Navigating Professional Growth: The APR Journey in Public Relations

April is APR month! If you’ve been considering accreditation this is your moment to jump in and test the waters. This designation truly does set practitioners apart from the rest of the industry.??

My own APR journey proved to be the most meaningful turning point of my career. I had been a practitioner for nearly 15 years, and I was proud of my place in the profession but was also treading water. I had been in the same role for six years and wasn’t sure what I wanted to do next. I had a bachelor of public relations degree (BPR) and a BA but these were achieved with a sense of inertia rather than from any sense of passion for learning. My degrees sat rolled up in tubes. One was somewhere in my mother’s basement. I mean, I assume she kept it. She does clean a lot.?

I had a colleague who had earned her APR and I became interested in her process. The preparation seemed deeply involved and – full disclosure – pretty stressful. It was full emersion public relations training. She had been in the profession for a quarter century after a career in journalism – this wasn’t her first rodeo – yet she was continually challenged and put through her paces. She was so energized by the process she became the quintessential APR evangelist. Was this a case of wanting to share the pain like some sort of PR monster, or her wanting others to experience the enormous, rewarding high she had? I needed to find out for myself.?

I worked harder that year than in any of the seven years I spent in university. The written work challenged me to compellingly tell the story of a key PR success in my career. The examination pushed me to open those PR textbooks that had been collecting dust on my bookshelf for over a decade and study my guts out. As the process went on I became determined to make a success of this. As someone who had always been an ambivalent student I was suddenly consumed with a desire to learn, synthesize information, and evaluate trends in a field I realize I had begun drifting through. I was given new purpose and passion for my chosen profession. When I received my first piece of mail with those letters after my name it was a thrill I can barely describe in words any human would be able to understand. I was SuperPRMan. I was struck with a sense of clarity of the role ethics play in our profession, of the need to stay current and relevant, and of the real meaning our counsel provides our employers. I was motivated to successfully advocate for a reevaluation of my role that ended with a considerable promotion. I had become something I had never imagined – that annoying professional evangelist we’ve all met at some point.??

My degrees are still in their tubes…somewhere. We’ve moved a few times. Hard to keep up. But my APR has adorned every office I’ve occupied since. I use those three letters with an enormous sense of pride in my official Super Important Person communications. I love it when someone asks me what they mean. Then I get to be annoying professional evangelist-guy all over again. Still a rush.?

It's why I took on the role of APR Chair. It’s why I want to encourage others to take this journey. It shows employers you are vested in the profession and in lifelong learning. It shows you’ve taken the steps to be considered at the peak of the field. And, full disclosure, it just makes you super cool. Everyone will totally think so, even if it’s something they just “think,” you know, on the inside…?

We have lots of resources to help get you on your way. Check it out and see if this is something for you. And you can reach out to me directly for advice, to walk through the process, or for some of that sweet sweet APR evangelizing. It won’t be easy. It won’t be quick. You’ll feel it like a great, intense workout, the kind where you need to ice yourself afterward. And it will be one of the most rewarding things you’ll do in your career.??

If you’ve been thinking about paddling in the APR waters this is the month to make your move. You can’t spell April without APR! Like, literally. It’s almost the entire word. It’s totally why they chose this month.??

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Hope to see you out on the APR trail.??

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For more information:?

https://www.prsa.org/professional-development/apr-month-2024?utm_source=chapter-tk&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=apr&_zs=Iru7m&_zl=sO3t2?

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