Things You'll Need:
- writing skills
- telephone skills
- outgoing personality
- confidence
- persistence
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Step 1
Education: If you are looking to go into public relations right from college, the following degrees will help you: public relations, journalism, marketing, business, communications, and English.
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Step 2
Writing: You need excellent writing skills to work in public relations. You will be writing press releases, white papers, FAQs, articles, pitch letters, interviews, corporate profiles and more.
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Step 3
Working the Telephone: One thing that they don't tell you in college is that the majority of your time will be spent on the phone during media relations. First you email the reporter you want to talk to, then your manager will ask that you call them to follow up. Not all reporters want to hear from you and not all will be civil. It's important that you ENJOY phone work and that you can remain CALM under pressure and POLITE. Being persuasive helps too.
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Step 4
Persistence is Key: There are a finite number of reporters in any given niche and what seems to be an unlimited number of companies and PR people. Remember that reporters get emails and calls from hundreds or thousands of PR people every day. You have to break through the noise. You have to follow up even when you feel like you are a pest.
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Step 5
So you've got the above nailed down, how do you get a job? Usually the entry level position in public relations firms is an admin or account assistant position. You'll most likely be creating media lists, calling to verify that your lists are current, photocopying and mailing stuff. Sounds fun right?
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Step 6
You should have a portfolio. In your portfolio, the hiring manager will want to see writing samples of which, a press release is the MOST IMPORTANT. You must have press release writing samples. They must be perfect and in the correct format. You can read books, take classes or whatever you need to do to get the skills to do this. It's not as easy as it looks.
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Step 7
The second most important piece of your portfolio is press hits. Where have you gotten coverage for your clients? Well, you don't have any clients, do you? Better get cracking. The best thing you can do here is volunteer with a small non-profit and offer to do free public relations for them. Get them covered in the local media (news programs, newspapers, magazines, morning shows). Proudly put your clips in your book. Good press hits can mean getting the job or losing it.
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Step 8
Remember: education and experience are key. Volunteer, take classes, get a degree or certificate; do what you can to make sure that you A) really want to work in public relations and B)have something to show a potential manager. Later you will be rewarded by attending trade shows, handling special events and having the thrill of seeing your hard work and your client in a major publication!
