Calling all HR managers and interviewers!

I recently stumbled upon a LinkedIn poll that asked employers to identify the factor considered most important when hiring a public relations employee.  According to the results, writing abilitity is the top priority, followed by previous agency experience.  Some other interesting facts to consider:

• 100% of females polled (56% of the total) choose writing ability as the most important, while 75% of males (44% of the total number polled) agreed.  The other 25% of males chose previous agency experience as the single greatest factor.
• When considering age, 100% of individuals 18-24 that responded to the poll found previous agency experience more important.  Instead, 100% of those 35-54 chose writing ability.
• In regard to company size, 100% of those polled in large (13%) and small (63%) firms chose writing ability.  Employees at medium-sized firms (25%) were split, with 50% choosing writing ability and 50% choosing agency experience.
• Education only accounted for 3% of the overall results.

I found this very interesting considering how many job advertisements call for 1-2 years of prior agency experience and current media contacts.  I quickly realized though that the poll was not limited to entry level candidates.  Would the results differ?

Below is a poll I created based off of the LinkedIn poll by Doreen Clark.  I invite all human resource employees, internship coordinators, and agency interviewers to vote.  Disagree with the choices? Please include an answer of your own in the ‘Other’ category.

 

 

The results may provide some really helpful insight for current college students and recent graduates (including yours truly).  Comments are encouraged!