Fall Report: State of the Comms Job Market
For the first time in years, the communications job market is hot…for employees. That’s not our opinion. It’s the takeaway from a business economist and two of the communications industry’s most respected executive recruiters.
How it used to be: The comms job market has been improving for some time, but mostly for organizations doing the hiring. Thanks to assumptions about AI’s competence as well as overhiring during the pandemic, employers had their pick and took advantage of it. Many communicators were going through weeks of interviews, only to find themselves back knocking on doors.
How it is now: For the first time since 2022, the “buyer’s market” is swinging back. However, it is still on job-seekers to position themselves properly.
We tackled these subjects a week apart on Cracking the Comms Code, and both panels came to the same conclusion: It’s past time for communications professionals to treat ourselves like a client and put our best digital foot forward.
The first panel covered the state of the communications job market and changing expectations for comms professionals, featuring
- Brooke Kruger, Founder of KC Partners;
- Jessica Bayer, Managing Partner, Corporate Affairs & Communications Executive Search Practice at DHR Global; and
- Michael Feuz, Consulting Manager at ITR Economics.
The other panel looked at how comms professionals can use LinkedIn to stand out in the marketplace. This one brought together
- Mollie Johnson, Founder of Three Brooks Marketing;
- Brandon Watts, Director of PR & Communications at Storyblok; and
- Monique Kelley, Communications Consultant, Professor, and Author.
Comms Upstream
The communications job market is changing in part because companies increasingly want communications leaders involved earlier in important business decisions. Instead of making a decision and then asking how to explain it to employees, customers, reporters, or other stakeholders, the boss is now calling on communications leaders to help navigate those decisions in real time. That includes mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, regulatory questions, and complicated new challenges like artificial intelligence and data centers.
That is a different role from simply executing a communications plan, and it’s the one our entire function’s been demanding for generations. However, AI is the elephant in the room here. We have to show that it is a tool, not a strategic solution to all content problems. Put another way, producing more material does not necessarily make an organization communicate better. Someone still has to designate priorities, ascertain what is credible, and choose what is worth saying to whom.
The result is a growing premium on judgment. The communicator who can connect communications to the broader business brings more to the table than the skilled but downstream executor of what’s already decided.
Sell Yourself!
This is where LinkedIn comes in.
It’s not exactly new technology, but it’s become indispensable in the new buyer’s market. If you think LinkedIn is just about celebrations, à la Facebook, then perhaps you’re not using it right.
Start with how you’re engaging with other people’s content. Maybe you’re spending time giving accolades to your former communications colleague – and that’s fine some of the time. But most of your time should be spent putting your experience and insights to work engaging on the content of key recruiters, potential direct superiors, and old contacts who can help you find work.
What does that look like? One approach is to seek to add additional value. Instead of saying, “Yeah, great point!” say, “That’s a great point. In my experience, XYZ is also valuable.” Or, better yet, “That’s a great point. How do you recommend handling XYZ NICHE ASPECT of the issue? We handled it this way at Google.”
Etc.
You don’t need to find a million of these people, either. Maybe you have a LinkedIn list of “only” 500 contacts and not 50,000. But those 500 followers, if you actually know them and talk to them, will do you tons more good than 50,000 “followers” who scroll past your posts to hit the next Sports Illustrated ad.
In other words, you don’t need to become an influencer. The more useful goal would be too obvious to state if so many communicators didn’t fail to notice it in front of our faces: to become recognizable to the right people. You need those prospective employers, clients, reporters, colleagues, and other professionals to know you before they’ll hire you — just like you’ve always told clients and executives.
Advertising? Not Exactly.
Communicators are particularly vulnerable to thinking our own content is advertising. “I don’t know how to talk about myself” is a phrase we’ve heard a lot when discussing using LinkedIn to find a job. And it makes sense, because we’ve spent our entire career propping up others.
But here’s the thing: If you’ve been successful for 20 years, there’s a reason. You have insights, experiences, and stories that people want to pay for. This means they’ll probably want to read or listen to what you’re saying.
Once you’re comfortable reacting, it’s time to plan. Producing content on other people’s pages is good; doing it on your own is even better. And this strategy is multidisciplinary: Whether you’re trying to get a job at a tech company, a healthcare company, or a food company, you should be creating content that’s only targeted to the recruiters, hiring managers, and hiring influencers in the industries and companies on your docket.
This disciplined content strategy gives people a reason to remember you. A communications professional’s experience is full of useful information. There is no need to invent a profound new thought every morning when the news cycle is gift-wrapping you something to think about and react to in a value-add way.
No Cramming
The trust reservoir is not just for crisis communications (though it definitely doesn’t hurt there). The hiring-market discussion and the personal-branding discussion ultimately arrive at the same place: Visibility is most useful when you build it before you need it.
If you start posting on LinkedIn the day you lose your job, you are starting from scratch. If you begin networking only when you need an introduction, you are asking people to help based on a relationship that may not exist yet. And if you begin thinking seriously about your professional reputation only when you are interviewing for your next position, you have missed years of opportunities to demonstrate what you know.
You don’t need to make another full-time job out of social media to get yourself out there. We generated almost $200,000 in revenue from three clients, two of whom hadn’t talked to our founder in a decade. But once they reconnected on LinkedIn, it was off to the races.
A sustainable LinkedIn presence is more valuable than an “overdrive” schedule that burns you out after three weeks. Consistent engagement, thoughtful content, and genuine professional relationships can gradually create something much more valuable than viral reach: familiarity and credibility with the people who may be interviewing you in a few months.
Build the Brand, Yesterday
Ultimately, there are two sides to the professional evolution our age requires.
Companies increasingly want communications leaders who can contribute to business decisions, not simply execute them. At the same time, hiring managers, prospective clients, and other professionals have more opportunities than ever to see how communicators think before they ever sit across the table from them.
You shouldn’t turn your nose up at LinkedIn, and you can’t ignore the importance of personal visibility. It does not require posting every day. It does not require chasing viral content. And it certainly does not require turning your LinkedIn page into a constant advertisement for yourself or your employer.
It requires knowing what you are good at, understanding who needs that expertise, and consistently giving those people a reason to remember you.
Communicators already understand these principles. We tell clients that reputation takes time to build, that relationships undergird the business, that audiences need relevant information, and that credibility comes from consistent behavior.
Surprise, surprise: The same rules apply to us!
Proven Media Solutions is proud to share both panels below. It’s hard to feel alone when you’re looking for work, so we hope these insights help!
