Senior roles tend to be less plentiful than more junior ones, and when they do exist, they can incorporate several roles.
You’re paying gold prices for copper. You knew it was going to break and it broke.
Josh Marmer, managing director, AC Lion
The senior ad-tech executive, who requested anonymity to discuss the job process freely, said he noticed three instances where the hiring managers revealed—often well into the interview process—that the open role was really two roles combined. In one case, a single role existed for both a head of new business and a head of existing growth.
“When they eventually admit it, they’re meek about it,” the source said, noting these roles don’t come at double the pay. “We’ve all seen this movie before. Three to six months [that new hire] either quits or the company is doing well enough to” hire another person for the second role.
While these combined positions are frustrating, they might turn into two openings when the market picks up. The more dire situation is the roles that are gone for good as the industry pursues automation. Beeler said that already publishers are pruning some roles in data entry that involve the manual management of direct campaigns.
Déjà vu or something new?
Sources said that, so far, this downturn seems milder than previous ones, like the 2008 recession or the rapid layoffs at the start of the pandemic in 2020.
“2008 was a little more sudden. There was a big shock to the economy,” Mally said, noting that this time around, the impetus for layoffs has been slower-moving forces like inflation, interest rates and the decisions of the biggest tech companies. “It’s caused a lot of companies to slow roll their decision-making processes. I don’t think this is as bad.”
But Marmer noted that in 2008, ad tech was still a young industry, poised for growth. Advertisers were only projected to start spending more on online ads than newspaper ads in 2010, per a New York Times report at the time. This time, the layoffs feel more localized to the tech sector.
It’s not clear yet whether this downturn is more emblematic of macroeconomic conditions or industry-specific challenges. Either way, companies are overcorrecting for their massive hiring sprees in 2021.
