Career Advice

It’s said that life sometimes imitates art. For many PR pros in 2020, it was difficult to separate life at home from life at work. For at least one PR pro, the confluence of home and work was beneficial as she learned that training in PR helped her stage a wedding during the pandemic.

For 2020, personalization was predicted, in 2019, as a dominant theme. Trust topped the 2019 list. Some trends for 2021 extend what 2020 highlighted: greater emphasis on DEI, purpose and internal communication.

For most people working in PR and communications, 2020 will forever be known as a crisis. That’s it. Continual crisis. And while crisis stymied many industries this year, it made communication more essential. When clear delivery of information becomes a necessity, the communication industry should grow. While the advertising world watched agencies shrink due to client losses and budget cutbacks, some PR shops expanded. We look at several examples of growth.

Communicators who are new to your shop may bring bad habits with them from previous jobs. It’s important for PR leaders to take time to notice their work, offer constructive feedback and make them feel like part of the team. Investing the time to train new employees in your corporate culture can pay dividends. Here are a few ways to do it.

With the mainstream media laser-focused on election coverage, how should communicators be spending their time? We asked PR professionals how they’re managing the lack of status quo externally and internally. Here’s what they told us.

Guitarist Eddie Van Halen, who died Oct. 6, was not only a guitar virtuoso, he augmented his talent with a knack for adapting to trends and audiences, though remaining true to his brand. Moreover, he was not content to rest on his laurels and worked hard to acquire new skills. These are attributes common to good communicators.

Media relations guru and PR coach Michael Smart discusses a terrific lesson for communicators from Disney executive chairman Bob Iger’s autobiography. Smart says the relationship between Disney’s top communicator Zenia Mucha and Iger, which is based on honesty, sometimes brutal honesty, is the model we need to emulate.

The US armed forces have a proud PR tradition. A look at its history shows that the services nearly abandoned PR. A panel discussion at the Museum of PR later this month will look at military PR and public affairs past and present.

The City of Toronto’s CCO Brad Ross argues communicators have done a good job relaying vital messages about the pandemic. As people are tiring of safety measures and we face a second wave, this is not the time to take a break. Do not let this long crisis, and its critics, cause you to question the effectiveness of your work

Mentors can provide PR pros with a closer insight into the career path that lies in front of them. Without mentors, communicators can feel like they are lost in the woods without a map, trying to navigate their next turn. Mentors can offer the clarity they seek.