In the wake of the previous recession and with the threat of a double dip, Marketing Jobs and the Marketing profession has taken a hit, leaving our creative masterminds out of work and in some instances, with a bruised ego.

The lack of understanding in the market place of the value that Marketing managers, communications gurus, campaign ambassadors (to name a few) could add to businesses, seems to  be a trick that major hiring and decision makers seem to be over looking.

Incredibly, after speaking to some dejected candidates, and “make a difference now” clients, it has become obvious that Marketing jobs were seen as “fluffy” roles that could be soaked into the Sales, HR and I.T teams.

These are teams that were deemed to add instant value and measurable output as soon as yesterday.

The Marketing roles became quickly and heartbreakingly redundant, whilst the need for Sales, HR et -al professionals increased.

Working in Marketing recruitment and taking a bird’s eye view of the goings on in the market place, I am not surprised to notice that many Marketing professionals have had a career change.To become something that they believe the employer population are looking for.

You can hardly blame them. With mortgages, rents, school fees, families, cars and food to pay for – chasing your dream for many marketers, has become a profession that could leave them hungry and with no roof over their heads. This saddens me.

Marketers need to educate industries of their value, and for company bosses to take heed on the necessity of a top notch Marketing manager.

The right candidate(s) could significantly increase sales figures and social awareness of the company brand.

In 2009, a well known US company, whose portfolio boasts of cleaning and personal care products, injected 5.4BN into Marketing and Advertising, which resulted in sales revenue of 11.9Bn in 2010 in just over  a year. This injection figure is of a vast nature – obviously not every company can afford this, but there must be a trust that any money invested – with the right Marketing Strategy, there will be a return in investment. The huge palette of the marketing spectrum is infinite, from your strategic offline brand managers to new age online marketing boffins.

Marketing changes every day and what worked last year – would almost certainly not work this year. In the current market I would urge Marketers to up skill so that they stay current in a trying market. Marketing is a necessary spend, but patience is needed. These talented individuals are strategic thinkers. It will take the better part of 10 – 18 months before a real dent of their hard work is seen. Comparing them with Sales, HR or I.T personnel, whose ripple you can feel within 6 – 8 weeks is not relative, major corporate and small businesses waited and believed in these pool of candidate.

Figures show that their wait on these seemingly sleeping “think tank” candidates paid dividends.

Moral of story? Invest in a Marketing manager…. Sit back and wait..

Written by,

Che Egbuna.