This PR Week headline from last week raised considerable hope among aspiring PR professionals, but the article focused primarily on senior-level practitioners who are the bread and butter of top executive recruiters.
Since I’ve been predicting light at the end of the tunnel with regard to jobs for entry- and mid-level practitioners, I asked former PR pro and executive recruiter Don Spetner if he agrees.
“We are now seeing demand for entry level talent in PR, and we expect that to increase strongly over the next two or three years, particularly for those with an aptitude and passion for digital media, Don said. “The good news is that we are seeing a true rebound in the overall job market, and particularly in the communications sector.”
Further encouragement comes from the PR Week report citing The Creative Group Hiring Index for Marketing and Advertising Professionals, which surveyed 500 marketing and advertising executives (375 of them at companies with more than 100 staff and 125 of them at agencies with more than 20 staff). The survey found 93% of them were confident in their company’s prospects for growth in the first quarter of 2011. As a result, a net 4% of them anticipate hiring in the next three months, up one point from the previous quarter. The report indicated that people involved in account services are top on the hiring list, followed by social media and PR with interactive media high in the hiring mix.