Marketing & Creative Professionals 2007 and Beyond

Recruiter Activity & Best Practices Report

Staffing for creative professionals is characterized by an often unpredictable need for qualified candidates and limited availability of applicants to meet those demands. Monster’s analysis of job seeker and recruiter activity uncovered vital information for building a strong sourcing and hiring program into 2008. 

Key Take-Aways

Recruiting remains competitive in the Marketing sector. In early 2007, the number of new job postings had increased by nearly 44%, after experiencing two years of growth of at least 23% since the beginning of 2003. We can expect similar, broad growth in 2007, suggesting a further tightening of the labor market.

The “hot spot” for marketing and creative professionals is Maryland and its neighbor, Virginia, which dominated the greatest increases in job postings. In addition to these increasingly important centers of creativity, a phenomenal 237% increase in demand has occurred in Delaware. Up north, recruiters in Alaska drove a 291% increase!

Recruiters are working harder to find qualified marketing candidates. The average length of time a creative job posting remains active on Monster has increased over the course of 2006, and over the last two years has increased by almost two weeks. Nearly 22% of recruiters recently surveyed find it takes over 60 days to fill a typical position. In response, recruiters are increasing their usage of Monster hiring tools (e.g., enhanced job posting templates.)

Job Seeker Activity Report

Firms who require marketing and creative professionals to meet their goals often have a continuous need for qualified candidates and limited availability of candidates to meet those demands. Ironically, revenue growth and continued success only deepens the effects of the current, strong job market for talented professionals. However, this situation varies considerably across different marketing sectors. Fortunately, Monster’s analysis of job seeker activity uncovered vital information for building a strong sourcing and hiring program for 2007 and beyond.

Key Take-Aways

Marketing professionals continue to come to Monster for employment opportunities. There are over 1.6 million marketing-oriented resumes registered in the Monster U.S. resume database, which continues to add over 3,000 new resumes per day. In the first half of 2007, job candidate growth dropped slightly, primarily due to a typical seasonal slowdown in job postings. Growth in applicants should rise significantly toward the end of 2007.

Marketing job seekers are somewhat willing to relocate. In general, Marketing job seekers are more optimistic about finding work locally; however, about 41%, compared to 35% in all other Monster categories, are open to the possibility of moving. For the most part, these are candidates with more experience looking for higher-level positions.

Marketing candidates are available on a temporary, contract or project basis. While job seekers in administrative and support roles are primarily looking for permanent employment, there are a variety of candidates with more experience and training willing to step into a temporary, contract or project-based opportunity.