One of the unfortunate realities caused by the 2009 recession is that a lot of very talented people are out of work. One of the hardest hit sectors has been the publishing industry where powerhouse newspapers and magazines have cut staff or gone out of business entirely. New graduates are finding it nearly impossible to find publishers who have open positions and are hiring.
Even if your particular company has weathered the recession fairly well, like Imagination Publishing, the atmosphere of uncertainty that surrounds our clients causes everyone to be overly cautious about adding staff even when business is growing.
Consequently, publishing talent is everywhere. The state of publishing has allowed us over the past year to have a number of outstanding contractors and interns in our offices who would not have been previously available. These talented individuals, hungry for opportunities, have made significant contributions to our work and as a company we could not be successful without them. These positions offer both the company and the individual the opportunity to see each other in action. As a result, several interns have been offered and accepted full time positions at Imagination as they became available.
I suspect that this will continue to be both the situation and an opportunity throughout the publishing industry for the foreseeable future. For publishers and marketers, I say you should seize this opportunity to tap into the wealth of available talent by constructing creative scenarios where the best talent can demonstrate what they have to offer. For editors, designers, marketing professionals and digital specialists, now is the time to impress innovative companies with your creativity, passion and energy. You need to create your own opportunities to be noticed and prove your value to companies who can afford to be highly selective right now.
This is so true, Jim. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a couple of the aforementioned contractors/interns, who have provided outstanding services and contributed knowledge and passion to the work we produce for our clients. We, and our clients, are lucky to have them!