Why Are Recruiters All Over My LinkedIn Right Now?

In This Article:

• The hiring craze is a cross-industry trend
• The sustained digital talent demand across brands AND agencies
• How you can determine if you should make a move right now
• Bonus: Job hunting resources

Every time you login to LinkedIn, you're met with that little red number bubble over top of your Messaging navigation.

Does it feel like that number is bigger these days? It’s not just your imagination - the job market dramatically changed over the past 18 months.

A Cross-Industry Trend

The digital industry is not the only vertical experiencing this spike in job openings and recruiter sleuthing.

There is a greater, macro trend sitting on top of the specifics of the digital trend we’ll discuss below. There are lots of theories on why this macro trend exists. 

We’ve crunched the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic numbers for job openings and labor data. Cross-industry, the trends we’ve seen in our digital world are following the same trajectory:

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Job Openings are Increasing as Business Ramps Back Up From January to May, we’ve seen 2.4MM Job Openings added to the economy.

Hiring And Separations (Employees Leaving Companies) Is Staying Relatively Flat 600K more hires happened in May than in January. Separations hovered between 5.3MM and 5.8MM YTD.

Employees Quitting Has Become a Greater Percentage of Separations The quit rate peaked in April at 2.7% (+17% growth from January) with the layoff rate falling from 1.2% to 0.9% as employers try to retain talent.

Forbes also highlighted data that suggests “The Great Resignation” is coming - where much of the market’s talent moves to freelancer roles.

Sustained Digital Talent Demand from Agencies AND Brands

Diving deeper into digital...

As a result of 2020, any brand that didn’t believe in digital before is now a firm believer. 

This increased demand for digital marketing services drove up the need for agency talent. Brands are now also building out their own internal digital armies to support the digital demand, resulting in an industry-wide talent squeeze.

The advent of remote-first cultures means digital marketing professionals have more options than ever regarding the company with whom they choose to work.

We are seeing candidates in our interview process with 3 or 4 job offers in hand. 

“During my first ~5 years recruiting at Seer, most applicants would be interviewing with 1-3 other local companies. There’s been a palpable increase in the number of opportunities that each candidate is interviewing for throughout 2021. Given the industry-wide shift towards remote work, Seer is competing for talent on a national-scale and most candidates are considering 4+ opportunities at a time.

Additionally, we’ve seen an uptake in the number of sizable counteroffers, so we’re also competing against the candidate’s own employer.”

– Lauren B. | Sr. People Operations Manager

This new talent dynamic is unlike anything we’ve seen over 19 years:

Broad-based, simultaneous, and sustained talent demand by both agencies and brands alike.

Our VP of People recently shared a bit more detail on what she is seeing in the marketplace here:

What’s Important to You from Your Employer?

Whether you’re job hunting or not, now is a great time to stop, take a beat, and think through your current and future career path

My recommendation on how to start that process is to document what’s important to you from the list of things a company can provide you. Where are you willing to give up certain things in order to gain certain things? Where are you willing to make sacrifices? What are your non-negotiables? What would you consider to be your must-have vs. nice-to-haves?

Here’s an example of how I would start that process:

1. Write down your desired compensation

From the lowest you’d be willing to take (assuming other areas were compensating for that) to the highest value for your current skill set, and then somewhere in the middle of those two:

Example:

2. Choose non-compensation categories that are important to you

Identify those high level categories and then jot down the specifics in a similar fashion to your compensation ranges -- bare minimum to ideal / reach.

Example:

3. Align grid 1 and 2!

Now you’re left with a loose outline of where you will / won’t compromise your needs. You can compare that to your current company or against any company you’re prospecting as a potential employer.

What About Those Recruiters in My Inbox?

Accept All Those Recruiter Invites.

I almost always respond to recruiters that reach out to me based on these personal two rules: 

1. Everyone is just trying to do their job and sometimes a response, even if it’s not the one you wanted, can help encourage the person on the other side of that screen
2. You never know what the future holds, so make those recruiter friends!
3. Bonus: If you provide context on why the company / role wasn’t a good fit for you and what would be a good fit -- that recruiter now has information to provide you with more relevant outreach in the future.

Ghost write for message back to recruiters:

Hi Recruiter,

Really appreciate you reaching out. 

Love all the things I see coming out of X-Company recently. From your content, webinars, to the recent x program y’all have launched. 

I'm not looking to make a move at the moment, but as I said, really appreciate you thinking of me and would like to connect on LinkedIn. Y'all have a ton of great roles open and I'll definitely pass along to a couple friends who are looking. I know how hard recruiting is at the moment and wish you luck finding the right folks to fill these roles.

Best,

Are You Job Hunting?

For those of you who are job hunting at the moment, I want to leave you with some of the resources our team created over the years to help you land a role that’s right for you.

Bringing Transparency to a “Job Seekers” Market: Total Compensation Calculator

How to Prepare for Internships & A Career in Digital Marketing

How to Get Hired After Being Turned Down: From Rejection to Redemption

Job Interview Tips: What Not to Say in a Job Interview

How to Turn Your Internship into a Job: Tips From A Hiring Manager

10 Ways to Give Back & Gain Experience with Skills-Based Volunteering

The Proactive Job Seeker: How to Stand Out From the Crowd

Sending Thanks After a Job Interview

How to Ace the Interview and Land Your Dream Job

4 Questions I’m Going to Ask in Your Interview

Next Steps

It’s a job-seeker’s market, so make sure you at least know where you stand by documenting what’s important to you.

During a time when folks are constantly reaching out - make sure you’re keeping those connections!

If you are on the hunt, do your research - blog posts, webinars, videos - recruiters are making all sorts of content right now to help you succeed.

And if you’re looking in the digital marketing industry for a new role, check out our openings and make sure you sign-up for our career guidance newsletter below.

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