The Young PR Pro: Tips for Rocking Your PR Job Search – Part 2

Post Date:

May 17, 2011

The Young PR Pro is a regular column that helps young PR professionals and students navigate the hurdles of a fledgling career. HBC's own Caitlin Fisher tackles everything from sticky work situations to effective networking to job-hunting tips. If you'd like to ask Caitlin any questions or have suggestions for a blog topic, email her anytime.

My last post discussed how readers can maximize their potential for success in applying to jobs. But as much as it's still a buyers' market (sorry to say), job hunters owe it to themselves to undertake smart, strategic research about the industry, agencies, and positions to which they're applying.

As a young person sending out resumes to a wide range of positions, it's unrealistic (and frankly, a waste of time) to spend hours researching an individual firm; your understanding of it-and the position-is cursory at best. You read the job description, do a little research on the firm, and then send a tailored cover letter and resume to the hiring manager. But before you even begin applying to jobs, you can do yourself a big favor by becoming educated about PR more generally. Having the savvy to know what kinds of firms and positions best suit YOUR needs will give you a big leg up on your competitors. Likewise, intimately understanding your own skill set will help you identify the place and position in which you'll have the most potential for success. Hiring managers often meet a candidate, or even glance at a resume, and think: "this person is exceptionally bright and well-qualified; he or she is simply not the right fit for this specific position." As someone who conducts interviews for entry-level employees and interns, I'm keen to observe whether the candidate has done their research on my firm and the kind of work we do; it's often the best reflection of how genuinely interested he or she is in the position.

Understand the Industry: PR tends to get blurred with many other fields, including: branding, advertising, marketing, publicity, communications, public affairs, and investor relations, among many others. Although they all work in unison-and each has many overlapping subfields within it-it's imperative to understand the subtleties that distinguish these fields from one another. How? Read Wikipedia articles, sign up for leading industry publications, and scour blogs (this compiles dozens of the best PR blogs). Develop an awareness of the differences between each of these fields to the point where you can rattle off a 30-second description of exactly what each one does and how it differs from other fields.

Understand the Firm: Start your search by getting a grasp on the market. My advice? Check out nominees and winners of PR industry awards. PRWeek, PR News, Bulldog Reporter, the Communicator Awards, SABRE, and the Anvil Awards are some of our industry's best. Plus, these awards are not confined to any agency type (i.e., professional services, sports, consumer products, etc.) or size (i.e., big, medium, boutique, etc.) so you get a broad introduction to the best firms, where they're located, and what kind of clients they service.

When you're applying to a position-and more significantly, if you're invited in for an interview-it's important to understand what the firm does where you're interviewing. My firm isn't an event-planning agency. Although we do events, like this and this, it's not our bread and butter, so if you aspire to be the next Samantha Jones, our firm may not be a good fit. Likewise, it's a fantastic skill for any PR pro to be creative and proficient in graphic design, but you may be better suited to apply to ad agencies or branding firms. It's important to understand the kind of work firms do, not just for the interview but to ensure your skills and interests will be fully utilized if you land a job there.

Understand the Culture: An agency's culture is also a tremendously important consideration, and it warrants its own discussion. Different people thrive in different environments, so think long and hard about past work, school, and social environments: where were you happiest? You owe it to yourself to work in an environment where you have the utmost chances for success (and perhaps more significantly, an environment that makes you want to wake up and come to work every morning). After you've considered your own needs, poll your network and begin doing research on agencies' cultures. Is the agency a competitive pressure cooker? Is it a place that encourages mentorship? Is it strictly 9-5, or are employees glued to their BlackBerrys, pulling long hours?

Use LinkedIn to visualize your network and determine who you may know at a firm. If you have a direct connection to an employee: great. But even if you have a second or third degree connection, he or she can likely give you some insights about the firm, its culture, and more specifics about how to best frame yourself in the job application and interview process.

Understand the Position: Most job descriptions are pretty vague. So, how do you know what you'll be doing in a position? The best way to learn what young PR professionals do is by conducting informational interviews. One can hardly ascertain what my colleagues and I do by simply reading my firm's website. However, sitting down with us for an hour and hearing about our day-to-day routines would give you insights beyond anything you could gather on your own.

Don't be shy about reaching out to a few entry or junior-level PR pros who work at different sized agencies with different types of clients. You SHOULD have a thorough understanding of what you'll be doing, as you'll be doing it every single day. Talking to a senior-level person can be helpful for general career advice, but as a student or job hunter, you have much more to gain by talking to someone in a lower level account management role (plus, we typically have more time to spare to grab coffee or drinks).

Understand Your Own Experiences: One of the most striking things I've discovered working in PR is how varied most PR professionals' backgrounds are. I've met former journalists, campaign press secretaries, political spokespeople, lawyers, business executives, and consultants-to name a few-who now work in the industry. And these same folks hold advanced degrees ranging from MBAs to JDs to PhDs to MFAs. Seriously: it's an industry that a lot of folks "fall into" (by choice of course), so don't let your lack of educational or professional background in PR deter you from applying to PR positions; just be sure you are able to highlight relevant experiences in which you've used essential PR skills. In some cases, you must be proactive in finding opportunities to develop these skills. Having gone to a school that prides itself on a lack of pre-professional concentrations for undergraduates, I wasn't handed opportunities on a silver platter; I had to seek out leadership positions and apply to internships where I could develop the skills my peers were developing at schools that offered PR-related coursework.

I always hear young people asking: "How do I get into PR?" Here in DC, most twenty-somethings I meet do some kind of public relations work in their jobs, whether they know it or not. Researching, writing, making phone calls, heck-even reading the news-are all essential skills for PR professionals. But the ones who shine in the job application process and in interviews are those who have the acumen to recognize their own best traits in the context of PR and, specifically, the agency and position to which they're applying.

Understand the Interview Process: Interviews at PR agencies are primarily used as a gauge to determine if you are qualified for the position. You know: the tried and true stock interview questions: "Tell me about yourself," "What's the biggest challenge you've faced?" "How did you handle a difficult professor?" etc. But because our industry is so much about communication on paper and in person, the interview is also means of evaluating your communication skills, your overall professional demeanor, and your ability to think on your feet. Would I let you call a reporter? Would I take you along to a meeting with a client? Can you think of articulate, intelligent answers under pressure? On the written side, you'll almost certainly have some kind of writing test, be it a timed press release, reporter pitch, or a proofreading or editing test. In preparation, refresh yourself on grammar basics and AP style, learn what a formal pitch email looks like, and study the format of a press release.

There is no magic bullet for success in landing a job. You can package yourself as a more qualified candidate and strategically prepare for the interview to get an edge on your competitors. You can understand the market, firms, and positions to which you're applying. But above all else, you must develop a keen understanding of yourself and your best skills. Even though it's still a buyer's market, you owe it to yourself to be happy in whatever position you land.