Specialist knowledge, particularly industry knowledge, is the key to securing the best roles this quarter for sales and marketing talent in Singapore, according to recruitment experts Hays.
The Hays Quarterly Report tracks hiring trends in Singapore and reveals that over the April to June period, employers are likely to enlist assessment testing tools in order to secure the right talent.
“We are seeing solid demand for sales and marketing talent from both a digital and traditional background this quarter with a key differentiator being a candidate’s specialist industry knowledge,” explains Lynne Roeder, Managing Director for Hays in Singapore.
“Another recruitment trend we are seeing is rigorous candidate assessment methodologies being applied, especially for roles requiring specialist knowledge or skills,” says Lynne.
“In some cases, candidates are being asked to put together a comprehensive marketing campaign before a hiring decision is made. Personality testing is also playing a role in the final selection of the right candidate for many roles.”
A candidate in particularly high demand is one that is able to assist teams and departments about too or currently in the process of digital transformation.
“The right candidate able to drive digital transformation in the sales and marketing space must possess a complex skill set that blends strong technical knowledge with commercial skills and business savviness, as well as high-level soft skills,” says Lynne.
Other candidates in demand this quarter include those that can thrive in regional sales roles in the industrial space.
“Many overseas companies keen to set up in Asia consider Singapore the ideal location for their operations,” says Lynne. “The ideal candidate should be highly motivated with good regional knowledge and a network of contacts.”
Meanwhile, we are seeing high demand for, but a limited supply of, candidates for key account manager and sales roles in IT and FMCG organisations.
“Public relations and communications professionals are also in solid demand particularly those with an excellent understanding of how to use social media to both deliver and drive the message,” says Lynne. “These candidates are also difficult to source, particularly those with advanced skills.”
Hays research has found that despite talent shortages in several areas of the market in Singapore, employers still have a strong preference for Singaporean candidates and or permanent residents.
Most employers are also looking to bring talent on in permanent roles with few exceptions, such as junior marketing roles where hiring activity is mostly on a temporary/contract basis.
To read the full Hays Quarterly Report, please visit https://www.hays.com.sg/report/index.htm
Hays is located in Singapore at Level 27, UOB Plaza 2, 80 Raffles Place, Singapore.
About Hays Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2016 the Group employed 9,214 staff operating from 252 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2016: – the Group reported net fees of £810.3 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £181 million; – the Group placed around 67,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 220,000 people into temporary assignments; – 22% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 45% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 33% in the United Kingdom & Ireland; – the temporary placement business represented 58% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 42% of net fees; – Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA.