A job in PR can often seem like a glamorous affair—you get to attend some of the best events/parties, work with major celebrities, and coordinate closely with everyone that's "in the industry." In reality, it's not all glitz and glam whatsoever. There is a lot more that goes into the job that people don’t know about.
What did I get myself into? That was the first question I asked myself on the first day of my first real PR job. I had no training, no time to even fill out HR papers, and basically just got thrown into everything right when I sat down at my desk. That's a whole other story...but here I am now...still surviving and thriving!
So wait...what even is Public Relations? What do you do? I hear this question too many times...so let's start with the basics.
I'm sure you've heard the job title before, but do you really know what it means?
There are so many different types of PR and I work in Talent Publicity.
I work under two top publicists at a PR agency in the talent division. A publicist is hired to get press coverage for clients. We work directly with our talent clients, mainly actors, to help develop and execute their brand strategy. It is our job to get journalists to write about our clients and to book them for talk shows, press tours, magazine covers, and more.
If you're still a little confused, you can see below for my official LinkedIn profile definition
• Support two busy publicists in the Talent Department along with their clients and their respective teams • Handle all interview requests for celebrity clients • Responsible for organizing events, appearances, premieres, and press tours • Plan domestic and international travel, secure hard-to-get reservations, book glam and styling, and coordinate all upcoming publicity with my clients and their teams • Compile press breaks and compose client schedules for travel, press, publicity events, and more • Cover publicity events and juggle multiple clients on a red carpet • Maintain a positive relationship with the press • Pitch clients to publications to obtain press coverage and secure interviews • Work on publicity campaigns, launch reports and maintain press lists. • Review and pull print and online press clippings daily • Field incoming press calls and media requests • Filter high volume of calls, emails and calendar
So let's dive right into my top 6 things I’ve learned about a career in Public Relations that no text book or professor will tell you.
1. Like we discussed earlier, you will have to explain to people what exactly it is you do VERY frequently.
2. The three most important skills to have to succeed include: you need to be organized, work well under pressure, and have top notch communication skills.
3. You have to love what you do.
It's amazing I get to work under such successful publicists that clearly have great passion for what they do. I admire their work ethic and hope to be just as successful as my career grows. The job is stressful and busy, so if you don't LOVE it you will be miserable.
4. It is NOT a 9-5 job. You work 24/7 and you are "on" 24/7.
A career in PR means you need to be flexible and available when needed. I'm basically checking my phone at all times in case something comes up. A client could email you at anytime and you have to be able to take care of the situation right away. Sometimes you have to work events or press tours at nights and weekends. Sometimes five of your clients have press on the same day and then maybe the next day you get a chance to breathe.
5. You will talk to everyone and anyone in the industry and they won't always be nice. My rule is that I still treat everyone with kindness.
6. You will be creative and you will see your hard work impacting the world It’s a fast-paced industry with lots of change.