Digital Media is truly international, there is a reason why the internet is classed as the world wide web! But what geographical areas are adding the value, and where are the real innovators based?

In the UK most will go for London, understandably. The big media agencies and niche digital businesses can all be found here with the vast majority of the talent right on the doorstep. London is a great place for digital too, the culture, environment and passion for digital media fits the modern day profile of the big city.

Outside of London it becomes less clear.

In my own experience I started to recruit for digital media companies in Bristol. I recall an agency based right in the middle of the city that was particularly involved in early formats of football club websites – no interaction with fans or on demand videos in those days! There was a real buzz about Bristol and I quickly established relationships with similar agencies who were really embracing digital technologies and looking for new ways to gain greater exposure for brands online. For this reason I have always had an affection for the region when it comes to business, but I get a sense that progress has slowed in recent years.

Having recruited out of Birmingham for most of my career you would expect the “second city” to also be a favourite. Although I appreciate there are some good brands and real innovators that work in and around the West Midlands, for real presence within the online community it has always been left behind by its biggest rival, Manchester! Without mentioning any names directly there are some big players in Manchester and also some key branches of some of the larger businesses operating from London. Creative, technical and strategic skills are often sought and the population around the North West generally delivers with innovative and entrepreneurial skills. Birmingham could be on the verge of challenging though as I am personally working with companies that have relocated from the South East with a preference for repopulating their business in this area.

A mention should also go to Leeds, an area that has seen real improvement over recent years and can now support a modern industry such as digital media. Further north we have Edinburgh, also a fundamental player within the UK digital market and home to some key online marketing talent. This is a cultural city that attracts some great conceptual design but strategic online marketing also has a place in this region.

Honourable mentions also to Cambridge, particularly strong in technical development and smaller towns in the Home Counties that tend to attract the smaller digital agencies that offer a less corporate appeal.

Internationally the States is an obvious one, just look at all the activity generated within Social Media for proof, and Asia from a development perspective. European countries are getting onboard the digital bandwagon, with my favourite being the Netherlands at the moment.

Do you agree with any of the locations I’ve mentioned or feel there should be another area deserving of praise? I would be interested in hearing from people who can be a real advocate for their region and so offer an insiders view.

Ashley Seddon

ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk

Is it time to dump your database and focus your energies on social media sites?

This is a question I put to fellow recruiters recently on one of the many group discussion boards on LinkedIn. Most thought this was a ridiculous idea, taking the stance that your database is your USP and to get rid would be similar to cutting your telephone wires. In fairness it was a leading question as there would be no need to get rid of your database and for documenting feedback it will remain the primary tool for a recruiter.

My point was actually based around the ability these days to network vacancies across social sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and not find it necessary to address your own database. It is important these days to build communities on social sites and target specialist audiences. These captive audiences can help you by either directly showing interest in opportunities, or by passing your vacancies to their own network of contacts. In many cases at Digital Personnel we are able to network opportunities to groups of specialists within the digital space and have fully qualified candidates eager to pursue vacancies without so much as even thinking about a search on our private database.

Candidates from these sites usually appear with a full career history, a record of their interactions with blogs and notable websites and a comprehensive list of recommendations. This could actually be construed as a dream come true for the recruitment industry! This is not new news but what will require further thought is how to engage these audiences of potential candidates and what strategies need to be implemented to grow appropriate and rewarding communities. Are recruitment agencies ready to build themselves a brand and communicate daily with their associates? It will be interesting to see how this develops over time.

Of course there are also rewards to be found from clients. By building a stronger online presence, recruitment agencies will be able to further their reach to potential business partners and if credible engagement with audiences is evident an employer would be wise to make the first move. I am not suggesting the canvass calls need to stop (utopia for many employers!) but this is potentially another route to further revenue streams.

Social media is an unstoppable force that will engulf the recruitment industry, and has already become the lead medium in some market sectors. A recruiters’ unique database is no longer a selling point, the ability to tap into the unlimited talent across the web and capitalise on this is how agencies will ultimately be judged.

Ashley Seddon

ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk

We are already well into the second half of 2009, a year that has been difficult economically to say the least. Despite the media trying its best to frighten all and sundry, there are positive signs and surely the recession has bottomed out, and as Yazz used to scream through the 80’s, the only way is up!

Job opportunities have fallen on average by around 13% this year, compared to last, and is the lowest since 2005, when I’m pretty sure we were not in recession! Despite the doom and gloom there are some great opportunities out there, but you will find that the competition for these roles has greatly increased. I mentioned on Twitter recently (@DigitalRec) that a snapshot of the current state of the digital media recruitment market could be that the experienced have options, but candidates with potential have been hung out to dry. Not too many people disagreed with this.

The problem is that no one is taking a gamble on a candidate, you really need to be a perfect match both technically and culturally. Potential is great, but companies need instant results in a tough financial climate. Anyone out of work, or looking to be re-positioned elsewhere, has to look at every brief as an opportunity – can you be the “star” candidate? Unfortunately though you could be the star the client is looking for, and find out that the role has been put on hold until next January! This is the unpredictability of recruitment in 2009.

The good news is that reports suggest a recent upturn in adverts placed online, hopefully an indication of better times to come. I think this has been helped by everyone noting the financial implications of the current economy and some sense now being applied to salaries and agency fees. Opportunities will continue to be there for the taking, some businesses are down to the bare bones and to trade successfully will need to reinvest in staff, digital agencies are picking up new clients and need the talent to service new brands and new innovations mean new skills will be sought – the cycle will go on.

To conclude, please find below expected average salaries for key positions within the digital market at this time. Analysis from Digital Personnel records, average salaries from across the UK.

Ashley Seddon

ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk

For those not involved with the LinkedIn Digital Personnel Group, it is a platform for digital media professionals to be kept up-to-date with new opportunities, news and discussion in the digital space and also to provide a valuable networking platform.

The group has now topped 1000 members!

I would like to thank all contributors to the group, those who have added their thoughts to the discussion board, added interesting news stories and those who have utilised the job board so effectively that all members have had instant access to some great opportunities within the digital space.

The most effective part of the group though can not be physically seen on screen. I set the group up to provide the networking capabilities of a tight, solely focused digital media platform. I know from first hand experience, and comments from others, that the group has provided members with new contacts that have improved the quality of their digital media offering immeasurably.

The Digital Personnel Group has tight restrictions on how to use the platform and hopefully members have seen the benefit of this. The discussion board is to be used for discussion pieces only, all ads and LION type connection requests are removed immediately. This is not a case of being overly precious, just that there are many other groups that allow for open networking of this nature. Please add your own discussion topics as the close moderation of this facility allows members instant access to discussions that are relevant in the market right now.

The news section allows for a less moderated way to utilise the group. All I would ask is that there is a digital media theme, but be it an advertisement for your company, seminar, conference or personal blog, please feel free to use this medium. I keep the news area up to date with new articles daily so it does perform a very active part of the group experience.

Finally there is the job board. Thanks to all recruiters who are using this facility to further their reach for new positions within the digital space. Our members cover every discipline within digital so there is always likely to be an interested party, or someone who will network it out to others, so please keep this area populated with fantastic new opportunities.

If you would like to suggest new ways of improving the Group I can be contacted directly at ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk.

Digital Personnel is successfully battling through the economic downturn by providing a cost-effective recruitment solution to all businesses looking to improve their experience online. I am thankful that we operate in a marketplace that has shown real determination through this period and performed heroically by continuing to grow and exceed all expectations. Our team offers many years experience of recruiting within the digital space and we look forward to adding value to businesses across the world for many years to come.

If you are not a member, but have a LinkedIn profile, please go to http://micurl.com/4e46hy to find out more and request to join.

Ashley Seddon
ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk

So we are in Recession, or at least experiencing economic decline. How has this affected the job market in the digital media space? Unsurprisingly there is a bit of good news but also a bit of bad.

Let’s get bad out of the way first!

Quite simply, many professionals from across the market have lost their jobs. Whether you are a junior designer and copped the “last in first out” syndrome or a senior professional that is “unfortunate” enough to be a big earner you may well have found yourself expendable. Of course some businesses have not coped at all well and have closed down, cowering under the weight of unfulfilled expectation. This has created a rich candidate pool and one that has become highly competitive.

On the good side the industry is still showing signs of growth, although depleted, and so there are worse markets to be involved in. In fact some would say we have been extremely lucky to have been involved in digital during this precarious time. The industry has shown to be robust, resilient and strong enough to react and offer further innovation. Businesses that are finding it difficult have embraced the online platform to get their message across to their customers. This has resulted in opportunity for professionals to join highly innovative businesses in the digital space and find a career path that may not have been as clearly defined as before.

So where is the competition at its fiercest?

I have never known the market to have so many client-facing professionals looking for work. This is great news for agencies that are recruiting for these skills because 12 months ago they were as rare as a vote now is for the Labour Party! Account Executives, Account Managers / Directors and CSD’s have found themselves out of work, not through under-performance but mainly due to their clients folding or restricting their advertising budget. The interview process is now crucial as decisions are being based on personality and culture match as experience levels are so similar. The opportunities are out there but if you turn up with a Java Chip Frappuccino in hand and i-Pod plugged in don’t expect the business to be welcoming you back for a second interview.

Creative and technical staff do seem to have fared better, indicating that employers are keen to maintain their production levels. New roles have remained consistent so the competition has remained roughly the same. Project Managers, Producers and Production Managers have not been as lucky although again there is opportunity out there, although there is a larger quantity of other applicants for these roles too.

The biggest winners in all this are the contractors, particularly those who are responsible for the user journey, the motto being buy them in and let them go once they’ve done their bit.

Search went through a peak period recently, and there is still great demand. A slight reduction was inevitable although Paid Search specialists should be a little more concerned than their SEO counterparts. Interesting to see that the client-side is now starting to offer positions in this space, an area traditionally dominated by specialist agencies until recently

I couldn’t possibly cover all disciplines in a short blog piece but my general feeling is that the digital market as a whole is coping well and creating excellent opportunities for those with the talent and motivation to seek out the best opportunities. My observations are open to debate, and crucially digital is such a fast-moving industry that trends can change dramatically in a short space of time.

However, for now the competition for roles is greater than it has been for some time, possibly ever, so get talking to people who understand the dynamics of recruitment in the digital arena.

Our number is 01527 64288.

Ashley Seddon
ashley.seddon@digitalpersonnel.co.uk