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Saturday, April 10, 2010

Latest Bernhart Hiring Survey: Confidence Returning to Job Market for Digital and Direct Marketers

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC Press Release, April 7, 2010

Digital and direct marketing job seekers can expect a Spring thaw in layoffs and hiring
freezes,according to the latest quarterly employment report by Bernhart Associates
Executive Search, LLC.


“Employers are still being cautious when it comes to making hiring decisions, with half
expecting no change in hiring plans for the coming quarter. However, we’re seeing more job
stability, and employers continue to lift their hiring freezes,” said Jerry Bernhart, Principal of
Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC, a nationally leading digital and direct marketing
recruiter who has been conducting quarterly hiring surveys in digital and direct
marketing since 2001.


A total of 454 organizations responded to the employment-trends survey between
March 23 and April 7.


Here are the key findings from the second-quarter (Q2) survey:

• 43% of survey respondents said they will add to staff during the second quarter of 2010,
down three points from 46% in Q1.
• 20% of respondents currently have a hiring freeze. This represents a dramatic decline from
45% just six months ago.
• The percentage of companies planning layoffs in Q2 fell to 3%, the lowest level in three
years.
• When asked if they plan to consider using online social networks for hiring, 41% of Q2
respondents said they plan to employ them in “moderate amounts” during 2010. Only 14%
said they won’t be using social media at all for hiring purposes.

“Just a year ago, I was seeing reports indicating that hardly any companies were thinking
about using social media in their recruiting,” said Bernhart. “Our second-quarter survey results
showthat interest in these online networks among digital and direct marketers has grown
quickly andconsiderably, especially among agencies.”

Bernhart said that job growth in the overall digital and direct marketing industry is keeping
pacewith progress in overall U.S. employment. However, he pointed out that marketers are
laggingbehind their agency and supplier counterparts in terms of job growth. “Agencies have
all buteliminated their hiring freezes, and only one agency responding to our most recent
survey said they’re expecting layoffs during the next three months,” Bernhart said. “Hiring on
the services side also remains strong with just about half of respondents telling us they
plan to hire during the current quarter. By comparison, 38% of marketers said they intend
to add to staff.”


Meanwhile, the business-to-consumer (B-to-C) segment continues its upswing with hiring
indexes showing more positive trends compared with their business-to-business (B-to-B)
counterparts. According to the survey, Bernhart said sales positions would be in the greatest
demand during the second quarter. “This comes as no surprise to me given the strong demand
I’ve been seeing for sales reps on the recruiting side of the business,” he said. “We’ve been
getting steady calls for sales-position searches since the beginning of the year.”

Bernhart added that analytics remained high on the employment list, along with online and
multichannel marketing positions.

Bernhart also said that demand for executive search services has been steadily growing since
the beginning of the year. “Inquiries are coming in on a fairly regular basis. A year ago,
it was little
more than a trickle.”

Bernhart Associates’ second-quarter survey was emailed to more than 9,700 senior executives
and hiring managers, human resource officials, and other key participants in online and offline
direct marketing.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), in 2009, direct marketing advertising
expenditures as a portion of total US advertising expenditures grew to 54.3%, and generated
8.3% of US gross domestic product. Also in 2009, there were 1.4 million direct marketing
employees in the US. Their collective sales efforts directly supported 8.4 million other jobs,
accounting for a total of 9.9 million US jobs.

Results of past surveys can be found in the Direct Marketing Association’s annual Statistical
Fact Book and on the Bernhart Associates website.

Companies interested in participating in the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct
Marketing Employment Report should send an email to survey@bernhart.com with “Opt-In”
in the subject line, or they can sign up directly on the Bernhart Associates’ website.

About Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC

Bernhart Associates Executive Search, LLC is owned by Jerry Bernhart, a leading and
nationally recognized digital and direct marketing recruiter, writer, and speaker focusing on
Multichannel Direct Marketing, E-Marketing/E-Commerce, CRM, Database Marketing,
Business Development and Quantitative Analysis positions. Jerry has been among the

nation’s leading digital and direct marketing recruiters since 1991. Viewed as a leading
authority on issues related to digital and direct marketing recruiting and talent management,
Jerry is a frequent speaker at national digital and direct marketing conferences and is often
quoted in the marketing industry news media. Jerry has written dozens of articles for
all leading online and offline direct marketing publications, and conducts a widely followed
employment survey for EM+C covering internet marketing and e-commerce.
The Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report, now in
its tenth year, is unparalleled in size and scope and has become the most widely followed
employment report in online and offline marketing.

Bernard (Bernie) Silverman and Affiliates of Naperville, IL, contributes research and
analysis for the Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment
Report. Bernie can be reached at bernie@bsilverman.com

Douglas Berger Communications, New York City, provides communications services for the
Bernhart Associates Quarterly Digital and Direct Marketing Employment Report. Doug is the
former Director of Executive and Member Communications for the Direct Marketing
Association. He can be contacted at douglasbergernyc@gmail.com.

Please direct executive search inquires to jerry@bernhart.com or call 507-451-4270.

Visit our website at www.bernhart.com

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