Digital and Data - Market Update 2021

With Auckland recruitment gaining momentum post the second lockdown in Q2, digital recruitment continued the upwards trend at a faster pace than other markets. Senior level digital transformation roles produced a high number and calibre of candidates both from those arriving back from overseas and in NZ. A combination of both contract and permanent opportunities were available and employers were willing to pay competitively to secure the right talent.

In digital, the most challenging talent shortages appear to be in the Intermediate digital marketing space, with over 300 roles currently being advertised. Also, in UX/UI, with over 250 roles in Auckland alone. With this in mind clients may need to decide which combination of skills are going to help fill some of their needs if they can’t find the elusive unicorn.

Social media also saw an uplift in job postings given consumer demand for information and businesses pushing out their offerings through various channels. Experience in community management was a key skill set as was those who had more strategic input into social direction. Again, employers have not been short of numbers applying but candidates who are currently in social media roles (as opposed to having experience posting on social media) have created a real opportunity for those wishing to specialise. Less than 1,000 candidates attest to being social media specialists in NZ, which is scary given the power it has!

Hiring within the data space continues to produce a high number of responses to advertisements this quarter. The combination of candidates needing both the technical capability and softer skill set has produced complexity in the hiring process,  in that hiring managers may need to ‘flex’ on their typical non-negotiables to ensure their roles are not open too long. Hiring demand is up 16% across NZ in the past 12 months which shows how the ‘unicorn with wings’ profile is becoming more of a reality than myth! As businesses continue to understand the value of data, there is also an upwards trend of newly created roles to help make good commercial decisions. The challenge in this has meant roles have sometimes needed to be rescoped to unlock each company’s true requirements. 

From a recruitment point of view, clients feel the best way of securing their talent is to spread their net far and wide which has seen some roles having over five recruitment agencies working on it. This has not helped with the quality challenge as agencies rush to submit candidates first as opposed to the best.  I would urge employers to think about partnering with those that are best suited to advise and consult you through the process.

Get in touch with our experienced Digital & Data team.