3/18/25 — Poetic State

Gossip Or Due Diligence?

3/18/25

I saw a posting for a few open roles put out by a design studio this morning.

I immediately sent it to 2 of my clients. Both replied that they heard bad things about the shop. One said that a peer was ghosted by them after some love bombing. The other said they heard the place was a sweatshop.

I was embarrassed for a moment because when I was recruiting, part of our ethos was only working with places with good reps, and I sometimes just assume the best... (that's a different story)

I felt confident to share the place with my clients because a past client of mine actually worked at the same shop years ago and it was a big place of growth for him. I got nosey (I do this...) and reached out to one more client who has connections with the studio and in the most kind way, he was giving me the cues the place was rough.

I wonder how much founders and leaders of studios care about their reputation amongst creatives and if it matters in this market. It's not really gossip. I just think that we give so much of our lives to work, it's important to think about these things and to do our own due diligence when applying for roles… the best and worst thing that can happen to you is getting a bad job… but that's hard for the minute you see a post, who has time to research when 799 people are going to apply in the next 10 minutes.

With all of this competition, how is a person to navigate this?

Perhaps the most valuable skill in today's creative job market isn't just talent or experience, but the ability to build and nurture a trusted network that helps you see through the carefully crafted job descriptions to the workplace realities that will truly shape your career journey.