How To Choose The PR Career Path That’s Right For You
By: Hailey McCloskey, Account Supervisor
As a public relations student, there is one phrase you hear from at least one family member at Thanksgiving, a friend with no filter, or even a complete stranger when you divulge your major choice: “What do you want to do with your studies/degree?”
The answer? Everything. The beauty of public relations is that it encompasses a wide variety of skills including marketing, social media, communication and strategy. As a communications student, the workforce is your oyster.
One thing people don’t often realize is that almost every company out there requires communications experts. As Theo Gold once said, “Communication is your ticket to success, if you pay attention and learn to do it effectively.” Whether it be internally with your employees, or externally to your stakeholders or consumers, one of the hardest skills to master as a company is how to communicate effectively.
Industries like healthcare, technology, entertainment, lifestyle and non-profit (to name a few) are all prime examples of career paths PR and communications majors can pursue post-grad. The difficulty for students studying PR is deciding which industry they want to work in. Well, in most cases, it depends a lot on your personality and interests.
Your baseline knowledge of public relations and ability to communicate with people is what makes you marketable. From there, are you interested in vaccines and cutting-edge medicine? Were you fascinated with film as a kid and want to be part of movie magic? Do you have a strong passion for charity and helping others?
In some cases, your career path ends up being something you had never expected. For example, I have worked in lifestyle, technology, and biotechnology PR, and have developed a strong interest in how technology influences human life. But for the first two years of college, I wanted to work in politics and be the White House Press Secretary. It was only until recently where I realized where my true interests lie.
If you are struggling to determine which industry interests you, the key is to dip your toes in the water early during your internships. Everyone always tells you to be a “sponge” during internships – and by soaking up any and all advice from your mentors or supervisors, fellow interns, and senior management – you can almost guarantee walking away with a solid learning experience and a better grasp for your interests.
Another determining factor for your PR career path is knowing if you want corporate, agency or in-house PR? The three involve the same skillset, but still have quite a few differences. Corporate PR often means you play a very small piece in a very large puzzle, whereas agency PR requires more interpersonal relationships with clients and media. In-house PR gives you the opportunity to work closely with one brand or company and develop an intimate relationship with them. If you’ve worked in agency PR in the past, maybe give corporate or in-house PR a try the next time around.
The greatest part is none of these decisions are final. Any skills you learn in corporate PR can translate to agency PR and vice versa. Any and all skills you might learn working in tech for example, could be applied to a non-profit career.
Above all else, your number one objective should be finding an industry you are truly passionate about. Without passion, it’s very difficult to have genuine communication with your audiences. How are you expected to tell people how great a product or service is if you aren’t a consumer yourself? Personal connections to your professional life ultimately make you more passionate about your work, which in turn makes you trustworthy (an absolute must when working in communications).
So, whether you enter the workforce tomorrow or two years from now, choosing a career path seems terrifying. But, if you gain experience in different industries, try new things, and find what makes you passionate – you are guaranteed to be an effective communications professional.