The great resignation… are people opting out of the industry altogether?

I know remote work, flexibility and generally terrible work life balance are contributing to people quitting their jobs but is it the industry entirely?

We are hiring and it’s crickets. Across tens of jobs, and all departments most of which are open to remote. Is it everyone or just us?

likesmart
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I’m seeing a lot of minority friends who were told by ad agencies a hundred different ways, and a hundred different times, that they were somehow not enough, not right for the job, and not experienced enough, get sweet job offers in-house, from the entertainment industry, and the tech industry. I think word gets around about going where you’re wanted, not where you’re set up for failure at the gatekeeper stage.

likehelpfulsmart

Might as well dox my experience as having been at Sid Lee LA then

likehelpful

Going in house baaaaby. I’ve given enough of my life to the agency world.

likesmart
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I think people are still working in the industry just in different avenues: ad tech, startups, tech, in-house, etc.

I think the glamour ad agencies used the garner is long gone. You can't treat your employees like crap, under pay them, over work them for that long without some sort of blowback like this.

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I too have thought about leaving the ad world so many times. You get tired of being treated like crap, just like when our team complained of long hours after we laid off so many people-my boss used to always threaten us with “if we can’t deliver at all hours for the client they will quickly and easily leave for an agency that will and don’t forget we are also competing with cheap labor in India and China.” And more bs like “this is not a 9 to 5 industry.” Well—it is a 9 to 5 industry but my old bosses will never see that because they are still thinking with that mentality. They also found ways to keep people from getting promoted. They were dirty and did a few things illegal. With this mentality you can understand why people are getting fed up with this industry for companies that aren’t backstabbing assholes. I left this “big” name agency for a smaller company and am so happy, I do work 9-5 and the pay is soooo much better AND the people are nice.

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That’s awful. I’m lucky my place does look after people and puts wellness first. It’s rare but I’m grateful especially after seeing a story like yours. Look after yourself

likefunny

Agencies are being way too picky given the job market. The creative who took a pharma job in 2020 but has an impressive portfolio shouldn’t be overlooked. The strategist who didn’t win any awards last year shouldn’t be passed on. The talented woman asking for a sallary that reflects the jump in inflation shouldn’t be automatically rejected. It’s not 2019, and the sooner agencies get this, the better staffed they will be.

Then again, agencies aren’t even giving their own employees raises until they put in their 2 weeks. Absolutely pathetic, alongside everything else that comes with modern agency life—long hours for no good reason, fear of losing clients, and sluggish resourcing.

likesmart

Working with another freelancer 20 years younger than me and 3 years out of school. We both have the same title. Another freelancer was given a VP title. Who is running the show?

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Just fyi the difficulty filling roles/finding new hires is happening across all different industries across the US, not just advertising.

likesmart

There are many people still willing to work, including myself. What is your agency name so I can look it up :)

likehelpful

We’ve had 30+ people depart our agency in the last 6 months. Of those, one went to a local agency. Others went to remote agencies or in house. There are just so many options now…

likesmart

The recruiters (we have 1.5 total for the agency) are actually pushing to all of the most appropriate places for individual roles (discipline specific arenas and communities, standard job postings, LinkedIn etc)

We have around 15-20 jobs posted and aren’t even getting applications at the moment it’s just very strange to me. I don’t dispute that we may be missing the mark but I’m not sure how.

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VML?

likefunny

I wouldn’t fault anyone for leaving by any means… it’s just really surprising for me. It feels like a lot of people were let go from jobs at the beginning of covid and they just left the industry?

(I might be jealous)

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Honestly, after a Friday like today I wanna nope the hell out of the industry too

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There is no hug reaction

like

I have contemplated a career change so many times in the past year and a half. Still in marketing currently but I would not be surprised if a lot of people are leaving. Im not saying they should, but so many people are burned out right now and the grass is always greener

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Just got about 20 applicants for a posting we recently did. I thought maybe we’d get 5. Guess we got pretty lucky.

likeuplifting

Yea I’ve been wondering about this… is everyone just leaving advertising? Because it seems like it’s hard to hire for jobs right now so assuming it’s a deficit of talent.

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Senior Copywriter 1, reputation & quality of work definitely matters as well. Personally, I believe when searching for companies, reputation would be the way to discover them, quality of work would put them higher on the priority list, and DEI integration would be a disqualifying factor if seemingly disingenuous or half-hearted. This is based on my personal opinion, and those standards will be held at different thresholds for others

smartlike

We have a great pipeline. I think it’s absolutely about culture and working conditions

like

Not sure what it’s like in US - but in Europe…

(*especially after the first lock down*)…

…many packed up and headed home to be closer to family OR out of the city for a cost effective / different lifestyle.

BUT…

Since reopening - and all the firms that said we have ‘seen a new light’ for employees and respect their choice for remote working… well, let’s be honest. This is far from the case as the vaccine rollouts steam ahead.

People are being called to come back in - the pool of candidates is the same, just more widely distributed.

Either the talent moves back in for the work OR the work moves it’s inward approach out.

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