Karen’s PR blog

It seems that entry-level jobs in public relations are mostly designing brochures and writing news releases.  Knowing how to provide counsel to clients or to the company you are a part of comes after a couple of years in the PR environment.  But along with moving up through the ranks comes more responsibility.  In the beginning you will be answering to other people, but if you make it to a job that entails handling accounts or providing counsel, you will be expected to handle things on your own.

Job 1 is an opening for a public relations specialist with Marvell Semiconductor, Inc.  It requires 2 to 5 years of experience.  One major duty is working with other departments to make sure that new ad campaigns or promotions run smoothly.  You have to stay up-to-date with what marketing and advertising are doing to market the company (and from what I gather, this is expected in most PR jobs, not just this one).  Good writing is a must, since the job requires writing news releases, memos, case histories, brochures, and other things.

Job 2 is a much more high-end position that requries several years’ experience in public relations.  The open position is vice president of public relations with Taylor PR.  Whoever fills the vice president position must keep track of all clients’ accounts and have an in-depth knowledge of each one, so that they can know how to counsel them and address their problems.  Writing is critical, as the VP is expected to give speeches and presentations periodically.  This position requires keeping up with client accounts, as well as doing PR for the company itself and increasing its visibility.

As far as skills go, my writing could always use work.  I do think certain things about my writing are good, though.  Mainly, I use a very clear and concise style, which I think is appreciated in the PR field.  And there are never any grammatical errors!  But with writing, I also lack creativity and eloquence.  I guess the only way to develop these skills is to practice, practice, practice.  I wrote one news release for my internship with the hospital, and it was pretty good, but none of the local media picked it up.  Again, practice is the only way to develop this skill.

I’m a very organized person, as well, so this is something that would be a great help when it comes to keeping track of different clients’ accounts.

I think the main skill I should work on improving (besides writing) would be my confidence and ability to work independently.  This is not so much of an issue in entry-level jobs, but it does become more important as you earn higher positions.  I think gaining confidence is something that comes with more time in the field, starting with this class and getting more experience with other jobs.