Going back to school is always an option, and one which looks to pay off in the new year. According to a new report, employers will hire 9.5 percent more college graduates in 2012 than they did in 2011. Here are the Top 5 jobs to consider:

- Medical and Health Services Manager

This is one of the fastest growing fields in the nation, as hospitals and other healthcare facilities look to become more efficient. Leading up to 2018, the field is projected to grow by 16%. Also, the average salary is around $94k/year.

- Teacher

Like the Medical and Health Services Manager, teaching looks to grow into the next year. It’s projected to grow by 16& in the next few years.

- Accountant

As companies look to save money and do what they can to earn back on taxes, the role of accountants will become more important. The field is projected to increase by 22%

- Network and Computer Systems Administrator

Technology continues to improve on a daily basis. Companies will upgrade and they’ll need to hire professionals who can help with this transition. This job market looks to increase by 23%, and has a projected salary of $72k/year

- Social Worker

This is a very varied position, which has a wide scope, assisting with the prospects of job hunting. Due to this flexible position, the field looks to grow quite a bit in 2012.

Some interesting findings, particularly for those of us in mobile, Geo Tech, and location technology as some very applicable trends and relevant categories are highlighted in the findings. Most notably, I picked up on some of the following that you may wish to take into consideration:

• Android jobs rocketed up 33%
• Data Entry jobs exploded in Q4 up 54%
• Programming jobs likewise exploded in Q4 2011
• HTML5 continues to grow strongly, up 41%
• Amazon Web Services Jobs were up 24% (although “the cloud” has yet to register
• Social Networking (up 26% to 5,276) jobs continued to fly. Google+ jobs appeared for the first time

Some pretty interesting reading… I suggested all of you consultants, contractors, students, and those of you contemplating a career move have a read of this interesting report.

See the PR – Freelancer.com Fast 50 Job Trends for Q4 2011 Shows the Technology Industry In Full Swing

And, instead of me telling you what I think, I thought we’d go to the people who are actually making the hiring decisions. Agency owners. Recruiters. And HR people across the industry.

I asked six agency owners, recruiters and HR leaders from across the country three key questions:

* What’s one skill that every PR pro needs today and why?

* What’s one PR skill that you see evolving—and becoming critical to success—in the years ahead?

* What’s the one skill you currently have the hardest time finding in the marketplace as you recruit for new talent?

Here’s what they had to say:

Jorg Pierach, President, Fast Horse

What’s one skill that every PR pro needs today and why?

Curiosity.  The curious are rich in a business where information is the currency.

What’s one PR skill that you see evolving—and becoming critical to success—in the years ahead?

Storytelling.  If content is king, by 2015 it will be Master of the Galaxy and All That Lies Beyond.  If you can’t tell a story in that environment, you will be irrelevant.

What’s the one skill you currently have the hardest time finding in the marketplace as you recruit for new talent?

Patience.  What’s with the hopping around from job to job these days?  I’ve found that the best people in our business are ones who tend to stay in positions for many years, not months. They build strong business relationships and give themselves time to really grow their skills and find a toe-hold. That’s hard to do if you spend all of your time chasing whatever is next.

Lisa Simon, vice president of human resources, Weber Shandwick

What’s one skill that every PR pro needs today and why?

Without a doubt, it’s the ability to think strategically by identifying the appropriate vehicle(s) for delivering content on behalf of our clients.  Weber Shandwick just created a new communications framework to help brands excel in today’s diverse content and conversation-driven news environment.  It reinvents public relations: http://bit.ly/qViwud

What’s one PR skill that you see evolving—and becoming critical to success—in the years ahead?

If I answered this question a year ago, or even a few months ago, I would have said demonstrated knowledge of digital communications and social media.  But that seems so obvious, doesn’t it?  Our industry is changing so rapidly because of digital and social media that having these skills is simply the ticket through the door.  The challenge has become finding linkages between online and traditional media and using those connections to expand the storytelling conversations.

What’s the one skill you currently have the hardest time finding in the marketplace as you recruit for new talent?

I’m repeating myself, I know, but I’d have to say strategic thinking within a highly social and information-driven world.

Beth Ward, regional talent recruiter, Fleishman Hillard

What’s one skill that every PR pro needs today and why?

I think all PR pros need to posses solid writing skills.  Public relations relies on content or stringing together sentences to tell a story.  Writing can later be transformed  into pictures, video, games or apps, but in order to create that content you need to spell it out.  The act of writing also ensures that the content will be appropriate.  It forces organization and completion of thought.  At Fleishman-Hillard every candidate we interview must take a writing test which along with personal interviews help us determine a candidate’s creativity, attention to detail, organization and strategy.

What’s one PR skill that you see evolving—and becoming critical to success—in the years ahead?

It’s important to think in concepts.  Because PR counselors have so many more channels to deliver messages beyond broadcast, radio and print we need to think in themes.  Having a theme allows the communicator to build tactics relevant to delivery channels but ties them together so that the objectives and messages aren’t lost in the execution.  Concepts organize and reinforce tactics.  It’s the glue that holds the program together.

What’s the one skill you currently have the hardest time finding in the marketplace as you recruit for new talent?

The rapid changes in communication and the explosion of channels make it hard to find someone who has experience working with traditional media relations, social communications and digital applications.  Our clients are asking for those types of  integrated programs but finding individuals who have executed them at the senior level is challenging.  It’s particularly tough to find experienced, integrated business-to- business communicators.

Rebecca Martin, director of marketing operations, Beehive PR

What’s one skill that every PR pro needs today and why?

Curiosity. If you aren’t curious, PR is the wrong field to get into, because our business and our client’s businesses are in a constant state of change. Having an innate sense of curiosity drives PR pros to want to learn more, uncover new insights, offer fresh ideas, think in new ways, ask hard questions, make the everyday exceptional. From interns to CEOs, asking the right questions, doing critical research, and being a voracious reader and learner are foundational to achieving success for our clients – and earning our own professional success.

What’s one PR skill that you see evolving—and becoming critical to success—in the years ahead?

Writing. It might be surprising to list such a core PR skill here, but as communications channels continue to evolve, writing skills must evolve too. Who ever thought ten years ago that a PR pro would be writing news releases based on SEO key words or writing the equivalent of ad copy for Facebook posts? Memos 15 years ago were long, printed out and distributed by hand. Emails today are short, bulleted and hopefully include key points or action items within the “preview” pane. Today PR is in the business of content creation. Tomorrow that will change. Writing is fundamental, but it is forever challenging us to adapt.

What’s the one skill you currently have the hardest time finding in the marketplace as you recruit for new talent?

Confident client consulting. PR pros often are taught to over-service, saying “yes” at all costs and skipping past asking “why?”. This practice can be at the expense of the client’s budget, the PR person’s own credibility and even the best solution for the brand. Many senior-level PR pros simply haven’t developed the skills of confidently, but respectfully pushing back, asking the hard questions, being candid and, ultimately, helping inspire something better.

Rachel Kay, president, RKPR

What’s one skill that every PR pro needs today and why?

Every PR pro needs be creative and resourceful.  We’re very fortunate in that our jobs never offer the same day twice, which also means we can’t offer a one-size-fits all solution for clients and programs.  PR pros need to be able to think outside the box and challenge clients to take risks and try new things.  That’s how we learn and grow and create results that transcend the norm.

What’s one PR skill that you see evolving—and becoming critical to success—in the years ahead?

PR pros need a better grasp of SEO – this is an area that doesn’t have to be outside of our arsenal and it’s important to ensure our clients are getting the most from our communication.

What’s the one skill you currently have the hardest time finding in the marketplace as you recruit for new talent?

It’s pretty simple – I really struggle to find talent that understands the value of research and using what they learn to build relationships. I know when they can’t do that when reaching out to me, they won’t be able to do that for our clients and with key influencers.

Gini Dietrich, president, Arment Dietrich

What’s one skill that every PR pro needs today and why?

Every PR pro nee to ds to understand search and how it affects content. With owned media, content is becoming one of the best ways to engage customers, generate leads, nurture those leads, and eventually convert them to sales. While PR will work with marketing and sales to this, it will become a completely integrated process that every professional needs to understand. And search is the part about getting found, which is critical to any owned media program.

What’s one PR skill that you see evolving—and becoming critical to success—in the years ahead?

Reputation management. Typically that’s left to the people who specialize in it, but the skill will evolve as everyone will need to be protective of brands and reputations, especially online.

What’s the one skill you currently have the hardest time finding in the marketplace as you recruit for new talent?

Phew. Just one? I’d say it’s understanding analytics and metrics and how to measure that to gross margins. In fact, our profession is completely missing an understanding of business so it’s really difficult to find pros who get it.

Comments

You quit your “day job” almost two years ago now and broke off to start your own agency. From our regular chats, it sounds like things are going wonderfully well. But, back in 2009, how did you make that tough decision? And, what have you learned since then that you can share with others that might be considering a similar path?

It’s hard to believe that it’s already been two years. Looking back, I can say that leaving my safe, steady job to launch Geben Communication was the best professional decision I’ve ever made.

I was never one of those people who set out to be an entrepreneur. In 2009, my husband and I were living in Florida, but our families were in Ohio, so we wanted to move back north to be closer to family. It was the height of the recession and I’d been toying with the idea of going out on my own. I decided to give it a try. I’m not an overthinker, so I didn’t spend a lot of time overanalyzing the decision. Once I got the idea in my head, I jumped in with both feet and worked really hard to ensure Geben would be a success.

For people who are thinking about starting their own PR consultancy, I’d encourage them to consider the business elements. There are lots of talented PR pros, but you need more than that to run a successful business. You have to be able to move someone along the continuum from prospect to paying client. That doesn’t mean you need a business degree or background. At my core, I’m a PR person. I didn’t have a business degree. So, instead of writing a business plan for the company, I wrote a PR plan. And, I worked the plan – everything from speaking at events and identifying relationship-building opportunities with referral sources … to how I’d incorporate media relations and social media to educate potential clients about the services we offer. It seemed like a natural thing for me to do. Looking back, it was also the right way for me to approach establishing and growing a new company.

What’s one challenge about running a small agency/business that most people don’t often think/talk about? Conversely, what’s one benefit people often overlook?

At Geben, we incorporate some of the best elements of the start-up world, including quick-thinking, responsiveness, collaboration and a “get it done” mentality. As we grow, I’m 100% committed to making sure we never lose that level of service and quality of work. It’s why people come to work with us, so it’s core to who we are and how we work. But, that means scaling is a constant challenge. Not every PR person shares my approach to work and level of responsiveness. Consequently, I’m really picky about who I hire. We’ve tripled in size since January – and fingers crossed, we’ll continue to grow! – but we’ll only grow at a pace where I know we can continue to deliver on the service and quality promises I’ve made to our clients.

As for benefits, there’s too many to list. Most of all though, I appreciate the freedom and flexibility to choose the clients we work with. I mentioned I’m picky about the people I hire. I’m also picky about the clients we work with. Geben helps businesses and organizations integrate their traditional and digital PR efforts. That works best when we work with clients who who see us as an extension of their team … not just as another vendor.

I also refuse to work with jerks. (Seriously, I fired a client once because they were completely rude over a period of time to one of my employees. I’m loyal to the people who I work with. No piece of business is more important than how they are treated.) Nearly two years in to this, I am so appreciative of our clients and the ability to work with them on a daily basis. It’s amazing and humbling.

In addition to your own blog, you’re also a contributing writer for Mashable. Since that’s a title and job most people would love, can you share how you opened that door initially?

It really goes back to PR 101 and relationship building. I was working with a Mashable reporter on a story about one of my clients. We kept in touch and worked together on a few other stories. Then, I asked her if I could interview her for something I was working on. Out of that, we developed a strong relationship and when she was looking for contributing writers, she asked if I would be interested. Of course, I jumped at the chance! Now, I contribute to Mashable and starting this month, I’ll be a regular contributor to Open Forum, focusing on digital PR articles.

What’s the one common question you hear from clients today—and how is your firm addressing it?

We are seeing less of a “bump” from traditional media hits. While those placements are still incredibly valuable for a number of reasons, traditional media relations alone isn’t enough. As a result, clients are intrigued by the potential of working with bloggers. Incorporating blogger relations into the mix creates a new set of opportunities for brands to connect with stakeholders and target audiences. Whether we’re promoting an event, launching a new product or service, or helping our clients position themselves as subject-matter experts – developing relationships with bloggers is critical to what we do. Helping clients connect with existing online communities is a major opportunity for PR.

You’re also a HAPPO champ, and you’re big on giving back to the PR industry. What’s one tip that job seekers might not have heard already that you might share?

I’m a sucker for helping students and young pros get started in PR. Recently, I’ve noticed a number of them saying that they’re not looking on job boards; instead, they’re totally focused on networking to find their first (or next) job. Networking is invaluable, but don’t turn a blind eye to the companies that are posting openings. The job search needs to be a blend of applying for positions found on career boards and developing/cultivating your network. It’s not an either-or situation.

Finally, you’re also a big sports fan. For some reason, you’re a huge Yankees fanatic (who grew up in Ohio—how do Indian fans feel about that?). How did that connection come about? And, how, if at all, do you use that passion for sports in your daily work?

In my defense, I’m from New Jersey and my extended family all lives there. Being a Yankees fan is in my blood. It does make for some interesting conversations with the in-laws, who are Cleveland fans, but that’s a whole separate discussion!

I think my love of sports helped mold me into a pretty competitive person. I love winning (and not in the Charlie Sheen sense!). There’s nothing quite like a prospect choosing to work with us over another firm. The drive to keep “winning” exciting clients motivates me to work harder, smarter and better.

Comments

Over at the Freelance Folder blog, Laura Spencer introduces five tips any freelancer involved with social media should consider. While these techniques may be basic in their approach, the value of following them will be shown as your social media footprint improves.

1. An Image. Although studies show that most people react most favorably to personal photographs, it’s also acceptable to use a logo or design. Whatever you do, don’t set up a social media profile and leave the default image in place. Using the default image for your social media profile shows that you’re uncomfortable online or even worse, a spammer.
2. A description of your freelancing business. Your social media contacts shouldn’t have to guess what type of business you are in. It’s okay to include some personal information in your profile as well (after all, these sites are meant to be social), but don’t exclude your professional information.
3. A link to your site. All freelancers should maintain a blog and/or a professional portfolio and naturally, your profile should link to them. This lets prospective clients find more information about your business easily.
4. A way to contact you. Whether it be through direct message, or an email address, prospective clients need a way to communicate directly with you. Be sure to include contact information in your social media profile and keep that information up to date.
5. Some activity. This element is last, but not least. Your social media profile is most valuable and most effective when you are actively participating. A social media profile that sits dormant for months is unlikely to yield any professional contacts.

Spencer also warns against being a spammer, which is valuable advice in its own right. You could be capable of producing some of the best freelance work around, but if you are overbearing in your approach, that is, mass use of unsolicited messages to potential clients, or even previous ones, it will only damage your reputation.

Be thorough, but not overbearing. While that may seem elementary in its explanation, there is definitely a difference between the two. Creating a successful social media profile isn’t hard, per se, but it does take work, and it takes the recognition of being able to separate an overzealous approach and an aggressive one.