Agencies need T-shaped talent.

People who have very broad skillsets and experience, but who go deep in a specialist field.

Yet most agency recruitment is to fit somebody into a very boxy job title. Project Manager. Business Development. Designer. Copywriter. And so on.

What the best talent loves about working in agencies, though, is the variety. The chance to learn and grow.

So if boxy job titles aren't what the agency needs, or the talent wants, how about we ditch them?

Imagine if your recruitment invited people to assemble a job with their ideal portfolio of roles.

"We need someone with a deep specialism in ____, and we also currently need these other broad roles fulfilling in the business... When you apply, design the portfolio that would be ideal for you."

That way someone could apply to be your video editor, but also organise your monthly internal knowledge-sharing sessions, run your agency newsletter, and take charge of a project to develop your client onboarding.

Agency careers can be portfolio careers, and that can attract talent in a way no corporate job can compete with.