Dear Roll,
   All of us in the media business have been holding our breath for the past three years, waiting for the industry to recover. Things looked promising for 2003 until the war began; 2004 brought more improvement but some areas lagged and many agencies held back on hiring, not entirely sure that the economy was back for good.
   Now we're in 2005, and things look a lot more promising (though we're still some way off from 2000, when demand for media people was at its peak and headhunters were chasing after talent with incredible offers). 
   “Our advice to any job seekers that have been waiting to conduct their job search until the market has improved is strike while the iron is hot,” says Ragan Jones, a media recruiter at Talent Zoo in Atlanta.
   “The job market has picked up considerably across the country, and there are media positions available in almost every area of the country, so if you have been holding off on conducting a search, don't wait too long or your dream job may be filled by someone else.”
   Evidence of the bump in demand is all around. We see it in the improving media economy; more ad dollars mean more business for ad agencies which in turn means more workers, in media and elsewhere, to meet the increased workload. We're seeing more job postings. For example, Talent Zoo says that in December 2003 it listed an average of 50 job postings each day. Last month that had tripled to 150.
  The firm reports that 83 percent of its current candidate pool is employed compared with an average 28 percent over the previous three years.
   This trend extends well beyond media.  Compensation Resources, a Saddle River, N.J., consulting firm, found that voluntary job turnover (people leaving their jobs by their own will and not their company's) has increased in the past year to about 11 percent across all industries and 20.7 percent in business industries as a whole.
  What's changed in media, with this rise in demand, is that agencies no longer have the upper hand in job negotiations. One recruiter tells me that job seekers have become much more selective about what they’re willing to accept.
   They’re waiting for the right opportunity instead of jumping at any job that comes along. That means a more competitive market, with more agencies bidding for the same pool of talent. 
  I’ve also seen the evidence in my inbox. During the past three months, I’ve received numerous queries, mostly from small- and medium-sized agencies, looking to fill mid-level posts.
  You don’t say what area of media you specialize in, but recruiters tell me that positions of every type are available.
   Media planners with several years' experience continue to be the most sought-after, especially those with interactive experience.
   Demand is lower for media buyers in part because agencies can shift the extra work to media buying services.
   “The main areas we have seen high demand for are mid-level media planners, supervisors and up-and-coming media directors,” Jones says.
   “A year ago, there weren’t as many competing opportunities out there. Now, with the changing climate of the job market, we are seeing candidates who are keeping their options open and interviewing at multiple places at a time.”
   So pull out that resume and give it a polish. It would seem the right time to begin looking for your dream job.