I Want to Work in … Public Relations

PROFILE: Public Relations Executive

INVOLVES: 'The deliberate, planned & sustained effort to establish & maintain goodwill & mutual understanding between an organisation & its publics' (Institute of Public Relations).
All aspects of media & public relations for clients, including: writing & distributing news releases for national & trade media. Writing & implementing programmes e.g. corporate brochures & videos, exhibition stands, slide presentation; media monitoring. Answering enquiries from individuals, journalists & organisations. Preparing press releases, articles etc., organising press briefings, conferences, exhibitions, receptions, tours. Creating & maintaining useful contacts. Planning & initiating PR campaigns.
EMPLOYERS: Industrial & commercial organisations, local & central government, charities, educational institutions, specialist PR consultancies, advertising agencies. There are three types of PR: In-house: working within a large organisation to promote them - called 'Corporate PR'; Agency: working independently for a number of clients - most usual form and Freelance/Consultancy.
RELATED JOBS: PR is the 3rd side of the marketing & advertising triangle. All aim to promote clients through the media but employ very different means - although roles can be somewhat merged. Journalism is also closely related, & often a route in.
SATISFACTIONS: 'Opening a paper & seeing a substantial piece about your client that you've generated. Very varied work.
NEGATIVES: "Very much 'piggy-in-the-middle' syndrome. Sandwiched between client & media - often get a hard time from both! Lots of stress & tight deadlines."
SKILLS: spoken & written communication, persuading, organising, cooperating. Personal Qualities Required: determination, excellent interpersonal skills, flexibility, persistence, ability to take risks.
ADVANCEMENT: Typical levels: graduate trainee, assistant account executive, account executive, senior account executive, account director, associate director
DEGREE: Any degree acceptable, although writing skills vital so many have degrees in English & history. Other useful subjects include business, law, politics, economics, science & languages.
POSTGRADUATE STUDY: None required, but full or part-time Postgraduate diplomas, e.g. CAM qualification, may be useful.
VACANCY SOURCES: PR Week, Guardian on Monday, Campaign, UK Press Gazette, Hollis Press & PR Annual. The Institute of Public Relations - produces careers literature & holds a 'PR Careers Day' each year.
TIPS: Relatively few vacancies for new graduates with fierce competition. Get involved in student journalism or fundraising. Many people enter after experience in journalism, advertising or marketing 'Offer services free to gain experience - I worked for 3 months for my cost of living before being offered a job. Alternatively, approach through graduate schemes - very competitive!'

Getting into PR

I have finally got a job in PR, you said it could take anything between 6 and 8 months and it took 6 (although, if I'm being honest I have only really been trying since the New Year).

After about 100 applications (speculative, and to advertised jobs and work experience), an agency picked up on me (JFL Recruit  www.jflrecruit.com  they specialise in PR) and offered to set me up on a work experience placement. I worked unpaid for a week at a PR and Design specialist company and they wanted to keep me on. I turned down the offer because of  the commute (I traveled for 5 hours one day because there were trees down on the line). I felt like I was shooting myself in the foot but realised it was impossible really to work such long hours unless/until I moved to London.

After updating my CV after my work experience, however, I applied for a few positions locally via www.reed.co.uk - a job website I highly recommend for people searching for specialist careers in local areas (they advertise thousands of specialist regional jobs), I got three interviews.

I was offered and have accepted the job at a music and entertainment company. They said I was the only person they considered with no or little experience but they liked me and are giving me a good salary and are going to train me on the job and even hire a computer specialist on a temporary basis to set up the company digitally and train me in multimedia. It will be an in-house PR role with some marketing and computing duties and it is just a 20 minute drive away from me. I start next Monday.

BA English and American Literature graduate