Mandy is the founder of Creative Niche, a recruitment agency focused on design, digital, marketing, data, and innovation that has been operating since 2002. The agency has 22 employees working out of offices in Toronto, Ottawa, and NYC, and has successfully placed over 4,000 candidates. Mandy also founded RED Academy, a coding school that opened its first location in 2015 with plans to expand to 15 schools over 5 years. The document provides tips for entrepreneurs on how to successfully find and hire top talent, including understanding compensation needs, sharing open roles widely, conducting structured interviews, and making competitive job offers.

1. hi,
i’m mandy
@verynichey

2. Creative
Niche
+ Since
2002
+ Started
in
Toronto
+ Recruitment
purely
focused
in
design,
digital,
marketing,
data,
design
and
innovation
+ 22
amazing
‘Nichers’
+ Offices
in
Toronto,
Ottawa,
and
NYC
+
Over
4,000
successful
placements
made
J

3. Some
of
our
clients…

5. RED
ACADEMY
+ Since
June
2015
+ Opened
school
in
July
2015
+ Opening
in
Toronto
Spring
2016
+ In
five
years,
we
plan
to
have
15
schools
+ 20
f/t
employees;
22
p/t
today

6. Some
of
our
hiring
partners…

8. As
an
entrepreneur,
you
will
only
be
as
successful
as
the
talent
you
can
attract
and
retain.

9. 5 KEY
TIPS
TO
SUCCESSFULLY
FIND
AND
HIRE
TOP
TALENT.

10. Understand
what
you
really
need
and
can
honestly
offer.
Get
creative.
+
Compensation
+
Projects
&
clients
+
Expectations
+
Growth
opportunities
+
Leadership
style
and
approach
+
Don’t
inflate
the
opportunity
or
over
complicate
it

11. Create
an
accurate
and
attractive
job
description.
Share
it
with
everyone.
+
Friends
+
All
social
channels
+
Vendors
+
Schools
+
Associations
+
Employees

12. Create
an
interview
scorecard.
Consistently
use
it
as
a
tool.
+
Incorporate
questions
to
determine
fit
with
your
desired
culture
and
core
values
+
Specific
interview
questions
for
position
+
Specific
questions
for
each
candidate
to
learn
more
about
their
journey
thus
far

13. Conduct
productive
and
engaging
interviews.
Keep
strong
candidates
active
and
engaged.
+
Be
present
and
prepared
+
Spend
some
time
to
build
rapport
+
Understand
desired
outcomes
from
each
interview
+
Don’t
spook
potential
stars
+
Don’t
play
games

14. Start
your
employment
relationship
off
right.
Present
a
competitive
offer.
+
Do
your
background
work;
check
2-­‐3
professional
references
+
Don’t
decide
to
shave
off
base
salary
at
offer
stage
+
Create
a
training
schedule
and
prepare
for
their
start
date
– and
first
90
days.

15. Thoughts
on
retention
+
Acknowledge
big
and
small
wins.
+
Be
fair
and
consistent.
+
Follow
through
on
your
commitments.
+
Share
your
knowledge,
frustrations,
challenges,
opportunities,
successes
and
attention.
+
Terminate
negative
people.
+
Align
your
vision
with
each
practice
area
in
your
business.
+
Create
a
company
you
would
want
to
be
a
part
of.
+
Have
fun!

16. thank
you!
J