With UK unemployment at an all time high – a record 9.67 million men and women currently out of work – Chrysalis are taking a look at how this crisis is affecting the digital marketing and communications industry.
We have spoken to Harriet Sanders from Chrysalis Recruitment about the difficulty businesses face when attempting to fill crucial roles and how a lack of specialised skills can hinder applicants in their search for employment.
Chrysalis Recruitment help to solve the many problems encountered when engaging in volume recruitment. As a team of dedicated staffing specialists, they assist successful companies in the sourcing of key personnel across the IT and Digital Marketing arenas. Chrysalis focus on SEO, PPC, Digital Account Management, Media Planning, Web Development: PHP, Java, .NET.
Harriet Sanders, Service Delivery Manager at Chrysalis Recruitment
“I think the overall attitude of Graduates coming into the industry is changing. You can no longer compare today’s 21 year olds with those of even 10 years ago. There are constant signs of young people wanting everything immediately – expecting instant gratification. We find ourselves having to motivate people wanting to get into the industry to get out there and improve their chances of landing a role: doing some work experience for no pay; developing a portfolio at home to showcase their skills; even just spending more time improving their CV. It’s no wonder the Digital Marketing industry struggles to find well equipped Trainees or Juniors, there are very few making themselves attractive enough to employ.
Digital Marketing needs to be given more “real life” focus at university level. In the past, many IT degrees were far too generic to be of much use in the commercial world – so software houses were having to invest heavily in bringing them in line with their needs. Now it appears that many of the studies in marketing/digital marketing are so diluted that often the same person approaching us for work will happily consider roles in PR, Marketing (generally) and even SEO or Social Media – there is very little evidence to suggest they are being groomed to specialise.
Because of the lack of genuine quality in the market, finding the right staff (at all levels) is a bit of a needle in a haystack. Companies with mission critical roles to fill cannot afford to leave their vacancies in the hands of a single person, nor a handful of agencies that also have to service numerous other clients. Urgent roles need filling fast and there is only one way to deal with this – simple, honest hard work in networking through as many people as is humanly possible. Exceptional people are out there, that is not in doubt. Finding them is the monumental challenge.
Chrysalis solves this problem by assigning an Account Manager to that company – thus creating a single point of contact whose job it is to get to know that company inside and out – this person in turn is supported by a team of Consultants who spend every hour they work networking for talent purely for that company/ role. It’s the best of both worlds: One point of contact but with several people doing the searching. Unless we sit back and wait for supply to outstrip demand, then the only way our clients will find the right staff is for their Recruiter to adopt an aggressive, proactive and comprehensive search strategy.”
Speaking to The Drum, a number of media professionals also voiced their opinions and experiences:
Phil Morgan, director of policy and communications at PR industry body the CIPR
"Young practitioners, who are finding themselves without permanent work, should continue to do what they can to distinguish themselves in a tight job market by ensuring they are committed to professional development. The CIPR offers a wide range of training and development opportunities for public relations practitioners at all levels – these practical skills could be what sets them apart at their next job interview."
Jim Brigden, CEO of London digital agency I Spy Marketing
"I still don’t think digital marketing is seen by a lot of graduate level entrants as the sexiest place to go to, which I find a bit bizarre.
There are creative/advertising agencies that are inundated with CVs but I think most of the digital marketing specialists aren’t in the same position. I wonder if that’s because universities and the education system are still set up around traditional business models and the newer entrants to the space aren’t as well known or aren’t as well sold by the academic places.
We don’t see a huge swamping of CVs coming our way from graduates, so from a graduate perspective that’s got to be an opportunity – digital marketing agencies are still crying out for people."
Chris Combemale, chief executive of the Direct Marketing Association
"The DMA is currently conducting an economic impact analysis of the UK direct marketing industry and initial anecdotal evidence from our hundreds of corporate members shows that some sectors are doing better than others and are bucking the national trend by adding new jobs to the economy.
The results of January’s Bellwether report showed that investment in direct marketing is growing, particularly in digital sectors, so that indicates a heightened demand for workers with these prized skill sets.
Innovation, entrepreneurship and investment in skilled staff are vital for the long-term health of direct marketing. This a great time for start-ups and SMEs to make their mark on the industry. We need to do more to develop the next generation of talent, which is why the DMA is supporting initiatives such as the Graeme Robertson Trust to give young graduates a route into the industry.
While the economy is faltering, experience from previous recessions tells us that companies that invest in direct marketing and skilled personnel emerge strongest when the economy bounces back."
Alison Meadows, managing director of Cambridge creative agency Ware Anthony Rust
"We assumed that in the current climate it would be easier to recruit people and bring the right kind of people into the business – but actually the reverse has been true.
Good quality people seem to be thin on the ground and that's maybe because they are staying put, but the people who are around seem to not have sufficient skills and experience for our industry.
We opted last year to employ an apprentice, assuming that it would be a fairly easy role to attract and fill - after all our industry is a little bit more relaxed and creative than a lot of regular businesses.
It took six months to find one competent and worth employing apprentice."
Chrysalis Recruitment can assist companies in uncovering applicants with specialised knowledge, relevant qualifications, and industry experience. Visit www.chrysalisrecruitment.com for more information. 
