Building a team or looking for your next role? Market Insights for Sales and Marketing Professionals in Australia

Goodbye 2020… Hello 2021!

What a strange year we have all just lived through, surreal just does not sum it up! But that’s what it is…. last year. So, let’s forget about 2020 for a moment and wonder what is happening in 2021 as we are already 1/8 of the way through it!

2021 has started with a bang. I don’t know if it is because nobody can go on holiday and are therefore back at their desks earlier or if 2020 plans have been pushed into 2021, but both organisations and job seekers have entered the New Year with aggressive company and personal goals and a lot of those revolve around building teams and changing jobs!

With a vaccine-led end in sight, organisations have a lot more confidence in the market and are busy putting plans in place to kick start their businesses again. The general consensus we have been hearing from our clients is that they are keen to get back to levels in line with Q4 2019 in both revenue and headcount.

Candidates are in a similar mindset and there is a large pool of talent who had intended to change jobs in 2020 but could not and are now eagerly hunting for new opportunities.

In terms of Sales and Marketing, this is what we are currently seeing in the market so far in 2021.

Candidates

There seems to be a huge appetite from candidates across all industries and sectors to change roles this year. There are a lot of people who had planned a move in 2020 that got put on the back burner and they are now very focused on a move in 2021. This seems to more highlighted at the senior level as we saw a big drop in senior opportunities in 2020.

At a more junior level, it is a very tight market for talent. Candidates who secured roles in the last couple of years are overall very happy in their current roles and are not active in the market.

Clients

Organisations have started 2021 very active in the market, we are seeing more active vacancies at a senior level across sales in Jan than we did in the last quarter of 2020. Organisations seem to fall into 2 categories at the moment, those trying to get back to profit in 2021 and those looking at disrupting the market and taking advantage of new opportunities. While there are more senior roles available the bulk of the sales and marketing roles being recruit are in the junior to mid-level.

According to SEEK, an Australian employment marketplace platform, job ads have seen a steady incline since the beginning of the year. They have reported a job ad increase on its platform of 147.7% for Marketing Roles, 128.1% for Sales Development Representative roles, 74.7% for roles in Communications, 68.4% for General Sales roles, and 64.4% in Digital Marketing Manager roles.

Below is a quick overview of what we are currently experiencing in the Tech & B2B, Financial Services, and Professional Services Markets.

Tech & B2B

This has been the busiest sector in 2021 so far. We are seeing a lot of the tech companies expanding their teams with roles ranging from VP of Sales, VP of Customer Success, Marketing Directors to Sales Directors, Marketing Demand Generation, Account Exec’s, and Business Development Managers.

The software organisations have a mostly internal digital sales model so switching to a work from home model had little disruption for them. With a solid last 12 months in ANZ, the software players are all now looking to increase their footprint in Asia, with Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong the main target for companies. Field Marketing and Demand generation Marketing candidates are particularly sought after as organisations move into new regions.

We are also seeing a big push by consultancy organisations to hire Sales and Marketing staff. The COVID-19 pandemic has fast-forwarded Business and Digital transformation projects that were scheduled 2-3 years away, however, are now scheduled for 2021, so we are seeing a lot of activity in the Consultancy and Business Transformation firms, as they are ramping up for a busy year.

Financial Services

The traditional Banking sector is still a little quiet at the moment, with demand for senior roles outstripping the volume of roles in the market. The last quarter of 2020 was the busiest quarter of the year for Financial Services, and we have already seen a sizeable pickup with clients in this sector, who are also predicting a busy year ahead.

2020 saw an increase in junior content, digital and communication roles as clients continued to build their online offering and increase online communications. We also witnessed a decrease in the frequency of strategic senior hires. As a result, there are still a lot of senior marketing candidates in the market.

Demand for Private Wealth Managers, Private Bankers and Advisors who have large books of business remain very strong with many Private Wealth firms keen to expand.

Foreign Exchange, ETF’s and CFD firms are continuing to hire junior BDM’s and relationship managers as they look to secure new clients in APAC and EMEA from Australia.

Professional Services

After a very quiet 2020, we are starting to see a good uplift in roles across the sector. There has already been significant movement in the Business Development and Marketing teams within the law firms. We are seeing a steady stream of Client Development, Marketing, Account Management and Business Development roles across both Sydney and Melbourne.

The beginning of 2020 has also seen the big 4 consultancy houses ramping up their recruitment with an increase in Business, Technology and Digital transformation projects.

Overall, business leaders should take advantage of the wide range of sales and marketing professionals currently available in the market. Businesses with long-term plans are encouraged to make use of this extraordinary period of time and take advantage of the available talent.

For job seekers, whilst COVID-19 created upheaval in the Australian job market, there are now signs of recovery steadily emerging, and as we head further into 2021, there are now even more opportunities available for those seeking their next role.

With dedicated consultants that specialises in Sales and Marketing recruitment within Financial Services, Professional Services, Tech & B2B and Retail & Consumer Goods, Carter Murray can help you find the perfect candidate for your role, or the perfect role for your next career move.

If you would like to have a conversation about the market and industry insights, or for a confidential conversation about your own personal career development, please contact Pearce Doorley.