As such, we thought it would be useful to share with you some of the candidate and industry trends we’ve seen over the last few months.

• Firstly, and most interestingly, there are now fewer candidates who are seeking roles due to redundancy. This means that the legions of immediate starters that recruiters have been supplying all year will reduce.

• One immediate consequence of the above trend is that candidates are becoming more cautious about accepting offers. Candidates are considering every aspect of changing agencies and we’d urge clients to brush up on interview techniques – it’s no longer a one way discussion.

• Full service agencies that were once niche appear to be extending their offering to fight off competition and retain existing clients, as well as pitching for new ones also.

• A further evident area of growth is new business development. It would seem that across the board agencies are seeing the benefit of dedicated business development roles to help expand and deepen their client base going forward.

• The job market for creatives is still slow and highly talented creatives are still considering lower salaries. However, we would expect this situation to change in the next quarter so it might be a question of making hay while you can. Creative candidates in the last few weeks have reported an increase in freelance bookings – however this may be a seasonal trend rather than a permanent move in the market.

• On the whole agency recruitment has seen an increase in July, sustaining growth in August. In particular emerging trends show signs of development in the PR and digital sectors as they become the more prominent channels of communication in the current times.

• To revisit a perennial and much talked about issue; juniors are still seeking advice on how to achieve a foothold in the industry. The recession has exacerbated the situation and many graduates are now taking the year off and going travelling.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on any of the above, similar or different, have your say.

Blue Skies thought it’d be useful if we shared with you some of the emerging trends we’ve seen over the last few months. Candidates often get forgotten in client job surveys but we’ve certainly picked up on some changes of late.

• Firstly, clients are demanding more volume for their money and looking more intently for candidates with specific backgrounds direct from the same industry.

• Overall, the most prominent demand for positions has been for strong marcomms candidates; good allrounders that demonstrate both on and offline expertise. This gives the client the flexibility and knowledge to use a variety channels to their target audience without having to outsource further.

• Retailers in particular seem to be increasing staff after bearing the brunt of the economic downturn, looking to upscale once again with specialist marketers.

• There has been an increase in the number of companies setting up and growing in-house creative divisions; clients are seeing the benefit of having an in-house resource to hand which reduces their costs long term by not outsourcing talent.

• With the market now starting to stabilise, Blue Skies is pleased to report a higher number of clients now experiencing growth and looking to recruit specialist marketers again.

These are trends we’ve seen coming through in the last few months and we would love to hear your thoughts also.

Following the more optimistic macro economic data of the last month or so, we asked our agency clients:

” When looking at your expectations for business over the next three to six months, are you ”

A, more positive than you were at the beginning of 2009 or
B, less positive than you were at the beginning of 2009 or
C, about the same as at the beginning of 2009 – no change

And the results are:

More positive: 47%
Less positive: 9%
No change: 44%

Although a high percentage continue to feel the same about business , 47 percent of respondents are feeling more optimistic going into Q3. Increased client spending, marketing initiatives coming into effect and strong business plans were all put forward as reasons for this positive outlook.

We wouldn’t claim a strong scientific grounding for these results – rather they simply give a snapshot of the agencies that took part. However, I think you’ll agree that most agencies seem to believe the worst of the recession has passed.

Interestingly, the Spring 2009 Marketing Trends Survey, published by The Chartered Institute of Marketing and conducted by Ipsos MORI, shows similar trends. According to the CIM the number of marketers who believe the UK economy will worsen in the next year is only 12% – down 22% on autumn 2008.

Patrick presented the 7 ideas that are used in advertising today

1. The Presenter – Needs to be believable, trustworthy and have similar values as the target market
2. Demonstration – Can you show what your product does or how they feel when they use it? Use exaggeration to make a point.
3. Problem/Solution – Show how the product can fix, ie new and improved, before and after, ‘feel trapped?’
4. The Analogy – Gives the idea shape.  Mostly visual ie what is it like?
5. Inversion – Reversal of expectations, ie The Economist does this well
6. Slice of Life – Bring the idea to the person, make it more real. Good example is Disney and their glass slipper advert
7. Borrowed Interest – Use stories around, ie Olympics

Dave Trott called it ‘ predatory thinking’, as in you need to know everything there is to know about the industry, the agencies and the key people.

Graham drove home Trott’s point, if you don’t do something different, you won’t get noticed! At the very least you must:

- Find out who the senior staff members are at an agency, CDs, MDs etc,
- Research the agency. What’s it been doing; winning accounts, awards and work etc
- Find out about the competition
- Immerse yourself in the industry – read the trade press

Graham finished by saying, to generate your ideas look at a product differently, be focused – get rid of the crap, think big!

Creative Directors are busy people with overflowing in-boxes and not enough hours in the day. You need to stand out from the crowd.  However Matt stressed CDs always want to see new talent coming through and understand they are only as good as their team. CDs look forwards (not backwards) and get very excited about bright, original work.

His tips for creating a strong online portfolio include:

-Take care in the details – links, browsers etc

-Be proud of taking risks

-Explore technology

-Don’t lose your audience before you start

-Be honest

-Don’t bore people

-Be transparent

-Share your rough visuals/scamps

-Try new ways to connect

-Push ideas out into a range of media

-Be contactable

-Don’t put up disappointing work

Paul kicked off the day by introducing several key figures that make up any agency, explaining what each does and giving tips for how you can get the most out of them. From Receptionist to GAD, CDs to MD, your colleagues are there to help, you just need to ask. For example befriend the receptionist, the one person that sees all the agency comings and goings, pick your AM’s brain, ask ADs/GADs for help on presenting, show the creative team your work before you show the CD, ask the Planning Director for feedback on your ideas. You probably won’t bump into all of these people every day, but interaction with them on any level will help you to get a better idea of the intricacies of agency life. Paul finished by stating the most important traits a young creative needs to demonstrate are passion, dedication and ideas.

Boycott dismal media – refuse to advertise in it
Take some of your recruitment pot and spend it on young talent
Spread Optimism

The Blue Skies Marketing Recruitment creative showcase held at the Hospital Club, on the 27th January, gave Rory the perfect opportunity to give the slightly beleaguered industry a well needed shot of positivity.

Know what you want
All too often candidates don’t really know what they want. To help clarify this create yourself a career objective:

- What do you want to do?
- Think about the role you are in, plus previous roles, what did you enjoy?
- What are your strengths?

Once you have identified these, you will be able to see what skills can be successfully transferred to other areas. Then you should have a clearer understanding of the direction you should be taking saving valuable time and getting yourself one step ahead of the competition.

What skills do I need to get there?

If you don’t have the necessary skills for a role, think about how best you can work towards getting them. Where you can try to get a good breadth of experience across disciplines, find out what areas you like and then develop strengths in that discipline; don’t be afraid to learn from your mistakes and peers, be a sponge, absorb all information. Remember it is the art of observing and learning that will stand you in good stead for your next step up.

Get yourself known
Any chances to network, take them, and that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to go to an actual event. Sites such as Linkedin, Marketing network and even blog sites such as Blogit will help you to talk to your fellow peers. Make yourself known to industry leaders as you need to sell yourself, show you can use your initiative and enhance your own creditability. Use the tools you know the best; word of mouth and personal recommendation are two of the most effective and credible forms of advertising.

Do your research
Just because you’re in a job now doesn’t mean you should stop reading and enhancing your industry knowledge. You need to be aware of what’s going on around you, strengthening your knowledge through a greater depth of interest which will ultimately add to your kudos when talking current industry affairs. Reference and support what you are talking about – it will show you have an inherent interest and appreciation of the industry.

Tailor yourself, you are a brand
Your CV is the single most important tool to getting you noticed and securing that all important interview. Ensure you strengthen and tailor your CV for each application, there will be key things you have done in your current or previous roles that will be more applicable to the each individual role you are applying for. Highlight these key credentials accordingly and use them to sell yourself in.

So you have got yourself an interview, now it’s time for preparation
It can sometimes seem like the simplest thing, but it can’t be emphasised enough how important being prepared is. It could be the difference between getting the job or not.

- Can you get to the location?
- Do you like the look of the company?
- What exactly do the company do and who do they do it for? Check out the company website, search for industry related articles, scour the press for cuttings, ask people around what they know about the company.
- Check the job description – ensure you have picked out key areas of the job description where you have strengths and can support this.
- Prepare questions and write them down – you can be sure you will have forgotten them when you are asked if not.
- Practice with a friend or partner to build your confidence, even the most experienced candidates lose their train of thought.

Hopefully you are now set and you have the best tips to help you get the right job, good luck!