Eight Tips for Newly Minted Public Relations Professionals

Thank you for writing this article Kami. As a senior in Public Relations looking for any advice on how to get ahead, this article gave some great tips. They are a great jumping off point for me while looking for internships, and in the future, a job in the field of public relations. All of my teachers have stressed the importance of not only writing, but also writing well. It is great to see that they really do know what they are talking about and that employers see writing as being a huge asset. Keep up the good work, and if you have any other tips, let us know!

This is one of the most helpful articles for those starting out in the public relations field. Students are constantly seeking advice for how to get ahead in the real world. This article sums it all up in the best way possible. There’s nothing better than advice straight from those who have become successful in the business. These points will definitely be remembered in the future!

All this issures above are important in everyday business. One must used al their resources, make judgments, take charge, ask co-workers for their opinions, listen well, suggest solutions, write well and present with some life in it. All this can be applied to all types of business, not just Public Relations. As a mangager of a local Chick-fil-A, I must include all fo the above in my daily routine. The examples above are what a leader must have to lead, distribute information and run a business.

There is quite a challenge in finding ways to energize your campaign or project without falling into the trap of “reinventing the wheel.” It is experience and mature discernment that allows you to recognize the aspects of your campaign that can and should be changed.

I feel confident in saying that new graduates will understand the importance of #4, pretending you know what you are talking about. We do that all the time in class.

The biggest asset that new employees and interns have going for them is their motivation and ability to bring a different perspective to the table. Everything is new, and the benefits of that are often seen as a negative rather than the positive it can be. They are much more likely to follow Bottary’s advice to question everything- a contrast to employees that have been around for a while.

This likely correlates with his final point. Being passionate about your work will get you far in your career and likely motivate those around you to produce the best work. Just look at successful businessmen like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. People might not have any idea what they are talking about, but their excitement and enthusiasm for their products influences consumers and sales.

Kami - Thanks for the kind words. As I mentioned to Paull Young, the best part of blogging is the conversation. Questions, comments, suggestions, and challenges are not only welcome, but encouraged! Best, Leo

These tips were great. It is very important to keep all these things in mind while working in public relations. Teachers stress the importance of these tips, such as learning how to write well and it is something we must not forget. These tips are like a rulebook for us to always remember and to use them everyday. It is important to remember these while we are preparing for the real world and looking for jobs.

Tips like these can be motivation to keep us in line and to make sure we are doing what is supposed to be accomplished. Please let us know any more great tips like these we can use so we can strive to be successful in our future careers.

Thanks so much for the great advice Kami. Students cannot hear tips like these enough. Many of us have never been in the PR working world yet and some of these pointers are things that would have never occurred to me.

One of the tips that is most applicable to all PR jobs these days is writing. Although it feels like we have been practicing and perfecting our writing since elementary school, I still feel that everyone still has room to improve. Writing is fundamental for the PR field and I think that good writing skills are crucial for anyone going into our profession.

Hi Kami. Thanks for the articles.

Reading over Leo’s articles can make one feel a little intimidated. I have yet to start an internship and by no means am I prepared for a job in the “real world”. It gives me great hope that if I can follow these rules, I may be indispensable in the work force.

It does seem clever the way Leo has crafted these separate articles however. He almost makes them seem like they synergize with one another.

Also, this is excellent advice for junior staff members and can be carried over to us college students. Being a senior in PR is dreadful because I know I’ll be out there soon. One of the “professionals”. Oh my, it is scary!

These tips seem to be pertinent to life in the work force and will hopefully help me stay ahead of the game.

This is a good post for all pr graduates and junior pr professionals. I am in an intership role at present and I have found that the more questions you ask and really listening to the responses it makes life and your job so much easier.

However, I have also discovered that reality in the pr world is that what the text books, journals and lecturers teach us about best practice can often be thrown out the door when applying this knowledge in-house and more specifically to clients.

I have mentioned it on my blog - smitty.prblogs.org (PRozstyle). Is this the same the world over? Are only multi-billion $$$ multi-national companies the only ones who put real $$ into comprehensive research and evaluation?

Thanks Kami for the tips. After completing an internship in New York this past summer, I really saw how important it was to have fresh ideas in the workforce. Being able to question what is going on around you seems to me like one of biggest advantages of being fresh out of college. Working this summer, I saw many seasoned professionals that seemed as if they were stuck in routine.

I benefitted from tips like tip #4. We are always taught to question, but there is a time and place to ask those questions. Sometimes, we tend to forget that some things are better left to behind closed doors.

I feel as if these tips can help me find a job that I am passionate about…isn’t that what we are all really looking for?

This is probably the best advice we have recieved on this blog. This and the “On the one hand, on the other hand”. It is so nice to be told these things before we are thrown into the real world. Unfortunately most of our professors have a set agenda each day, and they don’t want to get off track, so they teach only what is on their list. I think sometimes they forget to teach us the most important things, which are their life lessons from their careers as PR practitioners. Having access to the marcom blog and the contributors blogs have opened my eyes to a glimpse of what is expected of me in the professional world. I am going to write these lessons down and carry them with me to my internship and hopefully my first job. Thank you so much for this post!

I am a PR major at Auburn University, and I must say that these eight tips will be very beneficial to me once I graduate. I will graduate in May and will hopefully have already found a job. I did an internship this past summer, and my advisor gave me similar suggestions and tips about being a pr practitioner. I will definitely agree with you that it is extremely important for pr practitioners to be good writers. Otherwise, we lose our credibility to businesses and the public. I feel like all of my public relations classes have been strictly focused on teaching us to become better writers so maybe that will put me ahead when I start looking for a job.

Great stuff!
This is just what someone in my shoes needs to hear. Seeing “Learn to question everything, even things you have done a thousand times, in order to find flashes of brilliance” may be one of the best things on this post. People feel that asking questions makes them look dumb and sometimes it does, but never knowing is worse than anything. These eight tips can not only be targeted at PR practitioners, but to all fields in general. These rules are VERY basic yet can yield great results. Being a mentor to an aspiring journalism major, rule #7 is something that he needs to see (and many people for that reason). These rules will be written down and saved for years to come. Thanks for the post!

This is just the kind of post that I like to see here on marcomblog. This helps us in more ways than you can imagine. In school we are learning to write and all the rules of the PR world. AP style, press releases, fact sheets and the list goes on. We don’t always get the opportunity to hear these sorts of things- These are the tools that will really prepare us for our first jobs. I know that all eight of the tips in your post will stay with me into my first job and beyond. I feel like these are ideals to have for your entire career- things to keep in mind so that you don’t get into that same ole rut! Thank you so much for all of your insight!

Being able to become an excellent writer will put you ahead of the rest. Small grammatical errors can ruin any article or story and the professors here at Auburn have stressed the importance of good writing. I have no doubt that the resources given to me here at Auburn have dramatically improved my writing skills. Especially, with graduation approaching quickly it is extremely important to gain all the tools I need to become successful. I like topic number 8 about making your presentations with passion with attention on the audience and not on your nerves. If you can present to people with confidence then your chances will increase against other competition.

Thanks for the insight Kami! All these tips will be useful as we embark on our internship and job searches.

Not only can these tips be applied by future public relations practicioners, but by anyone entering the work force. Proactivity, knowledge, dedication, suggestion and confidence are attributes that any employer would appreciate.

I strongly stand behind the cliche that you get out what you put in. By applying these tips to our internships and future public relations positions, we will learn more and bring more to the table as we transition from one job experience to another.

Communicating with professionals, like yourself, is a luxury many students don’t have. We will be more confident and better prepared to enter the industry because of your input. Thanks so much!

This list of 8 topics for newcomers to public relations are not just 8 important topics, they should be 8 rules to working within public relations! It is not possible to break down the top important rules to beginning a job in public relations better than Leo Bottary did. It is definitely important to always question everything- majority of the time it can be done differently or better. Public relations are a continual learning process and the best way to learn is to question anything that you are working on or trying to improve. Especially as a student, questioning has become the best way to learn or do a project/assignment correctly.
Listen, listen and listen!! In public relations, we have learned that listening is better than talking- if you don’t listen, you are not even going to know what to say! Listening should be taught to every major and people of all age should constantly be reminded to listen. People of all ages forget to listen and need to realize that it is the key to learning and performing a good job.
This was an outstanding collection of information- it was printed off to be saved as a constant reminder in my future! Thanks very much for sharing this information.

Thank you for the helpful tips. I think #5 is especially important. Actively listening to what someone is telling or explaining to you will save a lot of time and stress in the long run. This is a skill (along with all of the others you describe) that we should definitely be honing now.

It is so encouraging to hear other people say that looking for a job is intimidating and once you have one it can be even more intimidating. It makes me feel like I’m not the only one nervous about starting a job search! The eight tips are helpful, I especially like the one telling us to ask for help when its needed. I know I like to double check and make sure I’m doing everything right, so it’s nice to know that most employers are ok with questions. This is a great list, thanks!

“Develop the skill of listening, then do it. Listen, really listen, before you talk. There is a reason we were given two ears and one mouth.”

All of the advice is helpful, but this tip really stood out to me. Listening seems so simple and yet it is stressed so much.

As someone who is known to talk too much, I think listening is a difficult skill to develop and master. I have always admired those who can sit back and are able to genuinely listen. It’s not that I don’t want to listen; I just always have a need to jump in and state my opinion.

Becoming a better listener is a skill I have been working on. I have found the more I listen to others, the more they will want to listen to me. A mutual respect is developed.

I could see how in the PR world this skill would be stressed. You not only have to actually hear what others are saying, but you need to truly understand their thoughts.

Listening is vital when developing ideas and brainstorming as well as trying to understand a client’s needs.

Thank you again for the advice. It is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your advice. It has been the best advice I have received from this blog. As a senior in public relations, I will soon be a junior public relations professional. It has been repeated numerous times to learn how to write well. This is one of the most important pieces of advice to give someone that is just entering the PR world and someone who has been in it for a while. Writing is something that all PR practitioners have to do.

Another piece of advice you gave was to listen before you speak. This is a basic communication skill but most people overlook it. People go into a meeting knowing what they are going to say before they listen to their client and end up not doing what the client wants.

Thank you again for this advice. I will definitely take this with me when I graduate.

These are excellent, and somewhat surprising tips for the industry’s newcomers. The comment “don’t try to recreate the wheel” definitely made me laugh. It seems as public relations practitioners we are constantly expected to recreate and refresh. This gives us the feeling that we must literally reinvent the way things are done in order to be original. But it is true, we have many resources right at our fingertips that others before us have created. Yes, we must re-vamp these ideas and make them our own, but we don’t necessarily have to re-create the entire thing. If we mess with it too much, we might just mess it up altogether! For example, what need is there to recreate the wheel? It works just fine as it is!
It was also surprising to read someone suggesting that we act like we know what is going on, even if we are confused. It seems like we are constantly told to ask immediately if we don’t understand something. But, it makes sense keep this hidden from the clients. If you are confused about the meeting, they may think that you are confused about the whole campaign and could doubt your abilities. Thank you for your post Kami! It was very informative!

That sounds like some things my dad probably told me that I should have listened to. LISTEN more and talk less. I should probably tell myself that everyday. These tips sound like very good advice and I will hold onto these when I start applying for my first job in the next couple of months. Another one which was my favorite was #6, “Never come to me with a problem unless you have a suggested solution.� There have been countless times that I have gone to a teacher or someone with a problem and by the time I got finished explaining it out loud, I already knew the solution. These might seem obvious to those who have already made there way into the Public Relations world but for those of us that are still to come, some much needed advice. Thank you.

This is great advice! In class we are told what we should and shouldn’t do when it comes to technical skills, but this information we need for the real world.
Some of the eight pieces of advice I feel like I’ve been told many times before. For example, the need to know how to write well. It is true that people are losing the art of writing and it is very important; more so in this field than in many others. Also, #4 is probably extremely important. I don’t know how confident and comfortable a client would feel if members of the public relations’ team didn’t sound competent. But before this blog, I never thought about that as being important. Thank you!

“Learn to write well.” This one suggestion is not just a suggestion. It is a law in the public relations field. It is being drilled into the minds of the Auburn University public relations students. The comment that says, “They just don’t teach them to write,” is the exact reason the basic skills of writing are drilled into students on a daily basis. The AP Style book is always in hand, and Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style” is on a desk or in a book bag.

The law of writing well is forever tattooed into my memory, but there are other suggestions here that I didn’t know. Being proactive, and not going to your boss with a problem unless you have a solution is a great rule. No one has told us this as students, and it is so important. It makes perfect sense. Resolving your own problems in the workplace is important, but if you can’t resolve it on your own, you should at least have suggested solutions for your boss.

Learning to listen is also something I need to practice more before I get a job in the “grown-up world.” For so long, we were taught to talk, explain, write or describe. And I think that sometimes we forget to listen. Listening is how we learn, and sometimes we need to remember that we are still learning. We should always be students, regardless of how old we are and how many degrees we have.

Thanks for these suggestions. This list will definitely help prepare the next generation of PR practitioners.

This article is relevant to all students getting ready to graduate and looking for internships. I recently started an internship at a local advertising agency, so I really took this advice to heart. It is difficult to begin at the bottom in the business world; any tips that give a leg up are important. Gaining fellow employees trust is a daunting task that demands patience, but putting the tips presented into action will undoubtedly benefit all of us new employees.

And then there are those of us who knew these things instictively, and were able to skip the college portion of the agenda. It’s all about staying interested in your content, and feeling responsibility and pride in your work.

portlandmarcom, ya’ know, I’m always amazed when people make such comments:

“And then there are those of us who knew these things instictively, and were able to skip the college portion of the agenda.”

It is kind of a backhanded slap from someone that just doesn’t get it. And, there is the arrogant implied notion of, “Gee, don’t you wish you were like me. I’m smart. I’m better than you.” It is a “school of hard knocks” kind of attitude.

Of course, the person that left the comment didn’t have the character to sign it. I’ll leave it as testament to those that just don’t seem to grasp the concept of humility.

I commented on this post earlier in the semester, but I came back to it again to read it with fresh eyes. I have learned an great number of skills pertaining to the field of public relations and I am beginning to dabble more and more in the field with my current job. I came back to this post and read it again in the context of my current situation. It holds such great value that I decided to print in off just to re-read every now and again. Keeping these principles fresh on the brain has greatly helped me in my daily dealings in the public relations field. Although I have not yet begun my career and still have about a year of school to go, I will continue to review these principles in preparation for my first real job.

These tips are really useful. Thanks! I began my internship in December and the first tip is extrememly helpful. I went into my internship thinking I had to be extrememly creative and come up with fresh new ideas every day. But, thank goodness that’s not the case. There are so many resources and as long as people aren’t copying word or word. Work from the past that has been successful is a great starting point for many projects.
I also really like the part about really listening. It is key to listen not only to what is said to you, but you must listen to what is going on around you as well. Becoming a part of your office culture is important to the success of your internship experience.
Again, great tips!!

I am new to the Marcomblog community and am very excited about all the resources on this website. The first thing I was exposed was Josh’s recent question “what do you want to know?” and the idea of using this type of resource to get answers from real PR professions was really exciting to me. So today when I was exploring the Marcomblog website, I see this post with eight REALLY useful tips for new PR professionals. I want to thank all of the contributors for giving us good advice and posting real life useful information and allowing us to ask questions.

Thank you for sharing these tips with everyone! I am a junior majoring in public relations and I need all the help and tips I can grasp. These eight tips are completely useful and doable. This is one of several reasons I am liking the idea of blogging and social media. I never thought I would, but blogging is a great way to read advice from professionals who know what they are talking about. I will take these tips and put them into my practice of becoming a successful pr practitioner. Thank you again and for all the advice you and so many others are generously sharing to us “junior public relation professionals.”

I’ve recently been wondering if there is merit to the idea of asking too many questions. Your post is helpful in answering that. Those first day on the job jitters only intensify when faced with a task you’re not quite sure how to do, but you don’t want to seem ignorant or uncapable by asking a question. So your tips about questioning situations or duties are a great help. Going into my internship I know that I will feel overwhelmed with a sense of the unknown, and I don’t want to seem undereager or overeager by not asking the right questions, not asking them at all, or asking too many. Is there a science to knowing exactly when to ask a question? How far into a project should we continue blindly until we seek assistance from a boss or coworker? Your expertise is greatly appreciated.

I agree, we should use all resources at our disposal and we shouldn’t try to reinvent the wheel every time… however, I find that difficult when we are always told to be original and come up with something on our own, always question everything we’re told, start a trend, be a leader not a follower. How are we supposed to be all these great things all the while not reinventing the wheel?

You make a good point as to why there is a reason we were given two ears and one mouth. I think our generation is taught to, like you said, question everything and come up with a new strategy. We’re always wanting to invent something new and different, and I think a lot of times we jump ahead of ourselves just trying to get our name out there, or talk before we truly understand. I think if we just stopped and listened every once in awhile, we could learn a lot more and stop reinventing the wheel.

As Ferris Bueller so greatly put it, “If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Kami,
Thanks for the advice. As an upcoming PR grad, I am always looking for tips to help me stand out. I loved Leo’s comment about listening; something I am always needing to work on. I think this may be the most valuable tip because it is always so tempting to speak right when ‘that’ thought enters our head, but we all know how valuable it is to wait it out. As a communicator, I can think of nothing more annoying than someone who is already talking before I have made my point. The response is already deemed null and void because I am so bothered that I haven’t finished my statement.
I was also enlightened by the problem/solution tip. This runs a tight race to the listening tip. I am notorious for asking a question and answering it myself before the other person answers me. This tip gets your wheels spinning in a proactive mode so that you are already focused on the solution. Great personal and professional advice. Thanks for sending it down the line Kami.

These tips will be helpful in the coming months when my internship begins. I will be in a totally new environment where I’m not extremely sure what is expected of me. Sure, things will fall into place, but it is reassuring that others are going through it as well. Learning to question everything will be something I will have a hard time doing. Asking questions at the right time will also be a struggle, but they are things I understand need to happen at the right time.

We are all somewhat nervous about the coming months, but with advice from our peers and experts, it seems like the coming months will hold a lot of excitement as well. Hopefully these steps will won’t disappear and other helpful tips will arise along the way.

These are great suggestions to take in mind as we begin out professional careers. I will probably print them out and put them on my desk at my first job, and probably the bathroom mirror in order to get me going in the morning… Anyway, my favorite is number 6 “Never come to me with a problem unless you have a suggested solution.â€? Proactive workers generate options, be proactive.” I am a very self-sufficient person and therefore try to work out all of my problems without help form others. I know that this is not always the best choice, but I feel that it will help me greatly when I begin working. Thank you so much for these tips.