Recruitment (marketing): area of work

Recruitment marketing can also be known as ‘recruitment advertising’. Think of the campaigns you’ve seen on the television or at the cinema, or the advertising you see here on targetjobs. A lot of work goes into producing advertising campaigns that will attract the right applicants at the right time.

Recruitment marketing typically has two sides to it:

• the recruitment consultancy or advertising agency that specialises in creating and designing the end product
• the internal recruitment professionals – experts in what their business needs and who they want to target

Whichever side of the fence you sit, you'll need either in-depth knowledge of the sector or an ability to learn extremely fast. You'll also need to know about the current employment market, and the economic climate in general (in times of recession, there's no point suggesting an international cinema campaign, for example). This is a chance to marry your creative and commercial instincts, but it will also entail long hours and stressful project-orientated task management.

What's required

A marketing or a business related degree would be a good base to start from, but if you've got the creative ability, the gift of the gab, and the right attitude, then you may be able to wow an employer even without a related qualification. Try to get work experience in any of the creative industries, marketing departments, and also within business recruitment or human resources departments. Employers look for both commercial awareness and innovative thinking .

Check both the marketing and recruitment press for vacancies and to keep abreast of developments within the industry.