PR Graduates in a Recession
We’re getting closer to the end of the academic year and dissertation deadlines are either fast approaching (just ask Kristen, my new best friend, who’s a few weeks away) or have just passed (cue sigh of relief, only to be quickly followed by the immediate realisation that now you have to find a job).
Those of you that are well prepared/well lucky will already have secured either an internship with an eye to staying on or a place on an elusive graduate scheme. For those of you that haven’t got either – don’t panic. Here’s why…
Something really interesting is happening in the social media end of public relations at the moment (and it’s not me blogging more regularly, but that’s pretty good too): agencies and consultancies are recruiting in huge surges.
While in the slightly less-evolved (not a criticism, but an opinion) areas of public relations, agencies are laying people off and freezing recruitment, social media appears to be on the rise.
There are a few reasons why I believe that this is happening;
- As Matt Churchill pointed out in an interview on Adam Lewis’ blog, social media isn’t even a toddler yet. Those brands that got involved early doors are reaping the rewards, and as this happens successful case studies are built and more brands make the jump. More business means more money and more capacity.
- (I’m not advocating that this is a long term model for social media, but it’s its current model.) Social media is often cheaper than a traditional public relations campaign. Of course it can be more expensive, but as I wrote a few months back on the Wolfstar blog, a bottleneck of agencies fighting for a small pool of good clients means one of two things; a handful of agencies win all the clients or social media becomes cheaper through basic supply and demand. The later has happened, but I think that as the industry matures and difference in quality between agencies becomes more apparent, meritocracy and fees will align.
- Young PRO’s with an interest in social media are perceived to be more immediately au fait with how different networks and methods operate (see define: digital native). That isn’t to say that if you’re over thirty your rubbish, but at the social media end of PR it’s increasingly common to see younger PRO’s given a chance. Plus, if you establish a voice in the space in your final year of study then you’re in a much better place to be cherry-picked than a student who still balks at Twitter and doesn’t know their Spotify from their Dopplr (that sounds filthy, I know).
With these three things in mind, new graduates should remain calm and collected. The agencies that practice social media are looking for fresh meat every day, make sure you’re in the butchers window. Or something a bit cooler. Ok, scrap that, but don’t worry.