5 Tips For Aspiring PR Pros

It’s graduation time again! Inspiring commencement speeches, tearful farewells, and lots of partying these days on college campuses around the world. Then it’s back home for some seriously overdue sleep, reconnecting with family and friends, and then maybe a couple of weeks backpacking across Asia, or volunteering time for a worthy cause.

And then it hits you. School is over. Your idyllic sojourn in the vaunted world of higher learning and self-exploration has ended. The hunt for your first job begins.

For those of you who are ready to take the plunge and look for a communications-related job, whether at a PR agency, as a member of a corporate communications team at a large corporation, or as employee #5 at a hip start-up, here are a few tips from my experience sifting through stacks of resumes over the years.

1. Read the job description carefully?—?and then write your cover note and resume to address it. Yes, yes, I know this sounds obvious, but I’m continually surprised by how many candidates?—?many of whom might be well-qualified for a given role?—?overlook this critical step. It’s important for two reasons: first, you’ll provide critical information that will demonstrate your fit for the job, as well as the company you’re applying to. And second, it’s your chance to demonstrate whether you have one of the most basic, but fundamentally critical, communication skills we’re looking for, which is the ability to create a compelling communication piece that motivates your target audience (in this case, the recruiter), to change how they think, or take action.
2. Study the firm you’re applying to, and explain in your cover letter why specifically that company appeals to you. Generic cover letters with a company name pasted at the top scream laziness, and betray a lack of interest in either the company or the position. Each and every company is different from the others. So treat each company you’re applying to as if they were a person you’re trying to establish a relationship with, someone with a unique history and personality, as well as their own particular set of hopes and dreams.
3. Show why you’re passionate about PR. The hours can be long, the work challenging, so what inspires you, what excites you, and will you be able to translate that excitement to your work? Of course, at this age and stage of your budding career, you’re not expected to have it all figured out. But at least give a flavor for the person behind the resume. What is it about creating, shaping and communicating ideas that you enjoy?
4. Demonstrate that you can learn new things. There’s no way you’ll be walking into a company having all of the skills you need for the job. I doubt any recruiter is expecting you to check every box on the long list of skills and achievements they stuffed into their job advertisement. But what you do need to show is some evidence that you have what it takes to quickly learn new things and develop new skills.
5. Give your social media profiles a professional make-over. LinkedIn is likely to be one of the first places recruiters will look to find out more about you. No photo? Minimal or no description of your school achievements or work experience? Better spend some time filling those in thoroughly and accurately?—?before you introduce yourself to recruiters.

The demand for impactful communications in companies of all shapes and sizes, and across all sectors of the economy, has never been higher than it is today. There’s a pressing need for outstanding communicators. And that’s why we need more young, intelligent, creative, and passionate people like you.

And it’s not just today I’m talking about?—?communications will become even more important over time. I’m convinced that ours will be the last profession on earth to be automated and replaced with computers or robots.

Good luck, and welcome to the profession.

Glenn Leibowitz is Director of External Relations for McKinsey & Company’s Greater China Practice. He’s led their publishing, media relations, branding, and digital marketing efforts for the past 15 years. He blogs at glennleibowitz.com and on Medium. Follow him on Twitter here.

Image credit: Benson Kalahar / Flickr