The advertising and media sector has taken a hit on available jobs but there's strong demand for experts in crisis communications and internal communications, according to recruiter Commtract which specialises in communication, marketing, creative and digital.
These roles help companies respond to the COVID-19 pandemic as they arrange and communicate working from home arrangements.
"There is also ongoing demand for digital marketing, social media and content production across all sectors and particularly consumer lifestyle, corporate and government," says Commtract.
"This reflects the accelerated drive to digital and online platforms and the ongoing demand for internal skills to execute against these platforms."
Data from Deloitte suggests that by the end of 2020 almost 40% of the work force will be in some form of contingent, consultant or freelance worker.
Demand for Commtract’s services come from in-house marketing and communication departments seeking short-medium term contractors in lieu of increasing headcount.
There is also high demand for contractors to provide specialised skills, including writing, integrated campaigns (content production and digital skills) and specific projects (internal communications, COVID-19 initiatives or consumer campaigns).
In terms of contract roles, Commtract is seeing a pickup in flexible, remote opportunities probably being driven by the short-term working from home impetus.
Commtract had a 50% increase of talent registering on the its platform in March/April. This was a mix of existing freelancers increasing their exposure to the market, as well as people impacted by redundancies or contracts ending.
The opportunities
Commtract says the main opportunities are in corporate organisations (technology, financial services and resources) however there has been a significant rise in agency roles over the last three months.
This reflects the attractiveness of a scalable workforce in volatile times, both to deliver work for clients in higher-performing sectors and to support business development.
Commtract's tips on how to get noticed / best practice
- Specialise, specialise, specialise! Employers are calling on short term, highly technical skills for specific projects. For example, good copy writers are now specialising in sectors and even niche topics, PR professionals are specialising in both sectors and even geographies, and there are a host of dedicated proof-readers, editors and speechwriters in the marketplace.
- Understand your value proposition and articulate it. This relates to finding your niche, and it helps potential clients know exactly who you are and how you can help them specifically. In a field of 10 candidates, you need to pitch a point of difference to stand out.
- Give serious thought to your consulting and contracting structure, rate card and make sure you have addressed your superannuation, tax and insurance obligations. Obtain professional advise to ensure you’re setup to run and grow your contracting work successfully.
- Stay connected to your industry and community via peak bodies, communities like Commtract and Linked IN. There is significant opportunity to access resources to find work, skill-up or learn from best practice campaigns.
- Upskill – use the time when you are between projects or without work to include skills that will most likely be in demand going forward – e.g. digital space, change management
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