've responded to many of their email blasts, which is how they circulate openings, and even for jobs for which I am perfectly qualified, all I hear in response is....crickets. Nothing. I'm signed up with other agencies as well (PSG, TCG, CM Access), all of which get me occasional interviews, and in dry spells call in to see how I'm doing and inquire of news skills and my availability. But from Creative Circle? Crickets. Nothing. read more

I just concluded an on-site, one-week assignment set up by my Creative Circle recruiter. The opportunity was an excellent match between my skill set and their client's need., and I really enjoyed the work and the people. It was such a positive experience that the client plans to have me back. I would definitely recommend signing up with Creative Circle. It helps if you're proactive about keeping in touch with the recruiters there, as opposed to sitting back and waiting for the phone to ring. Just like anything else, what you get back is what you put into it. The Creative Circle assignments I've had were opportunities I wouldn't have otherwise known about, so it's also a great way to build your network. read more

The aspects of Creative Circle that resonate with me the most are Natalie, Justine, and Christine. They are the ones who work hard to find you the best placement. Courtney works hard at getting your message to them when they are not available and they always get back to you - promptly. I have had a few placements now - some where I am working by myself and others where I am working in a team with others, also from Creative Circle. These are quality projects that you are sent to work on with the creme de la creme of people also placed with Creative Circle. In fact, at the last project, the team worked so well together that we didn't want to leave when the job was done! And, we did such a great job, that we were invited back for a Phase 2! This is more than a job. This is a great collegial gathering of very high quality people, placed by a first-class organization - Creative Circle! I can't be happier! Looking forward to my next assignment! read more

Admittedly, I'm not a big fan of employment agencies in general. They pretend to be advocates of the prospective employee, but at the end of the day their loyalty is to employers. However, I've worked with several agencies and most are better than Creative Circle Other agencies treat you with respect and are personal when they contact you. You might not hear from them often, but when you do, they contact you directly, usually over the phone. As Bob t. points out in his review, Creative Circle sends out these completely impersonal job alert emails that are almost daily, and pretend they're not mass emails by personalizing them (ie., "Hi Peter"....) But when you waste your time responding and expressing interest you almost never here back from them. Very unprofessional in my opinion. Job alerts are fine but they shouldn't pretend that they're reaching out to you personally. Also, any time you respond they ask submit a resume, even though they should have one on file. If you've updated your resume recently I get it, but candidates shouldn't have to send submit a resume multiple times each week when expressing interest in a position. My advice for anyone looking for a good recruiting agency is to work with a company that has time for you. I've had some success with HireMinds. read more