My PR beginnings

As someone interested in the field of public relations and studying this for the past year I know there's a variety of aspects involved. I've learned some about different types of public relations interviews. The first would be the job interview. And of course I will have to go through it to be able to get a position in the field. As with any other career industry, I will have to prepare. Do my homework, as many say. Taking a good, relevant internship will be vital because employers are increasingly demanding that job applicants have related experience. And I'm excited do projects for Vine Multimedia, which I recently got internship at.

It was crucial to develop experience and skills that help me to prepare. Through university I've worked on a number of PR projects. Some of them were interesting, some were not. But the more challenging the project, the stronger you become: it worked exactly this way for me. I developed my public speaking, communications, copywriting and graphic design skills. And many more. But it's only the beginning, the development should not stop.

Speaking of representing a company, I'd note that corporations must be interviewed for their side of a story. For example, if a particular firm is receiving bad publicity on an issue, it is important to talk with the people running it to see what they have to say about their decisions and their involvement in various matters. Sometimes you have to get under their skin, which could be very challenging and uncomfortable for them. If it's a campaign to increase awareness for a company, I have to learn about them first. Research comes first, always; it's like a steering wheel in the car - you don't have it, you can't drive it. The main things here are the organization's history, mission, goals, and other supportive information. There's also a need for agents to help do an image makeover. Based on what I've learned in Case Studies and Issues in PR class and what I see in the news, they can be used to put a spin on issues for celebrities and executives, or to repair their images through interviews or press conferences. Clients are placing their trust in PR agents, who need to be sure to deliver on that trust in order to maintain a strong relationship. Doesn't matter who is a potential client or source of a future referral so the best policy is to find a way to make sure you follow up on any opportunity, even if the interaction seems to be small.

All of the above refers to people skills that open career doors. Quality of interpersonal skills is one of the important reasons employees are promoted to management positions. It is never late to learn to conduct productive easygoing conversations. I understand it's normal to be nervous when interacting with people for the first time, but I do not let anxiety or tension stand on my way. Reading body language helps a lot: expressions, gestures, posture, eye contact. I'm not afraid to seek feedback and criticism anymore, at the end of the day they make me think of how to improve my life. Those are the essential things that I defined for myself, they can help anyone  to be successful not only in the field of PR, but in everyday routine. I started with myself, I made change and now I see it. 

Picture credit: heyreceiver.com