Certain people just seem to fit in their careers like a piece of a puzzle fit perfectly into place- but how to know if something is right for you? Picking the right career can mean the difference between a dead end job and a dream job, so it is incredibly important to find a career that you can love and at which you can be successful. If you have good communication skills, can multitask, be flexible and stay organized, then it is worth considering a career in public relations.
“Public Relations” (“PR” for short) is the term for professional maintenance of an image by a company or a person. During the course of a career in public relations, you might work with a famous Hollywood star to keep their press coverage positive, or plan community events sponsored by a large company, or make social media updates for a client. Working in public relations is never boring, and through the course of a lifelong career in public relations you might have the chance to work in an office, at press conferences, or at your client’s side as they travel the world. It is a challenging but rewarding career path, and if you have these key personality traits then you may be perfectly suited to the task.
Communication Skills
You know PR is right for you when you are excellent at verbal and written communication, and you are never out of reach by phone or email. Public relations specialists need to be available to their clients at any time, so that they can be the first point of contact when their client is dealing with a crisis. Also you need to know how to frame things in the best way possible. Even when you give unpleasant news, your excellent communication skills and the positive spin you put on everything means that even the worst things don’t sound so bad when they come from you.
Multitasking
Working in public relations means keeping tabs on multiple ongoing projects at any given time. It also helps if you follow the news and are active on social media and the social scene, so that you can keep tabs on developments as they happen. Although some PR specialists work exclusively with one client, some may work with several at a time so it is important to be able to focus on multiple projects at once.
Flexibility
Sometimes working in public relations can be complicated because life is messy. To be successful, you need to be flexible- able to adapt quickly to changes in the schedule, erratic client behavior, and other issues. There may be some long nights working overtime if a client has a crisis, and it is important to be able to adapt your own plans at the last minute to make sure you are meeting the client’s needs. Creativity and originality are essential to adjusting smoothly to any hiccups in the plan.
Organization
Finally, organizational skills are critical to a career in public relations. If you are a person who has a calendar that is color coded with post it notes, and a daily planner and a google calendar as well, then you may be a good fit for PR. With the hectic pace of life as a public relations specialist, it is necessary to keep a running to-do list and to have alerts set to make sure you never forget something important or miss a deadline.
If after reading this you still think you have the excellent communication skills, multitasking abilities, flexibility and organizational talent necessary for this line of work, then you know that public relations is the right career track for you. Public relations is a fast paced, high stakes field, but the rewards of working in a field you love are absolutely worth it.
Discover more from Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian’s Professional Profile on Muck Rack
GuideStar Profile for Ronn Torossian Foundation
Ronn Torossian’s Articles on Entrepreneur
Ronn Torossian’s Blog Posts on Times of Israel
Ronn Torossian on SoundCloud
