How has this year’s job market been different from others in recent memory?
Well, for starters, there has been consistent hiring in the PR and Ad sectors during the entire year as opposed to the peak and trough that has become part of the space. During the holidays, especially Christmas time, hiring is always slow as companies look to evaluate for the coming year. But this past quarter has seen an uptick in hiring, specifically on the mid-senior side as companies are already looking to prepare for 2014.
It is important to view the job market in each sector as a microcosm of the economic status of that area as a whole. Specifically on the PR and Ad side, we see that there has been a shift of power in the past year from corporate hiring to agency business.
Let us all remember that this past year may have seen the DOW hit some all-time highs and give off the appearance of economic rehabilitation, but we are still coming out of a recession which saw thousands of business’ lay off millions of the workforce.
Corporate execs have seen the need to put up a good front in order to foment consumer spending, but they do not necessarily want to pay their own in house PR and Ad teams to get that message out there. This has the knock on effect of driving agency hiring through the roof as they seek to build out teams in order to cater to the increasing amount of outsourced business.
Let the battle for top talent begin!
The best employees don’t ever come cheap and almost always have jobs already. This is becoming more and more of an employee driven market, where candidates are able to leverage multiple offers for their services in order to gain top dollar for their services. The easy part is paying someone what they deserve to be paid, the hard part is finding the person that you need to find.
It is a heavy burden; finding top talent to work with all of the new business available nowadays.
Recruiters can help! (Our holiday gift to you!)
Happy Holidays from Phifer & Co.