Firstly, I had an initial chat with the Talent Acquisition Partner where we discussed salary expectations, timings and my current situation. Days later I was interviewed by the ACD where they asked about my background and experience. Then, I received a Creative brief to showcase my ideas and way of thinking. I presented this back to the ACD and Strategy Director. Following that I spoke with the MD of Joyride, talking through everything from where I went to school, studied at university and my interests. We discussed my portfolio, work experience and what life is like at LADbible and Joyride. Everyone was super friendly, communication with the Talent Acquisition Manager throughout was great and each stage followed the other relatively quickly.

Pros: The initial screening with the recruiter was efficient and friendly. The interview panel (General Manager and team) were pleasant to deal with in person. They were transparent about the salary cap early in the process. Cons: Unprofessional Task Standards: As a Senior Creative, I expect a professional environment where the right tools are provided to do the job. When I was assigned a creative strategy task for a partner client (Rockshore), I requested the standard brand guidelines to ensure strict adherence to tone and visual identity. I was told no and to "use my own template." This forced me to spend hours "reverse engineering" the brand assets myself—unpaid research work just to get to a starting line that should have been provided. It’s the equivalent of hiring an accountant with 20 years of experience and asking them to audit a company while deliberately withholding half the financial records. It turns a strategic exercise into a guessing game. This made the eventual feedback—that the work "didn't lean into LAD enough"—particularly frustrating, as I was denied the very resources required to align the work correctly. Below Market Salary: The salary for this role is capped at €60k. This is significantly below the market rate for the experience level they are demanding. According to current industry salary scales for 2026, a Brand Creative Director (a comparable senior level) commands a salary of €95,000+. There is a massive disconnect between the "Senior" title they are hiring for and the junior/mid-weight budget they have assigned to it. Ghosting: I was promised a decision in early December. Instead, I was ghosted for over 6 weeks through the Christmas period. I had to chase the recruiter twice—once in December and again in January—to finally get a generic rejection.