What's happening in the Australian recruitment market in the Marketing and Advertising industries?
Our consultants are busier than ever working on an all-time high number of new briefs. Strong candidates are being snapped up quickly so unless agencies and companies can move candidates through the recruitment process relatively quickly, they’re missing 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.

The contract or freelance market does not exist due to the lack of international candidates here to make that market possible. Counteroffers are common, salaries are on the up and teams are finding themselves under-resourced.

Why is there a talent shortage?
One of the key visas we rely upon in Australia for talent is the Working Holiday Maker program, with granted visa numbers down by 98% in FY 20/21 compared to the previous FY 19/20. The good news though is that in the first half of FY 21/22 we have seen a huge increase of 4194% granted visas!

However, there is an issue that although the visas are being granted, many of those visa holders haven’t yet moved to Australia due to hesitancy after our recent outbreak and lockdowns. In fact, between November 2021 and March 2022 only 5,600 WHM visa holders have arrived in Australia and there is an estimated 25,500 WHM visa holders currently granted that haven’t arrived yet.

Worth noting is that 32% of our roles in 2019 were filled by overseas talent - with close to zero in 2020 and 2021, but with border restrictions changing and WHM visa numbers increasing, we are expecting to see an increase in available talent this year.

Working Holiday Maker visas granted
FY 19/20 - 35% decrease from previous FY
FY 20/21 - 98% decrease from previous FY
Half FY 21/22 - 4194% increase from same period July 2020 – Dec 2020 (only 348 WHM visas granted in that period)

It's a candidate short market
A common misperception is that COVID-19 has meant there are lots of people unemployed looking for jobs, when in fact, most 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 and graduates throughout 2020 and 2021.

Applications per job ad are down
Job applications are a good gauge for the candidate market, indicating how many people are looking for or wanting to move jobs. In our 14 years trading we’ve never seen the average applications per job ad so low.

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 where possible. Candidates want to go into the office and get a feel for the agency or business.
• Retain your talent, do not gamble with going to market unless you absolutely must i.e. maternity or travel cover.
• Be flexible and think outside the box. Could your contract role be a permanent role? Can you offer flexibility in hours or options to work 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 do so.

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.

Our Agency Talent Consultant team
Senior agency roles - Sheryn Small sheryn@iknowho.com.au
Mid-level agency roles - Heidi Bennett heidi@iknowho.com.au
Junior to mid-level agency roles - Riza Karis riza@iknowho.com.au

Our Client-side Marketing Talent Consultant team
Senior client-side roles - Sheryn Small sheryn@iknowho.com.au
Junior to mid-level client-side roles - Rachel Hart rachel@iknowho.com.au

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Sources:

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/migration-australia
https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/visa-working-holiday-maker