smartdept. nationwide creative, digital, and marketing talent resource. We provide companies with freelance, contract, direct hire, and contract-to-hire candidates for on-site, remote, and hybrid opportunities. Our ability to service customers of all sizes, while still taking a boutique approach to service, allows us the best chance to cultivate the successful relationships we value.
We represent creative, digital, and marketing talent for the following on-site, remote, or hybrid opportunities:
Freelance and
Contract Assistance
Whether you need added support during your busy season, for special projects, to cover a maternity/medical leave, or just to fill the gap while hiring, we can help. In addition, while we consider ourselves boutique from a service standpoint, we do enjoy flexing our recruiting muscles with several of our MSP/VMS relationships.
Direct Hire Search
We’re also here to save you from making expensive job posts, screening resumes, and conducting endless interviews with candidates who are “just trying to find themselves.”
Based on a detailed description of your criteria, we search for talent with the skills, experience level, personality, salary and benefit requirements, and career goals you want. Basically, we’ve done all the hard stuff. So when you meet our candidate, it’s like a second interview. Our search is on a contingency basis and applies only if you hire a candidate we identify for your needs. Our placements even come with a guarantee.
Contract to Hire
If you decide one of our talent is a good fit for your company, by all means, hire them. This works out great for everyone because the longer a candidate works, the bigger the discount on the conversion fee. High fives all around!
Why using us is smart
Industry Experience
Our management team boasts (we’re not ones to brag, so “represents” is probably a better word) more than 40 years’ combined staffing experience. So there isn’t anything we haven’t seen. Yep, seen that too. Also, since the company was started by creative professionals, we still place a heavy emphasis on hiring creative people internally. With the possible exception of our Operations Manager. But she likes sports, so it’s cool.
Great Minds
Our detailed matching process lets us really get to know everything about our talent – their short- and long-term goals, strengths and weaknesses, favorite playlist, go-to social media influencer, you name it. So when you present us with your criteria, we can provide the most ideal candidate, not just the most available one.
We’re Accessible
Ridiculously so. Let’s say your deadline gets pushed up, and you suddenly need additional help tomorrow morning. And you found out at 10 p.m.
tonight. Chances are we can make that happen. We have before.
A Boutique Approach
This does not mean we’re snooty and have valet parking. It’s a fancy way of saying we have time for you. No assistants, no chance of your account being passed around to somebody new who doesn’t understand your needs. We offer a single point of contact for each client.
WBENC Certified
As if excellent service and quality candidates weren’t enough! Now partnering with a WBENC-certified business (that’s us) gives you the added benefit of building relationships with other certified alliances. By working with a women-owned business, you show your company’s commitment to working in diverse markets and furthering economic growth. That’s good for everyone! And, when corporations and federal agencies include smaller businesses for their requirement of products and services, they are helping the economy to be stable. Still not convinced? What if we told you that working with a WBENC-certified business (again, that’s us) provides tax incentives for your organization.
Sustainable Recruiting Strategy
Hey! We both know that a truly diverse organization reflects its customers and community. Nationwide searches for on-site, remote, and hybrid eligible candidates allow us expanded our already diverse talent pool! By leveraging localization and identifying talent in specific regions, we can help solidify your brand credibility while offering more diversity. Isn’t that what you want?
Check out what our clients have to say about us.
smartdept. found us a developer, that we have been working with for more than a decade. We like working with him so much that even after he moved out of state we continue to work with him remotely. Sometimes working remotely with folks can be a challenge, but not with Richard. He is so good, from his skill set to his demeanor, to his understanding of how to work with a creative ad agency, that he is a perfect match for our environment.
To be able to have the pleasure of working for 17 years with the same owners that founded the company is to say the very least, not just an anomaly in the business, but something that truly differentiates our partnership and working relationship with Eric and Michelle. It is one thing that truly differentiates our relationship and makes the experience of working with smartdept. unique and personal.
smartdept. has always worked hand-in-hand with us to vet and test candidates targeted to meet our unique talent requirements. They have consistently worked to ensure that candidates that we utilize year over year are available to return during our busy season. We continue to recommend smartdept. as one of the best talent resources not only in Chicago, but throughout the U.S.
Being able to have a resource that works specifically with creative professionals here in Grand Rapids has really made a difference in the quality of the candidates we see for our needs.