The Surprising News About Marketing Hiring in 2021

With a slow vaccination rollout, a winter spike in COVID cases, and a great deal of social distancing, many people spent the first few months of 2021 feeling like they are simply living in 2020: the sequel. 

But when it comes to the job market and what both candidates and hiring managers should expect this year specifically in the creative, technology, and marketing fields, 2021 looks quite different than 2020. 

For much of 2020, the marketing hiring landscape was an “employer’s market,” meaning there were fewer open roles than qualified talent to fill them. But in early 2021, reports confirm what our own boots-on-the-ground experience in marketing talent acquisition is telling us: the job market is hot. Talented, mid-career professionals are fielding multiple offers. Employers no longer hold the power when it comes to finding the talent they need. 

In fact, according to research conducted by LinkedIn, digital marketers and user experience professionals are among the most in demand jobs in 2021.

In digital marketing some of the most in demand job titles are digital marketing specialist, social media manager, marketing representative, and search engine optimization specialist, while the most sought after skills are product marketing, digital strategy, and brand management. 

In user experience, the jobs that are most in demand are user experience designer, product design consultant, user interface designer, and user experience researcher. Top skills needed are web design, design thinking, and user experience testing.

While this is good news for marketers across the board, this is also important information that should inform how hiring managers approach the hiring process. Here are five recommendations to consider as you are looking for talent in a candidate’s market. 

The Surprising News About Marketing Hiring in 2021

1. Get as clear as possible on the job description and your needs for the role before you begin the search. The stronger your job description, the less time you will waste on candidates who are truly not right for the position. If you’re backfilling a position, consider the most outstanding skills and characteristics of the last person in the role. Make sure to build the skills that are still relevant to the position into the job description. For help writing the ultimate job description, use our free guide.
2. Partner with a staffing firm so you don’t have to parse through irrelevant resumes. Using a staffing company to support your candidate search can expedite the process of finding the right person. And your ideal candidate may not even be actively searching. Imagine partnering with a firm like ours who has built a network of marketing talent for over 25 years. We could save you many hours of time and frustration. 
3. Speed up your deliberation process. Strong candidates are often only on the market for a few weeks. Establishing a clear process and plan for all those involved in the hiring process at the outset will give you the freedom to move quickly when it counts. Red tape and logistical hurdles can slow you down, and you may lose out on your ideal candidate.
4. Make the application process simple. Your job description should be available on its own landing page that links out to the application. The more streamlined you can make the process, the better. 
5. Implement an employee referral program. Employee referrals have been proven to be an effective way to not only find but retain strong talent. Incentives and gamification are proven methods to grow employee engagement in the referral process.

Finding digital marketing, creative, and technology talent is no easy task. But with the right strategy and the right team, you should be able to find exactly who you need to keep your business moving forward.