2009 Trends: PR & Editorial Jobs Increase Share, TV & Academia Decline
NEW YORK – Mediabistro.com (a division of WebMediaBrands Inc., Nasdaq: WEBM) released its 2009 “Media Jobs Report,” an inside look at job trends in the media industry culled from mediabistro.com’s industry-leading job board (http://www.mediabistro.com/joblistings).
Competition for jobs in the media sector was intense, with many jobs getting hundreds of applications. In fact, a quarter of all jobs had more than 100 applications submitted, while the average was 81 applications per job. The greatest number of applications for a single job was 1,309.
“It goes without saying that 2009 was a tough year for media jobs,” stated Alan Meckler, Chairman and CEO of WebMediaBrands. “However, we’ve begun to see many signs of a turnaround in the past two quarters and our 2009 Media Jobs Report shows which areas are garnering interest and response. We hope it will continue to be a resource to the media industry for years to come.”
Job Source Trends
With layoffs and hiring freezes, the media companies that once dominated the employment landscape gave way to a host of other players. The top 10 job posters on mediabistro.com in 2007 accounted for 19% of all job postings. These same 10 companies accounted for 16% of all job postings in 2008, while in 2009 they accounted for only 8% of total postings.
Most Desired Jobs
Some jobs get lots of views, and some jobs get lots of applications, but the best determinant of the desirability of a job is the application completion rate, the percent of people who complete an application after clicking on the apply button.
1) Marketing Director for multi-title publisher – 86% application completion rate
2) Senior Advertising Sales Executive for publisher of lifestyle and hobby publications – 85% application completion rate
3) Midwest Advertising Sales Account Manager for leading digital media and e-commerce company – 81% application completion rate
4) Sales Director, East Coast for social media advertising and marketing firm – 81% application completion rate
5) Advertising Sales Director for niche online publisher – 79% application completion rate
Categories with the Highest Share Growth
While overall job posting volume was lower in 2009, some categories fared better, increasing their share as a proportion of all jobs:
1) Public Relations – Share of jobs up 22% versus 2008
2) Marketing – Share of jobs up 18% versus 2008
3) Online/New Media – Share of jobs up 15% versus 2008
Categories with Declining Share Growth
1) Television – Share of jobs down 19% versus 2008
2) Teaching/Academia – Share of jobs down 13% versus 2008
3) Magazine Publishing, Advertising Agency, Graphic Design/Art Director – All down 9% versus 2008
About mediabistro.com
Mediabistro is the premier content, career, and community resource for media professionals, managers, and executives. They come to mediabistro.com to read news and features, take courses, attend events, and find work on the industry’s best job board.
About WebMediaBrands Inc.
WebMediaBrands (www.webmediabrands.com), headquartered in New York, NY, is the leading global provider of content, education, jobs, and events for business, media, and creative professionals. The company consists of four distinct brands: mediabistro.com, LearnNetwork, Freelance Connect, and Semantic Web. Over 6 million users visit WebMediaBrands monthly.
