20 Smart Ways To Scout Out Creative Candidates

Forbes

10-07-2025

Today's marketers must consistently craft fresh campaigns, solve problems on the fly and adapt quickly, so creativity should run deep across the entire team. However, identifying truly innovative thinkers isn't always easy during the recruitment and interview process.
To help you uncover top-tier creative talent, 20 Forbes Communications Council members share their smartest strategies for spotting ingenuity in candidates. Follow their recommendations to build an unstoppable marketing team.
1. Ask About Their 'Biggest Fails'
I like to ask the "biggest fail" question in interviews. For instance, "Tell me about a marketing campaign that failed." Then, I redirect with a question about how or if you would relaunch the campaign with the lessons learned. It's important to identify not only the creative spirit but also the ability to evaluate their own ideas objectively for creative problem solving. - Esther Bonardi, Yardi Systems
2. Find Out How They Create
Ask a creator how they create. Listen to how they develop ideas and their method from going from an idea to a campaign ready to launch. Ask them how they learn to prepare for the next idea. Then ask additional questions. If you get inside the thinking process of a creative person, you can tell if they are truly a creative or more of a valuable worker who supports creative people. - Bob Pearson, The Next Practices Group
3. Stay Open To Unique Expressions Of Creativity
Stay open to diverse expressions of creativity to uncover unexpected strengths. Creativity isn't one-size-fits-all—it can appear as problem-solving, intuitive thinking, finding new paths or visualizing ideas, among others. Don't expect candidates to 'check a box.' Lead with creativity yourself and keep an open mind to the unique strengths each individual can bring to your team. - Alyssa Kopelman, Otsuka Precision Health
4. Gauge Their Ability To Brainstorm
Evaluate candidates not just by their answers, but by how they think and respond to novelty. Creative thinkers instinctively connect seemingly unrelated ideas. You'll hear more "what ifs" and "yes ands" than the average candidate. They light up in the presence of a novel idea because it energizes them at their core. If the interview starts to feel like a brainstorm, that's a great sign. - Stephanie Bunnell, Azira
5. Ask How They Would Describe Themselves As A Brand
One of my favorite ways to vet creative candidates is by asking, "If you were a brand, how would you describe yourself?" This immediately pushes candidates to think abstractly and apply marketing principles. I then prompt for deeper insights, such as, "What are your brand colors and key message?" These conversations are always enlightening, revealing a different level of creative thinking. - Kayla Spiess, Searce
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6. Have Them Walk You Through A Campaign With Tight Constraints
I ask candidates to walk me through a campaign where they faced significant constraints—a tight budget, limited time or a difficult brief—and how they still managed to deliver an innovative solution. This reveals how they can think resourcefully and creatively under pressure, not just in ideal conditions. It's a test of their problem-solving ingenuity, which is critical for creative success. - Patrick Ward, NanoGlobals
7. Bring Up Relevant Campaigns And Ask For Thoughts
I bring up timely, culturally relevant campaigns and ask candidates to react—what worked, what didn't and what they'd do differently. It reveals how they think creatively within real-world constraints and how quickly they can ideate, adapt and respond to evolving narratives. - Lyric Mandell, PhD, MOXY Company
8. Ask Them To Plan A Quick Campaign
During interviews, we ask candidates to plan a quick campaign for a made-up product with limited resources. It reveals how they think, whether they can work under pressure and how well they can explain ideas in a simple, clear way. - Jamie Elkaleh, Bitget Wallet
9. Learn About Their Outside Sources Of Inspiration
I ask where they find inspiration outside of their current industry or function. I think great ideas often come from unexpected places: theater, nature, art and music. When a candidate draws on unrelated disciplines, it signals they're a systems thinker who can synthesize unexpected inputs into novel solutions. In a team that blends technical and creative work, cross-pollination is golden. - Rinita Datta, Cisco Systems, Inc.
10. Have Them Define Their Vision
I evaluate creative candidates by asking them to define their vision and demonstrate how they turn ideas into outcomes. Can they lead with clarity, collaborate under pressure and lift those around them? Creativity alone is not enough. I hire for strategic imagination, emotional intelligence and the capacity to shape culture as future leaders. - Marie O'Riordan, The Croí Initiative, including Croí Impact and Croí Capital
11. Have Them Critique Your Current Marketing
I ask candidates to critique our current marketing, not to impress me, but to see if they can see beyond what exists. True creativity isn't just about generating ideas—it's about reimagining and sharpening what's already there. Those who challenge thoughtfully and offer clear insight show both courage and creative clarity. That's who I want on the team. - Deboshree Sarkar, Titan.ium Platform
12. Ask What Sparks Their Creativity
You can't output great creative work if you're not constantly absorbing inspiration. One thing I love to hear is how creative candidates seek to fill their creative well. What online or offline resources do they enjoy from a purely personal perspective? What about in the professional realm? How do they like to spark and inform ideas with the internal team? Quality inputs support quality outputs. - Ellen Sluder
13. Ask Them About A Time They Let Go Of An Idea
I ask candidates to tell me about a time they had to squash an idea they loved. Great creatives aren't just idea machines; they know when to pivot, edit or let go for the greater goal. This question reveals self-awareness, collaboration and the ability to balance vision with strategy—hallmarks of mature, impactful creativity. - Katie Jewett, UPRAISE Marketing + Public Relations
14. Look For Various Work Samples
We look for varied examples of a candidate's work. The ability to work in various media allows us to be able to tackle all requests and projects as they are developed or requested by members of our community and leadership. We also seek candidates who are willing and able to work on multiple projects at the same time, as deadlines change regularly. - Sayar Lonial, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
15. Have Them Share A Time They Broke The Rules
I ask candidates to share a time they broke the 'marketing rules' on purpose. It reveals how they think beyond templates, challenge norms and trust their instincts, all signs of a truly creative marketer. Bold ideas often start where the rulebook ends. - Cody Gillund, Grounded Growth Studio
16. Provide A Sample Scenario
I interview candidates for creativity by giving them a simple scenario like, "How would you create a campaign to drive pipeline from the 'X' segment for our solution?" Creative candidates tend to ask questions to understand the target persona, their buying journey and our solution's value proposition in order to personalize the campaign. Creativity without context doesn't matter in marketing. - Rekha Thomas, Path Forward Marketing
17. Walk Through A Past Problem Solved
Ask candidates to walk through a past campaign and the problem it solved. Creativity isn't just about ideas—it's about impact. I'm listening for originality, resourcefulness and results. Great marketers think beyond the brief and that story always reveals it. - Kal Gajraj, Ph.D., CAN Community Health
18. Look For Deep Brand Insights
To me, creativity isn't just solving a problem or the brief. It's mining deep consumer insights that connect your brand and products to the soul-level identity of your target audience. I look for strategic marketers who can show me that they can find and activate these truths into belonging and sustainable competitive advantage by building strong brand equity and fans and not just buyers. - Toby Wong, Toby Wong Consulting
19. Conduct A Working Session On A New Topic
I always do a working session on a topic alien to both of us. That allows creative juices to flow and enables me to understand how they can be created in different aspects of work. - Ritu Kapoor, Observe.ai
20. See If They Can Turn Complex Topics Into Relatable Stories
I look for candidates who can simplify complex technology into relatable stories. During interviews, I ask them to explain a technical concept to different audiences—like describing AI to a CEO versus an engineer versus the general public—to assess their creative adaptability. - JoAnn Yamani, Future 500