We have all seen it, entry level roles that require at least 5 years of relevant industry experience. Unless you have connections, the creative economy can be a tough one for countless Gen-Z talent. No wonder those just starting out are embracing their passions and pursuing side hustles to creatively express themselves, as well as progress their careers. We believe that companies can benefit if they adopt a new approach to side hustles, treating them as valuable spaces of learning and development. Here’s three ways in which you can do that:

1) Reframe recruitment by moving beyond traditional CV’s and professional industry experience. Instead, let’s value side hustles as relevant work experience in the application process, as well as making it clear in job descriptions what type of entrepreneurial and innovative skills you are looking for in new hires.

2) Be more transparent about side hustles. encouraging your staff team to be open about their passion projects outside of work. Let’s create designated spaces for them to reflect on and share what skills they’ve gained and how the company can learn from them. Larger companies might want to create an allocated budget that employees can apply for in order to develop their ideas further.

3) Set up entry level programmes for young creatives  which embrace their passion projects. This includes initiatives such as our Future Fridays programme. It harnesses under-utilised company resources such as office space and staff mentorship to support the entrepreneurial spirit of those just starting out in their career. In turn creating a pipeline of future talent into your company.