Marketers joining the workforce will have to face up to the fact that they may have to work harder for less.  That’s the message from specialist marketing recruiter EMR, which says that with a bigger pool of talent to fish from, employers are looking at those people who can make a positive difference to the bottom line.

“Demonstrating added value to a potential employer and convincing them that you can have a positive impact on the company’s profitability is key,” says Xavier Martin, managing consultant at EMR.

“There is a definite feeling of needing to deliver to guarantee survival in this market and so being able to introduce new revenue streams and having an innovative approach is crucial.”

This seems a far cry from the recent ‘war for talent’ scenario where organisations, desperate for those generation Y rising stars, responded to demands for work-life balance, the ability for employees to take time off to ‘give something back’ and flexible working for lifestyle reasons, adds Martin. 

“We are beginning to see candidates moving for less money,” he says. “Particularly if the role is perceived as more stable and a more secure career option. While work-life balance issues and flexible benefit packages used to be a real selling point and a differentiator when discussing roles with candidates, they now have to be balanced against hard commercial reality. Although flexible working is still very much in vogue with employers, we are beginning to see a return to the culture of presenteeism and longer hours where employees feel more secure about their position if they are seen to be giving ‘facetime’ to their employer.”

It may be that generation Y – a generation that has never experienced economic hardship or recession – need to change their view of the world of work, concludes Martin.