Looking for a needle in a haystack? You should try a different field
The Drum has launched its first ever Digital Trading Awards, designed to reward transparency and efficiency in the increasingly complex digital ad ecosystem. Here sponsor Propel founder and CEO Melina Jacovou speaks of the digital advertising talent shortage, as part of the ongoing series of articles to be published on The Drum in the run-up to the awards, which highlight the importance of online accountability.
It’s no secret that digital advertising is suffering from a talent shortage. From a recruitment perspective this is great news: clients need talent more than ever but don’t have the resources to find it themselves. But from a wider, industry perspective it’s a problem that seems to have no obvious solution.
But this may be due to the fact the one of the best solutions isn’t immediately obvious.
The talent shortage itself is caused by a number of different factors, but the primary issue is that everyone is looking for people to hit the ground running. The majority of the digital advertising industry work with high pressure and time constraints, and hiring managers are looking for instant, perfect fits to pick up the pace immediately and slot in seamlessly.
The concept of hiring potential and training it up over time is outdated for a large proportion of roles. Training in general is, if not entirely absent, certainly valued a lot, lot less, and as a result businesses continue to look externally rather than from within to fill critical positions. And there’s only a finite pool of talent available at any one time.
The thinking behind this, however, is questionable to a significant degree, and there is certainly a case to be made for hiring managers being too inflexible, despite their evidently pressing requirements. And one phenomenon which is beginning to fuel this line of questioning more and more could potentially prove to be the solution that everyone is looking for.
A significant trend has emerged, well evidenced by our recent placements, whereby digital advertising businesses are hiring staff with the requisite skills, but – interestingly - from other industries entirely.
This more open-minded approach is reaping dividends since the new recruits, despite needing to adjust to a new industry, are often more skilled than the majority of available candidates within digital. And while before these businesses were continually competing to hire from within the same small pool of talent, now – by looking further afield - they are luring quality candidates that others don’t even know exist.
Mathematics and statistics-focussed roles provide one of the most prevalent examples: instead of chasing after the same people as everyone else, intelligent, forward-thinking organisations are instead turning to the world of finance for their next hire. Many with these skill sets have, from the beginning of their education, been led to believe that finance was their ‘natural’ career choice, and as a result much of the best talent can be found there.
But having previously seen finance as their only option, plenty are only too happy to have their horizons expanded and their ears pricked by an entirely different proposition. And digital can seem a very exciting proposition indeed.
Businesses should be aware, however, that now is the perfect time to hire from other industries, because few are doing it. Those that take the leap today will likely reap the benefits, because tomorrow that talent pool will be smaller than it was.
It’s a risk, perhaps, but it’s a calculated risk, and one which can give you a significant competitive edge. And I can guarantee the talent pool will seem much bigger if you dive in at the deep end.
The Drum has launched the Digital Trading Awards to reward clarity, transparency and client service when it comes to digital advertising. Find out more at digitaltradingawards.com
The deadline for award entries is 6 February. For those looking to request an extension please contact events manager Katy Thomson.