The Web Talent Shortage

There's a shortage of web talent.  Right?  Designers and developers are at a premium because they're so hard to find.  Right?  I mean, that's what I seem to hear and read every day.

The thing is, I don't think it's true.  Not really.  Let me explain:

If you look for a new designer or developer, chances are you're going to see a lot of portfolio sites with very young, sometimes naive, work.  Because a lot of available web designers out there are young.  They need to grow into the sophistication required to take on the 6-figure site you have on the plate that prompted you to look for more help to begin with.  Like I said, they're young.  They're energetic.  And they need coaching. 

So, tell me, how is this any different from the traditional market for traditional creatives?  Advertising is, and always has been, a young business.  Kids come in, full of talent and energy, but with very little of the perspective you want them to have before you turn them loose on your biggest clients.  It's pretty much always been that way, which is why advertising, especially in the creative department, has pretty much always been kind of an educational environment.  At least, more so than a lot of businesses I can think of.  Harness the talent, teach it to focus, and hopefully it grows to beat anything you've ever thought of.  Once the talent is completely focused, tap it to train the next set.

There are tons of young, talented web designers and developers.  Tons.  There's not a kid who comes out of a current communications program that doesn't have some (usually a lot of) web experience -- and most have a seriously deep understanding of the social web experience, because they live it.  Granted, some are really talented, and others not so much.  But there's a whole lot of people who know how to make stuff on the web.

Still, I hear there's a shortage.  And there is a shortage.  Just, not in the places you think. There's a shortage of management that understands what to do with all that talent.  And a shortage of management that knows exactly what that talent can do for them.  It's a serious shortage, and it's on a couple of levels.

First, there's a shortage in the middle and upper-middle ranks.  I think we can thank the .com bubble for that.  A lot of promising talent bought into tech just as tech crashed, and they went somewhere else -- somewhere safer, even if it's still using their tech skills -- and now they're not interested, or they haven't kept up in a way that's useful in an agency.  They would be the ones doing most of the coaching right now. 

Up the ladder, there's a shortage of upper management who know anything, really, about the web.  Anything more than what they read in the advertising trade pubs, anyway.  Which, by the way, they usually read in print.  What they know is that they need to deliver on this web thing, so let's get a web person in here, pronto.  The most visible "web person" in their eyes tends to be a designer, and the most available designers are young, with nothing even close to a  nike.com to show, and that translates into a perceived shortage of web talent. 

But there's a solution.  It's going to take some work, but I truly believe there's a solution that can make the "shortage" of web talent evaporate.  It's simple:  Existing management has to learn the web.  Not learn to design, or build.  Just learn what the heck to look for.

It's not hard.  But it does take time, and a dedicated effort.  Lots and lots of both.  From what I can tell, those two things are, for many, too big of a commitment.  Which, I guess, on second thought, does make it hard.

I find people who want to be briefed.  They want to be taught.  Except the web doesn't work like that.  It's strictly DIY, with reference -- which can be found only on the web.  It's not just a subject to learn, so much as it is a change in lifestyle.  Mainly because it changes so fast.  As soon as there are rules, the rules change.  Somebody writes a book about it -- by the time it's printed, things have changed.  Which is a hard concept to grasp, if you're used to being briefed, and reading the latest business book, in order to gain knowledge.  This is a lot more work.  But there is a very, very serious upside:

The web changes so fast, you could be on top of the game in a year or two, if you just put in the effort.

I know a lot about the web.  Not as much as I want to know, and not nearly as much as I should know, or as much as a lot of other people know.  But on the scope of the whole, I know a lot. But if you, Mr. and Ms. Management, begin today, and spend as much time studying the web as I do for the next 18-24 months, you'll know as much about it as I do.  Because everything I know today will have changed by then, and I'll have to learn it anew, as it changes.  If you spend as much time as I do on it, you'll learn it at the same time.  Which means, you'll know as much as anyone. 

Now, the tough clause in there is "spend as much time as I do on it."  That part will be hard.  Really hard.  Especially if you view the web as just another medium.  If you look at it that way, never mind.  I spend pretty much every waking hour that's not dedicated to family, eating, or driving, either on the web, or thinking about stuff that's going on the web.  And now that I think about it, I do think about it while driving, too.  It's my job, yes, but it's also the way I get the information that runs my life.  If you see it as the future, you need to invest in it like it's the future. Not just with dollars, but with serious time and energy. (Side Note: the future is already here - you should probably know that going in.)  I'm not trying to teach the old horse new tricks here.  I'm telling the old horse he has to learn them on his own, if he wants to survive.

Learn to know what you're looking for, know what it can do for you, and know what to do with it.  Because the shortage isn't talent.  The shortage is understanding.

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Comments

[Ken]

Amen! :)

[kentropic]

Great points, Ernie. I'd only add that the learning you describe doesn't require a sudden, massive effort. It can be incremental, gathering its own momentum along the way. Even if a person starts small and slow (like I did), you can get up to speed surprisingly quickly. A guide who's already there and can get you pointed in the right direction is a big help, too. But I agree 100% that self-teaching is the only way to go.

The cool thing is: the more you learn, the more you want to learn -- and the easier it gets to learn more (because you grow new ways of making connections and finding patterns). If you're naturally curious and culturally engaged, you're golden. And the reason that I'm optimistic about those senior agency leaders eventually getting the hang of the web is that they wouldn't be in the ad business if they weren't just that: naturally open-minded and culturally plugged-in.

Cheers!
(another) Ken