In 2024, Taiwan’s businesses raced to stay on top of fast-changing consumer behaviours and business needs in the post-pandemic era. The market also saw more talent returning home, prompted by sluggish economic conditions abroad due to a weakened Chinese economy. Chuan Chang, Manager at Robert Walters Taiwan says,
After the pandemic, consumers began to embrace a more well-rounded lifestyle that would give them better work-life balance. They turned more to travel, health, wellness and digital-first solutions, and retail businesses have been riding the wave of increased consumer spending in these areas.
Over the past year, we saw a notable uptick in companies using digital technologies and data to target customers with greater precision and improve customer experience.
Against this backdrop, remote and hybrid work arrangements have also become a mainstay in the market. More companies refined their remote-first policies, making improvements to their culture and digital infrastructure to deliver a better employee experience.
Within the hiring landscape, Chuan reports a talent shortage across the FMCG, retail and marketing sectors. To deal with the strains of a tight talent pool, businesses filled positions by finding candidates from other industries, or among individuals returning to Taiwan. These sectors also focused more on strategy and innovation in the past year, which spurred demand for talent in market and data insights.
The job market was active in areas like product marketing, digital marketing, consumer insights, key accounts, trade marketing and more. Business split sales roles into execution and strategy development, creating demand for positions in commercial excellence and revenue growth management (RGM). More regional positions also came to be based in Taiwan. Altogether, sales and marketing professionals enjoyed a wealth of opportunities over the past year.
Read on to find out more about the job market and hiring trends for Sales & Marketing professionals in Taiwan in 2025.
Industry trends for 2025
Looking ahead, the FMCG and retail sectors will continue to grapple with talent shortages. To address this, businesses will likely maintain their approach of hiring candidates from other industries or those returning from overseas. Demand will remain strong in areas such as market research, data insights, and new business development.
The marketing sector faces a similar challenge, with strong hiring activity anticipated across domains like product marketing, digital marketing, business strategy, innovation marketing, consumer insights, CRM, and data.
In the sales sector, the hiring for key roles such as key account managers, trade marketing heads, commercial managers, and business development managers is also expected to remain robust. Companies will prioritise professionals who can drive new EC channel strategies to enhance personalisation, consumer engagement, and market reach in e-commerce, all while improving cost efficiency and adapting fast to shifting consumer behaviours.
Additionally, Taiwan is increasingly becoming a hub for regional positions overseeing multiple countries. This will likely translate to a surge in demand for candidates with overseas sales management experience.
Most in-demand positions and skills
- E-business managers
- Channel development managers
- Brand managers specialising in innovation
Businesses will prioritise a range of different skill sets when hiring in 2025. Given that new business development is a key focus area within FMCG and retail, employers will favour commercially-minded professionals who can serve as true partners to the business. They will also look out for professionals who are inclined towards productivity, as well as those with experience in transformation, change management, or performance improvement.
The most highly sought after attributes that companies will look for when hiring marketing professionals include experience across different industries or markets, and product innovation and development. Chuan highlights exceptionally high demand for professionals with expertise in product innovation and OEM vendor management, especially those skilled in maximising marketing impact within tight advertising and promotion (A&P) budgets.
In sales, the most valued domains of expertise are e-commerce, key account management with distributors, as well as English language proficiency. Chuan notes that companies are also after professionals who can communicate well across teams, as organisational structures are now flatter.
The most in-demand roles for 2025 are e-business managers, channel development managers and brand managers specialising in innovation. This demand is driven by evolving consumer behaviors and business operations amid widespread digital transformation. These changes have heightened competition and led to saturation in Taiwan’s domestic market for certain product categories. Chuan explains,
As a result, businesses need support in adapting to new technologies and digital platforms, uncovering new business opportunities, and driving innovation to develop fresh products or services.
Help employees find meaning at work
Employers and employees alike are now more open towards career breaks, and Chuan finds that work-life balance and mental health considerations also feature more now in his conversations with candidates. This reflects a larger shift towards a desire for more meaningful, purpose-driven careers.
Keeping this in mind, employers will do well to engage in open dialogue with employees, working with them to define their career trajectories and goals. Chuan reflects,
Recognise employee contributions and help them achieve career satisfaction. When employees understand where they stand and see opportunities for growth, they are more likely to be loyal, engaged and committed to staying the course.
Meanwhile, when it comes to recruitment, it’s worth noting that some professionals can be groomed into a given position even if they don’t meet the job requirements fully. Therefore, hiring managers should consider evaluating candidates based on their soft skills and learning agility, rather than their past work experience only.
Lastly, Chuan recommends allocating more resources towards recruiting key talent in order to build and maintain a flat organisational structure.
Salaries increase
In 2025, salaries are expected to go up by between 15 – 20% for job movers, inching up from standard increments in the previous year.
Find out more
Request access to our 2025 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in Taiwan.
