What is a Public Relations Officer

Graduate Guide to becoming a Public Relations Officer

PR is about building reputations and portraying an image of a particular company/brand in a positive way. Closely linked with Marketing and Advertising, PR officers work hard on the intangible aspects - the opinion of the general public and how they view their client/product/service.  This can be done in a variety of ways, through press releases, publicity campaigns, events or gestures that will show the intentions of the company.

PR Officers first analyse the market to review what the existing perception of their client is. They will conduct surveys and develop reports based upon the findings. They are looking at why the public would or wouldn’t use the service/product and tackle any trends that are occurring. They will then go onto suggest strategies on how to improve the reputation.

By targeting their audience with a well-aimed publicity campaign, companies can maximise profits and occupy a larger market share by beating the competition. This is done by finding out the needs of the customers and then meeting and exceeding them.  Public Relations can involve a lot of research. It is necessary to conduct studies on how particular consumers operate and what affects their purchasing decisions.

Qualities needed to work with Public Relations:-

• Clear, concise communicator
• Excellent language skills,
• Ability to persuade and build a rapport instantly
• Good at research and analysis of findings

Degrees that maybe useful for getting into PR include:-

• Psychology
• Economics
• Marketing
• Sociology
• Business Studies/Advertising

Any experience of understanding advertising trends, media techniques, editing, speech writing or research methods would be transferable into a role in PR. Competition for Graduate roles within PR agencies will be quite tough as they will attract candidates from a variety of degree subjects. Previous experience will be necessary to secure a role so any voluntary work or industry placements will be key to beating the competition.

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