60% of advertising and marketing executives anticipate increased hiring.

According to The Creative Group’s annual hiring survey, a majority of employers within the creative field plan to hire in the coming year. Sixty percent of advertising and marketing executives polled said their firms plan to increase staffing levels in the next 12 months. Nearly half (49 percent) of respondents said their company’s efforts to attract new talent have increased in the past year. Placing want ads, networking and enlisting the help of staffing firms were the most commonly cited recruiting tactics.

The survey was developed by The Creative Group, a specialized staffing service providing marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals on a project basis. It was conducted by an independent research firm and includes 250 responses — 125 from advertising executives with the nation’s 1,000 largest advertising agencies and 125 from senior marketing executives with the nation’s 1,000 largest companies.

Those whose firms have increased their recruiting efforts were asked, “Which of the following recruiting tactics are you using more frequently than you did a year ago?” The top responses were placing want ads online (48 percent); networking (42 percent) and enlisting the help of staffing or recruiting firms (36 percent). (Multiple responses were permitted.)

“The job market for creative professionals remains strong, particularly for those with a deep understanding of Internet-based marketing, which is where many advertising and promotional dollars are being directed,” said Dave Willmer, executive director of The Creative Group.

Willmer added that companies recruiting for hard-to-fill positions should leave no stone unturned. “The most effective hiring managers use every resource available when searching for talent — from creating detailed job descriptions to seeking out referrals to working with staffing firms. After all, a business is only as good as its people, so it pays — literally — to find the best.”

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