Because of this, public-relations work involves "keeping an ear to the ground" much of the time. Because they have to be sensitive to what the audience thinks of a particular company they work for, public-relations employment personnel are constantly working on both keeping employers in the public eye so that they don't get forgotten (and therefore products or services don't get forgotten, too), and in keeping that "public eye appearance" as favorable as possible.
So, for example, part of public relations employment, such as if one is a PR specialist, involves making sure you always know what the public thinks of your particular company.
Who uses people who work in public-relations employment?
Actually, many if not most companies hire at least one public-relations person, if not more than one, to be in charge of public relations. In addition, it's not just companies that hire people for public-relations work. In fact, just about every sector of society uses public-relations employment people in some capacity. For example, social welfare groups, national health groups, churches, hospitals, schools, and the government all provide public-relations work to public-relations agencies and individuals to manage "image" for them.
For businesses, public relations work often goes right in line in line with advertising campaigns. Nonprofit groups, too, use public relations as a means to "get the word out about them," and in fact may not be known any other way. Because of this, public-relations is very important simply so that people know about companies and their products and services.
What's involved with public-relations work on a daily basis?
That depends, but for example, public-relations people may arrange speaking engagements or press conferences, may put together films and videos or publicity campaigns, or may work with marketing directly to put together advertising campaigns, as applicable.
Public-relations work may involve, for example, preparing materials for events, like press releases, speeches, scripts, magazine articles, pamphlets, newsletters, and so on. They may conduct interviews with other media so as to "get the word out" about events that are going on, or they may work with printers, designers, graphic artists and other media experts for marketing campaigns.
Depending on the size of the company and the nature of the work, one PR person may do everything, or a PR department or agency may break up tasks between people. Therefore, perhaps one person's public-relations work deals specifically with setting up and arranging interviews, talking on the phone with the media, and so on, while another's may deal with the print aspects of a marketing campaign.
What do you need to do to get public relations employment?
Most public-relations work requires that you have some type of degree, such as in public relations, communications or journalism. Taking courses in psychology, business administration, public speaking and public relations males will help you land a job in public relations. In addition, you may need other more specialized training, such as if you intend to work in finance. In that case, for example, you may need a degree in finance as well.
Having experience in the news in some capacity can be a great way to get a foot in the door for public-relations work. If the company you work for is particularly large, and you are otherwise qualified, that company may even train you as a PR person specifically to deal with the specifics of that company. Although it's not absolutely necessary, being accredited by Public Relations Society of America will certainly make prospective employers take notice of you; for this accreditation, you have to have five years of experience and to have passed an oral test.
What can you expect to earn in public-relations work?
The range of salaries earned by those in public relations work varies greatly, depending on the sector, size of company, and so on. However, across all industries and on average, public-relations employment can be expected to earn you about $43,000 a year, as long as you've got a college degree.
