The Deep End of the Talent Pool

OK, so yesterday we got the ball rolling and today its time to, ah... Well, were not sure what metaphor to use here... Kick the ball maybe? What were trying to say is this is part two of the story we started yesterday.

So we all know getting in to the industry can be kinda tough... but it turns out there are plenty of opportunities that simply werent around a few years back. According to Kirsty Parkin at Aquent theres lots of growth outside of the traditional big agencies. Which, lets face it, is just as bloody well seeing as the traditional big agencies here in Adelaide are as rare as hens beaks in a KFC factory. There are a lot of creative jobs in places you might not think of Kirsty explained, giving examples that include government departments and various clients who use in-house resources, even if they also have an agency.

Of course, the other thing were all aware of is the growth of smaller agencies and consultancies. While some of the bigger players look to recruit outside of SA, most other businesses are happy to source local talent, and according to Kirsty just cause one place doesnt want you, doesnt mean you wont be snapped up by another. Shes found many businesses have their own style of creative they go looking for. Some places are headline and copy driven while others are more about the big idea. Some businesses are even happy to hire outside of the advertising square and train them up. Its not about good or bad but about finding the right person for that style of agency she said. Some fundamentals still apply across all of these jobs though, like the potentially tough first year out of college knocking on doors and knowing software like InDesign as well as Quark - which has become more of an issue in recent years as the bastards at Quark finally get what was coming to them for holding everyone to ransom with their ridiculously priced software for the past decade.

We have to wonder though, is taking a job at a low or even no profile place career suicide? Not according to Kirsty. Especially if you also try and bust your way into Award School and make sure you get real world skills in the workplace like learning CS3. And yes, at the risk of sounding like old farts telling the when I was a boy stories, the younger tackers coming through do want to be creative director by the end of week one. Not theres anything wrong with being ambitious, but geesh, theres a bit to be said for earning your stripes. One thing we do have to do is acknowledge were living in a very different world. Case in point, the average of term of employment is now just 15 months! thats incredible, and not great news for employers Kirsty points out. (Although probably really good news for employment agencies like Aquent who help out with these games of musical chairs!) But weve been through a boom so young people have more choices. These guys can swap and change as they like. We can call them fickle, but theyre having jobs waved in front of them - and theyre taking them. Its market driven.

The good news, if we can call it that, is that as the baby boomers get set to retire unless we come up with robots or some carp like that it looks like therell be a massive shortfall of employees in the not so distant future, and at that time employers are going to be forced to drop some of their prejudices in pursuit of the perfect employee. That includes, how do we put this delicately, ah, you know more mature people (ie old farts over 45) who are currently having some troubles finding good jobs in our industry as employers pursue "younger, tech savvy recruits who fit into their idea of young culture.

So there ya go. We admit, it took us two bloody days to tell you what you probably already knew: yes, theres a talent shortage! Or at least a talent merry go round. But hopefully we uncovered a few interesting things for you as well. If youre a young person looking for a gig, look wider. If youre a mid-weight, this is your time. And if youre an old fart, hang in there cause all is not lost. And if youre a tech savvy nerd, youll probably get paid more than the rest of us combined - just so long as you can stay ahead of the 12 year olds wholl be after your job in a few years time.

PREVIOUS PART OF THE STORY