It's funny. My USP as a recruiter working in the marketing and advertising sector used to be that I worked in marketing and advertising before coming into recruitment. I used to say that I'd have no interest in say, recruiting for train drivers or accountants (and this is still true!). Genuinely, I think we're fortunate in this sector because generally speaking, the people are great. For the most part it's a friendly, gregarious and interesting sector to work in and I enjoy still staying in touch with those people. Equally, the role of a recruiter is not entirely dissimilar to working in client services and campaign management so I still get to use most of the same skills that I did then. Anyway, it occurs to me now that I've been in recruitment longer than I was in marketing!
So, that's a fairly typical rambling starting point for the monthly blog. My point, that I'm coming to is that in 20 years of recruiting, I do think that the last 12 months have been the most tricky that I have experienced. I'm fortunate that I work for myself so I can be adaptable to change and focus on where the pockets of activity in the market are - back in the day when I was managing a team of recruiters who all had a specialism, this kind of market would be quite unpleasant.
There is no one single reason for the current market stagnation - it feels like a perfect storm made up of multiple factors. There are global events which are impacting agency clients spends and agencies are seeing clients wanting more for less money. New business from new clients is proving hard to come by with procurement red tape becoming overly complex and time consuming for some smaller agencies. Additionally, whilst we do still have some big agencies who are part of networks, I would say that the number of small independent agencies have multiplied and whilst they may have had ambitious growth plans, they have been badly affected by a drop off in client spending. Equally, I think after the recruitment boom of the pandemic, there were some agencies who were perhaps over staffed once things started to quieten down. Certainly there have been more redundancies in the last 12 months than the previous 4 years. I launched PMP in 2008 when there was an actual recession - technically at the moment we are not in a recession but it feels like a harsher market than 2008.
However, it is what it is. One of my life mantras has always been 'control the controllables'. Whilst I can't magically create jobs, when the going gets tough, there are certainly things as a recruiter that I should still be doing and there are things that I recommend candidates do too so that they don't become disheartened, disillusioned and depressed. My recommendations for candidates do depend on the particular situation that a candidate is in. Here's a summary:
Candidates who are out of work. Typically having been made redundant or who have taken Voluntary redundancy.
A growing pool of people reside in this category. Whilst there is often an immediate sense of disaster at the point of redundancy, there is a subsequent positivity that 'this could be a good thing' and 'I wasn't happy anyway'. If you are fortunate, you'll have received your contractually agreed notice period salary and you'll be free to start searching immediately. Yes, occasionally, you might secure something immediately but in a flat market, you should be prepared for it not to be as straightforward as during a boom.
Advice:
Let people know you are looking and that you are available immediately. Don't be embarrassed about an 'Open to work' flag on your LinkedIn profile. Message people you have worked with previously, ask friends and colleagues to keep an eye out for you. Be relentless! If you have contacts who are working in other agencies, they'll likely receive a bonus if they recommend someone to their hiring manager.
Keep an eye on all the job boards and talk to sector specific recruiters.
Understand that job hunting for 24 hours a day will only make you depressed. Give yourself a daily window to be proactive in the hunt but ensure that you are doing something productive each day that you would not normally have time for. I'm not a health guru but getting outside, taking exercise, learning a new skill - keep busy.
Keep your options open. Whether that's geographical, lowering your expectations on certain criteria that you have (particularly on hybrid vs office based), considering contract work or temp to perm options.
Don't spend all day every day tweaking your CV. Create a really good generic CV but tailor it as and when you need to for specific job roles. Ask recruiters for advice if you're not confident that it is good enough.
Lots of people ask me about 'freelance' work. In this climate, we're not seeing a lot of freelance - even on the creative side. In these cases, people are finding that they might be able to secure a day a week but not enough to sustain a living. Keep it in mind but it's probably not the answer to your prayers.
Stay positive. Things will change. There are roles out there, yes things are competitive. When you do secure interviews, really work on the positivity. Perhaps ask friends or a recruiter to do an interview role-play with you. If you have been out of work for over 3 months, it's likely that you are low in confidence and that can come across negatively in interviews.
Candidates who are gainfully employed and actively looking for a new role.
Currently, this class of candidate is generally frustrated because they are overworked and underpaid. Another side effect of a tough 12 months is that agencies haven't been promoting people or giving significant salary increases. Leavers haven't always been replaced which means that existing staff are working harder. Couple this with increasingly demanding clients (under pressure themselves) resulting in quite a few dissatisfied employees across the region.
Advice:
Bide your time. The market is reasonable for individuals under the £35k mark but for more senior hires, the number of opportunities is very limited. Keep an eye on job boards, talk to your trusted and preferred recruitment consultants and make sure you are on their radars.
Don't shoot yourself in the foot. If you are going to move - do ensure that you do due diligence on your new employer. Check that their financials are in order and that it's the right role for you. The grass is not always greener.
Unless you are actively unhappy in your current role and it is negatively affecting your health and wellbeing, sit tight rather than leaving with no job to go to. I am talking to a lot of people at the moment who are indicating that they are so desperate to leave a job, they'll hand their notice in and hope for the best. My reminder here is that when the market is this flat, it's a very big gamble to leave and to hope that 'something' will pop up. Obviously it depends on your financial situation but it isn't guaranteed that you'll find something in 3 months, it could be a lot longer.
Candidates who are in agencies where redundancies have been made. You are 'safe' but it has given you a big wobble in confidence.
I'm seeing quite a lot of this. Agencies who have had quite a few people going through the 'consultation' process and then escape redundancy or who accept a different role in the business. Initially there is a 'phew, I can still pay the mortgage' but then there is undoubtedly some re-structuring, some changes in day to day responsibilities and typically no change in salary or job title. You are essentially 'grateful' but resolve to 'see how it goes'. Having said that, in agencies where the consultation process has not been handled professionally or where communication has been poor, those 'saved' employees do indeed get straight on the phone to a recruiter.
Advice:
Pretty much 'see how it goes'. In a flat market, it's better to be employed than unemployed. However, be vigilant. Often, further redundancies are made a couple of months later so it does no harm to brush up your CV and essentially that the advice I have given for those who are employed and actively looking for a new role. Put out feelers....you're not desperate but you do want to look after number one and ensure that you have job security and can continue your career progression.
Entry Level Graduates seeking the first step on the career ladder.
We've seen a marked reduction in the number of entry level candidates who have some work placement experience and that makes it hard to secure an entry level role in an agency.
Advice:
The best advice I can offer is to contact agencies directly and to see if you can secure some work experience or an internship. Agency MDs do still like proactive juniors and particularly in the bigger agencies, they do still have apprentice and graduate schemes - albeit hiring in reduced numbers but still hiring. If you are still linked to your university, contact the careers service to see if they have any partner marketing or creative agencies who they can put you in touch with. Most internships do lead to an extension or a perm offer so approaching agencies directly can really pay off. I'm always happy to chat to juniors so do get in touch and if I can offer additional support, I will.
The market won't stay like this for ever. It's cyclical and we just need to hang on in there and wait for things to shift. There are definitely pockets of busy-ness. Sub £35k hires in client servicing are prevalent and content, paid social and search roles remain reasonably buoyant. I'm spending my time talking to clients and talking to candidates. Recruitment has always been about being in the right place at the right time and I'm conscious that when things start to gain more momentum, I'll be ready!
Written by Fiona. 7th May 2025.
Tel - 07976 125963