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I was recently asked to comment on job prospects within the
data marketing sector by Data Strategy Magazine.
Luckily they took the less controversial comments (see
below)
Ian Thomas, managing director of Jobsworth Recruitment, says the
impact of the economic climate is very particular. "The number of
briefs we are seeing is the same, but the requirements are getting
tougher. Briefs are not being filled - instead of taking second
best, they will keep looking or place the position on hold," he
says.
This adds to the process of winnowing out that is currently
taking place. A job title that would be nice to have is unlikely to
be filled. Those that are must have will continue to get staffed
up. But the successful candidates will need to bring real skills to
bear, rather than just a general understanding.
Equally, those who are genuinely capable will not tolerate
working with the second-best. In this sense, data is just like the
world of football where skilled players like Robinho are unhappy
about the quality of the team they are currently playing in.
Thomas has already seen one candidate brought into to beef up
the web analysis skills within a major blue chip company who turned
down the opportunity on discovering that the existing in-house
capabilities were so far off the pace. "There are a lot of analysts
out there who are just churning out models," he notes.
Like consumers, however, there is also evidence that clients are
starting to trade-down their requirements. "Organisations don't
want all singing databases, they may just want a retention model.
They can get that using just one analyst," says Thomas.
With vendors offering not just easier-to-use data tools that
support this type of stripped-down operation, but also professional
services and consultancy on top of the software licence, clients
who were previously too daunted by the apparent cost of a customer
insight team may find themselves able to afford the new
recessionary model this year.
One major area that is seeing cut backs, however, is account
management within data owners and data services providers. Given
the dramatic reduction in prospecting activity, this is only to be
expected. Thomas says he has seen significant cuts of staff who
were effectively "order takers" with few real skills, whereas good
sales people who can develop new business remain in strong
demand.
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