The World of Public Relations: Come One, Come All
Public Relations is at an exciting point. The industry is strengthening its commitment to creating a diverse and talented workforce and is, now more than ever, hiring across a vast cornucopia of different disciplines, backgrounds and experience levels. Maybe its time for you to consider a career in PR too.
I did not always necessarily envision a career in public relations when I was younger. I wanted to be a professional footballer. But I soon learned that storytelling was my true passion. And PR, at its core, is storytelling. Despite this, I didn’t join the industry immediately. Instead, I started in media analytics, sharing insights with various PR and Comms teams, slowly learning that I wanted to join the other side of the coin. I began freelancing in order to build the experience needed to join the industry, but I soon learned that my media analytics experience was not a hinderance but a help in finding my new home at Ketchum.
What I have learnt in my brief but exciting time at Ketchum is that many of the skills you build in other seemingly disparate industries, can not only be used in PR, but are valued. Those with a background in insights and analytics, have a keen attention to detail and an ability to spot a great story, as well as pick out the right data points to focus on. Journalists and writers can share their own helpful anecdotes and speak from experience on how they liked to be approached by eager PR professionals. Not to mention, an unparalleled understanding of media relations and all that it entails. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Public Relations is a diverse industry with storytelling at its heart. It requires a wealth of different skills and expertise across its talent base to fully account for the wide berth of everchanging complexities, caveats and nuances that make up global communication. Brands know their customers are not a one-size-fits-all, and the Public Relations industry knows that who they bring into the fold should reflect this certainty and act on it. Never think you don’t belong in PR, because you do.
