No wonder agency recruiter friends are looking exhausted these days. Hiring is up. In some cases, way up. In fact, most public relations firms are actively hiring, according to the PR Council’s Q4 member survey.
The following graphic is good news for young professionals pursuing careers in public relations. Agencies grew at an average of 10% last year, marking the fifth year of healthy growth. More than 40% of agency heads expect client budgets to increase in 2015, which bodes well for the profession. Fastest growing areas are healthcare, consumer products and services and technology and energy.
PR Council President Kathy Cripps cites increasing focus throughout the agency world on recruiting, developing and keeping talent. The survey indicates 63% of agencies added staff last year, which is almost the same as were in 2013. Few other professions can cite such dramatic growth. Digital media, of course, spurs a chunk of this growth (18%), followed by senior strategists (16%), media relations specialists (15%), content creators and client relationship managers (11%). Onward and upward.
