Update from Jazz Little, Senior Consultant at Handle Recruitment
As we look beyond a busy summer events season, we feel optimistic leading into the second half of 2025.Whilst we have not seen a dramatic growth or sudden surge of demand, hiring activity remained consistent during Q2 and that stability is giving businesses the confidence to plan for Q3.
In this wrap-up, we’re sharing the key talent and people trends; from shifting candidate priorities to what’s likely to shape hiring in Q3.
What have we been up to?
The team has been hands-on with some of the biggest industry moments this year including London’s flagship creative launch event, a large international festival of creativity, and a host of large-scale B2B exhibitions and conferences.
The lull following an action-packed events season has given us the space to refocus particularly on newer roles outside of B2B events, where we’re seeing growing demand across FinTech, SaaS, and agency-side clients.
Temporary roles were in high demand for the summer events cycle and we’re seeing a growing number of those convert into permanent hires, particularly for entry-level grads off the back of temporary placements throughout event season. Many are keen to stay in the events space after a positive experience, which is a great boost for the industry’s long-term talent pipeline.
What we're seeing across the industries we support:
💡Sales roles dominated in Q2 especially in businesses looking to accelerate growth. Demand has been particularly strong for junior to mid-level talent, with 1 to 2 years’ experience, across Exhibitions, Events, and SaaS.
💡Marketing vacancies saw a very small dip in Q2, although agencies and in-house teams anticipate a bounce back in Q3 to support new business wins.
💡Generalist Marketing roles (on a mid to senior level) were quieter than we expected, but the signs are there for a rebound in Q3 as momentum returns after sales roles have taken centre stage as businesses drive growth. Once this growth is in full swing, we predict in Q3 that marketing roles will increase across our specialist sectors.
💡One growing challenge: We’ve continued to see more companies returning to the office 4 or 5 days a week, often driven by a desire to nurture culture or support early-career training. Looking at wider industry trends, the share of UK job postings mentioning remote or hybrid work remains high at 15% as of end-May, down from a peak of 16.6% back in March, but well above the levels of around 3% seen pre-pandemic (source: Indeed Hiring Lab 25/05/25) . Following the shift in working patterns which grew post covid – this return to more full-time office work can limit candidate interest as most still lean towards more hybrid opportunities.
What our clients and candidates are telling us:
Over the last three months, we’ve supported a range of new clients across SaaS, FinTech, and Creative Services placing mid-senior hires primarily in revenue generating roles.
Hiring activity is steady. Following the news of economic growth for Q1 of 0.7% we feel that this has maintained confidence for companies to continue with their hiring plans for the year. In comparison to Q2 ‘24 the hiring activity is also up this based on vacancies.
Flexibility still matters. Hybrid working remains a deal-breaker for many candidates. Fully in-office roles (4 to 5 days) are proving more challenging to provide shortlists showcasing the strongest options for the opportunities.
Salary expectations are rising. An increased number of candidates we’re working with are looking for higher base salaries as the cost of living is ever increasing - individuals aren’t as attracted by strong commission structures with lower basic salaries.
Sales-first hiring continues. Many of our clients are still in growth mode, and we’ve seen that hiring has been more focused on driving revenue through sales hires before expanding the wider departments.We have noticed some businesses are feeling are feeling extra pressure on their bottom line, especially with financial impacts like the NI hike in April. Building a strong sales strategy and hiring top talent can help ease that burden.
Looking ahead to Q3:
As sales functions settle and start delivering, we expect more businesses to reintroduce and grow marketing teams to support that momentum. We hope to see a rise in generalist and specialist marketing roles as we move into the second half of the year.
We’re forecasting ongoing hiring needs across our events clients as they continue to grow, aligning with predictions that the UK events industry will surpass £42 billion by the end of 2025, returning to pre-pandemic levels (Events Industry Alliance, May 2025).
We’re also anticipating a shift from short-term contracts to longer-term/permanent roles, particularly as summer events wrap up and we begin the prep for the next event season. That means more stability for candidates, and more opportunity for businesses to secure top talent for the long haul.
Our advice?
Act quickly. As open vacancies continue increase in Q3, competition for the best candidates will heat up again.
Be open. Flexibility, progression, and company culture matter just as much as pay and office days - especially if you do not offer hybrid working.
Plan now. Historically, we’ve seen a spike in client demand during September and early Q4, as teams refocus after the summer months, so if you’re thinking about additional headcount, it is a great time to start discussing your talent pipelines. If you would like a free salary benchmarking report just ask!
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About the author
Senior Consultant | Sales, Marketing & Event Operations
☎️ 020 7569 9947
Jazz works across Sales, Marketing, and Events here at Handle, helping connect great people with great roles. From entry level to C-Suite, Jazz covers everything from exhibitions and conferences to experiential, entertainment, and internal events. Whether you're hiring, job hunting, or just curious about what’s happening in the market, feel free to connect with Jazz or send her a message.
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About Handle Recruitment
We opened the doors in 1978 and built our reputation in the music industry. We quickly realised that a great brand is not always a household name. A great brand is something people connect with, not just a place they work. Somewhere that helps them become better at what they do. It could be a record label, it could be in media, it could be a tech start-up.
Supporting Great People in Marketing | Finance | HR | Office Support | Sales | Legal | Event Operations | Post-Production.
The Talent Solutions we provide, Permanent, Temporary and Interim Recruitment | People Consultancy | Outsourced Freelancer Payroll & Compliance.
The Industries we support: Music | Film | TV | Entertainment | Fashion | Live Events | Sport | Publishing | Post-production.