PRoactive: The Public Relations Job Hunter's Guide
by
Jeff Domansky
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Copyright 2011 © by
Jeff Domansky
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Domansky, Jeff (2011-10-05). PRoactive: The Public Relations Job Hunter's Guide, ISBN 978-0-9877408-0-9 eBook edition
Proactive: The Public Relations Job Hunter’s Guide
1. Foreword: Your Guide to PR Job Success
2. Introduction – Why This Book?
3. PR by the Numbers: Growing Job Opportunities
4. What’s It Take for Success in PR?
5. PR Job Types: Wide-Ranging & Exciting
6. Where the PR Jobs Are: Fastest-Growing Opportunities
7. How Do PR Salaries Measure Up?
8. Is Accreditation Necessary?
9. All About Internships: Critical Value & Experience
10. Why Traditional PR Resumes Still Matter
12. Why Cover Letters Count Most
13. Winning Interviews: Tips & Tactics
14. Presenting You: How to Create a Winning Social Profile
15. Portfolios - Your Best Work & Experience: Hard Copy & Online
16. If You’re Not Networking, You’re Nowhere
17. Online Job Networking Opportunities
20. How to Find PR Jobs on Facebook
21. Where to Find the Best PR Jobs Online
22. Skills: What are employers looking for?
23. Research: Mission Critical - Think Like a Reporter
24. Working with Recruiters: Another Path to PR Jobs
25. Job Search Help in Other Places
26. Proactive PR Job Strategies: Even with No Openings
28. No PR Experience? Finding Your 1st PR Job
29. Tips for Experienced PR Job Hunters
30. How to Find a PR Agency Job
31. Negotiating a PR Job Offer
32. How is PR Performance Measured?
33. Resignation Tips: Making a Smart & Graceful Exit
34. 20 Guerrilla PR Job Search Tactics
35. It’s Not Over Even After You’re Hired…
36. What's the PR Future Look Like?
38. 14-Day PR Job Hunter's Blueprint
1. Foreword: Your Guide to PR Job Success
Though I started my career as an advertising copywriter, I have more than 25 years experience in public relations and PR consulting. This includes managing PR divisions for two award-winning ad agencies, directing regional PR agency offices for two international PR companies and running two successful independent PR agencies. Not to mention nonprofit and government communications experience early in my career.
During that time, I’ve hired and managed hundreds of talented employees, senior managers and support staff. I’ve probably seen more than 3,500 resumes and done hundreds of interviews. Let’s just say, I can tell you what impresses me and what employers are NOT looking for! And I can definitely tell you what will get you hired in public relations.
Writing this book is my chance to answer many of the questions I got over the years and still get every week such as:
• I’m good with people. How can I get into public relations?
• What education do I need?
• Where’s the best place to find current PR jobs?
• What skills are employers looking for?
• How much can I earn?
• What can I do to increase my chances of getting that dream PR job?
• Do you have any tips to help me find a PR job?
• How do I find that perfect PR agency job?
• How important are traditional PR skills?
• I'm not getting any response to my applications. Help!
• Can social media help me find a PR job?
• And many more…
The “PR Jobs” section of my website The PR Coach has hundreds of practical PR Job resources and is consistently the busiest, most popular part of the website for one reason. PR careers are hot!
The past five years have seen tremendous changes in public relations. The impact of social media is huge. Traditional media and the old ways of doing PR are long gone. The pace of change is fast and the need for real-time response is even faster. Competition is tougher too and expectations for results are also much, much higher.
The best news is that PR job opportunities continue to grow impressively. You could say these new opportunities have been created by a "perfect storm" of business's need for PR help, the effect of baby boomer retirements and, most importantly, the impact of social media.
This book is designed to give you current insight into these changes, to help you find new opportunities and to get a PR job. At the end of many chapters, you’ll find five to 10 quick “PRoactive Resources,” checklists or a selection of links to online resources to help you get information fast. That’s the best thing about a downloadable book.
The public relations profession is exciting, always-changing and challenging. It demands the best from talented people but the personal rewards are immense. After more than 25 years in PR, I can still say I enjoy every workday.
If this book helps young PR job hunters, experienced PR pros, and those who want to cross over from journalism or other professions into public relations, I’ll be thrilled. It’s my way of saying “Thanks!” to all those who helped me during my career. I hope these strategies and tips will help you find your ideal job in this exciting profession too.
While research in my book focuses mainly on the US market, the principles and fundamentals for the PR profession and job search apply everywhere. Using both traditional job hunting and the new social media strategies in this book, you'll be able to source and compete for PR jobs anywhere.
Know what the US national average is for the time to find a job? 32.2 weeks! It's time to be PRoactive with traditional and social media to find your next PR job.
I look forward to hearing from readers and PR job hunters about your success. You’ll find lots of additional PR resources and a current PR Job Board at my website The PR Coach www.theprcoach.com. You can also connect with me on Twitter @theprcoach or by email prcoach@gmail.com. All the best!
Jeff Domansky, APR
The PR Coach
www.theprcoach.com
2. Introduction – Why This Book?
How is this book different from dozens of other job hunting books, blogs and job websites?
This is a job hunter’s guide that’s unique to the PR profession. The PR world is very different from most other vocations. You need to know what’s different and how to accommodate these differences and nuances for PR job hunting success.
There are a few other books that cover related professions such as advertising, marketing and journalism. There are online resources scattered across the Internet from professional associations, monster job boards, recruiters, PR professionals and bloggers. But many of them offer limited or general advice that doesn’t address the unique needs of PR job hunters in this competitive new job environment.
This book is also for those who want to know more about the public relations profession. It’s designed to tell you how to find, research, apply for, present yourself professionally and win that next PR job.
You'll get an overview of the PR job market including trends, future opportunities, salary data, descriptions of different PR roles and a look at where the hottest job prospects are today.
There’s insight into what employers are looking for. Which skills, education and training are most valuable? What new style of cover letters, resumes and online portfolios will help you get attention, interest and a PR job interview? We’ll show you how to make the most of internships, provide networking tips, interview suggestions and how to make a positive impression in an interview.
I’ll point you to the absolute best places to look online for current PR job opportunities and suggest ways to get help from mentors, coaches, recruiters and professional resources.
Having trouble finding your first PR job? Are you an experienced PR pro who was recently laid off? Need suggestions to negotiate a job offer? This book can help.
The biggest change in job hunting is the most important one. In the past, the most important task was to find PR job opportunities. That's still important. But now you need to do one critical additional thing: you need to help employers find you!
That's happened because of the impact of social media.
The bonus chapter in this book is a "14-day PR Job Hunter's Blueprint" to help you find a PR job. This blueprint provides daily strategies, practical tips and checklists to guide you to PR job success.
Many chapters include helpful checklists, templates and links to online PR resources you won’t find anywhere else in one spot and are only available to owners of this book. Make the best use of these resources and you’ll improve your chances of finding that dream PR job.
In my opinion, the following infographic really says it all when it comes to PR job opportunities.
At the end of the day, finding the right PR job and making sure you can be found are all that matter! So, let’s get PRoactive.
3. PR by the Numbers: Growing Job Opportunities
The most recent US numbers for PR jobs are BIG and they’re encouraging:
• 24% growth in PR by 2018 (US Dept of Labor)
• 94% increase in PR job listings (Nov 2009 – May 2011: SimplyHired.com)
• 34% of senior practitioners expected to retire in four to seven years (Canadian Public Relations Society)
• 307% increase in "social media" job listings (Nov 2009 – June 2011: SimplyHired.com)
• 275,200 employed in PR (US Dept of Labor)
• Median PR salary = $51,280 (US Dept of Labor)
• PR is 84th in top 100 jobs (CNNMoney.com)
• 64,000 with the title “public relations manager” (US Dept of Labor)
• 132,000 “public relations specialists” (US Dept of Labor)
• 7,000 US PR agencies (PRSA)
Let’s talk about why these numbers should get you excited about a career in public relations.
As of 2008, an estimated 275,200 people were employed in public relations across the US (Bureau of Labor Statistics). 64,000 had the title “public relations manager” and another 132,000 were employed as “public relations specialists.” While the majority works in larger cities, there is a recent trend towards PR job growth in smaller markets, closer to regional clients.
CNNMoney.com and Payscale recently compiled a list of the top 100 jobs in the US. "PR Director" was number 84. The ten-year forecast is 24% job growth in the industry with a median salary of $51,280 and top pay range of $153,000 annually. You’ll find much more detailed PR salary data and information in Chapter 9.
PR students and young public relations professionals should also be very optimistic according to the Canadian Public Relations Society. CPRS expects 34% of its members will retire within the next four to seven years and those numbers should be comparable in the US. That will create a demand for talented professionals in higher-paying PR management positions as well.
The PR agency business is also resilient and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) estimates there are more than 7,000 PR agencies in the US. While 2009 and 2010 were challenging, many agencies rebounded by the end of 2010 with growth in revenue in 2011 and a determined effort to extend social media service capabilities.
According to the US Department of Labor’s 2010-2011 report, employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 24% through 2018. This is great news for PR job seekers!
The report cites two factors: the growth of social media and the increased need for public relations in a more competitive and global business environment.
Although some regions of the US remained in a recession in 2011, many PR recruiters have seen solid growth in new job searches and hiring. They reported more senior-level PR management openings, improved opportunities for entry-level candidates and strong demand for those with excellent social media skills.
Simply Hired job trends research showed an increase in PR job listings of 94% between Nov 1, 2009 and May 31, 2011. Despite challenging economic times, that's very encouraging for PR job hunters. Another survey by Simply Hired showed that job postings with ‘Internet marketing’ in the title have increased 180% since November 2009, while ‘social media marketing’ has grown 307%.
Well-known recruiter Dennis Spring of Spring Associates Inc in New York City cites growth opportunities in health care, pharmaceutical and medical devices, information technology and in financial services companies.
Demographics such as aging populations, economic uncertainty, the continued housing crisis, sustained internet growth and development are also indicators of future PR job losses in some traditional sectors, but strong new niches and unexpected new opportunities are increasing in “new” digital media, technology and social media.
2011 PRWeek/Bloom, Gross & Associates Salary Survey
The 2011 PRWeek/Bloom, Gross & Associates Salary Survey is very upbeat. From PR agencies to corporations and other organizations, hiring is on the upswing. Recruiters were in high gear looking for positions from junior level to senior PR pros.
The survey uncovered a number of interesting findings from its 534 respondents:
• 23% changed jobs in the previous 12 months
• The median salary for survey participants was $87,000, up from $82,000 in 2010
• 67% reported their salary was higher in 2011 than 2010
• New hires can expect a salary increase between 5% and 15% over their previous employment
• 29% were actively looking for new PR job opportunities
• 21% of respondents would consider leaving their current job for a minimum 20% increase in salary; another 11% would leave for an increase of 15% in salary
• 35% find their job more rewarding than they did 12 months ago.
The average salary for public relations positions advertised on the large job search engine Simply Hired as of August 2011 was $52,000.
The impact of social media on public relations and marketing is without question. Corporate recruiters and staffing agencies placed more than 2,300 new online job ads for Marketing Managers with social media skills during June 2011, according to a WANTED Analytics™ survey. This represents a 71% increase compared with 2010.
While rapid change is always a factor in the public relations business, there’s no question the future for PR is both bright and social. Not to mention rewarding.
4. What’s It Take for Success in PR?
In July 2004, Heyman Associates talked with nearly100 leading PR professionals in a groundbreaking study. The goal of this research was to identify the patterns of success in leading PR professionals.
The research highlighted 10 patterns and themes and it also reinforced some earlier theories about what makes successful public relations professional.
Among the key findings:
• PR success is an individual, organizational and group achievement
• Many pathways can lead to success in PR
• Performance is an absolute requirement for success
• Years of experience count but diverse experience counts even more
• At the top level, complex communication skills are essential including writing
• The value of relationships and relationship building is pronounced
• Proactivity and passion pay off
• Intangibles like interpersonal and relationship skills are vital
• The power of PR is limited by perceptions of its role and value
• Female and male executives view success the same.
“Based on this research and the 10 patterns we identified, success in PR appears to involve juggling a complex set of roles, possessing excellent communication and leadership skills, gaining wisdom through diverse experiences and achieving high performance at the individual, group and organizational levels,” the report says.
This study reinforces some of the stereotypes of the successful PR professional. Some of those characteristics include passion, performance, superb networking, interpersonal and communications skills, the ability to work both alone and in groups successfully and a wide view of the world around them.
From my experience, you can add high-level writing skills, news and political awareness, social media savvy, talent with and curiosity about technology, creativity, a high level of energy and the willingness to be a risk taker.
The 2008 Heyman Associates report A Study of Excellence in Public Relations Leadership gives us a further picture of the PR profession through 222 interviews resulting in eight key findings:
• Strategic decision-making capability is the most important quality of excellent leadership in public relations
• Work experiences, individual initiative and role models are the richest sources of leadership skills and development
• Strong role models--at work, at home, in the classroom or elsewhere--exert the greatest influence on practitioners’ beliefs about leadership values, practices and qualities
• Leadership in public relations is different from leadership in other fields: it requires a unique vision and professional media knowledge and skills
• Organizational culture and structure are linked to excellent leadership in public relations
• There’s an absence of outstanding and nationally-recognized leaders in public relations; in other words, no household names
• With few exceptions, female and male professionals, and practitioners at diverse organizations large and small, share similar perceptions about excellence in public relations leadership
• Excellent leadership in public relations is complex. It involves at least five primary dimensions or qualities (and five sub dimensions) and is influenced by organizational culture and structure, as well as developments in the organization’s environment.
A further 20 young leaders were interviewed to explore the dimensions of leadership in action. Several other interesting findings emerged:
• Three leadership themes were noted: leading by example, learning from mentors and keeping public relations relevant.
• Six individual characteristics of excellent leaders were mentioned by many of those interviewed: creativity, integrity, passion, motivational abilities, fundamental PR skills and diversity of backgrounds.
In my many years of hiring, these findings still paint an accurate picture of PR professionals. How do you measure up? Do some of these qualities ring a bell with you? Are there things that you may need to change or strengthen to be more competitive in job hunting?
Knowing these success factors will help your career in the long term and in the short-term will help you understand what is driving employers.
5. PR Job Types: Wide-Ranging & Exciting
This chapter is a quick snapshot of the types of PR jobs that are out there. If you're already in the business, you can skip ahead to the next chapter or browse through to new job segments that interest you.
One of the best things about public relations are the wide-ranging roles you get to play. If you’re a writer it’s one of the best professions. Like social media? It’s Shangri-La! If you enjoy working in teams and with a wide range of people, organizing events, speaking or managing a crisis, then PR is definitely for you.
A PR pro may be involved in any of these activities at any time:
• Research, monitoring and analysis
• Writing, editing and publication
• Employee or internal communications
• Financial communications and investor relations
• Media relations
• Community relations
• Publicity and marketing PR
• Promotion
• Special event planning, organizing and management
• Speaking, presentations and representing your organization
• Issues or crisis management
• Strategic counsel
• Stakeholder relations
• Government relations and public affairs
• Video production
• Website design, content and management
• Social media strategies, management of social media communities and channels, new media content and video production.
Many of these functions will be carried out no matter where you work. Variety is another of the things PR professionals appreciate the most. So let’s look at the types of public relations jobs out there. They include: corporate public relations, nonprofit communications, PR agencies, government, healthcare, education, social media and working as a solo PR or freelance publicist.
Corporate Public Relations and Communications
Corporate public relations is one of the most demanding of PR jobs. Most often, you’ll be part of a group of public relations specialists within large organizations or Fortune 500 companies.
That means you’re expected to provide a variety of skills depending on your experience and seniority. It may mean you’re delivering a specialized service such as speechwriting, social media, news letter writing, community relations or media relations. In the right organization, it could mean terrific opportunities to learn a specialized skill from mentors. In other organizations, it can lead to PR management roles once you’ve gained enough experience.
Some PR pros love working in corporate public relations. If it’s a large organization with a product or service you really believe in, it’s easy to enjoy your job. To others though, a large corporation may not appeal because you’re less independent or influential until you can climb the management ladder. Or, you may not like the idea of working in a “cube farm.” Dilbert followers beware!
Once, I would have said corporate public relations is the most stable and rewarding job in the PR profession. Today, in challenging financial times, layoffs and downsizing are a bitter reality in the PR departments of some large companies. That said, senior level corporate PR jobs still rank at the top in terms of prestige and income.
Nonprofit Public Relations
Nonprofit public relations cover a wide range of organizations. You could be communicating for schools, colleges or universities, healthcare institutions, arts groups, research and fundraising organizations, environmental or advocacy groups, community service organizations, professional societies and much more.
Many PR professionals start their careers in nonprofit public relations. I had several years of experience working for a health and wellness organization. It was very satisfying because we felt we were making a difference in our community. That’s probably the biggest appeal of nonprofit public relations or what is sometimes called cause communications.
From a personal point of view, what I liked most was the challenge in nonprofit PR. Despite limited resources, we were expected to deliver results. For younger PR professionals, nonprofits provide the chance to broaden your experience. In many organizations, there may only be only you or several others. That provides the opportunity to use all of your skills and learning and to use limited resources for sometimes surprisingly big results.
At my organization, I was the only PR and communications resource within our group. It was a cause I believed in. Our board of directors included influential community leaders and I had free reign to ask any of them for advice, help or assistance. In one case, a board member was a former newspaper journalist and shared her writing and editing expertise as well as her media contacts when I needed a hand.
The job variety was very satisfying. It included everything from writing newsletters, producing video, creating community advertising, producing public service announcements, doing community relations and presentations, handling media relations, writing and editing fund raising materials, planning, budgeting and responsibility for results.
Now, nonprofits are often at the leading edge of social media, using the best of new media to communicate, to raise funds, to deliver messages of health, hope or services, and to build very engaged communities.
In the two years I worked for the organization, I learned more, did more professionally, had more impact and enjoyed higher job satisfaction than at many future points in my PR career.
I highly recommend nonprofit public relations to new professionals as a way to gain valuable experience early in your career. You’ll learn how to use all of your talents, to appreciate the impact of small projects and what you can do with guerrilla PR campaigns.
PR Agencies
PR agencies are exciting places to work. They have a wide range of clients, challenges and opportunities. In my opinion, if you can thrive in a PR agency, you can handle public relations anywhere.
So what’s life like in a typical PR agency? Busy, fast-paced, hugely satisfying, results oriented, challenging, at times intense, stressful and yet exhilarating. In the PR agency world, senior consultants are viewed with a combination of respect and awe, a bit like jet fighter pilots.
It takes a combination of smarts, a talent for sales and presentations, the negotiation skills of a diplomat, the self-confidence of a high wire artist, the eye-hand coordination of a juggler, thick skin to handle the slings and arrows of media and clients and the determination to win at all costs.
I have more than 25 years in PR consulting including two agencies both local and international, managing several PR divisions within award-winning ad agencies and the good fortune to start two successful PR agencies in my career. As they say in the army: “There’s no life like it.”
The most important thing to know about working in a PR agency is that it's all about "billable hours." A July 2011 study by Stevens Pincus Marcus reported up an average of more than $205,000 in fees revenue per employee. That tells you one of the most important benchmarks in your future agency success - your ability to deliver billable hours.
The same report noted that PR agencies had returned to profitability of 15.6%, an encouraging sign for PR agency opportunities.
Entry-level PR consultants usually start as “Coordinators.” This may have you monitoring traditional and social media, preparing media coverage reports ( “clippings” books in the old days), putting together media contact lists, any number of research assignments, writing, proofreading, handling the details of special events and generally being the go-to gal or guy at any given moment. It’s very likely you’ll be actively involved in social media.
The next step up in the agency food chain is “Consultant.” Consultants usually have two to three years agency or client experience. They’re involved in face-to-face contact with clients. Typical duties include writing, editing, research, planning, reporting of all kinds from within the agency to clients, managing smaller projects and parts of budgets and providing direct service to clients on many occasions. Consultants are really the backbone of any PR agency.
“Account Managers” or “Account Directors” play an important role in PR agencies. In addition to the duties of consultants, they are usually responsible for senior-level client strategy, counsel and support as well as profitability of accounts. They play an important management role, supervising account teams as well as paying attention to the bottom line. ADs usually have five to seven or more years of agency experience.
In most agencies, the next level is usually a “specialist” role or a higher-level “management” role such as “Vice President” within the agency. PR “specialists” will often have a unique and marketable skill such as media training, speechwriting, lobbying, social media skills, video production, creative design and other skills depending on the size and specialty of the PR agency. Some specialists can be very well paid if they are highly billable for their specialization.
PR agencies thrive on results, so to get to the level of “Vice President”, you’ll usually have more than 10 years of experience and a track record of managing clients and account profitably. Most often you will have a senior management role and influence in the profit and loss of accounts. You’ll likely be responsible for four or five of the agency’s important clients and the teams servicing these clients.
The best part is that at this level you can expect to be earning in excess of $100,000 a year plus substantial performance bonuses or profit sharing. Ultimately, this can lead to shareholder or partnership opportunities based on your achievements.
Government Information Services or Public Affairs
There are many types of communications roles at local, state or provincial, and federal or national levels. These roles will vary from large organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency to regional or state bodies or simply handling PR as a head of a small department or as an individual responsible for communications for a small local organization.
Similar to nonprofit public relations, there are great opportunities for entry-level jobs all the way to senior level management roles. Some government information services (GIS) jobs can pay as well as private sector or PR agency positions. Others may not pay as well but can come with attractive benefits packages and job security.
At the national or federal level, your role within GIS or handling public affairs is often “nonpolitical” although try telling that to some beleaguered senior officials. At regional or city levels, your role can be highly political.
The structure of many GIS or public affairs departments is similar to the private sector. Entry-level positions are common and duties depend on your experience. You may be handling calls from the public, researching and writing public information materials, handling the website content of your organization, developing outreach or community information, organizing open houses or producing any number of public information programs.
Life inside GIS can be more predictable and less stressful than in corporate PR or PR agencies but there are often exceptions.
The range of organizations is huge and the opportunities are as varied as you can imagine. Think about handling communications for the Environmental Protection Agency during a hazardous chemical spill, the cleanup of a toxic plant or mine or a pipeline disaster.
Or you could be working at the state level promoting community health programs, coordinating small business information campaigns, ensuring the protection of consumers or any number of other regional promotion or information programs.
Similarly, at the city or community level, the job can be just as varied. You could be handling media relations for the police department or the mayor’s office. You might be the PR person for a regional tourism group or you could be serving as a public information officer for any number of publicly-funded organizations.
Your duties could involve any or all of the public relations skills of any of your PR colleagues. Generally speaking you will be paid less than corporate or PR agency professionals and less as you move from federal to state or local jobs. But there are always exceptions.
Healthcare Communications
As the population ages, healthcare communications is becoming a fast-growing industry. While it is often in a nonprofit environment, healthcare communications may also include public relations for major hospitals, healthcare organizations, corporations involved in health research, product development and marketing, and health advocacy groups.
PR practitioners in healthcare communications often enter by specializing in their niche and then because of good writing or social media skills taking over the communications function.
Most of the functions in healthcare communications are similar to other PR professionals. The tools you use will require the same talent and experience. What will be different is that you will apply them in a healthcare niche. Often this will mean specialized and detailed science or specialized health writing, editing and communications.
Your most important stakeholders may include: patients; medical and healthcare professionals, researchers and staff; employees from cleaning staff to senior executives; funding agencies; customers; donors; government agencies; and the general public.
In the public sector, your communications activity may be quite broad including everything from writing and editing, video production, website information, social media, patient outreach programs, public information initiatives, fundraising, employee communications, media and community relations.
In the private sector, your activity will be equally broad but may have more of a marketing PR focus with the emphasis on products, customer or patient information, professional information, trade shows and media relations.
One thing’s for certain, the demand for healthcare PR professionals is growing quickly and will continue to expand.
Education PR and Community Relations
The education PR niche is widening and growing. Like healthcare, communicators in the education sector work in a wide variety of organizations including: university and college; regional or local school districts; or private institutions.
Some of these organizations can be very large, complex in their communication needs and as large as a small city with stakeholders as complicated as anywhere. It’s likely that your focus will be primarily media relations, community relations, employee communications, government relations and have a possible fund-raising component.
In recent years, you can add social media and issues and crisis management to the top of the list of important skills. Witness the crisis management challenges of Virginia Tech and Columbine.
Jobs in the education sector range from entry-level to the most senior PR roles in the profession. While there are budget pressures, some of these educational institutions have very senior level requirements, are well-funded and pay well according to your skills and experience.
Social Media is Booming
Social media is one of the biggest growth areas in public relations. But let’s get one thing out of the way. There will always be a need for the next “shiny new technology” but these can come and go or change very quickly. What will always be in demand is a PR professional with a knowledge of and training in traditional communications combined with the savvy and ability to adopt new technology in order to deliver outstanding results.
That said, social media skills are in high demand. Job recruiters and PR professionals report that they are seeking talented PR pros with social media knowledge, training and experience.
The 2009 Digital Readiness Report is a study conducted by Eric Schwartzman with online newsroom provider iPressroom, Korn/Ferry International, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and Trendstream.
It provided an early snapshot of the huge impact of social media on hiring in every segment of public relations. The following chart says it best:
The top three categories for social media skills are: social networking; media relations; blogging/podcasting. Though this report is just two years old, I suspect that micro-blogging and content management will have moved up in importance over podcasting.
With small variations, these three top categories were consistent across corporate, PR agency, government, nonprofit, and academic categories.
The new PR social media relations superstar will be adept at blogger relations, online community building, content marketing, storytelling, video and technical production in every media channel.
Social media skills are needed in every public relations sector and include everything from writing, editing and producing content; online video writing, editing and production; website development; expertise in social media channels including blogging, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and the ability to stay ahead of all of the brand-new technologies, products and services coming into the market every day.
And then there are the new channels! Micro-blogging, especially on new platforms such as Tumblr, Paper.li and Scoop.it, is growing in importance. Other new tools are constantly launching and requiring evaluation. The ability to research and quickly assess these new social media tools is a big PR advantage.
Schwartzman says public relations and marketing professionals without new media and social media communications skills cannot, and will not satisfy the requirements of today’s hiring decision makers.
“To circumvent the risk of obsolescence, communications professionals are seeking out new media and social media training opportunities that allow them to rapidly update their traditional public relations and communications skills-sets,” he says. “The demand for this type of knowledge is huge.”
For PR job hunters, new graduates and experienced PR pros, knowledge and evidence of social media skills and experience are pure gold. Social media skills are an excellent way to stand out from the crowd. The most in-demand new graduates and experienced professionals will have training in traditional PR as well as show a demonstrated talent and ability for social media.
Solo PR Practitioners and Freelance Publicists
Most solo PR practitioners or freelance publicists have 3 to 5 years experience before going on their own. Many have decades of experience. In order to be marketable, you need to have an in demand specialty such as media training, speechwriting, social media or crisis management or you need to be experienced enough to offer general PR advice that you can charge for. This doesn’t usually happen until you have some experience.
With the growth in Internet and social media, some PR pros are moving towards solo practices that blend traditional PR with social media. This allows them to work from home or create virtual agencies or groups that can be brought together to handle projects of any size.
But freelancing can be a lonely, challenging career path. You need to be constantly marketing while you’re busy handling existing clients. You must keep an eye on overhead costs, billing and collecting payment for your hard work. And you must budget for the possibility of gaps where you may not have revenue or may have difficulty collecting from an unhappy client.
The skillset for solo practitioners is as varied as the PR profession itself. Suffice to say you can be a specialist or a talented PR counselor and generalist.
Freelance publicists are usually adept at writing and media relations. Some have clients ranging from corporations, nonprofit and PR agencies to small business, entrepreneurs and celebrities.
Some solo PR practitioners and freelance publicists have just one primary client that pays the bills. Others work part time by choice or are stay-at-home moms and dads who like the flexible hours.
There are lots of resources on making a living as a freelancer but that is outside the scope of this book. It can be financially rewarding and satisfying but it is definitely not for everyone.
As you can see, you'll find exciting PR job opportunities in every sector depending on your experience, your interests and your aspirations.
6. Where the PR Jobs Are: Fastest-Growing Opportunities
We’ve already identified how social media is changing the public relations business and the opportunities that have been created. Let’s look at sectors where there are strong new PR job opportunities due to demographics, economics and technology. Public relations is vastly different than just five years ago.
New Skills, New Opportunities
In an October 2010 speech, Edelman's Chicago president and former digital chief Rick Murray said "There is a massive, massive talent shortage out there," adding the "role of the future" in PR is that of community manager.
"Tell somebody you want to be a community manager and that you've had opportunity to engage and you know how to engage in social media and you will get a job. It is a huge, huge, high-potential, high-impact position and everybody is looking for this right now."
A recent survey cited earlier by Simply Hired shows that job postings with ‘Internet Marketing’ in the title have increased 180% since November 2009, while ‘social media marketing’ jobs have grown a remarkable 307%.
That’s partly the result of the impact of social media on the PR profession as well as its full embrace by small and large business. Public relations will never be the same!
There is a trend towards more specialization in new media skills such as digital media, video production, website creation, PR research, monitoring and analysis, and of course the abundant opportunities in social media.
As mentioned earlier, the hot sectors for the next several years will also include nonprofit PR, healthcare communications, PR agencies and opportunities in regional markets as the recession diminishes.
Create Your Own Opportunities
Some of the very skills you have as a PR pro will enable you to create your own job opportunities. Research, writing, editing, networking, social media and presentation skills are all in demand. They are each fundamental in a successful job search too.
Whether you’re new to public relations, looking for a job after a layoff or seeking a better PR job, research is critical. Check LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other popular social media to find out more about senior-level executives and managers at your target organization. You can also use news databases like Factiva, Lexis-Nexus or commercial services such as research tools at Manta (www.manta.com ) or ZoomInfo (www.zoominfo.com ).
If you’re a new graduate, try the alumni services of your college or university to network and discover alumni you can connect with. UC Davis Graduate School of Management research shows that 60% of all new hires happen because of a personal connection or contact.
If you’re going back into the job market after a layoff or maternity leave, reconnect with previous mentors and employers. Make a personal phone call to let them know you’re in the job market again. Ask them for permission to send an e-mail with your resume and social media connections. Most important, ask them if they’re aware of any new PR job opportunities.
Use your professional PR association contacts and attend professional development meetings and seminars. Keep your professional skills and training up to date. That will demonstrate you are a true professional. Seminars and conferences are the perfect places to network and also let people know you’re in the job market.
Think about ways to leverage your experience in healthcare communications to find an opportunity in a nonprofit organization that works in the healthcare sector. Ever worked in a restaurant? Look for PR opportunities in the hotel, travel and hospitality industries.
Looking for your first public relations job or advice to give you an edge in landing that new PR promotion? Based on more than 25 years in PR agency management, here are 10 of my best tips that can make a big difference in positioning you for PR greatness:
1. Network: Cultivate mentors, allies, industry contacts, leaders and other smart people. Join PRSSA, PRSA, IABC or any number of other business and professional organizations and get involved on committees. That’s where you’ll meet the important people in your career. Stay in touch with them by a quick call or email to share a tip, useful contact or excellent article you read. Grow your network forever.
2. Seek more responsibility: Find something you know you can do well within your current organization. Ask for the chance to do it in addition to your job. Do it well and share the success. Research shows few ask for additional responsibility. Think Dilbert here. You will be noticed.
3. Keep learning: Take a class. Sign up to add professional credits through PRSA or IABC. Often employers will gladly pay for professional development and note your determination. Do well and studies show you’ll get paid more.
4. Get Social: Add social media expertise and experience to gain a competitive advantage.
5. Volunteer: Join an organization or cause you’re passionate about. Use your PR and communication talents to make a difference. Build credibility, a portfolio and show you care. Widen your skills, network, and most important, your perspective. This is a proven stepping stone for success!
6. Speak up: But do it with facts, thoughtfully and share your professional insights. Never blow smoke.
7. Develop allies: Be nice to someone. Develop a reputation for being accessible. It will count some day with a job offer, a new client who remembered your thoughtfulness or a simple smile and a heartfelt “thanks.” Trust me.
8. Offer solutions: Learn more about your company or organization. Offer PR solutions, new ideas, not problems. Build your reputation as someone with the willingness to get things done. As a PR agency owner, I can tell you how valuable these employees are.
9. Say thank you: Mom was right about this one! Say it in writing or with a phone call for surprised reaction and a usually outstanding response.
10. Build a powerful online persona: Carefully, and strategically, build your online presence using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Foursquare or other powerful social media communities. Become expert in these channels which are now essential PR skills. Watch out for the pitfalls of unprofessional language, breaking confidences or unwittingly sharing confidential or competitive information though. The difference between your wanna-be gangsta rap or revealing photos compared to an energetic, professional presence could be the difference in getting that great new job or promotion.
One final bonus tip. Be ready for future opportunities. Always have an updated resume and online portfolio to share judiciously. Don’t be disloyal or desperate. Just be prepared when your hard work and these ten tactics pay off. Like the best PR programs, your reputation and career need a great strategy too.