Are we strong enough to ride the oncoming economic storm?
By Harry Fowler - Group Digital Recruiter for AMV Group
I think we can all agree that the finance markets around the world are not exactly stable at the moment and whatever happens in those markets will have an effect on the digital, advertising and communications sectors.
So with that in mind, where does this leave the digital market and more importantly where does this leave recruitment as we move forward?
I’m not wanting to talk us into a recession - but I remember the gaping holes that were left in the industry from the previous meltdown - very few people being hired, everyone struggling to keep their heads above water and PM’s working for £30k or less in some instances just to pay the mortgage! (I know, £30k for a PM - and a bloody good one at that!)
Now the knock on affect from that was felt sometime later when trying to find candidates with 1-2, 1-3 years experience. They were few and very far between and of course supply and demand drives the price.
So are we strong enough to ride out the storm? Yes, I believe we are - but be very wary. If the market does take a wobble please don’t resort to the traditional tactics of cutting back on the service levels to your clients, getting rid of juniors and cutting out graduate hire. The industry continually needs new blood.
Keep feeding it please.
Interesting post. I think the UK digital industry will suffer a shake-up and a much-needed one. There’s too many young people who bluff their way into jobs and have very rudimentary understanding of online marketing, yet enjoy salaries of £25k.
Still, the UK is better placed than other countries such as continental Europe to ride out the storms we’re going to experience in the next few years (see book review published last week at http://www.azam.info/overwork-culture-uk-usa ).
You don’t enjoy a salary of £25k in London - you strive to earn more.
And if people are bluffing their way into jobs then it says more about the managment hiring them surely. You should see talent in young people coming into the market, nurture it, manage it and ensure you get the best for your £25k.
Average starting salaries are much higher in other professions, hence why we’re not seeing enough people being tempted to make the move.
The industry is evolving and in a tighter economic climate it will reap the benefits of being such a measurable medium.
Harry, couldn’t agree more about holding the nerve. Hard to believe we’re still suffering the effects of the heavy job losses post-2001. The news from the city yesterday isn’t going to pour oil on troubled waters. Although at the current price per barrel, it’s too expensive to pour anywhere!
What surprises me is the number of opportunities that exist for employers to increase their workforce by nurturing in-house talent, and providing opportunities for new staff to develop within their company.
I’ve heard two anecdotes recently from university careers officers, who have had difficulty in finding suitable work experience positions for well-qualified candidates on digital-media friendly courses (not media studies!). Apparently some of them are stacking shelves in Tesco’s.
Time for a national clearing house for digital media and marketing work experience methinks. Chinwag’s game!