When Talent Is Everywhere, Hire for Hunger

(This article by Tony Riley, President and CEO at MX, was first published on the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Marketing Knowledge Center, June 2026.)

The advertising and marketing industry is suddenly awash in talent looking for new opportunities. In recent months, thousands of layoffs across agencies and cuts within corporate marketing departments have reshaped the hiring landscape, shifting the balance toward companies seeking to add talent.

At first glance a buyer’s market might look like a hiring advantage. In practice, the picture is more complicated.

Recruiters, professional networks, and online platforms make it easier than ever to collect stacks of résumés. But in a moment defined by rapid technology change, economic volatility, and workforce transformation, the real challenge isn’t access to candidates — it’s identifying the people who will actually make an impact.

For leaders responsible for building teams, hiring thoughtfully in a market suddenly crowded with strong candidates is an unfamiliar, novel challenge. And with the summer approaching, a new graduating class will soon add even more talent to an already deep pool.

It’s tempting to gravitate toward the “best and brightest” candidates with blue-chip credentials or the most polished LinkedIn profiles, often measured on paper. But a better approach is looking for people with the desire to win and the willingness to outwork those around them to succeed. They’re not always the obvious choices. Often, their qualities are revealed in quieter ways — through drive, curiosity, and an eagerness to seek out responsibility rather than inherit it.

Hunger may be the most undervalued hiring signal — and you can see it long before someone starts the job. The standouts will be the ones who seek out opportunity and don’t just wait for it. Here are a few ways to spot that “good hunger” in the hiring process.

Tap trusted networks.

Up against the rapid and somewhat chaotic pace of business today, the easy route to take is to hire people based on where they’ve worked.

Sure, hiring someone with a brand-name employer or two on their résumé can fill a gap quickly—but it can also be a shot in the dark. In my experience, personal referrals outperform recruiter outreach, especially when culture fit matters as much as capability. I lean heavily on our team’s networks, prioritizing the talent they believe would be a strong addition and rewarding them for those referrals. No joke: We employ three brothers whose mother worked for us for a while. When good people know good people, connections compound.

And before looking outside the company, I consider talent we already have in house that might thrive in a different role. That overly methodical account manager might actually make a great strategist.

Consider unexpected candidates.

Don’t over-index on educational pedigree or perfectly linear career paths — some of the strongest hires come from smaller companies, adjacent industries, and nontraditional backgrounds. Some of the most important attributes in key account management positions are integrity, judgement, and poise under pressure. From my vantage point as a former sergeant of Marines, there’s no better place to find those skills than veterans transitioning out of the U.S. military looking for new ways to apply the talents they developed while in uniform. I’ve seen firsthand how these candidates start slower than traditional hires as they learn how to work with creatives and strategists. Their impact is far greater over the long term as they gain the trust of those around them by putting the needs of the team and the business above their own.

Favor the bold.

People who are eager to own real responsibility tend to thrive.  One of the clearest indicators of someone who’s hungry to contribute is how a candidate thinks about the work before they even have the job. I pay attention when candidates ask where the organization is trying to grow, what problems need solving, and how they might contribute. The best ones say things like “I’d love to help you break into new markets,” or “I definitely can help you sharpen your brand.” People like that aren’t just trying to fill a role—they’re already thinking about how to create impact. Executive coach and author Liz Wiseman calls these agile contributors “impact players”: people who step forward, solve problems, and make themselves indispensable.

Pay attention to people who proactively reach out. Because they know your work or the people making the work and want to be part of it. That kind of intent rarely shows up by accident.

My career has taught me that being a great contributor ultimately comes down to a willingness to put others before yourself, a passion for and belief in what you are doing, and an ability to turn the fear of failure into a tailwind, not a headwind.

The candidates who ultimately make the biggest difference show up with something harder to quantify: curiosity, initiative, and the determination to contribute.

In a crowded hiring market, those signals matter more than ever. With so many capable people available, the challenge for leaders is recognizing the special ones, those who are already leaning forward, ready to build what comes next.