PR Recruiter Q&A

Interview Hub: Can you tell me about the work you do at Monday Talent?

Carly: We're Monday Talent—a search firm focused on recruiting for marketing, communications, and creative roles. We work across every sector you can imagine. I'm based in New York, but we work in every major US city—New York, LA, Chicago, DC, Boston, Miami, and everywhere in between. We place candidates anywhere from three years of experience to 25+ years, mainly full-time permanent hires. We definitely have a deep connection to DEI as well—we always prioritize a diverse landscape when it comes to placing talent, which is super important to us.

Interview Hub: Can you paint us a picture of what's happening in the PR job market landscape right now?

Carly: The market has been so up and down over the last five years. 2020, 2021, and part of 2022 were the hottest job markets we've ever seen. Since then, trends have been all over the place. We have been seeing recently that the market is quite strong—it is a hot market with a lot of hiring happening, but much of it is due to movement in the market. People are changing jobs, maybe they changed in 2020 and have been in a role for five years and are ready for something new.

What we're seeing less of is companies creating new roles. Most roles we're seeing are replacement roles because someone left a company, rather than companies creating new positions. Companies just don't have the money to create these new roles due to shifts in the market.

A big thing I see with layoffs is that during the pandemic, companies hired a lot of people into very similar roles. One company might hire three or four people to do the same job because they had the money and saw talent available. Now companies look at it and realize they have four people doing the same job, so they end up laying off three because they only need one.

Interview Hub: Okay, that makes so much sense! So are there certain industries that are particularly hot right now? Obviously AI is huge, but what other sectors are you seeing strong demand in?

Carly: Beauty has been so hot over the last couple of years. There's so much hiring happening in the beauty space, both in-house and agency. Beauty roles are paying quite well too, which you wouldn't normally expect. People usually group fashion and beauty together, but because there's such demand for beauty communications people, they're definitely being paid a premium.

I wouldn't say there are other major sector-wide trends, maybe less so in the tech space—we're seeing less tech hiring. We have been getting tapped quite a bit for AI hires at agencies though. Communications agencies are looking for people to work in AI-focused roles because they see where the market is going, and having an expert on their team who can guide them is critical.

Interview Hub: I love that agencies are being proactive about AI! So, what advice do you have for senior-level candidates thinking about their next moves, and what should mid-level folks be doing to beef up their resumes for these coveted positions?

Carly: It's so important for people to be open-minded. So many times we hear from candidates, "Oh, I only want to consider in-house roles." But those roles are fewer and further between, particularly at the senior level.

I always say regardless of the level, you should always be networking. Even if you're not looking for a role, take the call, have the conversation, make the connection, because you never know—your situation could change next week. There are plenty of people I had calls with 10 years ago that I'm still in contact with and have placed later because we stayed in touch. It wasn't the right timing then, but we built the relationship.

Interview Hub: There's been SO much chatter on LinkedIn about people applying for roles online and not getting through to the next step. What's your take on this, and what's the best way around it?

Carly: Job postings can get thousands and thousands of applicants. When Google posts a role, they could get 25,000 applicants, and out of those, maybe 500 are actually relevant. We'll get applications from people totally irrelevant to the job—it might be a PR job and we get someone who's worked in sales their whole career.

While I think it's great that people want to apply, this leads to companies not necessarily reviewing all the resumes. We hear from clients, "Oh my God, we have so many applications, we're in over our heads, we don't know where to begin." These resumes get lost in a black hole because people can't even review them.

I always recommend reaching out directly. Find someone at the company—whether it's the hiring manager or someone who went to the same college, was in the same sorority or fraternity—find those natural connections. A lot of times companies have portals where people can put candidates forward, or they have direct access to the hiring manager. I think it's the best way to actually get in front of people.

Interview Hub: Smart! And for our in-house folks who might be hiring—how do you help companies navigate this whole process and find good candidates?

Carly: We're partners with our clients—we say we're extensions of their talent function. We partner with them every step of the way: presenting candidates, scheduling interviews, ensuring everyone is happy, getting interview feedback, and being there through offer negotiations, references, and making sure someone gets placed and both parties want them to stay.

We operate on quality over quantity. We're not the agency that's going to send 20 resumes for a role. We'd rather send seven to 10 that are spot-on versus 20 that are irrelevant.

Interview Hub: What's the remote work situation looking like? Are companies pushing for more in-office presence?

Carly: I'm hearing from people all the time, "I really want a remote role," but unfortunately, the market is dictating otherwise. Probably 95+ percent of our clients have an in-office expectation on a weekly basis. Most of our clients are in the office three days per week, two to three I'd say. We see more flexibility on the agency side. In-house tends to push people to be in office three, four days a week, sometimes five.

There are plenty of people who say to me, "You know what, I have been remote, but I love going in." I hear that all the time—people want to be in at least three days per week because they don't want to sit in a small apartment every day, and they want to be around people.

Interview Hub: Totally get that, especially in NYC! Are you seeing any particularly interesting niches within PR that are in high demand?

Carly: AI is definitely a big one right now. Media relations is huge—we're hearing from clients, particularly on the agency side, that they need people who have relationships and can really deliver on that front.

But it's interesting because the biggest complaint we hear from people is, "I want to do less media relations," because that part of the job can exhaust people and burn them out. As they get more senior, they expect to leave some of that behind. But I think it's so valuable for those who continue to pitch and maintain relationships at the senior level—companies really value that.

Interview Hub: Do you see companies converting freelance or consulting talent into full-time hires?

Carly: Yeah, definitely. We've seen people convert from contractors into full-time hires. There's talk in the market about a big shift to freelancers and contractors, and we've definitely seen that with people starting their own consulting gigs. But we're mainly in the full-time permanent space, so I'm not totally ingrained in all those trends.

Key Takeaways for PR Pros

• Stay Open-Minded: Don't limit yourself to just in-house or just agency roles—you're missing opportunities

• Network Like It's Your Job: Build relationships even when you're not actively looking (those calls from 10 years ago really do pay off!)

• Go Direct: When you see a role you want, find connections at the company rather than just applying online into the void.

• Beauty is Booming: It's a hot sector with premium pay.

• Keep Those Media Relationships: They're more valuable than ever, especially as you get more senior

• Consider AI: Agencies especially need communications professionals who understand this space

• Prepare for Office Life: Most companies want you in 2-3 days a week minimum

About Monday Talent:
Specializing in communications, marketing, and creative fields, we’re a search firm that understands that in business, people come first. We’re Monday Talent—recruitment’s wake-up call. We’re on a mission to reimagine recruitment. We see ourselves as collaborators—building better teams by connecting talent on a human-level. Our focus is on lasting relationships, not closing deals. We work in a way that’s approachable and transparent. Here, people come first.

Empowering workforces that will change industries, we’re here to push boundaries—expanding your idea of what recruitment can really do. We started Monday Talent in the middle of the pandemic, from various walks of life, certain of one thing; that we wanted to recruit differently, together.

Website: https://www.monday-talent.com/
Carly’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carly-mednick-82297662/