What transferable skills are useful for a PR career change?

At the beginning of my career, when all I dreamed of was landing a job at a major magazine, an editor advised me to expand my search to include PR. She was right! She saw a bigger picture than I did at the time: Writing skills are highly transferable, and whether you are on the giving or receiving end of messaging, both professions require creativity, strategy, and empathy to develop content that will resonate with your target audience. The fact that I had some experience in magazine editorial (and had read many a press release) also made me more sensitive to the tone and approach of a compelling pitch. If you love to write, and write well, open your mind. There is a place for your talents in many industries!

So much of PR is just good writing. You got to know what is important information and what is plain promotion. PR communication written with that awareness will get you assured success with media even if they don't know you.

Writing is a fundamental skill in public relations, serving as a bridge that connects ideas to audiences. It's more than crafting messages; it's about telling a story that resonates. With its roots in clarity, persuasion, and engagement, effective writing in PR shapes perceptions, builds brands, and communicates core values. It's a tool that transforms information into influence and data into narratives, making it indispensable in the PR toolkit.

When I transitioned from journalism to PR, writing was the most important transferrable skill. If you're a professional writer, journalist, or any similar field, you probably don't realise how much skill you already have. A lot of artistic and creative people suffer from this - we assume that because we're good at something, it's easy. Writing isn't easy, and being able to weave a story is something you'll be able to rely on in all areas of PR, from press release writing to client and media communications.

Being a good writer is imperative in public relations. You have to write to your audience, using words they understand, and get your point across.

One of the most interesting things a CEO once said to me in my career was that in PR we should hire for personality and character traits, the rest can be taught. He was right. One of the best traits a PR person can have is soft skills or rather interpersonal skills. The job is all about building and maintaining relationships with media, clients, colleagues etc. The other is curiosity. We need to know what’s happening, new trends, and who’s who and that means research, reading and networking. Being super organised is another preferred trait because we’re always juggling a million things at once and need to keep track of everything. It's also important to be good writers and compelling storytellers, but you can learn this along the way.

A skill to connect, comfort, console and counsel people. Nothing else matters! Public Relations is a skill to manage the reputation of a company and the reputation levers around it. We have often heard 'Your network is your net worth' and it has often been proved in our profession. While there are critical skills like writing, reporting that matters a lot, but connections is where it boils down to, finally.

One of the most underutilized skills is training. Many clients do not know how to talk to the media covering them and their business. The training goes beyond the ability to answer questions; it goes more specifically to anticipating which questions will be asked and how to strategically, honestly and persuasively provide information. I have worked with many law enforcement officers, especially those in politically sensitive positions, on how best to interact in emergency situations.

One of my university professors, Prof. Ajala would tell us to make our friends before we need them. You can't do this without being a good communicator, both orally and written. You will handle a lot of people with different backgrounds and you can't be unprofessional. In my experience so far, I don't think there has been any time I have had to raise my voice or speak funny to a client, an influencer or teammates. Maybe it's my diplomas in Sociology and Psychology has helped me understand people more.

The first task is to create a sense of trust, and for this you must behave in such a way that you respect the opinions of the audience

If you don't conduct research you won't know what weaknesses or opportunities exist for your client. Research includes looking at social media, but also determining the target audience of the client. Once you know that you can conduct research with the audience including surveys, interviews and/or focus groups.

Research is imperative when writing for public relations. I always prepared research sheets for the people I worked with and were going to be interviewed by anyone. Local, regional or national news outlets always want some research for writing background information on stories. If the person being interviewed does not know that research, the news outlet will not take them or the story seriously or give it any more print or air time.

What would public relations be without research? Research plays a fundamental part in the PR process. This transferable skill will become essential when it’s time to conduct various forms of research - product research, media research, market research, audience research, etc.

One of the easy ways to research is to use the internet, in public relations you should have a relative awareness of all the cases

In my experience, working both as a journalist and as a filmmaker positioned me at an advantage with film PR. This meant that on both the backend and front end, I was liaising with a deep understanding of a colleague. Every creative skill is valuable and transferable when trying to position a brand.

All of these are important, and I wouldn't pick just one. From my experience as a reporter, I would say creativity is right up there. When it comes to media pitching, our job is to mine the client for a media story. That sounds self-intuitive, but many times the client's desired story or angle is not the same as what media finds interesting and compelling. In that case, roles are often reversed, and we wind up having to sell the client on the story media wants to tell.

You can’t pour from an empty cup. To be creative, you ought to expose yourself to things that make you create. Read books, watch the right stuff, research, stay atop trends. Just be extra.

Creativity is an important skill in PR. Not just knowing how to use social media, but how to use it effectively with creative messaging. Also having skills in Canva are helpful in creating visual pieces to help promote a client's campaign.

"The most important skill set in PR is creativity. The true art of a PR professional lies in pitching a company in a way that isn't just promotional but makes the reporter eager to take an outstanding angle. Innovative ideas are crucial in approaching PR effectively today.

Having organizational skills are important in PR. I like to use a checklist so I know what I've completed and what I have left to do. With my students I encourage them to do the same when writing the implementation section of a campaign book - tell the client exactly the steps to follow to implement the campaign they have written.

Organizational skills are highly important. Every project worked on by a public relations professional needs to be organized well to ensure everyone involved with a project has all the right times, dates, locations, and so on. It is not a good practice to be working with executives from your organization and continually give them the wrong dates and times or the wrong address to visit. Same goes for working with the media and giving them the wrong information. It will make the public relations person and the company or organization look horrible.

In my journey from a health practitioner to a role in PR and Journalism, organizational skills emerged as my secret weapon. Transitioning between these fields demanded a keen sense of managing diverse tasks. Whether orchestrating events, juggling multiple projects, or collaborating with stakeholders, my organizational prowess became indispensable. Amidst the dynamic nature of PR, these skills allowed me to maintain clarity, prioritize tasks effectively, and deliver results with precision. Navigating the intricate dance of timing and coordination in PR, I learned firsthand that adept organizational skills are the true cornerstone of excellence in this ever-evolving industry.

I never consciously set out to develop my organizational skills, but one thing being a freelance writer or creative for a period of time teaches you is the ability to multitask and juggle multiple projects at a time. This inadvertently came to use when I need to manage creative projects within a strict deadline. Project management is a useful multidisciplinary tool, and in PR, it can help you keep track of the many moving parts in the dynamic world of comms.

Comprehensive communication campaigns typically consist of various components. From my own experience, I've found that the most effective PR professionals are those capable of grasping the entirety of the campaign, adeptly assigning roles within the team, and adeptly handling complex 360-degree strategies, going beyond mere media publications

As someone who largely “fell“ into PR after spending half a decade in political campaigns, legal, and lobbying work, I would say by far the most important skill, and, of course, this is not exclusive to PR, is the ability to write persuasively/crisply. It’s also crucial to understand how different constituencies react to different messages, and when to disseminate those messages. The ability to differentiate strategy from tactics is also important as is public speaking. However, if you can’t write well it’s going to be extremely difficult. This is the case for most professional services but it’s absolutely imperative in strategic comms.

I also see a lot of transferability of sales skills. When you are pitching media, you are trying to “sell” a story, but not in a way that a reporter feels they’ve been “sold.” You have to understand what needs the reporter has and show how you can help them. You have to listen. In the end, it’s very similar to how a sales rep approaches a sales opportunity.

Writing is a crucial skill when it comes to PR, but in the rush to produce content, it can be easy to forget to keep reading writers who not only inform you about your industries, but inspire you. Read for fun as much as you can. It will keep your creative spark lit in ways that will illuminate your work and beyond.

In my experience, content strategy and editorial planning are valuable skills for a PR career change. They're even helpful for career advancement. For example, these skills can be leveraged for Head of Content, Editorial Manager, Head of Organic Growth, or Audience Development roles. Since PR and Communications professionals usually collaborate with multiple departments, the sky is the limit!

When making a career change to PR, showcasing all of the above listed transferable skills on your resume, cover letter, and during interviews can help demonstrate your suitability for the role and make a strong case for why you would be a valuable asset to a PR team.