There are plenty of potential opportunities in the public relations industry for a number of people, from professionals to recent graduates. Those that are looking to get a job in the industry should first learn about all the different types of jobs that are available to them before making a decision and pursuing a career.
This way they will be able to make a more strategic decision regarding their future.
Public relations, at its core, is a communications industry that strives to maintain a positive public image for brands and corporations, to create brand awareness, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between clients and their audiences, and more. Additionally, there are a number of different public relations jobs across a variety of industries, from tech and entertainment to education and lifestyle.
Since the public relations sphere is spread out over a multitude of industries, it's always best to learn about specific PR jobs first, before making a definite career decision. For more on what a public relations degree can lead to, see What You Can Do With a Public Relations Degree, and for tips on landing that first role, see How to Find a Career in Public Relations.
Interns in Public Relations
When it comes to interns in the industry, their main job requires them to support a client's public relations strategy as well as its execution. This is done through various PR tactics such as communication with prospective as well as current clients, creating engaging content, whether written or in other forms, helping with administrative tasks, and creating press releases.
PR Specialists
There are different types of PR specialists who are experts in their fields--fields such as public affairs, or social media. With public affairs, for example, PR professionals are required to communicate with media outlets and governments on behalf of clients. On the other hand, social media specialists both develop and execute strategies across social media platforms that have been created from thorough research.
PR Account Executives
The goal of an account executive is to manage a number of different clients for the agency, from the clients' brand awareness strategies to promotion to the target audience. Account executives also build strong relationships with the clients, create and pitch press releases to relevant journalists or media outlets, maintain the image of the agency, and develop feature ideas for the clients.
Crisis Managers
Any issues that can potentially damage a client's reputation or public image are handled by a crisis manager. These are the people in an agency who can quickly come up with strategic solutions for various problems, and develop execution plans before a crisis has a chance to strike the brand. At its core, the main tasks for crisis managers are creating detailed plans and responses for various business threats for clients.
PR Managers
The primary duties of a PR manager are to work with the agency's clients to maintain a positive public image for the brand or corporation through informing the public of the client's accomplishments or programs. These are the people who create marketing communications plans, pitch news stories to publications, create media kits, set up press conferences, and field questions from the media.
Employee Relations Managers
Another important aspect of public relations is keeping all of the company's employees motivated and satisfied in their workplace, which is where employee relations managers come in. These are the people that resolve internal disputes, organize events for the employees, help with internal communications, and help the client's managers establish strong positive relationships with their employees.
5W is always hiring PR specialists - checkout our open PR jobs here.
