The common but very essential traits for a rewarding career in PR are an extrovert nature, critical thinking ability, knowledge about diverse topics, good organizing skills and interest in meeting people from various walks of life. Good command over two or more languages would make your profile more marketable. Further, you should be able to demonstrate genuine accomplishments and have broad networks.
A PR professional is usually required to be present at conferences, parties, interviews and events organised by his or her company. Also, the willingness to travel is another characteristic required of the PR professional because a large-scale event might drag you to different places in and outside your own country.
In public relations firms, public relations managers' direct publicity programs to a targeted public. They specialize in a areas like crisis management or in an industry, such as healthcare. They utilize various communication medium to maintain the support of the specific group upon whom their organization's success depends, such as consumers, stockholders, or the general public.
In the U.S., employment in the advertising and public relations services industry is projected to grow 8 per cent over the 2008-18 periods, compared to 11 per cent for all industries combined, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also projects public relations specialists' employment growth of 22.5 per cent between 2010 and 2020. This promising outlook of the public relations profession has claimed the No. 41 spot on the 2012 list of Best Jobs.
Some of the largest U.S. public relations firms are based in business, media, and government centres of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Public relations positions globally provide new opportunities with ever increasing international business and cross-cultural relations. Career oriented positions exist in Public Relations all across the United States including Corporate Communication, advertising and promotion managers, product promoters, lobbying executive, Public Relations Manager, PR Consultant, Public Affairs Specialist, and Press Officer among others.
Importantly, the voluntary accreditation program for public relations specialists' offered by the Public Relations Society of America is a recognized mark of competency in the profession. Employees in advertising and public relations services have good people skills, creativity, patience, communication skills, and problem-solving ability. Foreign language skills are always crucial for those intending to work abroad for domestic firms or to represent foreign firms domestically. Three main issues that face the industry today are diversity in the workplace; new and social media; and integrated marketing communication (IMC).
Simply, the public relations professionals who can write well, have good mastery over social media networks along with good hand over traditional communications methods, having a good art of networking, are cool under pressure, and can work at the blink of an eye can reap exceptional benefits in this profession.
