Key considerations for recruiting sales & marketing professionals

As businesses begin to emerge from the fog of the coronavirus pandemic and start to look to the future, organisations are once again turning their attention to the recruitment of marketing talent to help them re-ignite and maximise the economic bounceback which looks set to follow.

Consumer buying habits and business models have changed over the last 15 months – probably forever – with Covid impacts expediting the shift to online that was already in full swing.

Forward-thinking businesses understand the need to invest and recruit in marketing to help negotiate these challenges and are looking for skilled and experienced marketing professionals to drive brand awareness, build pipeline, attract and nurture new clients as well as retaining existing customers and achieving cut through in what is an ultra-competitive marketplace.

Roles in particular demand include digital marketers, social media experts and e-marketing specialists – signalling the continued importance and dominance of digital marketing for organisations across all sectors. 

Here at Grafton, where we specialise in marketing recruitment, we have seen a 200% increase in the number of open vacancies for marketing roles in the last 3 months alone. This is echoed across the sector as on LinkedIn, some 381,000 marketing job openings were posted by organisations and marketing recruitment agencies in the last year. And in the past six months alone, the site witnessed a 63% increase in marketing jobs. 

In fact, the digital marketing industry has gone from strength to strength in the UK. As of 2018, the sector experienced eight consecutive years of growth. Research suggests the industry grew by 4.8% in that year alone. 

This increase in demand for marketing professionals presents multiple challenges to companies looking to hire new staff including:

•    Availability of skilled candidates. Finding candidates with the skillset required becomes more difficult as every hiring organisation wants the same skills and experience.
•    The need to act decisively. Those candidates on the market are often in several processes so organisations must act quickly to secure the best talent.
•    Notice periods. Many candidates are currently in roles meaning organisations looking to recruit immediately are unlikely to be able to do so.
•    Candidate expectations. The ‘deal’ has changed. Candidates want more from an employer in this candidate-driven landscape.
In this competitive marketplace understanding what prospective candidates are looking for in an employer is imperative in order to attract, and ultimately, retain them within your organisation as the fight for talent ensues. As a specialist digital recruitment agency, we have identified the key elements which may aid attraction in the current climate.

So, what do you need to consider when recruiting marketing professionals?

•    Flexibility. This is now a given. Organisations who want someone in the office 9-5.30, 5 days a week are likely to see roles go unfilled as candidates look to organisations that offer hybrid models or more autonomy around when they must come into the office.
•    A fair salary. With demand outstripping supply, candidates are clearer of their worth and expect organisations to pay market rate – now is not the time to think that a deal is to be had.
•    Job satisfaction. A key area of importance to marketing professionals is their ability to be involved in meaningful and clear projects; to develop and be involved in exciting work that helps them forge new skills and delivers results
•    Job security. Given that nearly one in ten (9%) marketers said they had been made redundant, while 20% had to take a pay cut and 17% were placed on furlough during the coronavirus outbreak,  future security and stability will be a key element in candidates’ decision-making process.
•    Employer brand awareness. Candidates want to work for organisations with a strong reputation. One that is well known and for the right reasons.
•    Soft benefits. Mental health and wellbeing are increasingly becoming a focus for candidates as a move to a more even work/life balance is now a prominent desire for today’s workforce.

How Grafton Can Help

At Grafton, we have spent the past two years nurturing and growing our candidate database in this sector and now have a pipeline of high calibre talent who are engaged, available and ready to take the next step on their career path.

Not only that – we understand what marketing professionals are looking for, so our pool of talented marketing candidates trust us, value our recommendations and are ready to consider the right opportunities to progress.

If your organisation is ready to look forward and needs marketing recruitment specialists to help you achieve your business goals, then contact Grafton today to see how we can help you find the perfect fit on tellmemore@grafton-recruitment.com.