By Gayle Pellizzer, LAC Group

Are you a tech-savvy problem solver?  Do you enjoy organizing content in multiple forms in order to improve access across different business lines and units?  Perhaps a career in digital asset management, or DAM, is in your future.  Digital asset management is an exciting, rapidly growing field that is eager to hire the best and brightest information pros who are not afraid of change and willing to think “big picture” in order organize, manage, and deploy digital assets throughout a company or organization.  Take a quick look at the speakers featured at the 2010 Henry Stewart DAM Conferences that took place in New York, London, Chicago, and Los Angeles.   These leaders in digital asset management have diverse backgrounds and multifaceted skills-sets.  Not simply metadata experts or archivists, these individuals are skilled professionals who understand that managing digital assets requires both business and technological acumen, as well as a firm understanding of how information, particularly different forms of digital content, are effectively organized, classified, and accessed by the user.

Although DAM may not be in your current job description, it is an area worth exploring.  As new opportunities for information professionals continue to move away from the traditional research and reference role, it is imperative to understand what skills, both soft and hard, are required of those who handle “everything digital” or “everything media related.”  Companies and organizations from all sectors, including web, film, and broadcast media, recognize the tremendous value of their digital assets, and are continuing to ensure that they remain secure, accessible, and preserved over time.  If you are not already involved in this exciting area of information management, take some time to explore DAM related blogs, podcasts, and websites.  Searching for DAM related opportunities on various online job sites is another way to learn about the skills required by companies currently hiring DAM experts.  Once you begin your search, you just might be surprised what you discover.

Gayle Pellizzer is a recruiter at LAC Group. Gayle is a member of SLA’s Business & Finance and Knowledge Management Divisions.