Public Relations- A Good First Step for Career-Oriented Graduates
by Cher Li*
The New Year heralds the start of campus recruitment for many firms, not least of all public relations agencies looking to attract “bright young things”.
Advertising posters, seminars and workshops by PR firms arouse enormous interest among graduates-to-be. Many are attracted by the glamorous careers they believe PR holds. But, interest in PR is sometimes superficial, even misguided. Despite this, there are good reasons for smart graduates to be attracted to a position in a PR agency, even if does not lead to an entire career spent in PR.
PR agency work, unlike some first jobs, provides tremendous opportunities for both professional and personal development:
1. The scope of work, particularly in a strategic communications firm, requires knowledge and skills in communications, marketing and, more importantly, the general understanding of business in a range of industries. The clients you serve could range from an oil company, to a bank, even a manufacturer of baby food. As a junior professional you would have to build up your knowledge and learn how to communicate effectively within both agency teams and with suppliers. These skills will stand a professional in good stead whatever career path they finally decide upon.
2. PR officers (PROs) receive many opportunities for training and learning as strategic communications is a highly-specialized field. The knowledge and skills necessary for PR work must be updated regularly in order to meet the challenges of the job and the market.
3. PROs enjoy broad access to firsthand business news and information as they have very close contact with the business world. They can use this information to improve their own skills and to determine which industries most interest them.
4. PR helps young professionals to better understand organizational structures and career development paths as PR firms generally have well defined structures and paths. PR firms give a clear picture of how to ascend the career ladder. Needless to say, PR is attractive to young graduates because of the potential for moving up — not only because the salaries increase, but also because of the career potential. PR offers the opportunity to gain business skills that are transferable to many other industries — anything from consulting to finance, from IT to the media.
5. PR teaches you how to work within a team. ”Basically in agencies, we work in teams,” explains an Account Executive in a PR firm, “so there are people from every level, from account coordinator to VP. Everyone plays a different role in a project. It really helps you learn about the business and understand how your work fits into the big picture.” Given the importance of team work in most organizations these days it is important to learn how to be a team player early in ones career. Because of the high pressure one is under in a PR agency, team work is learned very fast.
6. Working in a PR agency also helps shape your personality. PR is a detail-oriented and relationship-oriented job. ”To do well in this business,” adds another agency contact, “you have to catch things before the client does, and keep track of a lot of administrative things. You have to document every phone call, remember everything you said to everyone, and remember what they said to you. PR manages communications and deals with crises — so you can’t be the ones making the mistakes.” PR professionals also have to be sensitive and relationship-oriented — not only with clients, but also with the media. You respect your contacts and make them comfortable dealing with you - a sense of humility is indispensable.
7. A PR agency also teaches people financial management skills. In a PR agency we often have to manage the budget for a project, people learn the skills to estimate project budgets and to bring projects in on budget.
Public relations, therefore, is a good first step out of university or college and into the working world. A PR agency is a good place to learn the professional and personal skills that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your working life, no matter what industry or profession you end up in.
* Cher Li is an Account Executive at AC Capital Strategic Public Relations.
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