For too long the stories have been about companies closing, amalgamating, reducing their marketing staff. You end up wondering where our marketeers will find work as the trend continues.
But wait! Now I can herald good news. That downward slide has bottomed out, and the prospects are now on the up. The forecast is that demand for marketers is strong - and will continue to grow for at least another five years.
In fact, marketing is one of the strongest job sectors and promises more to come. Eight out of ten marketing bosses say they will consolidate, or increase, their staff levels by the end of this year, according to a survey by headhunters Robert Walters.
This is supported by the government's own figures. Its Job Outlook Report says that the jobs for advertising and marketing professionals are expected to be high, greater than 71,000, by 2019.
But what are these jobs? Who is creating them at such a high rate? Alex Kenning is General Manager at Firebrand recruiters and he reeled off a long list of hirers: corporations, and small to medium enterprises; advertising and media agencies, digital studios, social hubs.
Some companies use their professional marketers to manage all their needs, while with others the marketer also manages the contribution of an agency. Companies that sell direct, through email or direct sales, have a constant need for promotion - either by web or "outside" - that needs a stream of advertising copy and bright selling ideas, new looks and promotions.
In fact, even as the high street shops and showrooms close, countless new "shops" and "showrooms" pop up on the Internet. Only now, instead of competing with their rivals in the suburb or the town, their competition is the world. And to stand out in that big arena you have to be very visible and very good.
The clients look for varying skills. The prospective employee must do more than write a product blurb or place a price tag on the screen. They want their marketer to contribute to the success of the business, to generate ideas, to manage the media.
But of course we are looking at a digital world today. The modern marketer has to understand it, and know how to keep ahead of the trends.
"They have to be creative in their use of technology," says Mr Kenning. They have to keep coming up with something new, a new expression or trend, "In a way that's going to be impactful for the business."
In other words, you have to keep on the ball. But if you do, your job will be pretty secure.
"It's encouraging that permanent hiring is projected to improve, indicating that employers are looking to strengthen marketing teams to help promote both new and existing services," said Morgane Martinez, Robert Walters Sydney Manager.
Of course this also then puts pressure on the firm to hold their staff and ensure that the permanence works both ways. Already marketing professionals tend to earn more than similarly placed middle-level executives. Also, 45 per cent of employers revealed that they are likely to give their staff a wage increase this year.
But another message that comes out clearly from these surveys is, that they seek interesting work and job satisfaction. They are more likely to look beyond the headline salary of any job offer, and then evaluate how happy they are with the job they find themselves in. So make sure you keep the work interesting if you want to hold them.
ray@ebeatty.com
Blog: themarketeer-raybeatty.blogspot.com
