What’s happening with recruitment in the client-side and agency marketing industry right now?
The market has well and truly picked up to levels we haven’t seen in a long time, with new briefs for roles at an all-time high. Strong candidates are being snapped up quickly so unless agencies and companies can move candidates through the process relatively quickly, they miss out.
The biggest challenge is that the market for talent has never been tighter, so roles are taking longer to fill, and hiring managers are faced with far less choice.
Why is there a talent shortage?
Working Holiday Maker visas are down by 99.68% from April 2019 - March 2020 vs April 2020 - March 2021. As a market, we relied heavily on Working Holiday Makers to fill many junior permanent and contract marketing and advertising opportunities, and this, combined with the recruitment freezes in 2020, is having the knock-on effect of a lack of available talent particularly at the junior-mid level, or roles around the $70-90k mark.
It's worth noting that 32% of roles in 2019 were filled by overseas talent - with close to zero WHV in 2020 – it sets 2021 up for a rather tight talent year.
It's a candidate short market
A common misperception is Covid-19 means there are lots of people unemployed looking for jobs, when in fact, a lot of agencies and businesses didn’t make any redundancies, they simply reduced their employee’s days or hours, which have now reverted back to full time. They also did not hire junior talent/grads throughout 2020.
Applications per job are down. From 2019 to 2020 we saw a 50% decline and already this year we’re sitting at a further 30% decline of applicants from 2020
The desire to change roles for candidates is low, as many have found that with the new flexible working arrangements they are enjoying their role more. Candidates are also communicating that job security is important to them.
Our top tips for hiring managers
- Be quick! Don't delay in your turnaround times for booking interviews, giving feedback and making offers. Good candidates are looking at multiple roles, don’t let good talent get away.
- Be ready to increase your budget – we’re seeing salaries being offered up to 5-15% above market rates since the start of the year.
- We know Zoom is convenient, but it's time to get back to face to face interviews. Candidates want to be able to come into the office and get a feel for the company and culture which is impossible over a video meeting.
- Be flexible and think outside the box. Can your contract role be a permanent one? Can you offer flexibility in hours or working from home?
- If you’re working with a recruiter, give them a comprehensive brief. The more information they have to excite the candidate about the role and company the better chance you’ll have of securing the best talent.
- Wherever possible make it a permanent hire! Available freelancers are virtually non-existent so if there is any way to make your role permanent, you’ll have far more options to choose from.
Get in touch with our team if you want to chat more about the current market, and reach out if we can help you with sourcing great candidates for your roles.
Sheryn Small - sheryn@iknowho.com.au
Kahli Fenn - kahli@iknowho.com.au
Dene Gambotto - dene@iknowho.com.au