Samantha Litman

Samantha Litman has spent more than 25 years in recruiting and executive search. She started as a hands-on recruiter, founded her own recruiting firm, and later took over and grew another. At KORE1 she recruits marketing, creative, media and entertainment talent, from art directors, motion designers and producers to heads of production, brand strategists and analytics leaders. Her searches start with the question most hiring teams skip: what does this role actually need? She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Southern California and serves on the board of Soapbox Women.

Motion Designer Salary Guide 2026: Why the Range Runs $75K to $150K

October 12, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Motion designer workstation with a pen tablet, headphones, clay maquette and orange light trails on the monitor

A motion designer salary in 2026 runs $75,000 to $150,000 depending on level, and federal data backs it up, putting the middle half of the occupation at $75,490 to $139,130 with a $102,030 median. By Samantha Litman, Executive Search, Marketing, Creative & Media, KORE1 Seventy-five to one-fifty. When I give a client that range for … Read more

Are Recruitment Agencies Worth It? The Math on One Open Seat

October 8, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Two media agency professionals reviewing a printed media plan at a conference table in an office with an orange accent wall

A recruitment agency is worth it when the seat costs more sitting empty than the fee costs to fill. On an $85,000 marketing seat, a 20 percent fee works out to about seven weeks of that seat staying open. By Samantha Litman, Executive Search, Marketing, Creative & Media, KORE1 “Honestly? You’re too expensive.” I have … Read more

Art Director Salary Guide 2026: What the Job Pays by Setting

October 7, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Creative agency desk with a laptop, printed layout boards and a color swatch fan under an orange desk lamp

An art director salary in 2026 runs about $85,000 to $100,000 on the agency and brand searches I run, against a federal median of $114,850 and a Glassdoor average of $107,994. The gap is mostly which art director you mean. By Samantha Litman, Executive Search, Marketing, Creative & Media, KORE1 Eighty-five to one hundred thousand. … Read more

Creative Director Salary Guide 2026: What the Seat Pays, Title by Title

October 5, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Plain wooden step ladder leaning against a pale grey wall with one rung painted orange, illustrating creative director pay by title level

Creative director salary in 2026: $120K to $210K total pay, why associate CDs out-earn CDs on Glassdoor, and how film, agencies, and cities shift pay.

Marketing Salaries in 2026: What Marketing and Creative Roles Pay, From Recent Searches

October 1, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Seven wooden blocks rising in height in a row on a grey studio table, one painted orange, illustrating marketing salary ranges by level in 2026

Marketing salaries in 2026, role by role: ranges from recent agency and creative searches set against federal wage data, plus how to set your own range.

Transferable Skills in Marketing and Creative Hiring: Should You Hire From Another Industry?

September 28, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Glass skybridge with an orange steel frame connecting an old brick warehouse to a modern concrete and glass building, for a post on transferable skills

Should you hire from another industry? Which transferable skills carry into marketing and creative roles, which backgrounds translate, and when to say no.

Hard-to-Fill Positions: Why You Can’t Find the Right Candidate

September 24, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Empty whitewashed studio with a tall steel window looking onto a half-turned autumn tree, for a post on hard-to-fill positions that stay open for months

Hard-to-fill position still open after three months? A recruiter on finding the stage where your search is stuck, and the fix that works for each one.

Is This the Right Title? What Marketing Job Titles Tell Candidates

September 21, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Two marketing hiring leaders talking beside an office window wall about whether a job title matches the role they are hiring for

By Samantha Litman, Executive Search, Marketing, Creative & Media, KORE1 Marketing job titles signal seniority, scope, and specialty, and candidates use them as the first filter before they read a word of your posting. The common ladder runs coordinator, specialist, manager, director, VP, then CMO. Agency titles and in-house titles rarely mean the same thing … Read more

Are My Job Requirements Too Specific? How to Tell Before the Search Stalls

September 18, 2026 by Samantha Litman

A narrow cobblestone alley between tall brick walls with warm light at the far end, for a post on job requirements that are too specific

Are your job requirements too specific? A recruiter on spotting the lines that stall a marketing or creative search, and which ones to cut, move or keep.

The Job Description Is the Blueprint, Not the Finished House

September 15, 2026September 15, 2026 by Samantha Litman

Timber frame of an unfinished two-storey house at golden hour, a metaphor for a job description as the blueprint rather than the finished hire

A job description gives a search its structure, but the right candidate may bring strengths nobody thought to ask for. Samantha Litman on which requirements are load-bearing and which ones stall a search.