I ♥ PR
In a recent training session we were asked to tell our colleagues what we wanted to be when we grew up. Unsurprisingly nobody said they dreamt of being a PR consultant at a young age, although there was a budding journalist in our group, as well as two wannabe air hostesses, including myself!
This topic also came up at Christmas, when my parents came over with some boxes of childhood books, including one filled with questions which I completed when I was three. “What do you want to be when you grow up?” the Mr Men book asked, and my response was indeed, an air hostess.
I can see some connections between being an air hostess and a PR person, particularly being fond of people, and remaining calm in a crisis, but I am very happy that my career path changed direction. When interviewing people for positions at Broadgate Mainland, and it comes to questions for the interviewer, we are frequently asked what we like about working at a PR agency. Our response is usually pretty lengthy, as there are a lot of positives to talk about.
At Broadgate Mainland We have regular intern placements, and do our best to give people a real taste of what PR is all about, for example getting them involved in brainstorms, researching new opportunities and supporting events for our clients and the media. It is important to encourage bright young people into the industry and the placements can be a huge benefit to both our company and the intern.
So what is it I really like about being in PR, and why would I recommend a career at an agency to anyone with an interest in news and communications?
1) You are always learning and never bored! We have a wide client roster and there is always something exciting going on. Be it a new product, a journalist event or a crisis, life is never dull. And we have such a great opportunity to learn about new clients, new PR techniques, new publications, new technology – it is a fast paced environment and you are never standing still.
2) Job satisfaction – there is always a great buzz in seeing your client hit the front page, appear on TV or after an event has gone brilliantly. Even better is when you hear that a client’s web visitors shot up, or they received new business, as a direct result of media coverage.
3) The people – the communications industry attracts a lot of like minded people (PRs, clients and journalists) and they tend to be driven, results focused individuals who also like to make work fun and interesting. It’s also often about trying new ideas and this all contributes to a positive working environment.
We are lucky to have some very long standing clients and it is great to develop these working relationships. As consultants we view ourselves very much as an extension of our client’s team.
4) News is exciting! Some people may question whether financial services PR is really where it’s at, but now, more than ever, there is no denying the importance of finance in the news agenda. Economic stories are no longer restricted to the business pages. Financial issues are linked to people’s everyday lives and I know many people in our industry who would recommend financial services over other types of PR.
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