Identifying in-demand roles and growing sectors

- If you've exhausted all resources and opportunities at your current company, it's time to look elsewhere. So here's the good news. It's a good time to be a creative job seeker. Let's look at some of the research around the creative employment market and what positions employers are looking for. The unemployment rates are low and demand is high for those with design, creative, marketing, and IT in their background. As a matter of fact, our research showed that 9% of those executives that we surveyed said that they're adding to staff. Their teams are getting larger, and 64% said that they are filling vacated roles. So that means the vast majority of hiring managers, companies, are looking for talent. That's not to mention those that maybe haven't vacated a position just yet. However, these same managers said that it's challenging to find skilled creative professionals. As a matter of fact 45% of those that we surveyed said that they find it challenging to have the skills both hard and soft skills in the marketplace that they are looking for for their organization. Hiring managers at large advertising agencies expect to have the greatest challenge or difficulty in finding the talent that they're looking for. So these are agencies of over 100 or more employees and 67% of them reported that it's either somewhat or very challenging to find the talent that they are looking for for their agency. Part of this challenge may be that there are more open positions than candidates looking for a job and we know that to be true. I happen to be from the San Francisco Bay Area and in the San Francisco Bay Area as an example over the last six months there have been over 20,0000 jobs posted for individuals with experience in user experience and user interface, both research design and development. Yet, in terms of active candidates that are looking for opportunities with that skill set there are just a little bit over 4,000. So 20,000 jobs, 4,000 active candidates, and we know that to be true in many design roles and professions. It may be difficult and it is difficult for companies to fill roles according to our research. And yet at the same time the roles that are open for job seekers it's important to recognize that there still is stiff competition. You are up against many talented professionals for that role. So it's still not an easy feat despite the demand to land a design role. Competition for creative positions has become more intense over the last few years. Despite increased demand and decrease of supply it's still increasingly competitive. So, employers are being more selective. One of the reasons we talked about this in the previous sessions is trying to find the right hard and soft skills plus cultural fit and dedication to the company's goals is really, really important to organizations. Advertising and marketing executives receive more resumes and are interviewing more candidates for roles than they were three years ago. So as an example average of 32 resumes were submitted or reviewed for an open creative position most recently which increased from 23 resumes in 2014. Our research also showed that managers interview on average seven individuals before filling a creative position. In 2014 that was six. So they're seeing more resumes, they have access to more candidates, they're interviewing more than they were when we did the same research in 2014. So our research shows that one of the top areas that executives plan to add staff is in mobile design and development. That probably doesn't come as a surprise to you. Most everyone uses a mobile device and as a result companies need professionals who can help them develop a mobile presence, right, and considering their designs and their creative approach for all touch points for a customer. So as a result, there is a shift, not just in mobile, but in digital overall. There is a shift towards digital in today's design industry. Many companies are looking for creative professionals who can redesign or improve their websites, can create digital graphics, motion graphics, and more. We expect that in the years to come we will no doubt be designing for devices, not just mobile, but consideration for voice, but also using data to inform much more of what we do. Demand areas you might want to think about, think IoT, the internet of things, think augmented reality, virtual reality, think the importance of artificial intelligence, and how is that going to change the way not only we design but how organizations need to communicate their brand, their product to their consumer. Here are some other design positions that we see are currently in demand and this is helpful to know if you're thinking about branching out and looking for opportunities elsewhere. Where is the demand? You'll notice that most of these positions have a digital emphasis. We've talked quite a bit already about user experience and for some that seems to be kind of a catch all but for those that are really experts in their area they will tell you that it takes deep expertise. The areas that we see demand are in user experience design. Those individuals that not only can take a concept to simplify the way in which it is delivered online but to create prototypes and visuals associated with a good online experience. In order to do that we also see opportunities for those with deep experience in user experience research. The ability to build use cases, case studies, personas, and understand how a customer or a user may ultimately utilize a digital tool to interact with a brand or a product. User interface design, so it goes hand it hand with user experience design. These are individuals who decide how a product or a website is laid out, working very closely with user experience and other designers. As we work through that process there's increasing opportunities for those with experience doing front end web development. We talked about this previously in terms of hard skills like HTML, CSS, JavaScript. These are individuals who can develop appealing and user friendly web and mobile based applications that function and communicate with back office systems. Other opportunities that are on the rise is content strategist, the ability to create a memorable, lasting impression with a customer through the use of content that is fresh, relevant, and delivered to a consumer to build the reputation of a brand and that's not just about the creation of relevant content, but it's using the channels to distribute that content that will leave brand impressions and build intimacy between the customer and its brand. Other opportunities that are in demand are those that have an understanding and experience and expertise in digital strategy. So this is not as much about the design but it identifies digital marketing strategies and campaigns using web based tools to conduct market research, to define target audiences, and to determine the appropriate media channels for brand messages. In other words, what do you do on your web? What do you do on mobile apps? What is your presence on social media? What is your presence on content? What is your presence on online advertising? And then how do you utilize search? So those are just some of the channels that a digital strategist needs to explore. And another opportunity is we talked about the importance of data, the importance and the rise of artificial intelligence, a marketing analytics manager, data analyst. These are individuals that provide data driven insights to help companies improve processes and meet their business goals by leveraging data from marketing automation and customer relationship management software. With the rise in the availability of data there's a whole career path of opportunities there that will inform strategic initiatives for companies. So these are just a sampling of some of the most in demand positions where you see that there's increased demand and maybe not enough supply of qualified professionals with that experience. So, if you're in one of those areas that's a great opportunity for you. If you'd like to look at maybe pivoting and doing something different those are opportunities that you can expand your skill set and might be worth exploring. Of course there are many other design career paths as well and there are many that you can take and in demand roles change often depending on industry trends. So you do want to personalize it according to what's available in the market but also where are your passions and where are your skills and experience. Keep these industry trends in mind and stay updated with industry changes by subscribing to creative and design publications. So whether that be through LinkedIn Learning, whether that be through your LinkedIn connections, associations that you're involved with, or through organizations like ours. The Creative Group releases research throughout the year on industry trends. I would highly encourage you to stay current on those industry trends. You can check our blog and annual salary guide for the latest news, but much of that content and information is available to you online and through industry groups. Now that you know what's hot in the design industry it's important to start thinking about your options and preferences when looking for a new job. You may want to ask yourself, do you want to work for a small company, or a large company? Are you looking to go in house or are you looking for an agency or a consulting position? Think about what are the growing industries. Do you have the skills and experience related to that industry? And finally, how could you turn a passion, something you're really committed to, into a career or into a job? We'll go over these and more in the following videos.