5 answers
Daria
Student
Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia
1
Question
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What hard and soft skills should I have in order to become a good and highly paid PR-specialist?
#career #job-application #college #marketing #PR #business
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5 answers
Jaycee Silva
PeopleOps Program Manager
17
Answers
El Dorado Hills, California
Updated
Jaycee’s Answer
Hi Daria!
Communication in speaking is at the top of soft skills for PR specialists in general! Problem solving is also important as there will be times that you must come up with solutions to any challenges you may experience with your audience or even internally, depending on the work you are doing. Are you adaptable and flexible? Those are also great skills to have. A tip is to think about ways you have/can be adaptable!
Writing skills - These will help with your overall communication skills. Focus on your grammar and the way you can draw in your readers. Its important to practice, publish and sample articles you may have written. You can find practice prompts online to sharpen your skills!
Social Media experience today is also crucial for PR professionals. You may need to bring hard skills to be an effective social media expert for the work you d. Hard skills may include computer skills, experience with various programs that support social media efforts, and even knowledge about integrations between social media platforms to reach audiences. These could include knowledge of Photoshop, YouTube, SEO (search engine optimization), and coding (a plus!).
If you are new to the PR space and do not have much experience yet, I'd recommend working on your own personal brand to showcase in interviews. You can also get involved in volunteer PR opportunities that will give you even greater experience to enhance your hard and soft skills.
Hope this helps!
Communication in speaking is at the top of soft skills for PR specialists in general! Problem solving is also important as there will be times that you must come up with solutions to any challenges you may experience with your audience or even internally, depending on the work you are doing. Are you adaptable and flexible? Those are also great skills to have. A tip is to think about ways you have/can be adaptable!
Writing skills - These will help with your overall communication skills. Focus on your grammar and the way you can draw in your readers. Its important to practice, publish and sample articles you may have written. You can find practice prompts online to sharpen your skills!
Social Media experience today is also crucial for PR professionals. You may need to bring hard skills to be an effective social media expert for the work you d. Hard skills may include computer skills, experience with various programs that support social media efforts, and even knowledge about integrations between social media platforms to reach audiences. These could include knowledge of Photoshop, YouTube, SEO (search engine optimization), and coding (a plus!).
If you are new to the PR space and do not have much experience yet, I'd recommend working on your own personal brand to showcase in interviews. You can also get involved in volunteer PR opportunities that will give you even greater experience to enhance your hard and soft skills.
Hope this helps!
Lisa Bond Brewer
Managing Director, External Affairs & Communications
23
Answers
Lansing, Michigan
Updated
Lisa Bond’s Answer
Hi Daria,
What a great question. I think the answers that both Jagoda, Zahid and Jaycee provided are accurate, but one essential soft skill that's missing from their lists is relationships. The very definition of public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. Building relationships is critical to success. To put it simply – it’s all about trust and respect.
In order to achieve longstanding relationships with your clients, a partnership based on trust and mutual respect must be formed and that elevates you from being ‘expendable’ to a trusted expert advisor.
What a great question. I think the answers that both Jagoda, Zahid and Jaycee provided are accurate, but one essential soft skill that's missing from their lists is relationships. The very definition of public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics. Building relationships is critical to success. To put it simply – it’s all about trust and respect.
In order to achieve longstanding relationships with your clients, a partnership based on trust and mutual respect must be formed and that elevates you from being ‘expendable’ to a trusted expert advisor.
Zahid Iqbal
Software Engineer
119
Answers
Austin, Texas
Updated
Zahid’s Answer
Here are some hard and soft skills to be aware of in order to succeed.
Hard skills to have:
1. Communication - You must be able to communicate your thoughts clearly and be an excellent listener. As a Public Relations Specialist, you also need to be socially aware while communicating. It’s important that you’re able to pick up on the slightest change in tone or emotion during a conversation. Additionally, you cannot let your own emotions color your message.
2. Writing Ability - A strong grasp of grammar and attention to detail will make a huge difference in your writing. You should be able to walk into a job interview and present samples of articles, press releases, or copy you have written.
3. Understanding of Social Media - It means that you are knowledgeable about how to use social media to manage a potential employer’s brand voice, that you understand the fundamental differences between individual social media platforms, and that you know how to use those platforms as tools for communicating with the public.
4. Multimedia - it is important that you have at least a basic knowledge of how to manipulate various types of media.
5. Creativity - If you can think outside the box and come up with ideas that others haven’t, you’ll be better able to make your clients happy. Creativity is the key to success in this industry.
Soft Skills to have:
1. Teamwork -To hone this skill, look for opportunities to work with others.
2. Composure - Practice keeping your cool – and instilling a sense of calm in others.
3. Problem-solving skills - You have to be creative about coming up with approaches that may work.
4. Flexibility - There's lot of change. Changes in technology. Staffing changes at publications. Changes in trends. Changes in tactics and approaches.
5. Planning - Not only do strong public relations pros need to plan their day, but they also need to be able to plan what’s coming up next month—and six months from now.
6. Interest in current events - you need to be aware of what’s trending so we can take advantage of opportunities that may be a fit for your employer or client.
7. Leadership - If public relations pros hone their leadership skills, their voice is more likely to be heard and included in major decisions that affect the brand.
Hard skills to have:
1. Communication - You must be able to communicate your thoughts clearly and be an excellent listener. As a Public Relations Specialist, you also need to be socially aware while communicating. It’s important that you’re able to pick up on the slightest change in tone or emotion during a conversation. Additionally, you cannot let your own emotions color your message.
2. Writing Ability - A strong grasp of grammar and attention to detail will make a huge difference in your writing. You should be able to walk into a job interview and present samples of articles, press releases, or copy you have written.
3. Understanding of Social Media - It means that you are knowledgeable about how to use social media to manage a potential employer’s brand voice, that you understand the fundamental differences between individual social media platforms, and that you know how to use those platforms as tools for communicating with the public.
4. Multimedia - it is important that you have at least a basic knowledge of how to manipulate various types of media.
5. Creativity - If you can think outside the box and come up with ideas that others haven’t, you’ll be better able to make your clients happy. Creativity is the key to success in this industry.
Soft Skills to have:
1. Teamwork -To hone this skill, look for opportunities to work with others.
2. Composure - Practice keeping your cool – and instilling a sense of calm in others.
3. Problem-solving skills - You have to be creative about coming up with approaches that may work.
4. Flexibility - There's lot of change. Changes in technology. Staffing changes at publications. Changes in trends. Changes in tactics and approaches.
5. Planning - Not only do strong public relations pros need to plan their day, but they also need to be able to plan what’s coming up next month—and six months from now.
6. Interest in current events - you need to be aware of what’s trending so we can take advantage of opportunities that may be a fit for your employer or client.
7. Leadership - If public relations pros hone their leadership skills, their voice is more likely to be heard and included in major decisions that affect the brand.
Jagoda Zablocka
Innovation Director
9
Answers
Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland
Updated
Jagoda’s Answer
Hi
I agree with all the points Jaycee and Zahir mentioned.
In the role of PR specialist it's important to build your own portfolio - it's a collection of projects you worked on showcasing your skills. A portfolio consist of things you delivered (e.g news article) and description of projects and your role in them. No matter if you plan to start your business or work for your organization, you will be assessed based on portfolio. If you are just taking the first steps, please consider what kind of student activities can help gain you the initial experience - organizing a film festival? Leading the social media of student organization?
You can also consider volunteering, the caveat is that often the smaller NGO requiring support with social media management may not have a dedicated specialist. If your intention is to learn from someone, a traditional business internship can be a better option. However designing communication and PR strategy for NGO can be extremely rewarding - you will contribute to solving current world problems.
Last but not least, I see you posted from Russia. If you consider a PR role in a global or regional organization, fluent English is a must
I agree with all the points Jaycee and Zahir mentioned.
In the role of PR specialist it's important to build your own portfolio - it's a collection of projects you worked on showcasing your skills. A portfolio consist of things you delivered (e.g news article) and description of projects and your role in them. No matter if you plan to start your business or work for your organization, you will be assessed based on portfolio. If you are just taking the first steps, please consider what kind of student activities can help gain you the initial experience - organizing a film festival? Leading the social media of student organization?
You can also consider volunteering, the caveat is that often the smaller NGO requiring support with social media management may not have a dedicated specialist. If your intention is to learn from someone, a traditional business internship can be a better option. However designing communication and PR strategy for NGO can be extremely rewarding - you will contribute to solving current world problems.
Last but not least, I see you posted from Russia. If you consider a PR role in a global or regional organization, fluent English is a must
Katie Miserany
Communications
8
Answers
Redwood City, California
Updated
Katie’s Answer
In addition to all the great advice here, I would also recommend that you start reading the news avidly. Follow journalists you like/who write about interesting topics on social media and say up-to-date through email newsletters or by reading great outlets like the New York Times. One of the questions we always ask interviewees on my team is "How do you get your news?" And then we ask about their favorite news outlets and writers. If they can't answer those questions, we know they probably aren't "news junkies!"