Public Relations Career Information

Public relations professionals spend the majority of their time planning, implementing, and evaluating promotional campaigns on behalf of their clients or companies. Public relations jobs typically include one or more of the following: writing, media relations, graphic design, public speaking, event planning, and other similar tasks. Depending on the type of organization with which you are employed, your job may involve any or all of these responsibilities, as well as other duties.

Skills Needed for a Public Relations Career

In order to be considered for a position in public relations, you will need to have strong communication skills. Successful public relations practitioners must be able to be able to write and speak clearly. PR practitioners communicate with their clients, employers, coworkers, the general public, and media representatives on an ongoing basis. Nearly every PR job requires, at a minimum, writing press releases and pitching stories to journalists via email, by telephone, and/or in person.

Many public relations jobs require making guest appearances on television programs, being interviewed on radio shows, and giving speeches or making presentations to groups of all sizes. Others require writing in-depth documents such as speeches, brochures, training manuals, and other publications. Additionally, PR practitioners are often responsible for coaching company executives and clients regarding how to speak to reporters and other media representatives.

In addition to strong communication skills, public relations professionals need to have excellent organizational skills, particularly if their job duties encompass media relations and event planning. PR professionals can be responsible for handling pre-planning, logistics, setup, and promotions for news conferences, grand openings, new product launches, and many other types of events.

Training for a Career In Public Relations

A degree specific to the public relations field is not necessary for a career in public relations, but it can certainly be beneficial. Most companies do require Bachelor's degrees or a significant amount of related work experience for even entry-level PR positions. Many people choose to move into Public Relations from careers in journalism, publishing, sales and other types of occupations that require strong writing skills.

Many people who are successful in public relations have completed formal education in fields such as: Advertising, Communication Arts, Creative Writing, English, Journalism, Marketing, Mass Communication, Psychology, Public Relations, and similar fields. Regardless of your major, if you college has a student chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) professional organization, it is a good idea to get involved.

A college student who wants to pursue a career in PR will be well-served by completing an internship with a public relations company or in corporate communication in order to get hands-on experience in the field. A combination of classroom training, hands-on internship experience, and recommendations from professionals in the field are very beneficial to anyone seeking employment in the public relations field.

Public Relations Jobs

In this article, I will describe the career profile of public relations jobs for you since an increasing number of people are opting for jobs in public relations.

Career profile

In PR careers especially in small organizations, the PR personnel directing public relations or handling an individual's publicity or public image, often has to deal with the job's every single aspect which can be quite stressful and involves huge responsibility. These kinds of PR personnel have to conduct research, make planning, contact people and also prepare or supervise the preparation of materials that have to be distributed.

Another job of theirs is to offer support for marketing people by handling sales promotion or advertising. In contrast, the most important public relations officer in large corporations is usually the vice president who often sits down with the other executives and develops policies and overall plans. Public relationists in PR departments are employed for researching, writing, preparing materials, responding to queries and maintaining contacts.

Some other roles in public relations careers that employees have to play are contacting media people who will broadcast or print the material prepared by PR personnel of a company, drafting of press releases, arranging press meets and so on.

In public relations employment, an employee has to prepare magazine articles, newspaper stories, television or radio or new media special reports and releases. Work in public relations departments means preparing,say, a press release, the subject matter of which might be description of an organization, the role it plays in its community and the kinds of positive policies it has spearheaded for employees.

Just to give you an example, a press release might revolve around the description of a public issue, like the environment or energy or health and what methods and lines the organization has adopted to advance that particular issue.

In public relations employment, PR personnel also have to perform the duties of crisis management.

Often negative things occur, such as, due to some kind of accident or explosion, there are losses of lives or workers are injured in factories - such industrial accidents are very common. The oil spill in the Gulf of México that has caused widespread environmental damage and is being billed as an ecological disaster and which has crippled the fishing industry in 5 coastal states in southern USA is a case in point.

Under such crisis circumstances, a PR specialist will act as the company's spokesperson; deftly handle media questions or vicious media attacks; state the company's position on how it is treating or handling the accident and maintain the company's positive public image.

Most politicians hire specialists in public relations jobs to portray poor public approval rating in positive lights.

Finding Jobs in Public Relations

Jobs in public relations are one of the highest paying jobs but then again being able to get a job in some big firm or organization as a public relation employee is a very difficult job. Building up your own portfolio and thereby increasing your chances of being hired will help you secure your position. A master's degree in some communication subjects or its equivalent is necessary for this PR jobs. When you apply with some experience it of course improves your chance of going forward faster and more correctly. However, what actually public relations is a very trivial question. As the field, itself means lots of work and responsibility.

When you are considering getting a job in the public relation sector. It requires many communication skills to actually help you stay there longer. There are various means of freelancing when you are considering jobs in PR. Develop your skills over the few public relations freelancing that you will be doing, with time you will be able to get a lot of experience as well as have full confidence over your own communication skills. This will help you support better when you apply for jobs in PR industries.

Working in public relations means handling many responsibilities in a wholesome way. Though you have to have a specialized degree to get a job in this field but then having immense, knowledge of everything that is going on around you will help you score better. A PR professional finds his/her demand in almost every field of the society. They always represent the company, through them the company actually tries to keep in touch with the people. Right from keeping the relation of the employees and the management strong to actually looking towards maintaining good relation with the customers is all part of jobs in public relations.

As a professional in this field, it is very important for you to be able to dedicate odd hours. It might be that you will have to travel a lot as well. Jobs in public relations demand odd working hours and lots of hard work. You might have to attend ten clients in a day but then also you will have to put your best foot forward for all of them. You will have to bring out all your skills and be able to persuade and sell to the people. Be it simply representing the company or simply selling something on behalf of the company everything is included in your job. Talk and impress people to be able to make your company reach new heights.

Being tactful is the key to success for jobs in public relations. When you are handling such a job, you have to be very smart in handling the people better, getting ready to face in situation. It is very vital to be able to face crises that will thereby make you stronger and at the same time more professional. The more you become prompt the better it is for you in this field. Managing the face of the company even in times of crises will prove your true worth as public relations professional.

How to Become a Public Relations Manager

The field of public relations demands the managing of the public image of a company, some celebrity or of some product at times. To become a public relations manager is like taking a huge responsibility on your shoulders. You have to be very good with the managerial skills to be able to handle this position better. It is not that easy otherwise, meeting up with the employees, maintaining really a good reputation with the stockholders, the consumers and the common people is some of the basic work that you will have to do in this profession.

Public relations manager job

To become a PR manager one needs to have some high-end qualifications that will actually ensure better pay and better success for the post. You can have a journalism degree to apply for this job, at the same time it can be a management degree also. What you require is a very neat knowledge of subjects like advertising, management, commerce, sociology, psychology etc. to become a public relations manager, you will have to be very strong with your speaking skills and also at the same time possess extremely good managing and handling tactics.

PR manager employment

Being employed in this position is not that difficult, one can easily with a higher level of education apply to this post. What is really the difficult part is your work as the public relations manager. The day-to-day work you will have to handle requires advanced skills and being extremely meticulous. You will be needed to maintain very good relation with your management as well as the workers. On the other hand, you will have to ensure a cordial relation of the both. The public relations manager work includes drafting letters for the company as well.

To become a public relations manager

A simple manager is assigned with the work of managing several segments of the company using their skills, while a PR manager will have to concentrate both on the managerial as well as on the public relations part. This easily makes it clear that being appointed in this post will require one to be more qualified at the same time more skilled. You have to very prompt in problem solving and be available whenever public issues arise for the management. Facing the people on behalf of them is what you require mostly.

Crisis, handling problems or even finding solutions all this are synonymous to the work of a PR manager. You cannot let down the image of your employer under any circumstances. It is through your voice, the way you represent that the public gets to know of the company, so it is your responsibility to focus on the positives and minimize the negatives, even when the company is undergoing losses. Highlight their potential and build up the image for the public using your skills after you become a public relations manager.

Public Relations Jobs

As soon as the young and vibrant students graduate from their colleges, the next thing they look forward to, is making a living all by themselves. They look for jobs which can give them the scope to apply their knowledge which they have acquired sincerely for these years by studying at their institutions and respective universities. But many face with hard reality as soon as they land upon a job. It becomes a little difficult for them to assimilate this fact, that the maximum knowledge that they attained all this while will not be put into direct use. Most of the knowledge will come as a part of what they learn as a new employee.

In case of public relations jobs, the new graduates have to face something of this sort. There is lot to learn and imbibe but then at the same time one should not apply for the job with this idea that there will be a huge platform where their knowledge shall be put to use. Every day will be a new experience in terms of learning if there are no pre formed notions about such public relations work. There are certain things and qualities that are expected to be displayed by such professionals in public relations jobs.

Work without arrogance but with confidence

Some youth are full of right and effective ideas but they are very low in confidence for which they hesitate before putting them forward. This is one of the reasons why their enthusiasms and talents are questioned by their colleagues and employers. Communication public relations jobs expect one to voice their opinions. Again on the other hand some of them do it with so much of confidence that they appear arrogant in front of their clients and colleagues. It is best to strike a balance and work accordingly.

A mentor should be identified

In the early phase of one's career in public relations one must identify a mentor. There should be a person in their workplace to which they may look up to for advice and guidance all the while. He should give the new employee an edge above the others and help him stay ahead in this game.

Mistakes are inevitable, but avoid them in future

If the new employee does his part by treating his first mistake professionally and sincerely then he is sure to learn from it and at the same time will raise his value in front of his peers and employers.

Stay committed in order to be a student of PR industry

One must always update himself by reading magazines and journals in the field of public relations to give his or her best.

Public relations employment procedures always try to analyze these qualities in a person when recruiting some one new.

Public Relations Recruiter

Every company must have a public relations (PR) department. Irrespective of what business the company has, it always has PR department(s), because in the end, it is the customer who is the king. It is essential to maintain good relation with the public which is its main revenue area.

From the point of view of the company, the job of a PR officer is pretty clear, but what about the people who recruit people in the PR department? What is their job like?

Public Relations Recruiter Job Description

Remember, here there is no space for a fresher. It is the experienced PR officials who become the PR recruiters. It is thus a hierarchy-based job. The experience of a single company notwithstanding, if you have the experience, you can shift to any firm or company.

The pre-requisites of a PR recruiter are:

• An extensive experience in public relations.

• Excellent track record in the PR department of the company previously worked in.

• Excellent linguistic skills - both spoken and written.

• Work experience as a team leader and

• An excellent negotiator and convincing prowess.

The pre-requisites mentioned are to be gained only in the long run and hence the average age for these types of jobs must be quite apparent. If you compare the above mentioned skills-set with that of a PR manager, there isn't much difference. The main difference as mentioned is in the experience in the work field.

Kind of people you need to recruit

Believe it or not, you need to hire people who are similar to you! That is, they must have the aforesaid skills. The PR officials may not be all experienced and sometimes it becomes absolutely essential to hire fresh and young blood. Such a workforce will not only invigorate the job environment, but will also help the public relation of the organization.

Public relations recruiter employment

Such a kind of job is well paid - is mostly 'performance - based - incentive'. If you can contribute with your experience and enthusiasm, there is no reason that you wouldn't be promoted lightening fast. The promotion and perks come easier because of the age and the experience with which you join the organization.

Big corporate houses are always on the look for better people at this position because they know that when recruiting new people, the company should not pay heavily in the bargain and hence the recruiters need to be great negotiators and people at this positions, usually are.

Finding a job in the PR is both easy and difficult. Easy because if you have the zeal, passion and enthusiasm in you, you will rocket past everyone! And if you're a late learner - remember, there is a long and better queue behind you!