Essential Resourcing

For clients

Better marketing hires start with a better brief.

When a hire actually matters to the business, you need more than another pile of CVs.

Essential Resourcing helps agencies, brands and growth businesses recruit marketing, digital, PR, communications and agency talent, from specialist permanent hires through to CMOs, Marketing Directors, Managing Partners and Fractional leaders.

But finding people is only part of it.

The real job is understanding who you actually need, who’s genuinely good and who’s right for your business.

Sense-check a briefMessage David on WhatsApp
See how Essential works

What I recruit

Need good marketing people? You’re in the right place.

Marketing. Digital. PR. Communications. Agency.

Essential Resourcing is a Manchester-based marketing recruitment agency working across the North West and UK.

From specialist hires through to Marketing Directors, CMOs, Managing Partners and Fractional leaders.

Agency-side. Client-side. Manchester-led. UK-wide.

I’ve spent years in this market. I know the people, I know the agencies and I know that the same job title can mean something completely different from one business to the next.

Specialist, not generalist. That’s the point.

For the full picture, explore the specialisms in more detail.

Explore Specialisms

When a recruiter earns their money

Not every vacancy needs a recruiter.

If you’ve got a straightforward role, a strong employer brand and plenty of relevant applicants, recruit it yourself. Seriously.

Recruitment should add value when the market or decision becomes harder.

  • The best people aren’t applying
  • You’ve had 200 applications and somehow still haven’t found the right person
  • The role is senior, specialist or difficult to fill
  • You don’t have time to properly search the market
  • The brief or salary needs challenging
  • Confidentiality matters
  • You need to understand who’s genuinely good, not just who’s good at interviewing
  • Getting the hire wrong would be bloody expensive

A better search

What does a good recruitment search actually give you?

  1. A better brief

    Before searching for anybody, get underneath what the business actually needs this person to change.

  2. An honest market view

    Does the salary stack up? Do the people you’re describing exist? And what will make somebody good actually listen?

  3. Access to people who aren’t applying

    Strong candidates are often already employed and reasonably happy. They need finding and approaching properly.

  4. Assessment beyond the CV

    Where somebody worked matters. What they actually achieved when they got there matters more.

  5. A shortlist worth your time

    Fewer people. More context. No CV padding.

Fewer CVs. Better conversations. Better hiring decisions.

See exactly how Essential works

Choose the right route: Permanent Recruitment, Retained Search or Fractional Leadership. If the brief needs work first, start with Market Intelligence & Advisory.

Compare the four services

Proof

What does that look like in the real world?

Quick client questions

The questions clients normally ask me.

How much does marketing recruitment cost?

It depends on the search model, salary and complexity of the hire. Permanent Recruitment is generally success-based; Retained Search and Fractional Leadership work differently.

Read: How much does senior marketing recruitment cost?
Retained or contingency recruitment?

If the candidate market is accessible and the role is straightforward, permanent contingency recruitment may be enough. Retained Search becomes more useful when the role is senior, confidential, difficult or commercially important.

Read: Retained Search vs Contingent Recruitment
How long does recruitment take?

There isn’t an honest universal answer. A specialist manager search and a confidential CMO appointment are completely different. What we can control is the quality of the brief, market approach, communication and process pace.

Do you only recruit in Manchester?

No. Essential Resourcing is Manchester-led and North West-rooted, with UK-wide reach when the brief needs it.

What if I don’t know exactly what I need?

Good. Speak to David before writing the job description. The first job is working out the problem, level, salary and type of hire, not forcing the brief into a recruitment product.

Next step

Start with the problem.

Tell me who you’re thinking about hiring, why you need them and what you need them to change.

I’ll give you a straight view on the brief, salary, market and how I’d approach it.

If Essential is the right answer, brilliant. If it isn’t, I’ll tell you that too.

Sense-check a briefMessage David on WhatsApp