Media and marketing candidates demand more, but offer less experience
11 September 2014
Candidates with limited work experience who seek salaries from £40k and confused job titles are among the recruitment headaches currently in the candidate-poor marketing, media, communications & creative (MMCC) sector, recruiters said yesterday [10 September].
Thu, 11 Sep 2014 | By DeeDee DokeCandidates with limited work experience who seek salaries from £40k and confused job titles are among the recruitment headaches currently in the candidate-poor marketing, media, communications & creative (MMCC) sector, recruiters said yesterday [10 September].
The sector is buoyant but, like many employment sectors at the moment, the MMCC candidate pool lacks the calibre of experience and capabilities sought by employers. This was the verdict from the recruiters and professional body representatives attending a gathering of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) MMCC sector group.
The result is that there are more jobs than appropriate candidates.
Candidates wanting more money than is offered is a difficulty, the meeting heard. Simon McVicker, director of policy and external affairs from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE), cited examples of candidates with only three to four years’ work experience wanting salaries of £40k or more.
Digitally-led marketing jobs are hard to fill, and the marketing and PR job arenas are further complicated by a lack of understanding from employers of the differences between the two disciplines, the group agreed. “Too many employers confuse PR and marketing,” McVicker said. This comes at a time when the functions, purposes and jobs within marketing especially are changing, recruiters said.
This can lead to confusing job titles, often without specific expectations of the role, in which it is unclear what kinds of responsibilities a job holder will actually have. Mapping roles and “understanding where people sit” is essential to grasping the scope of what is needed, it was pointed out.
Chaired by Tom Hadley, the REC’s director of policy and professional services, the MMCC sector group meets several times a year.
The sector is buoyant but, like many employment sectors at the moment, the MMCC candidate pool lacks the calibre of experience and capabilities sought by employers. This was the verdict from the recruiters and professional body representatives attending a gathering of the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) MMCC sector group.
The result is that there are more jobs than appropriate candidates.
Candidates wanting more money than is offered is a difficulty, the meeting heard. Simon McVicker, director of policy and external affairs from the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed (IPSE), cited examples of candidates with only three to four years’ work experience wanting salaries of £40k or more.
Digitally-led marketing jobs are hard to fill, and the marketing and PR job arenas are further complicated by a lack of understanding from employers of the differences between the two disciplines, the group agreed. “Too many employers confuse PR and marketing,” McVicker said. This comes at a time when the functions, purposes and jobs within marketing especially are changing, recruiters said.
This can lead to confusing job titles, often without specific expectations of the role, in which it is unclear what kinds of responsibilities a job holder will actually have. Mapping roles and “understanding where people sit” is essential to grasping the scope of what is needed, it was pointed out.
Chaired by Tom Hadley, the REC’s director of policy and professional services, the MMCC sector group meets several times a year.
