Update & insights in the current climate 2021

The Market 

It’s booming! Since the start of April, and the new financial year for many, businesses have wanted and/or needed to get their growth plans back on track. Because of this, there have been multiple roles to fill, in order to meet business objectives quickly.  

We have seen a fairly even spread across Creative, Digital and Marketing, with particularly high demand in PR, Social, Multi-Media and senior-level Design/Creative. Demand is still unrelenting however, with many active candidates now snapped up, these next few months we will start to see a shortage of candidates. This, of course, makes the job of recruitment challenging (although we love life a challenge!), but it’s good news for candidates that are in demand.  

Candidates in demand can expect multiple opportunities (depending on what you are looking for), with salaries becoming more seductive, and an increase in the range of flexible working benefits.  

For skill sets that haven’t been quite so in demand, there is no doubt that adding skills to your existing talents is no bad thing. For example, on the creative side, if Graphic Design is at your core, consider adding basic animation and/or video editing to your skill set. 

For anyone hesitant to move, due to rumours of further lockdowns, etc., we believe and have been assured, on good authority, that the climate is secure and will continue to thrive.  

For the businesses that are thriving, they survived the storm, had the chance to re-set, and are in a healthier and more secure place than ever. Any recruitment decisions are always carefully thought through (as it is a costly process), so you can be reassured that businesses are not making knee-jerk decisions to recruit. Those that are cautious are using freelance and we have seen a gentle increase in the use of freelancers over these past couple of months.  

Specifically looking at the agency side, we have seen a move (post lockdown) towards friendlier hours, flexi working and the awareness of people’s well-being deservedly moving up many business agendas. There is a perception that all agency employment will involve unsociable hours, but this has never been the case for all, and we have clearly seen a change in this regard. Our advice is to re-visit the option of agency if this is the only reason that has put you off in the past. We can advise you on ways to unearth the realities of a particular company’s culture. 

Consulting with you 

Please don’t forget we are here to consult with you: 

• If you are not quite ready to start your job search: Do you need to know if your salary expectations are realistic? Do you want some insight into certain locations in the UK, should you be considering a relocation? - Between the team at BTB, we have most areas in Central England, South and London covered. Do you want to skill up, but not sure what in?  

• If you drop us an email and let us know what you need help with, we will let you know how we can help, whether that’s a pending webinar, we have specific content/advice piece available for you to take advantage of, or if our tailored 1:1 consultancy is most appropriate (this is paid for, albeit very reasonably priced and full of value). 

• If you are now actively looking again but haven’t got around to telling us: Please don’t wait to see a live role appear on our website or on a job alert! We don’t advertise all of our roles and, for particular skills that are in high demand, we can be proactive and champion you to a range of client partners.  

Do get in touch with the BTB consultant you already know or visit our team page to see who is best to reach out to. Other than that, just pick up the phone and ask! We love a phone call and can be reached on 01789 451510. 

‘Thank you’ scheme 

Please remember we do like to say thank you, should we place anyone, new to us, that you have directly referred. We’re not big fans of referral schemes - It feels so transactional and un-human – However, the truth is we really do appreciate any help in identifying talent we may have missed, and therefore we offer a thank you of £150 vouchers, of your choice.