“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Public relations can also be defined as the practice of managing communication between an organization and its publics.

A number of meanings and issues can be derived from this text: religious PR or devotional-promotional communication (Tilson, 2006) is seen as a form of propaganda; belief in a cause (religious, corporate or activist) is a significant determinant in classi- fying subsequent promotional communication as propaganda; …

“The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society: informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people. Of course, the means and methods of accomplishing these ends have changed as society has change. -Public Relations (1952)”

Edward Bernays

It’s evident that over the last 25 years, PR has evolved in many different ways, across a variety of platforms. Communicators have learnt that whilst traditional aspects of PR are still used today – e.g. press releases, by-lines and whitepapers – a large percentage of PR is now driven by digital.

John Bugas

Public relations (PR) specialists communicate with the public on behalf of an entity such as a company, organization, individual, politician, or government. They’re also sometimes called communication, or media specialists.

There are no set qualifications to become a public relations officer. However having a degree in marketing or a related qualification is highly desirable. Some organisations may ask for you to have a qualification from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR).

PR (public relations) encourages people to think and speak positively about your business. It improves the reputation of your business and its products, and gives you exposure that you do not need to pay for – at least, not directly. Business image, reputation and ‘what people say’ are very important.

While traditionally public relations focused on editorial content, today the PR bucket holds much more than media relations. It now includes paid media (advertising), earned media (editorial coverage), shared media (social), and owned media (company newsletters, etc.).

Here are the steps you need to follow in order to become a public relations specialist.

1. Decide where your PR passion lies.
2. Build your skill set by taking relevant classes.
3. Take on a PR internship.
4. Know what to expect from the interview process.
5. Network, network, network.

PR communications jobs involve developing and maintaining the public image of a client or company through appearances, press releases, and social media. Public relations development focuses on designing and organizing events to raise money or awareness for an organization.

Salaries have fallen in the past year but PR remains a well-paid career. Public relations is well-paid with lots of opportunity for progression for ambitious individuals. Data from the CIPR and the PRCA sets out average remuneration.

According to CareerCast’s 2019 list of the most stressful jobs in America, PR executives are in the top 10. Stressors like deadlines and client expectations can feel overwhelming at times, and it can be especially difficult to unwind in today’s always-on business world.

Key skills for public relations officers

• Excellent communication skills both orally and in writing.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Good IT skills.
• Presentation skills.
• Initiative.
• Ability to prioritise and plan effectively.
• Awareness of different media agendas.
• Creativity.

Communication Skills for Workplace Success

• Listening.
• Nonverbal Communication.
• Clarity and Concision.
• Friendliness.
• Confidence.
• Empathy.
• Open-Mindedness.
• Respect.

Technical skills, including: action content (eg travel, turn, elevation, gesture, stillness, use of different body parts, floor work, transfer of weight) dynamic content (eg fast/slow, sudden/sustained, acceleration/deceleration, strong/light, direct/indirect, flowing/abrupt)

There are certain skills that your technical experts need to excel in to get the best sales growth and the best client satisfaction results:

• Identifying New Opportunities.
• Crafting the Best Solutions.
• Solving Implementation Roadblocks.
• Answering Technical Questions, Providing Technical Advice.

What you should never put on your resume

• A career objective. Put simply: A career objective is largely obsolete.
• Your home address.
• Soft skills in a skills section.
• References.
• Stylized fonts.
• High school education.
• Your photograph.
• Company-specific jargon.

Use clear section headings and make them stand out with bold type, capital letters, and/or a different color. Make sure there’s plenty of white space—an overstuffed resume is hard to read. Skip the fancy graphics, pie charts, and illustrations, which don’t play well with resume-scanning software.