Public Relations
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public
relations officers," said the historian Daniel J. Boorstin. His point?
In public relations (PR), your job is to make your client seem great
without anybody knowing you were trying.
Of course, those in PR do more than make their clients seem great. They
speak on behalf of client organizations; inform constituents; educate
audiences about important issues; help mitigate harmful negative publicity;
and generally represent a client to various audiences, including the media,
in order to get the most favorable publicity possible.
While some use the terms "advertising" and "PR"
interchangeably, that's a bit inaccurate. Advertising entails
purchasing space or time in a particular medium, such as a TV show,
publication, or website, and creating controlled messages therein. Public
relations, on the other hand, includes other activities and types of
messages-in turn often covered by the media-that help improve the
subject's visibility and reputation. And in many sectors it's a
fast-growing field.
What PR Is
While many people equate public relations with publicity—or more generally,
garnering media attention—the field is actually quite a bit broader. In
addition to media relations, PR agents coordinate activities such as
events, meetings, educational programs, speaking engagements, and other
forms of communication. One of the objectives in PR is to use the media to
reach the target market because, when mediated by a supposedly objective
third party, the message will become more powerful.
Because of their role in generating media coverage, PR professionals are
sometimes thought of as disingenuous, deceitful, hucksterish flacks trying
simultaneously to pull the wool over the eyes of their clients and the
public at large. That's inaccurate. Most journalists and clients will
only deal with people in PR who are known for being honest and
straightforward, because to do otherwise could potentially hurt their own
reputations. And the fact is, in today's business world, every company,
CEO, celebrity, and association wants to show the best possible face to the
public, and all of them are using public relations to do so.
What You'll Do
Day to day, PR pros look for opportunities to deliver appropriate messages
to their audiences. This may include planning events or speaking
engagements. You may find yourself "pitching" story ideas to
reporters to get them interested in covering subjects important to your
client or company. Other days may have you working on the strategy of an
overall communications program-in essence, what you'll release when.
For example, consumer products companies may launch new products or product
campaigns to tie in with particular holidays or other dates important to
the retail industry. These companies' PR teams are almost always
involved in these programs, as they'll be working on finding methods
outside of traditional advertising and sales to get the word out to
potential customers. PR professionals may also serve as company
spokespeople, disseminating information about companies to the media or
directly to key audiences. In the entertainment industry, the focus is more
likely to be on publicity: Any entertainment figure or company in the
industry will have a publicist, who is the go-to person for answers about
the A-list glitterati. An actress's arrival at an awards ceremony in a
hybrid vehicle instead of a gas-guzzling stretch limousine, for instance,
could be a PR move to show her feelings about the environment-a
well-considered one if the actress wants the public to take her more
seriously, or if she wants to make a statement about an environmental cause
that is important to her.
Often, public relations pros will spend much of the day working with the
media. You'll make phone calls, issue news releases, and plan story
angles and events. Reporters, producers, bloggers, and other media
gatekeepers may have a reputation for being at odds with PR people, but the
truth is that they rely on PR practitioners for information they don't
have the time or budget to gather themselves.
Those with more experience in PR will write speeches, strategize the best
time to announce new products, work alongside an advertising agency to
position products in the mind of the public, post on blogs, create and
publish newsletters, and coordinate social networking groups, among other
activities. Along with representing the client to the public, PR
practitioners will represent the public to the client, helping the client
understand the public's wants, needs, and concerns. They may also
manage crises, endeavoring to reduce the damage done to a client or
company's reputation-most of the time, however, companies will call in
a crisis communications specialist for such situations.
Who Does Well
Those who do well in PR have strong communication skills, are articulate
both with the written and spoken word, are able to understand a variety of
people, are confident, and quick studies-you'll need to learn quickly
what your clients do in order to communicate their messages effectively. PR
professionals should also be quick thinkers and persuasive.
While there are some behind-the-scenes opportunities such as research that
could accommodate introverted types, most jobs in the PR field require
assertiveness and an outgoing personality. If you know you're shy, PR
probably isn't the best career choice for you. A public relations
professional who is afraid of the public won't be able to represent his
or her clients authoritatively.
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To get in, you'll need a good general education and the proven ability
to communicate well both in writing and speech. An English degree will
help; so will training in marketing, communications, and writing. Some
universities offer public relations degrees. If you want to break into PR
mid-career, you'll still need these skills. Knowledge of mass media and
how they work also is relevant—many journalists make the switch into public
relations.
Students can join the Public Relations Student Society of America to gain
networking opportunities with PR professionals and other kinds of career
guidance.
Many get into PR by interning while in school. Most PR agencies and
communication departments offer internship opportunities where you'll
learn how to make contacts in the business and build up a portfolio.
Experts say that PR is as much art as science, and the only way to get the
skills is by practicing them. While you can break in from another field,
unless you have media experience, you're probably going to have to
start low on the ladder.
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With the explosion in online media over the past few years, PR is more
important than ever, and companies are hiring more agencies and PR staffers
to manage Internet relationships. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says
that although employment is projected to grow faster than average, keen
competition is expected for entry-level jobs. Still, this remains an
attractive industry to many job seekers. PR offers liberal arts types jobs
that can be steady and fairly lucrative while still being creative. Pros in
this industry often enjoy perks like parties, dinners, plays, and ballgames
with clients.
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If you go into PR, you'll either work at an agency or within a larger
company's communications department. At an agency, you'll serve
multiple clients; at a large company, you'll serve that company—or,
more likely, a division or area within it. Jobs are ever-changing—every
client is different. Much of the role involves account management, though
you'll also be responsible for creating and executing communication
plans. Once you have some experience under your belt, you may decide to go
freelance or start your own agency.
Within corporate PR departments, you'll probably work more
independently than you will at an agency—which may lead to a sense of
isolation, but will give you plenty of opportunities to learn. There’s
usually a bit more job stability on the corporate end, as agencies may need
to staff up and cut back as they add and lose clients. At an agency,
you'll have exposure to a wider range of clients, which means the work
is likely to be more diverse. Typically, you'll receive more mentoring
as well.
PR pros may specialize in one area of PR, but smaller firms are often more
generalist. On the corporate side, you'll hear about departments such
as investor relations, public affairs, labor relations, crisis management,
and so forth. The work in these departments can be similar, but the focus
is on reaching a particular target—relating to investors, the public, labor
unions, and so on.
Account Coordinator or PR Coordinator
Most people enter PR as an account coordinator or, if you go into
communications at a company, a PR coordinator. Generally the account
coordinator plays an administrative role, supporting an account executive.
The work involves projects such as clipping newspapers, assisting in
research, maintaining a list of media contacts, and coordinating mailings
of press packets to the media. Generally, the account coordinator role is a
stepping-stone to becoming an account executive.
Account Executive
The account executive is an account management function. The account
executive works directly with the client, writing press releases, planning
special events, and preparing annual reports. Often, the account executive
tracks trends, looking for opportunities where the client might receive
media coverage due to a widely covered news event. In many instances,
account executives will represent a company at press conferences, write
speeches or op-ed pieces for the company's CEO, and submit the
client's products for industry awards. Account executives are sometimes
called PR specialists in the communication department of larger
organizations.
Account Supervisor
A step up from the account executive is the account supervisor. The account
supervisor oversees PR accounts, often managing the account executives and
account coordinators. They'll often do hands-on executorial work
similar to that handled by the account executive, but they'll oversee
other staff members assigned to the account as well.
Media Relations
In media relations, you'll make phone calls to the press and pitch
ideas for stories. Your job is to convince reporters to write about a story
relating to a client. Account executives often do some media relations, but
many agencies have full-time positions for people who have honed the skills
required to call and pitch stories to journalists. In this role, you'll
need to understand what journalists are looking for and be able to quickly
hook them into listening to your article idea.
Director, VP
At the vice president and director level, you'll typically manage the
firm, meet with higher-level clients, and create overall communication
strategies. You'll be responsible for pitching accounts—that is,
finding new clients—and making sure everything is working to the
satisfaction of existing customers. You'll also want to be active in
thinking up new communication services you can sell to existing clients.
Within agencies, you'll work closely with younger staff to train and
mentor them.
Government PR Departments
Government agencies usually call their public relations departments
"public affairs" offices. (Many private agencies offer public
affairs services as well.) In these roles, you'll translate government
policy for the public and help communicate the public's concerns back
to the government. Public affairs issues include municipal elections,
military recruiting, deregulation of an industry, and homelessness.
Insiders say that government PR departments tend to be bureaucratic and
slow-paced. They may not offer the same opportunities for growth as the
private sector, and often don't pay as well. On the upside, the work
environment may not be as rigorous, and you'll have a chance to work on
significant public-policy issues.
Self-Employment
Once you have skills in the PR field, you can often find lucrative work as
a consultant. Corporations often outsource the PR function, relying on
outsiders to handle their needs—either an agency or a PR consultant.
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Entry-level positions in public relations generally pay in the high $20,000s
to low $30,000s a year, depending on geographical location (bigger cities
offer better pay) and company size. Corporate PR departments generally offer
slightly higher salaries and more benefits, but agencies may offer bigger
bonus opportunities. As you advance in the industry, though, salaries can
jump into the $80,000s and $90,000s and even well into six figures if you
make it to the executive level.