8/20/2010 4:57:45 PM
iGaming news: On the hunt for fresh talent
Below are excerpts from ARM’s contribution to eGaming
Review magazine’s recent recruitment round table on the
subject of trends within egaming recruitment. Stuart Roe of ARM
speaks to the publication about current growth sectors and which
candidates are most in demand.
Stuart is the section manager of ARM’s iGaming division. He
began his recruitment career as a specialist technology recruitment
consultant in 1996. Since then, Stuart has gained experience
recruiting professionals at all levels including senior management
and directorship across a broad range of industries including
technology, investment banking and, most recently, egaming.
“IN THE AFTERMATH of the global recession, the egaming
industry is in an excellent position to lead a recruitment drive
among young and talented professionals.
eGaming Review (eGR): How has the egaming jobs
market been hit by the downturn, and how is it bouncing back
compared to other sectors?
Stuart Roe (SR): The online gaming jobs market
has fared remarkably well during the recent global economic
downturn. While it hasn’t been without casualties, the few
redundancies we have seen have generally been limited to companies
with notable land-based interests or wise financial directors’
rationalising, reorganising and trimming some of the excesses that
went unnoticed in a more buoyant market. On the whole, the majority
of online gaming companies have continued to recruit, albeit with a
little more care and a lot less speed. Candidates have faced stiff
competition, but this is changing quickly. Over the last four weeks
we have seen a sharp increase in candidates receiving multiple
offers and counter offers, as well as a notable increase in
competition for the best candidates as the market rises out of the
downturn. If you are looking to recruit in the next few months, now
may be your last opportunity to capitalise on a less competitive
fight for the best talent.
eGR: Which areas of expertise are particularly
in demand or growing? How easy are these positions to fill?
SR: Demand for strong online marketers has been
growing for a long time, specifically candidates with real
commercial experience of Web 2.0 technologies, social media,
advanced SEO and PPC. Skilled retention specialists have been in
demand as companies do their best to maximise profits from existing
products and customers.
As always, the hunt for the very best technical developers has
remained fierce. Those with front-end creative skills such as
Flash, ActionScript and Flex, as well as strong server-side J2EE
developers, are proving to be increasingly difficult and more
expensive to recruit. Just this week I witnessed one developer
achieve a £20,000 pay rise in a single job move. Not many of us
have seen movements like that in the last two years.
eGR: How successful is the industry in drawing
in talent from other industries?
SR: The online gaming industry has come a long
way to improve its perception within the market and on the whole,
most candidates now see a move to an online gaming company as a
seriously attractive option. With salaries generally 15% to 20%
higher than comparable industries, gaming is becoming both a
lucrative and exciting career option for many candidates.
However, a significant proportion of the industry seems to feel
that candidates should be falling over backwards to work within the
gaming sector. Employers may have been spoilt for choice during the
last two years, but this is changing fast. Moving forward,
employers are going to have to speed up their recruitment process,
take time to understand what the best candidates are looking for
and, of course, form strategic partnerships with experienced
recruitment professionals.
eGR: Which egaming territories are growing fast
for you at the moment? How are you planning to respond to this?
SR: As worldwide gambling legislation relaxes
and new markets open we are certainly seeing increased recruitment
activity across Europe, the US and Asia. We are all waiting with
bated breath for the US markets to open up and you can be sure the
major players are already hiring local talent to ensure they are
placed at the front of the queue when the North American market
finally opens its doors.
Our current network of offices in the UK serves our clients
well, but with 160% growth in our egaming division seen already
this year I wouldn’t be surprised to see ARM egaming venture to far
away shores in the foreseeable future.
eGR: Do you think the industry finds it more
difficult to attract young talent compared to more established
industries? Do you think this could have anything to do with
gambling’s so-called image problem?
SR: In reality, I think the image problem is
now little more than an old wives’ tale. The majority of young
talent coming into the working world is open-minded and sees the
benefits of joining such a fast-moving, fun and dynamic industry.
Most serious players in the market now offer the kind of benefits
and bonuses once seen only in the banking world, and given the
turbulent past of our dear banking industry I wouldn’t be surprised
to see some of our brightest and finest talent heading to an online
gaming company near you."
WWW.EGRMAGAZINE.COM AUGUST 2010