Alan Sullivan from Fleishman-Hillard on his recent PR job hunt

As part of our series of recruitment features looking at the PR jobs market we interview Alan O’Sullivan, a recent recruit to Fleishman-Hillard’s Financial Services team. We asked Alan how he went about his search for a new job, what worked and what didn't: 1. Why did you decide to move from journalism to PR? Was it the money? Honestly, it was partially the money. Many journalists sit in relatively badly paid jobs and tell themselves they do it out of love of journalism, which is great. However, love doesn’t put bread on the table. An equally important reason is that it is impossible to progress in journalism now due to a lack of jobs. Many senior journalists are not moving on in this environment and many posts are being filled by bright young things straight out of university who are willing to work for peanuts. But the primary reason is that, after 10 years of writing articles, I wanted a new challenge – a job where I meet people more, use creative thinking more and earn business experience. PR was the answer. 2. Did you research which PR firms you wanted to join? If so how did you research this? Although I went through a recruitment agency, I researched all the suggested roles, mainly through asking the opinion of PR and journalist friends. However, as I used to get a dozen calls a day from PRs (in-house and agency) as a journalist, I had also some deeply-seated views of my own. 3. Did you use social media to search for jobs? Specifically LinkedIn and Twitter? If not, why not? I imagine that would have been an unwise move – a great way of showcasing my disenchantment to my current employer. 4. How did you find your "recruitment consultant" experience? I went to several before hitting on one that worked for me. One said the trend of journalists moving into PR was ‘so over’. However, the consultant who found my job for me instantly recognised the value of a journalist who wanted to get into PR and worked swiftly and tirelessly to get the right position. 5. Now you're in PR, any regrets? None. The weeks are flying by and I’m challenged on a daily basis. After 10 years, it is wonderful to be in a new industry and learning things afresh, but with the added value of journalism behind me. I think the two roles are an interesting fit. Editors note: If you are looking for a job, or looking to advertise a PR vacancy, you could do worse than try PRMoment Jobs. Nearly 10,000 UK based PROs look at the site each month and current recruiters are reporting an excellent response.