From ad-man to digital manager Professionalization through Swedish job advertisements 1960-2010

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze changes in the descriptions and
requirements of professional communicators in Swedish job advertisements between 1960 and 2010.
Design/methodology/approach
– Through a quantitative content analysis, this study approaches
organizational requirement information in order to better understand changes in the description of the
ideal candidate and professionalization.
Findings
– The results show that job titles have gradually become more specified and strategically
orientated. Tactical qualifications dominated the first decades but operational and strategic skills were
increasingly required in the material over the last two decades.
Researchlimitations/implications
– Even if job advertisements could expose the historical changes
in expectations and demands on communicational professional practitioners, further studies could entail
complementary material such as interviews with senior communications managers and headhunters.
Practical implications
– In order to be legitimized as a field of profession, scholars, teachers and
practitioners need to create ideals and ideologies that can justify and defend business and education.
This paper stimulates practitioners to reflect critically on such issues.
Originality/value
– The key contribution of this paper is to explicate how the image of communication
practice and the demands on communication practitioners have changed during the last 50 years.
Keywords
Strategic communication, Historical study, Job advertisements,
Professional communicators
Paper type
Case study