Source: US News & World Report Source: US News & World Report

Public Relations is a profession I love, and it’s been chosen a top 100 job by U.S. News  & World Report. PR has also been singled out for its stressful aspects. So, if you’re considering a career in PR, whether you’re a student or migrating your skills from another line of work as I did from broadcast journalism, keep these five things in mind:

  1. You will work, a lot. – A good PR professional is always thinking, practicing, learning and looking for ways to develop, generate and share stories; enhance and support reputations; or participate in conversations for successful outcomes. This type of work is constant as you monitor trends, competitors and opportunities. Prepare yourself, your family and your mindset to be always “on” if you work in PR.
  2. Projects take time. – This was a real eye-opener for me. When I did a television news feature story, for the most part, it was a wrap when it aired. PR projects sometimes take months, even years to come to life. We recently wrapped up a couple of stories with a network, and it took around 50 hours of work on our end to bring four minutes of air-time to life. That was BEFORE all of the sharing via social media…over a holiday weekend and beyond. To me, well worth every minute of it.
  3. Your work can be portable. – There are times you will be able to telecommute. (I’m writing this from a hospital room where my precious Mom is a patient. Writing seems to help me through tough times.) This is a huge plus you’ll discover if you’ve ever had the type of job that requires you to be in the office or on-site. And, it works for the times when you need to be portable while traveling for client business.
  4. Be prepared to do homework and write, well. – We’re living in a written word world of less is more. PR professionals write constantly. So, be prepared to puzzle piece your words together as though you have only the time of a brief introduction. Think about what you like to read, and write that way. If you don’t have “On Writing Well,” purchase William Zinsser’s “go to” for writers. Here’s just one example of its wisdom: “Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.”
  5. Prepare for the unexpected. – You may have heard the idiom of coming in “on a wing and a prayer,” born out of damaged war planes making successful landings under stressful circumstances. In this work, we often find ourselves dealing with the unexpected…navigating unchartered territory in uncertain conditions to accomplish a PR task or goal. And, most often, we get it done. I’m not comparing good PR to the heroic efforts of war pilots…far from it. But if you want to work in PR, be prepared to have the fortitude and faith of those aviators to successfully complete the assignment, even if it’s “on a wing and a prayer.”

If you’d like to learn more about Stone Ward’s PR work and what it looks like to pursue a career in the field, check us out at StoneWard.com.