Few PR professionals start out with a career sat-nav to guide them through their early years. Instead there’s usually a wrong turn, missed opportunity or pot-holed B road to travel before arriving at the right destination.
Without any hi-tech help or even an old-fashioned map for that matter, how do you know which direction to take on the PR highway? Agency or in-house? Media relations or social media? Copywriter or campaign planning?
So many opportunities, so many routes.
Your journey of self-discovery should begin with the fundamentals: agency or in-house?
The former usually means juggling multiple clients in different industries, which makes for an interesting and varied working life. One day you could be meeting a charity to plan and implement a press campaign, the next you might be organising a photo shoot for a brewery product launch.
You’ll very quickly learn to juggle, prioritise and become an expert in several different fields.
If you choose to work in-house, you’ll need to be immersed in your organisation. You’ll have to know it inside and out, what it stands for and its people. It also helps if you believe in its ethos.
As in-house teams can be smaller than multi-disciplinary agency teams, there’s often more scope to work in a variety of roles such as internal comms, marketing and events management.
Once you have some experience you’re in a better position to assess your strengths and weaknesses – and that could help decide your specialism.
If words are your strong point, being a copywriter or content manager might be your calling.
If you’re always bubbling with ideas and like the client-handling side of PR, consider a role as an account executive.
Personal interests and hobbies can also be important in directing your future.
What better way to earn a living then to write about, promote and represent something you’re passionate about – such as food, travel, tech, finance, consumer or lifestyle?
Your personality is another factor to consider when deciding your PR niche.
For example, someone who thrives on challenge and adrenaline will be right at home plate spinning in crisis management.
Also consider the onward career path your specialism is likely to take. Will there be plenty of opportunities for development, promotion, salary rises and training opportunities?
Finally, let’s get this journey started with a look at the latest Marketing and PR vacancies on s1jobs.