Artwork by Kagem Tibaijuka. Flickr single image attribution in description
[Intro]
“I’ve always loved music”, says Ben Harris. The PR started Run Music in 2006. “The idea with Run Music is to only work with music I’m passionate about”, he says. Whilst many of us do love listening to music, the numbers tell another story. Record sales have sounded out of tune for years since the internet came onto the scene. How can music PRs find breathing room for their careers, if things don’t seem to be going well? Keep reading as vox-pop investigates whether music’s decline affects your chances of building a music PR career. Read the rest of this entry »
View Where junior jobs are being paid over £18K in a larger map
Out of the cities mentioned such as London, where would you want your junior job? Tell us in your comments.
How you can follow into the footsteps of PR entrepreneurs by flying solo
Tony Stevens, the founder of Effective PR says he wasn’t sure of the exact moment when he knew he wanted to be an entrepreneur. The sole trader says: “I was made redundant as a purchasing manager from a big international company at the age of 50. After about 1,000 job rejections, I started my own company.” Over 5,000 PR agencies exist in the UK, according to Mischief PR. What are the secrets behind starting a shop and keeping the tills ringing?
Hilary Collins has taken care of clients such as Carlsberg.
Read the rest of this entry »
Job vacancies are continuing to disappear as figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) show. There were a total of over 430,000 job vacancies in all sectors leading up to August 2009. This was down from 174,000 in 2008. The reduction in vacancies could have a domino effect, leading people to look at other ways to work.
Elaine Levy, chair of the Independent Public Relations Consultants (PRI) says: “I would imagine because of the companies suffering the recession, lots of PRs have gone on their own now.”
Levy founded Birkett PR in the 1980s. The independent PR tells vox-pop: “Obviously large agencies are suffering. They may cut back or they may only take on freelancers.” According to the ONS, redundancies have gone up from by over 100,000 since 2008 across all sectors of employment.
In a £6.5 billion industry, being independent could be your alternative to the traditional route of making it in PR.
As the blogger of Private Frazer’s Doomed Magazines commentates on the shrinking print industry in the UK, it is no surprise that PRs have taken notice too.
Emma Russell, 26, is a media relations officer at the Arts Council. Emma tells vox-pop: “A lot of journalists are being laid off. They are getting rid of what they can and buying it in from news agencies.” thelondonpaper printed its’ final edition on the 18 September 2009, with over 60 positions put at risk. What does this mean for PRs?
“They lean on us even more”, Emma explains. Lou Thomas, 29, head of press at Trailer Media says: “A lot of print magazines are folding. You have to think of new ways to position what you are working on.”
Aspiring PRs should look to these avenues when applying for jobs.
Image designed by Kagem Tibaijuka
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For more results from the careers survey, check out the PDF from High Fliers available here.
