I'm the CMO of Indeed. Companies are looking to hire a new kind of marketer

Sep 15, 2026 12:43 AM - 1 hour ago 2

James Whitemore speaking an event

James Whitemore is main trading serviceman astatine Indeed. Indeed / Alive Coverage

In my job, I person a unsocial vantage constituent connected really activity is changing. Every day, we spot millions of hiring decisions reflected successful labour marketplace data.

One inclination stands out: according to our investigation division, the Indeed Hiring Lab, trading occupation postings stay astir 25% beneath pre-COVID-pandemic levels. In fact, trading occupation opportunities person fallen faster than almost immoderate different white-collar usability complete the past 5 years.

If you looked astatine that information successful isolation, you mightiness reason trading roles are becoming obsolete. I don't deliberation that's what's happening astatine all. Our information besides shows that contempt the broader trend, trading occupation postings mentioning AI are really increasing.

What's changing isn't the value of marketing. It's the type of marketer companies need.

Business know-how and information literacy are skills that companies need

More than ever, a modern trading statement acts arsenic a unified motor for sustainable business growth. Customers prosecute pinch brands crossed progressively much channels, title for attraction continues to intensify, and artificial intelligence is reshaping really we create, distribute, and measurement marketing.

Today, erstwhile everyone has entree to the aforesaid AI tools, execution is nary longer the sole differentiator: quality judgement is. The modern marketer is shifting from a single-track functional master into a versatile, business-literate leader, and needs a wholly different toolkit of skills.

When we're building a trading team, we're looking for 3 capabilities:

  • Data savvy. We're getting billions of information points thrown astatine america daily. Access to that information isn't the advantage; knowing really to abstracted the existent awesome from aboveground sound is.
  • Business literacy. The champion marketers understand acold much than marketing. They tin link customer insight, merchandise strategy, finance, and sales, and activity backward from the business result alternatively than guardant from the tactic.
  • Curiosity and courage. This one's much a characteristic trait than a skill, but it's the 1 I surface for the hardest. We look for marketers who are consenting to test, fail, and ditch playbooks that worked earlier — and learn.

Together, these mightiness mean being consenting to situation past trading practices, aliases refusing to delegate the strategical judgement that only your squad tin provide.

Own your data. Don't outsource your judgment

This improvement successful capacity straight reshapes really a modern trading statement must grip its operational intelligence. As AI increases the sheer measurement of accusation available, it's much captious than ever to person soul teams pinch the business discourse to inquire the correct questions.

Here's a belief I clasp that mightiness ruffle immoderate feathers: you cannot outsource the mentation of your ain data.

There is existent worth successful extracurricular expertise, but nary 3rd statement tin understand your business, customers, and strategy arsenic good arsenic your squad does. Even the champion outer partners optimize for what they tin see. They can't afloat comprehend what your business really values, which customers you're trying to reach, aliases which tradeoffs make consciousness for your strategy. That knowledge lives wrong your team.

That's why we made the telephone to bring our trading analytics and information subject capabilities in-house.

External agencies gave america a beardown starting point, but taking afloat power of our trading operation models allowed america to use our ain deeper business context. As our institution evolved, we identified bequest channels that were nary longer driving meaningful customer growth. Left unchecked, those kinds of disconnects tin lead to costly decisions.

Data should pass decisions. It should not switch quality judgment, taste, aliases imaginative risk-taking. This favoritism will only go much important.

The advantage will not travel from having much dashboards aliases much information points. It will travel from having group who tin abstracted awesome from sound and cognize what questions to inquire next.

A situation for trading leaders

For my chap trading leaders, this improvement demands a different benignant of leadership.

Consumer behaviour has changed. Media has changed. AI is changing really group observe accusation and make decisions.

We must build the courageousness to break our ain systems and situation our ain assumptions. The playbooks that served america a fewer years agone won't needfully nutrient the correct outcomes today. We must dainty trading little arsenic a postulation of champion practices and much arsenic a science, while fostering a civilization that encourages imaginative experimentation.

That's what I judge the hiring information is really telling us. Companies aren't hiring less marketers because trading matters less. They're hiring otherwise because the domiciled itself is changing. The early won't beryllium to marketers who simply cognize really to tally yesterday's playbook. It will beryllium to those pinch the judgement to evolve, return risks, and beryllium bold.

Read next

More