According to The Creative Group’s annual
hiring survey, a majority of employers within the creative field plan to
hire in the coming year. Sixty percent of advertising
and marketing executives polled said their firms plan to increase staffing
levels in the next 12 months. Nearly half (49 percent)
of respondents said their company’s efforts to attract new talent have
increased in the past year. Placing want ads, networking and enlisting
the help of staffing firms were the most commonly cited recruiting
tactics.
The survey was developed by The Creative
Group, a specialized staffing service providing marketing, advertising,
creative and web professionals on a project basis. It was conducted by an
independent research firm and includes 250 responses -- 125 from
advertising executives with the nation’s 1,000 largest advertising
agencies and 125 from senior marketing executives with the nation’s 1,000
largest companies.
Advertising and marketing executives were asked, “Do you expect
your firm to increase or decrease advertising/marketing staffing levels in
the next 12 months?” Their responses:
| |
|
2006 |
|
2005 |
|
2004 |
| Increase |
|
60%
|
|
68%
|
|
57%
|
| Decrease |
|
4%
|
|
5%
|
|
6%
|
| No change |
|
33%
|
|
26%
|
|
36%
|
| Don't know |
|
3%
|
|
1%
|
|
 1%
|
| |
|
100%
|
|
100%
|
|
100%
|
Advertising and marketing executives also were asked, “Have your
firm’s recruiting efforts increased or decreased compared to one year ago?”
Their
responses:
| Increased significantly |
|
18% |
| Increased somewhat |
|
31% |
| Stayed the same |
|
33% |
| Decreased somewhat |
|
10% |
| Decreased significantly |
|
5% |
| Don't know |
|
3% |
| |
|
100% |
Those whose firms have increased their recruiting efforts were asked, “Which
of the following recruiting tactics are you using more frequently than you
did a year ago?” The top responses were placing want ads online
(48 percent); networking (42 percent) and enlisting the help of staffing
or recruiting firms (36 percent). (Multiple responses were permitted.)
“The job market for creative professionals
remains strong, particularly for those with a deep understanding of
Internet-based marketing, which is where many advertising and promotional
dollars are being directed,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of The
Creative Group.
Willmer added that companies recruiting for hard-to-fill positions should
leave no stone unturned. “The most effective hiring managers use every
resource available when searching for talent -- from creating detailed job
descriptions to seeking out referrals to working with staffing firms.
After all, a business is only as good as its people, so it pays --
literally -- to find the best.”
