The recession has made many PR professionals question their careers and future directions. Some are dealing with redundancy, others are handling greater stress as their workloads increase, while others face the stress of not having enough work.

This may lead them to question whether PR is the right industry, or whether they would be better off switching to another sector. PROs are not alone in questioning their careers and their work/life balance. According to recent research carried out for O2 by ICM Research among 1,201 full and part-time workers in Britain, the recession is leading people to reconsider some of their most fundamental values and beliefs. The O2 Working Values Report suggests that achieving personal happiness and contentment is a top priority for many Brits, with nearly 3 in 5 questioned saying they would choose to earn less money if they could work for a company that “provides them with time to pursue their interests“.

As PR is seen as a profession that offers more flexibility than many, people’s
desire to achieve greater balance in their lives should be a good thing for the
industry. Polly MacLehose, consultant at recruitment specialists FreshMinds Select, says that many aspire to work in PR anyway, as it's an alluring career that combines the creative and the commercial, but now even more people are looking to move into it – particularly industry specialists. She gives examples of the types of people who are looking for new careers in PR: “We have placed a chief advisor to a cabinet MEP with a leading political PR firm, and we have been approached by a top banker who wants to move into financial PR. And these are not people who have been made redundant, they're choosing to move.”

MacLehose believes that now is a great time for PR companies to be picking up
industry talent who are starting to move, especially from the banking sector. She
quotes the recent FreshMinds World of Work 2009 survey (an online survey of 502 professionals across five sectors) that found that nearly half of those questioned feel like they have been working harder in the last six months, but for the same pay as before. She adds: “Those PR companies that can pay for the best candidates with sector expertise should be capitalising on this opportunity to hire the best, as other companies freeze pay, development and benefits.” However, MacLehose points out that those with romantic notions of PR as being about glamorous parties and events, need to realise that, “in reality, it's hard graft."

For those who already in PR, it may be tempting to think about trying out another sector. But it is worth recognising that it is human nature to think that the grass is always greener. As the World of Work survey revealed, most sectors believe each other's sector is better than their own, with almost two-thirds of employees across five different sectors (retail, financial services, public sector, professional services, and technology, media and telecommunications) saying that the recession has prompted them to think about changing their career. The most popular sector employees want to move to is public services – this was the top sector among those in financial services, professional services and technology/media/telecoms.

The survey suggests that regardless of sector, employees across the board believe they can expect better rewards and job security elsewhere, with at least 15 per cent in every sector looking to change industries in the next year. The most attractive sector for jobseekers in the survey was the public sector, with nearly two-thirds of respondents looking to change roles saying they would definitely consider this field. Again, this survey highlights people’s desire for more balance in their lives, as although the public sector is seen as the most desirable to move into, it has some of the lowest average incomes.

Case studiesDenise Taylor, chartered psychologist with www.amazingpeople.co.uk, says that as a career coach she works with people from many different professions, helping them to understand more about who they are and set them on a new career path. She says that for some the change of career is just a gentlle shift, while for others it’s more radical. Here she gives two examples of people moving direction, one out of PR, and one into it: 
 1. Jenny: chose to move out of PR“Jenny, on a career break following the birth of a daughter, now aged two, chose to search for something outside of PR. At 42 she told me that PR was a ‘young person’s game’ and she wanted her priorities to be family and her daughter not the needs of over-demanding clients. Taking the time to go through an intensive and extensive review, The Gold Career Programme, Interior Designer was a great match, and Jenny now has her own franchise and is doing well on a three-day week.

2. Anu: chose to move into PR“Anu was unhappy as a senior finance manager – writing reports did not satisfy her creative streak, and through work with her career coach PR came out as a perfect match, but how to make the move? Currently she is volunteering as the PR person for a local charity, but it’s hard to make the move … She’s done all the right things, adapted her CV to show how it matches against PR key capabilities, done fact finding interviews and some shadowing, but continues to chase the elusive job. I tell her that she needs bucket loads of determination and to look longer term – things will improve when we come out of recession – and in the meantime to keep doing things to enhance her CV and work on building contacts.”