Three Tips to Navigating a Career in PR
A career in public relations can take you in many directions. Whether you want to work in a specific industry like tech or sports, or you’re interested in exploring a certain function – like influencer marketing, media relations or DE&I communications – building a PR career means having the opportunity to pave your own way and find what truly brings you meaning.
With so many possibilities, how can you best navigate the PR landscape to reach your own career goals?
Our Boston-based colleagues – Allison Matthews, Lauren Price and Meghan Windle – discussed with Jennifer Kohanim how they landed their respective roles and advice for others as they chart their path as a communications professional.
Be Open to Possibilities
For young professionals looking to take their first steps into the workforce, it can be challenging to pinpoint what kind of PR you want to pursue. It’s important to stay open minded to new opportunities because you never know what you will like.
Graduating from college and looking for her first job, Meghan thought consumer PR would be her first step, but she says, “I knew I wanted to end up in Boston, so I ended up in tech PR. And I loved it. I love breaking down these complex ideas.” Watch her story.
Use Your Resources
After you dip your toes into the world of communications, you can really begin to nail down where you want to end up in your career. While reaching this moment is liberating, it can also feel daunting. With a bit of experience under your belt, you feel accomplished, but it is not uncommon to feel uncertain about where exactly you want to take your career next.
Leaning on the people around you and taking advantage of resources available to you is an approachable way to tackle goal setting.
Allison put it best, “when you’re curious about your aspirations and you’re getting worried about how to get there, put that aside and ask yourself, ‘who do I work with that I really respect and admire?’” Tap those people for advice, mentorship and guidance. Watch Allison’s advice.
Recognize There is Not One Path in PR
It’s important to realize there isn’t one way to do a PR career. Whether you want to develop deep expertise in one industry or practice area, or you want to experiment with a mix of projects and functions, there is a path for you.
Lauren shares her perspective on the breadth of the PR industry and why she has found working in an agency beneficial to her own career development. She explains that if you’re the kind of person who wants to explore and try different things, an agency role allows you to do a variety of work, which builds your ability to tackle anything in your career.
Navigating a career in communications is exciting – the landscape lends itself to many different types of skills, passions and expertise. Focusing on growth opportunities and finding the mentors and support system to help you reach your goals is key to charting your own unique path.
Visit our Join Us page to explore current PR opportunities at FleishmanHillard.
