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For the past six months, we at PRmoment.com have been gathering information on the PR jobs market. Using monthly figures taken from a variety of PR jobsites (PRmoment jobs, PR Week, Simply PR Jobs, Gorkana, LinkedIn), we’ve been able to uncover the current state of affairs in the world of PR recruitment.
The graph below shows the number of jobs advertised over a six month time frame:
Despite the obvious dip over the Christmas period, the number of PR vacancies open for application appears to be on, an admittedly slight, rise. These figures indicate the buoyancy of PR and its job market; there are positions still out there, despite a recession, and they are growing in numbers. A positive sign for job hunters and currently employed PRs alike.
The increasing number of PR jobs out there suggests a growth in the industry, however this progress could be considered relative. A factor to consider is geography; where are these jobs? Is this rise in advertised vacancies equal across the UK? If not, why not? In a recent blog, we dug a little deeper into this area and uncovered some interesting figures relating to the importance of geography for those on the hunt for a job.
That said, because companies in the main only recruit if they are feeling confident, both about themselves and the market in which they are operating, the fact that the PR recruitment market has shown steady growth over the last 6 months is encouraging in various ways.
First of all it means that the UK PR scene is feeling pretty robust. It’s not the case that people are necessarily ordering a new car, or looking to double the size of their premises, but there is a feeling of work hard, do good work, manage your business or your budget well and you should be OK.
Secondly, it shows the companies’ need for PR has either held up or has increased. It does not suggest that clients are turning off the PR tap, so to speak.
And thirdly, it may suggest that PR is retaining a significant level of input into the world of digital and social media. My justification for suggesting this is that if clients were only seeing PR as a media relations exercise, you would most likely be seeing some significant downward pressure in the PR jobs market.
One trend that public relations will need to overcome is the shortage of candidates with appropriate skills.
This is an interesting debate. On the one hand, having gone through four years of a worrying financial climate, you would have thought that the number of available and experienced candidates out there would be pretty high. But this doesn’t seem to be the case. Whilst in-house PR recruiters, pretty much have the choice of the market, if a PR agency is trying to recruit, it remains the case that they are likely to find this a difficult process, with candidates thin on the ground.
The reasons for this, it seems to me, are three fold:
The candidates must be out there but:
1. Agencies are risk averse in the recruitment process.
To an extent, recruitment is about managing risk. So if a candidate’s job history is not an 80% job fit, most agencies will be frightened off.
2. If your last PR job was in the public sector, private sector employees will be extremely hesitant to employ you.
Again this is about risk for the employer. It may well be that represents a missed opportunity for both PR employers and PR candidates.
3. Skills sets: The traditional skill sets of PR people are changing.
That doesn’t mean that the media relations skills of relationship building and the ability to write are going out of fashion, there will always be a need for these people, it’s just that PR teams now require a more diverse skills set. These might include web site designers, people who understand html code, social media experts and broadcast specialists.
