Career Advice

Few PR professionals can say they have a dream job. Catherine Mathis was one of them. She led corporate communications at The New York Times Company. She also had a great team and plenty of job satisfaction. Sometimes dreams change, however. Her difficult decision to leave the Times led Mathis to several lessons about life and work that she uses to this day.

“If you want loyalty while working at a PR agency, bring your dog to the office.” That’s the advice of veteran PR pro Arthur Solomon. In addition to his words of wisdom about loyalty in PR, or the lack thereof, he offers advice about what to say and things to avoid when you’re in job-hunting mode. And you should be job hunting pretty much all the time, he says. Hey, that dog could really come in handy.

“Be yourself.” PR pros offer that advice often. At the moment, the language espousing it has morphed to “Be authentic.” In this continuing series with IPR about learning from early failure, veteran communicator Brian Lott describes a moment in his youth that drove home the lesson of authenticity. He adheres to its tenets to this day.

In this age of disinformation, PR pros are more important than ever, says the 2021 PRSA chair Michelle Olson. “If we do nothing except hold up the candle of ethics in business and in our organizations, we will have done our jobs,” she tells us in a wide-ranging interview.

Having graduated college—and perhaps even embarked on a successful professional career—you may have thought your test-taking days were safely behind you. But in today’s highly competitive job market, agencies and corporate PR departments expect candidates to possess a wide range of skills, including the ability to churn out basic press materials. That’s where the dreaded pre-employment writing assessment comes in.

From signage to social media ads to commercials, communicators are always on the lookout for chances to get more eyes on our brand. One time-tested way to slingshot brand awareness into the heavens? Publishing your very own book.

The goal of a comprehensive PR plan usually falls into three buckets: a) to increase awareness for a company or organization entering new markets, b) to increase awareness for a company or organization experiencing a slow-down in market segments or c) to increase awareness of a new product or division.

A professional bio is a bit like an auto club card, you may not need it very often, but when you do, you’ll be really glad you have one. All professionals and business leaders, from athletes to CFOs to pediatricians to DJs, should have at their disposal a few well-written paragraphs recounting career accomplishments. A brief bio is indispensable for use in social media profiles, websites, press releases, event programs, brochures, book jackets and more.

Corporations, particularly the largest ones, are increasing the demand on communications. In turn, PR pros need to augment their toolkits with a variety of digital skills, as well as analytical abilities, a new survey from The Conference Board says.

Failure is the mother of success. As business professionals, know this is true. Struggle is the best educator. And innovating and failing fast has become a top business strategy. In this PRNEWS series, in partnership with the Institute for Public Relations, industry leaders share lessons learned from failure.