Public Relations

A Typical Day in PR

This depends on where you work. “A typical day for a PR person starts with getting to know the clients, as well as the means to do it. Sending out press releases to the media which also have to be written, following up with the press regarding the press releases sent to them, organizing press interviews with the clients and providing information to the press. And tracking all the stories that appear in the press”, says Parul Gosain.

If it’s a corporate or a PR agency, you definitely have to dress and speak formally. They are busy places, work schedules are irregular and frequently interrupted. They answer calls for information from the press and public, work on invitation lists and details for a press conference, escort visitors and clients, help with research, and write brochures.

For example: When you have a sports day in school, your coach is the person who takes care of organizing the whole event, from setting up the sports ground, clearing doubts of the parents and students, to inviting the chief guests. She also takes care of the events, talks to the participants about their performances. After the day is over, she sees to it that the participants and winners get their certificates and trophies. She also encourages the others to participate the next year, congratulates the winners and at the same time, consoles the others.

In the balance:

The good and not so good things about a career in public relations

The good bits:

# You always know the true picture of what is going on in the company you work for.

# You’re responsible for managing the way your company is perceived.

# It can be quite glamorous, because you meet a lot of people at the very top of their professions.

# The PR fields can result in very satisfying careers. There aren’t many jobs that allow your strategies to come to life, to be observed by thousands or even millions of people.

Keep in mind, however:

# A company can sometimes expect the earth from a PR person in terms of the company’s image. And if the company ha s been involved in a scam or something unsavoury, and the press is constantly pointing that out, a PR person’s life can become very difficult indeed.

#Competition for getting into PR jobs is intense. There are many more candidates than the number of positions. You must be willing to start at the bottom and work your way up.

# Public relations people operate against deadlines. Under such high-pressure conditions,9to5 schedules go out the window. Public relations executives are not tied to their desks for long periods. Meetings, community functions, business lunches, travel assignments, special speaking and writing commitments, and unscheduled work on ‘crisis’ situations often mean long hours.

# You develop an analytical mind, far-sightedness and the ability to handle crises. The job demands an alert mind for planning, defense and guarding the image of the firm, person or product.

Training required to get a job

To land a job in media relations and internal communication, a basic Bachelor’s degree in any field will do, and a mass communications degree or diploma will help. For the strategy part of the field, companies these days look for an MBA. Though public relations is a relatively new field, many colleges and universities offer a public relations course. Most public relations programmes are administered by journalism or mass communications schools or departments.

Technical skills required

Public relations demands the creativity of advertising, but the business savviness of management consulting. Excellent writing skills, speaking well and an ability to use all the research tools available in today’s information rich, Internet-driven world are pre requisites. You definitely need to know how to use Microsoft Word and Excel.

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