medialifemagazine.com
Still a tough job market for media folks
By Diego Vasquez
Aug 6, 2009 - 1:05:50 AM
Hundreds of media people have lost their jobs during this recession as large advertisers slash their budgets and consumers close their purses. Every region of the country has been affected, and buyers seem to have been hit harder than planners, especially local spot buyers. Now that we’ve seen some promising economic signs, such as the improving stock market and the slowly tightening spot TV market, media people hope that agencies will begin hiring again. But it could take some time. While conditions are better than they were just a couple months ago, some big agencies never fully staffed up after the last recession, and some could follow the same strategy following this recession. Other shops are looking to fill their open positions with employees with more digital experience. Recruiter Patricia Sklar, president and founder of Sklar & Associates, talks to Media Life about the state of the media jobs market, which jobs are still in demand, and why digital experience is critical.
How would you describe the market for media buyer and planner jobs over the past six months?
I think we need to distinguish between buyers and planners.
I think the buyer jobs have been affected most, especially in local spot media. We’ve seen a number of local buyers lose their positions. That has been one of the hardest-hit areas.
I believe that some of the planners that lost their jobs have gotten jobs, and I don’t think the market is as bad for planning as it is for buying.
I really think the hardest hit area has been buying, from what I’m seeing.
How has that changed from the past few years?
Obviously since last August, it’s now been a year that we’ve seen a huge decline in hiring, and we’ve seen layoffs. It hasn’t been like this since January 2001, during the dot.com bust. Then in 2003, it started building back up until August ‘08. And then things just really died.
So in the past year there’s been limited hiring and major layoffs.
Are you starting to see an uptick in demand for jobs now that the economy is slowly starting to show signs of improvement?
I am seeing some people get hired, yes. Especially in the past couple weeks. But I don’t think we’re seeing a real uptick yet.
There is some movement, yes. But I don’t think it’s significant enough to really say a turnaround has occurred. But we are seeing some candidates receive offers.
What jobs are in the greatest demand right now and why?
I think digital remains one of the biggest. I think the reason is there are many people who are going to digital sales.
We’re not getting requests for lower-level positions. If we are working on anything it’s more senior-level, whereas before I used to get all levels.
What regions have remained the strongest in terms of hiring during this recession?
We’re national, so we do work all over the country, but I’m not sure if there’s one particular region that was really going strong. I think pretty much everything is soft, with maybe a little bump here and a little bump there. It’s more the company or the client as opposed to the region.
A few years ago, after the last recession, we heard from some readers that senior media people were having trouble finding work. Are you seeing this pattern again?
Yes, we are seeing that pattern.
Individuals that aren’t integrated or don’t have a firm background in online and offline are having the most difficulty. Those that are integrated, those who have a strong grasp of online and a strong grasp of offline, are the ones getting hired.
If there’s a senior-level person with very little experience in digital, they will have a hard time.
How have salaries for mid-level and senior media people held up during the recession?
I’m not seeing that much of a drop off. There’s not much of a reduction.
How important is it to have online experience these days?
It’s extremely important. You need to be diversified.
The key to being hired today is to really bring more to the party. The more experience you have, that’s the best thing. The more you can come in and say that you’ve worked in different media, with different types of accounts, whatever you can bring that makes you look like you’ve got more is just key. Those are the people I feel are getting hired.
Clients are looking for the most compelling story, that [a candidate] led the efforts or are involved on Twitter, or have a blog, then they’re engaged in media.
Clients are asking, “What kind of media person can I bring on staff that can really add something?”
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