career in PR
Jessica Pardoe

Tips For Developing A Career In PR

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A career in PR can be extremely rewarding and it sounds incredibly clichĆ©, but every day is different, truly! Unfortunately, it can be said that PR has a PR problem. Itā€™s not currently taught in the school curriculum, and whilst there are university courses out there, they arenā€™t as abundant as the likes of business management and classic marketing. In a bid to tell you more about what working in PR is like, and how you can enter this industry, weā€™ve put together our top tips for developing a career in PR below.

We are also hiring, so if you have experience in communications, social media, marketing or similar, then weā€™d love to hear from you. Please do drop our friendly team a message, or, read on!

What Does A Career In PR Involve?

ā€˜Public relationsā€™ is the maintaining and growing a brandā€™s reputation. This can be anything from handling crisis communications when things go wrong, to the more positive and exciting task of getting a businessā€™s name ā€˜out thereā€™. Day to day, working in PR can include writing and issuing press releases, running CSR (corporate social responsibility) campaigns, managing social media accounts, creating website content, and so much more! At Source PR, we always say we act as an extension to our clientā€™s marketing and sales teams, supporting them at every step. This is great as it means for us, no day is the same, and for our clients, it means they get a passionate team of professionals working on their account.

4 Tips For Developing A Career In PR

Does PR sound as though it may be for you? Great! The good thing about this industry is that it can be home to all types of people with different skill sets. PR needs its mix of introverts and extroverts, as well as people with different capabilities whether writing, creative thinkers, planners or simply confident communicators. You may already have some experience in PR, or you may have none at all. Either way, hereā€™s our advice for you.

  1. Go and seek experience

PR is a real ā€˜hands onā€™ job, so when developing a career in PR weā€™d always recommend getting some industry experience under your belt, whether thatā€™s through a placement year or doing some internships (you donā€™t have to be a student do to them!). Entry-level PRs sometimes find they are pipped to the post by applicants who have a little more experience than them, you can help combat that by bolstering your CV with time spent at agencies and businesses. Most PR agencies will gratefully take on interns and individuals for work experience, so the best thing to do is ask!

  1. Be proactive with your learning

When working in an industry as versatile as PR, things can change quickly. So, we always encourage our own team to be proactive in the steps they take to keep their knowledge up to date. Thereā€™s a wealth of industry conferences, training days and resources out there for you to dip your toe in. If youā€™re looking to get ahead in your career, we couldnā€™t recommend this enough. Plus, you never know who youā€™ll meet at events, theyā€™re great for networking!

  1. Get social media savvy

As social media experts ourselves, naturally we see having your own social media presence as important! Though itā€™s not vital in developing a career in PR, it certainly helps. You can use Twitter and LinkedIn as vessels to share the things youā€™re doing that are industry-related, and also use those platforms to network too. We love using our own social media channels to share updates on what life is like here at Source PR, as well as broadcasting some great bits of coverage for our clients. You can follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as Facebook and Instagram.

  1. Hone the right skills

The most crucial thing to us is passion, so make sure that PR is the industry you want to pursue your career in. Once you have that nailed down, then you can focus on the skills you need to be successful in the sector and develop them. As eloquently written by our PR intern Bridie, there are a number of different ways you can ā€˜enterā€™ PR, whether thatā€™s through a traditional PR course at university, a journalism or English one, or no degree at all! We think the attributes most crucial when developing a career in PR are:

  • A creative nature
  • Great writing skills
  • Proactivity and enthusiasm
  • Team player
  • Friendly and personable
  • Willingness to learn
  • Being organised
  • Passion for PR

The PR industry is incredibly supportive and whether youā€™re just getting started or are looking to make your next move, there are a bounty of resources out there to help you along your way. As we mentioned earlier, we are currently growing our team here at Source PR. Weā€™re a small, hardworking team that has a genuine desire to do the best work for our clients. We care about your development and help each other out every day. If youā€™d like to find out more, you can check out our job post on LinkedIn, or pop us a message to hello@sourcepr.co.uk.

Photo by cottonbro: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-black-iphone-5-5053835/