Thanks to the power of the internet, many industries had to change the way operations are done. The print journalism industry for example, is still transitioning to a more digital-savvy audience while recovering from historic print-advertising lows.
Creative agencies have been especially affected by the advertising shift. Unfortunately because these changes are fairly new, there are not enough job seekers on the market that have digital marketing skills, according to a study from the Online Marketing Institute.
Due to this shortage, about 71 percent of recruiters are in the position of having to hire those who are “strong in some digital areas, but mediocre and weak in others,” the report explained.
“The digital space continues to evolve rapidly, and agencies are finding it challenging to hire and retain digital marketing talent with the skills necessary to deliver quality creative and strategy,” Aaron Kahlow, CEO of the Online Marketing Institute, said in the press release.
However, human resources departments in some of these agencies shouldn’t give up quite yet. Through the support of HR software solutions, agencies can find applicants who have experience in fields related to digital marketing. Nowadays, technical skills and coding knowledge can be translated to multiple work sectors, but hiring managers need to get the right applicants in the door.
Participants from the study are hoping to get into the emerging digital marketing industry, which is expected to be a highly lucrative market. In 2012, businesses spent $62 billion on digital advertising, the Wall Street Journal reported. Companies that are wasting time looking through applications with the plain eye are going to fall further behind while others are creating innovative strategies.