What a time to be alive! In an age of left-field elections, imminent war, and interesting financial markets, we’d like to offer some insight on one thing we know matters – the direction of public relations, specifically with regard to PR recruiting and the recruitment industry in general.
First and foremost, it’s important to examine the current trends in Public Relations and communications to understand the ebb-and-flows of the industry’s job market. Public Relations is a constantly shifting and evolving industry, and so is its recruitment practices. We are seeing many things shift in the industry already, such as the importance of earned media over paid amplification, the shift to contributor marketing and to deeply integrated agencies. Changes have also been attributed to the ability to better measure the effectiveness of a PR campaign, and especially to the ever-evolving PR strategy and pricing structures, that “are shifting to a clear deliverable model,” as explained by John Hall in a 2016 Forbes article.
Luckily, we in the recruitment industry see these emerging trends as a sign of imminent growth, and thus an exciting time to be in the job market. Reputation management is becoming an essential expense for corporations, while the energized technological space is paving the way for nuanced digital communication strategies and content creation. Even the new FDA regulations brought about by our new government is giving way to changes and surges in the pharmaceutical industry, and creating a massive need for talent in the Healthcare Public Relations industry worldwide.
While this is a strong candidate market, a lot of companies are still urging their internal recruiters and agency partners to have some stringent requirements. We have some companies ask for advanced degrees, very specific client experience, and do not offer much flexibility on title or years of experience. Additionally, certain industries have and will experience economic dips, causing them to trim their communications teams first, and prompting unfortunate and unexpected lay-off’s. That being noted, my personal recruitment philosophies remain that there are always exceptions to every rule, and one’s reputation will always proceed them. With proper networking, decorum, the occasional well-timed thank-you note (and a bit of our help), one can accomplish almost anything.