PR pros, do you prefer agency or in-house work?

The million-dollar question that my clients ask me is, “Why?” In a job market that is often deemed to be suffering, shouldn’t people be standing in line for new roles at great agencies? Why is there not enough qualified talent to go around?

PR agencies struggle to identify, attract, and retain great talent in spite of competitive salary offerings, good benefits, and great brands. My own observations from speaking to many PR candidates are that a lot of great talent, especially senior talent, is moving in-house within corporate departments.

I found this intriguing, and I wanted to know more, so I asked clients and candidates alike, those moving from in-house to agency or vice versa, and those with strong opinions on either or both. Here are some opinions I’ve encountered:

Some feel they have just had enough—that all agencies are the same and their issues will persist at any agency they move to—so they opt to move in-house.