Senior Vice President – FTI Consulting

Starting out in PR

• Top tips for breaking into PR

• Social media and your job search

• How to shine at interviews

• Managing your career progression

• State of the market for new entrants and grads

I’m going to cover:

Develop your base knowledge through research Know what PR is (vs advertising, sales promotion…) Understanding the different types – consumer, corporate, financial… Know the key sources of information: CIPR, PRCA, PR Week...

Get work experience if you can Provides hands on experience Gives you contacts Gains you referees

Ensure your basic skills are strong Interpersonal skills Writing skills Ability to communicate clearly

Top tips for breaking into PR

Social media understanding is a must for PR professionals, HOWEVER: Think about how public your personal life is Is your social media profile the one you’d like your future employer to see? If not, adjust your settings accordingly

Don’t think it’s too early for a professional profile Consider a LinkedIn profile Make sure it matches your CV Assume recruitment managers will look at your social media profile – I will!

Social media and your job search

Make sure your CV sells you Clear and concise Relevant to the job (lots of examples) Include achievements and results *Visit our blogs page for a chronological CV template

Increase your chances of getting an interview

NAME

Personal details

Email

Mobile

Address

Linked In/ Twitter/ Blog

Summary (not essential but can be useful if you are changing career

or sector)

Keep this short and interesting and write in the first person. Summarise

your experience, your skill set and what you are looking for in a new

role but be careful not to use clichés e.g. ‘self motivated, capable of

taking initiative’

Work experience:

Dates (e.g. May 2010-present), Company name, Job title

Clients include: … (obviously only include if you work in an agency)

Key responsibilities: (include topics such as media relations;

writing; client relationships; line management responsibilities

etc)

Forged strong relationships with target media resulting in

regular, high quality national and broadcast coverage

Effectively managed high profile crisis situations (e.g.)

securing senior comment and minimising negative publicity.

Key achievements:

List a couple of achievements/highlights you are particularly

proud of – this could be coverage gained, a crisis or event well

managed etc but give specific examples and results.

REPEAT FOR OTHER JOBS - but only include those which are

directly relevant (i.e. PR experience)

Education:

Dates, University

Degree subject, grade achieved

School

Dates, A Level subjects and grades (e.g. History - A)

Dates, GCSE (e.g. 9A*)

Training/Skills/Languages

Extra-curricular activities/awards/interests

List key awards/interests e.g. Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award

References available on request

Research The company/ agency – their clients, the campaigns they run

Brainstorm Think what questions you might be asked Practice your answers (including examples that support them) Think about questions of your own Plan How you’re going to get to the meeting What you’re going to wear

How to shine at interview – pre-meeting

Make the right first impression Sit up straight (even when you’re waiting in reception) Have a firm handshake Smile!

Listen to the interviewers’ questions… ...And answer them (no tangents please!) Ask your questions Don’t be shy or think they don’t want to hear them They demonstrate that you’re thoughtful and want the job

How to shine at interview – at the meeting

Seize every chance to develop and practise your skills Write lots Get to know key journalists and what they like Get involved in brainstorms and contribute ideas

Understand what you need to do to get promoted Make sure you have clear, achievable objectives Let your line manager know when you’re meeting them Be willing to do the admin Do this well and account-handling work will follow

Managing your career progression

Despite the recession, PR is a growing sector E.g. 2010 – sector grew by 10-15% (while advertising shrank) It’s a competitive market PR has always been a top career choice for graduates PRCA industry research predicts the level of graduate recruitment will

stay the same in 2012 HOWEVER, agencies of all sizes are running grad schemes

Persistence will pay off Know what PR is Get yourself some relevant hands on experience Make contacts and work them!

State of the market for new entrants and grads

Senior Vice President – FTI Consulting

Thank you

Any questions?

The Works Search and Selection

52 Brook Street

London W1K 5DS

www.the-works.co.uk