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A recurring series highlighting current and emerging trends in the Creative, Digital, and Marketing spaces.
The extended summer heat seems to have finally broken just in time for the back-to-school rush. And, just as the seasons always change, so does the state of business and markets. As such, there have been several encouraging signs in the world of creative, digital, and marketing. Companies are hiring faster and candidate outlook is steadily improving—holding promise for growth for the remainder of the year.
Hiring has remained steady throughout the first half of 2024. Notably, at Planet Interactive specifically, it has even ticked upwards slightly over the summer, which is often a slower time of year in staffing.
“Hiring has picked up across the board, I would say. We’re seeing an increase in demand for Project Managers, Graphic Designers, Marketing Analysts, UX professionals and all-around Creative Production.” – Marissa Marinkovich, Sr. Recruiter
For us at Planet Interactive, key industries as of late include the financial services and retail space, which show signs of growth for the remainder of the year. As such, the creative and digital market is likely to be more favorable for candidates within these specific verticals.
Another positive sign we’ve observed is the lengthening in the duration of contracts for candidates. Certainly, candidates had been able to secure long-term contract engagements earlier in the year and in 2023, but a significant plurality of this work was devoted largely to short-term projects. Many of our partners, for instance, needed talent first and foremost to meet the demands of “overflow” work. Now in the latter half of 2024, companies are beginning to take a longer view, and they're hiring talent for longer contract engagements.
Along with the longer contracts, we’ve also seen a shortened time-to-hire for Creative, Digital, and Marketing roles. Earlier in the year, and certainly in 2023, it was not uncommon for hiring teams to put candidates through several rounds of interviews before deciding to pull the trigger. Naturally, this exacerbated worries and unease among job seekers about the state of the market.
Today, however, the state of hiring has improved, translating into more positive candidate sentiment about the market. The fact is that Creative and Digital staffing has become more competitive in recent years, pushing companies to hire faster than they otherwise might.
“Right now, a lot of clients want to make a hire as fast as possible. Many are submitting an offer to candidates after two interviews, and some even just after one. With the marginally improving outlook, they don’t want to lose talent to their competition.” – Riki Nehez, National VP of Client Relations
It also bears mentioning that this speed-up in time-to-hire also comes during an election year. In the past, this has usually led to extreme caution on the part of companies and dampened hiring activity within virtually all sectors of the economy. In spite of this historical trend, creative industries—with digital marketing and web development in particular—have remained remarkably resilient. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected a 16% growth rate for digital marketing and creative, a much more significant increase compared to other occupations.
One of the largest creative recruitment companies in the US, Planet Interactive offers talent solutions focused solely on Creative, Digital, & Marketing roles.
With a passion for design, a keen sense for technology trends, and an unwavering commitment to service excellence and long-term relationships, Planet Interactive matches all star creatives and digital marketers with exceptional opportunities across the globe.
Looking for a new opportunity in the Creative, Digital & Marketing space? Find a position where you can apply your expertise and broaden your skillset today!
Photo Credit: Unsplash
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