Every day is different
There are no two days the same in PR. One day you can be wrapping chocolate eggs in client branded foil for Easter (yes, I have done that), the next you can be planning a press trip to South Korea and questioning whether any journalists will be brave enough to attend, given the current political situation.
Yes, no two days are ever the same, and that makes PR brilliant.
I couldn’t imagine anything worse than sitting day, after day, after day, doing the exact same thing.
PR is exciting, upbeat and ever-changing.
News hound
In PR you have to be a news hound so you are always up to date on what’s happening in the world. Being up to date on the latest news means you never run out of conversation at a dinner party and you never get caught off guard when someone says: “Have you heard about Gauss? Do you think it has some interconnections with Stuxnet, Duqu & Flame?”. You can provide an impressive, informed answer that will make you look like a genius.
You can spot a ‘spin-story’
You can always spot a PR story. If a newspaper headline one day reads ‘Research from Pedigree Chum proves dogs that eat turkey live ten years longer’, you can almost guarantee Pedigree Chum is launching a new turkey dog food product. You work in PR; you follow some of the same tactics, so of course you know the business well enough to spot a ‘spin-story’.
Fun, fun, fun
PR is really fun. We get to do cool things like launch products, organise events, create news headlines and get our clients on TV. I can’t think of any other job which is as fun as PR, okay well maybe being a performer in Cirque du Soleil but unfortunately I am not acrobatic, hyper mobile, and the fact that I’m slightly terrified of heights might be a problem.
Schmoozing
Let’s be honest, it’s what we’re famous for. However, these relationship building lunches are a very important part of our job. We need to build relationships with important journalists for our clients and sometimes a telephone briefing simply won’t cut it. A nice lunch in town means your client and the journalist can have a good, in-depth conversation without distraction.
In my eyes, PR is without a doubt one of the best industries to work in, one day is never the same as the next and you are constantly learning new things.
My only advice to anyone considering a career in the industry would be to go for it.
