The jobs market in advertising and media has cooled, with some redundancies reported as agencies pull back in an uncertain economic environment, according to recruiters.
Hiring in the industry has dropped by around a third in first three months of 2023.
But there is still demand for juniors and mid level applicants, for strategy, social media, tech/development and account services
The media market dip is reflected in overall LinkedIn numbers indicating hiring is down 35% in Australia, with about three active job seekers competing for each job opening.
LinkedIn says the technology, information and media industry are navigating a year of transition, with hiring return to pre-pandemic levels.
The advertising/media market is lukewarm, says Simon Hadfield, DMCG global managing partner.
“The heat has certainly come out but it is still reasonably buoyant,” he told AdNews.
"Agencies are still looking for great talent. The plague may have allowed some mediocre talent to wriggle in and they may need to be weeded out.”
He believes the market hasn’t slowed dramatically, but eased off a little.
“The more junior positions still remain a little more difficult to find,” he says.
“The kids aren’t flocking to the industry like we did. This is a long term concern.”
The roles in demand include: TV Traders, Account Managers & Account Directors, junior to mid Strategists.
Kirsty Tavae, managing director, TKR Group, sees the market as slowing and hiring as calculated.
“The roles that are open are a calculated thought-out hire versus scrambling to secure anyone,” she says.
“I feel that there are just so many agency’s pitching at the moment or trying to retain work.
“Once this is done, we will see the market pick up again with the new wins which equal new hires.”
Tavae says the roles in demand at the moment are in social media, tech/development and account services.
“Feels like this is the calm before the storm,” she says.
“Once the interest rates ease, we will see more movement in new hires and clients being able to spend.”
Recruiters at Aquent report a small reduction in the amount of permanent hiring in the first quarter compared to the same three months last year.
However, temp hiring is up.
“The reality of the market is that hiring has definitely slowed but not as significantly as the numbers suggest,” says Lee Shorter, practice manager, design & development at Aquent Australia.
“Jobs still need to get done, so it's a shift in the type of hiring taking place rather than hiring itself where we've seen the biggest change.”
Aquent has seen a number of candidates at lead/director/head of level come onto the market, largely as a result of redundancies.
“Roles at that level are scarce, so there’s little opportunity available for them to get back into the workforce outside of consulting,” says Shorter.
“Candidates at mid level are most in-demand as they bring experience, are happy to do ‘hands-on’ work, but also fit within the reduced budgets businesses are having to work with.
“What we’re also seeing is that despite an increase in the number of temporary and/or freelance resources being hired, they are being engaged on a much shorter-term, often ad hoc basis which means once they land a project they’re very quickly having to start looking for the next one.”
Deanne Constantine, founder of Blue Bateau, says the market has moved from hot to pragmatic over the past few months, driven by external market factors and impending EOFY pressures.
“However, while it might seem flat, strategic momentum is building as agencies look to bolster leadership, and ensure they are in the best position to climb out of the pandemic and manage their businesses through potentially challenging market conditions,” she says.
“Agencies are also recognising that there’s a huge challenge ahead to make the work that should be made, and inspire the Australian marketing industry to be courageous and bold again.
“As a result, we're seeing new appointments at the CEO level, along with briefs to find senior-level creative and strategy positions.
“Agencies are increasingly happy to scour international markets to bring high-profile talent into Australia. New York and London continue to remain the two markets of interest, and we are actively involved in steering Australian talent home or luring new recruits.
“So, while overall the market has cooled off slightly, momentum is building."
She says midweight talent still remains the largest sought-after talent pool.
“If you are a genuinely talented midweight, it’s likely you’re heading for a promotion or pay increase if you enter the open market.
“Specific roles in high demand right now are in PR and Social - we often see a spike in these areas when the market starts to taper off.
“As it warms up, these roles move deeper into digital and analytics, and not too long after (if the market continues to warm up) we should see active demand across all agency departments.”
The biggest trend she is seeing is related to the agency model. Agencies that are agile are winning across the board, given their ability to move at speed with the market.
“Those that have the CEO and leadership team making impactful moves quickly, without the constraints of procurement and finance involvement in creative decisions, are where the talent wants to be," she says.
"Most of the time it's also where the clients want to be. These agencies tend to be independent, or have an independent mindset.”
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