I once was lost, but now am saved. So it seems, anyway. At a major juncture in my life and one year after starting this blog, I thought it an opportune time to explain how my discovery of the public relations profession pretty much saved my life. Maybe not in a fully literal sense, but close enough to it.

This is a very personal story. Not the normal gist of this blog. But, in some ways – at a sub-atomic level, perhaps – it is ALL about this blog.

It is also longer than my normal posts, but whilst it may be a mini-epic, it is no mini-series.

Fundamental messages of my story include:

• If you have a sense, an intuition, of being capable of something, exhaust that sense until you are 100% satisfied it has been resolved. Otherwise there will be a vacancy within you that will eat at you like acid
• You can begin a career later than in your 20s
• Determination and persistence get you an opportunity; hard work and talent create a career.

Looking for a career, vocation…wherefore art thou??

In my early thirties I was struggling. I had spent time as an actor, waiter and restaurant manager and stood fairly accused as the worst barista in Sydney. I was also a DJ and a journalist on popular culture (mainly rock music – starting out on punk and new wave, then evolving into soul, funk, jazz and roots/country music). I was a pretty good music writer (I thought so, anyway) and DJ and had, as you can imagine, some pretty wild times in these vocations.

In fact, I still write about music for street mag Drum Media for fun, with highlights of the 20+ gigs I have seen this year being the astonishing Wayne Shorter, the lovable Ricki Lee Jones and the unique Lyle Lovett.

Back in my early thirties, though, I couldn’t get a grip on life. I knew I needed some sort of stable vocation to get me on the straight and narrow. I dropped out of post-school college/uni (I studied drama, an early passion, acting with Glenn Robbins aka Kath and Kim in one play) and so didn’t have that elusive degree behind me. I tried to enrol in a journalism course at uni as a mature age student a couple of times, but was rejected.

I had a sort of fearful, fragile confidence in my writing skills. And I thought if I can just get a gig applying these skills in a business environment that might be my ticket out of my personal cul de sac. So I went to see a couple of careers advisers. Supposed careers advisers. I told them about my writing skills and wanting to apply them in a business context, but…

You might think the term ‘marketing’, even if not ‘public relations’, would have come up. But no, not on your life (dickheads).

Making ends meet, but what and where is ‘the end’?

So on I struggled, surviving on the dole and labouring jobs, some meagre takings from freelance rock writing and the odd restaurant gig (as by this time I couldn’t take the hospitality industry anymore: pandering to people’s inane predilections, and their condescension, takes more forbearance than I was capable of consistently delivering).

I applied for over 100 jobs, never seeming to get close to an interview.

Ex-PM/cultural-social-political icon/Australian hero Paul Keating’s Working Nation program gave me some extraordinarily rudimentary desktop publishing skills to go along with the writing skills. Then…one fateful day. I got an interview with the Retail Traders Association of NSW.

The PR ‘break’

Armed with incentives to take on unemployed people like myself, along with my new ‘graphic design’ skills (…), I scored a job – thanks Bill Healey. After three months I asked Bill, well, my probation is over, have I got the job. I loved his response and still do: “Well, you’re still here aren’t you?” Now that’s what I call a performance review!

I was writing case studies, placing them in the media and providing internal communication resources. This was pretty cool, I thought, this seemed like what I might be looking for, but wondered: what is this? What is this vocation I seem to be in?

Next thought: I’d better get a qualification in this ‘thing’ (whatever the hell it is) to make sure I can keep this baby rolling.

I saw a short course in PR and that rang a few bells. Am I in public relations? So I took the course, given by the legendary David Potts. About 10 minutes into the first session, the scales fell from my eyes: JESUS WEPT, I’M IN PUBLIC RELATIONS!

As soon as that course was over I enrolled in a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations at UTS (I was too dumb, underqualified and under experienced to get into a masters). There, I had the extremely good fortune to be taught by more Australian heroes like Gael Walker and John Carr. I ate it up, then articulated the certificate into a full Masters of Communication, where more very wonderful teachers like Shirli Kirschner, Rebecca Harris and Jane Jordon shared their practical and academic knowledge with me.

The masters was the best thing I could have done. It provided me with insights into the wonderful potential of PR and the structure of strategic communication.

So I got my degree when I was just shy of 40, the first person in my family to get one. I was proud, sure, but my God I was relieved. I had something to fall back on, yes, but you know what? One of the greatest gifts that the Masters gave me was self-esteem, a belief that maybe I wasn’t as worthless as I thought I was. Sure, I had the ego to protect myself, that masculine, brittle bravado that held all doubts at arms length. But really, they were there, feasting on my psyche and soul in private moments, shaping who I was in public.

My career progressed at an exciting pace, with excellent jobs in a number of organisations such as 2iC Integrated Communication (with the inspirational Cath Stace and other wonderful colleagues) and the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (where I have also made some friends with people who I hope stay in my life for as long as it lasts).

What PR means to me

Before PR came along, I was a drowning man. When it appeared, it was solid land onto which I held. And what at first seemed like a desert island that would suffice, quickly evolved into a continent that has nurtured me and allowed me to explore myself on both a personal and professional level.

PR suits me as a person. I am politically inclined towards social democracy. I believe we all have a responsibility to global society. PR, to me, has that notion embedded into it.

Fundamental elements of public relations that attract me include:

• It facilitates communication, understanding and engagement between organisations and their stakeholders
• It helps prompt organisations change as much as it prompts stakeholders to change, leading to a more equitable, responsive and respectful society
• It necessitates empathising with ‘others’ and, as such, learning from them: it is a humanising professional discipline
• The way in which it is analogous to culture or art; the way it captures elements of contemporary life and helps reflect back those elements with different emphases; and also because it can be very creative and packed full of ideas
• It is intellectually stimulating as you learn about different industries, ideas and a diverse array of people (not to mention their views of the world)
• Writing is the number one skill you need. This is the technical skill I enjoy practicing the most and have a high degree of confidence in.

Public relations and I: now

So, 16 odd years after discovering this wonderful profession called public relations, I am a much happier and more satisfied person. The last few years have been another story in itself, with me struggling to find a specific job in which to satisfactorily work. The GFC got me retrenched, but it has led to me operating my own business which has been an unplanned eye-opener and extremely rewarding. But that is a story for another day…

I was very, very lucky to find what I consider to be my ‘home in professional business communication – or public relations. Its principles have made me a better person and a better father than I would otherwise have been (as for better husband, well, my wife might want to post on that. But then again, maybe not…).

As for the future, well, let’s think about that….

How did you discover public relations? What does the discipline mean to you? Did you come to it from another profession? Are you tired of it and/or do you think you’d like to move to another profession? What would that be and why that particular profession?

If you liked this post, perhaps you have a friend who would also like it you can send a link to.

PS: I’d welcome you joining networks with me through my LinkedIn profile. Send me an invite!

PPS. And don’t forget you can subscribe to this blog via email or RSS at the top of the blog’s page, or Tweet about this post using the handy RT button, adding your own editorial two cents worth!

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In the partner post to this one, I presented 14 reasons why working in public relations in-house kicks agency butt. This post, obviously, presents the flipside.

Working in a PR agency is one of the most exciting, valuable and positive experiences any PR professional can have. In the early years of your career, in particular, you are less hamstrung by process and get your hands on a range of projects. Agency employees are often perceived as experts; it presents a range of professional and life opportunities; and you are surrounded by peers who understand the discipline and provide excellent support.

What do you need to work in a PR agency? Hunger and a can-do attitude. Wallflowers need not apply

But what do you think?

The advantages of agency PR roles

1. As you are working at a remove from an organisation, this distance often allows you to see issues more objectively and more clearly, thus helping develop solutions that those in the ‘organisational mist’ don’t generate.

2. Without a doubt, working in an agency is a more pressurised, and hence more dynamic, environment than in-house. This can facilitate a quick learning curve because of the exposure to different responsibilities you are given and the faith that is placed in your skills.

3. You are more likely to be perceived as being an expert in a certain area of professional communication (i.e. look at how agency employees dominate speaker line ups at conferences). Social media is currently an excellent example of this, but so is government relations/lobbying, media relations and CSR.

4. Speaking of experts, Geoff Kelly made the excellent point in a Public Relations of Australia LinkedIn discussion of my preceding post that often external consultants are respected and viewed as experts partially because they are…external! Great for both self-esteem and getting relevant, productive and interesting communication programs into play.

5. Despite often being introduced to an organisation to carry out tactical projects (with media relations and social media being king and queen), this often evolves into agencies making important strategic contributions to an organisation’s communication. This can be relevant to the specific project an agency is brought on-board for, or it can evolve into a broader remit, one that impacts on the fundamental nature of an organisation’s communication.

6. Winning new business is a great buzz. It needs to be, because as you get more senior in an agency it will always part of your responsibilities. The new biz process is outside the ‘PR process’ (strategy and tactics), but PR pros’ typical skills of networking, customising activity to stakeholder needs and empathy strongly come into play in the new business process. For some, it is an additive elixir…and it is ALWAYS a challenge.

7. Through interaction with a diverse range of businesses, issues and people, you will learn a lot about the world and you will, without even trying, be presented with a range of opportunities – PR/work-related and personal. You just need to be sensitive to these opportunities and not sleep walk through life.

8. By working with a variety of clients and in a diversity of industries, it gives you a great insight into the sorts of PR areas and industries you’d like to work in. This doesn’t mean you have to devote your entire career to these niche areas or industries, but it can help you learn where you will be most fulfilled.

PR areas include media relations, social media, CSR, public affairs, issues & crisis management, publications (e.g. annual reports) community liaison, event management, consumer, B2B and many more.

Industries include FMCG, utilities, renewables, NFP, government, engineering, architecture, resources and many more.

9. You can progress your career more quickly. Opportunities tend to come up in agencies for promotion more often than in-house. The war for talent seems to be stronger in agencies than in-house and agencies work hard to offer interesting roles at competitive packages. This means you can nearly always negotiate different responsibilities, experiences and opportunities into your role, even if increased remuneration isn’t always an option on the table.

10. You are less likely to be typecast into roles, which can occur in-house. Recruiters love to pigeonhole candidates. It makes their lives easier. Working in an agency means you are perceived, as a default, as being very flexible and able to adapt to the needs of a diversity of roles and industry areas.

11. It is much easier to get an in-house role with an agency background than the other way around. The former is the more common path. The simple reason is that if you have proved yourself in the furnace of agency life, you should definitely be able to make it in the, typically, less mentally and emotionally draining/demanding world of in-house PR.

12. One of my highly respected peers, Graham White (@GWhiteOz), believes it is less lonely working in PR when you are in an agency. Possibly Graham thinks that because in an agency you will have many (or very many!) PR peers who have a good understanding of the pressures and opportunities of working in the field. Working in-house you may be a sole operator or part of a small team, which can lead to perceptions of not feeling understood or appreciated in your role. ‘MadeTheSwitch’ said as much after making the switch to in-house PR. And in the same comments section Nicola said she really struggled to get moral and professional support.

13. You can generally negotiate a greater degree of work-life balance into an agency role. This is my experience, anyway. Promises of working from home and flexible hours are easy to give, but not so easy for any organisation/agency to follow through with, no matter how well-intentioned. The employee – not the employer – really needs to ensure the promises are fulfilled. There are no free passes in this area.

14. You are less likely to waste your life away in meetings when working in an agency, according to Marc Cornelius, who flagged this in a Public Relations and Communications Professionals LinkedIn discussion. By implication, you get to spend more time on ‘doing’ and ‘achieving’ then pontificating. Fair comment, I thought.

15. You are less likely to fall victim to client internal politics when you are working in an external agency, Marc also said. I don’t think this is necessarily true; politics has a way of wending its fingers around you when you work with a client long enough!

16. Working in an agency can lead to equity in the business. This is great if you want to eventually run your own show. You can often get experience in running a business in an agency environment, which is obviously beneficial if you have ambitions to run your own show. It can also lead to you making more money than you otherwise would have, which applies to both agency and in-house experiences.

17. And one final point. If you are in a global PR agency (and there are plenty of them) there are opportunities to work overseas for the same agency. Ah, if only I was smart enough to figure that one out when I was younger!

Summary

I always counsel less experienced practitioners to get at least a few years of agency experience under their belt. It is a dynamic, fast moving, pressurised environment that is a lot of fun. You are expected to deliver and deliver fast. Working in-house can lead to this high quality delivery mentality too, but with agency you are much more likely to get there quicker and to keep it. I highly recommend it.

What are your thoughts on working in a PR agency? What are your good and bad experiences? Is there one environment you prefer working in – agency or in-house? What do you think about the positive points of working in a PR agency made in this post?

PS: I’d welcome you joining networks with me through my LinkedIn profile. Send me an invite!

PPS. And don’t forget you can subscribe to this blog via email or RSS at the top of the blog’s page, or Tweet about this post using the handy RT button, adding your own editorial two cents worth!

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After having worked in PR for 16 years, both in-house and ‘in-agency’, I believe working in-house is clearly where one can make a more significant difference to an organisation and its stakeholders, as well as being a more rewarding environment in which to work: you write the strategy, pull the strings and don’t have the hideous ogre of new business to deal with.

But what do you think?

The advantages of in-house PR roles

1. You get to devise the overarching communication strategy and strategic approach. And if you don’t actually write it, you are closest to this particular coal face and, in theory, you get to contribute to and/or participate in its implementation in the most active way possible – rather than being at arm’s length with limited control.

2. You run the communication show. Consultants/agencies report to you. They are more often your arms and legs than a significant contributor to the central planks of your communication strategy.

 3. When running the communication ‘show’, you are more likely to be able to prompt an organisation to implement two-way symmetrical communication, facilitating an organisation operating in a manner more in-line with its stakeholders’ needs and wants. This also leads to a more equitable society, which has a multiplicity of personal and professional rewards.

4. You get to immerse yourself more deeply in the widest possible range of issues and experiences relevant to an organisation, giving you the broadest possible perspective on the organisation. This helps you develop the best possible solutions to communication challenges and respond in a speedy way to them. 

5. The fact that you consistently work on one client – your organisation – means that the impact of your work is likely to have a greater and more transparent impact than if you worked occasionally on this client. 

6. If access to power is important, when working in-house you are more likely to have interactions with organisational leadership. This can make you feel good about yourself, but it can also mean your ideas are heard more easily by senior stakeholders, potentially giving you opportunities you may not have otherwise had. Mainly, however, it’s an ego thing!

7. As the work you do on your ‘client’, and the results your work delivers, is more visible, that should generate more job satisfaction than skipping across a range of clients.

8. It is a more stable environment to work in than agencies. Your job is less likely to be downsized. Agencies are more downturn-sensitive, which in business quickly equates to a redundancy. If agency billable hours are reduced then there is less money to pay the bills, so even if your performance is excellent, you may need to hit the road.

9. Professional development (e.g. university courses, short courses, conference attendance) is better funded in-house. You only need to look where most PR conference attendees come from. In-house totally dominates (although, and this is both hilarious and tells you something, it is agencies that often dominate the speaker line ups!).  Non-agency organisations also tend to provide other support such as study leave to a much higher degree than agencies.

10. As working in-house is generally not as intense a vocational experience as working in an agency, you are given time to evolve your skill set and grow into your job. Billable hours is not normally a feature of working in-house, so ‘the work’ (i.e. public relations work) is far and away the focus. Whereas when working in an agency billable hours (i.e. profit) rules all other aspects and it can be troubling to have to balance the professional communication responsibilities with business efficacy responsibilities. 

11. You don’t have to spend time on new business. That. In itself. Is. A. WIN. There will be some who find the process of scoping and securing new business for an agency rewarding. Most do not. I did a Masters of Communication, for instance, to help with my ability to practice public relations. I didn’t do a Masters of Sales. I find the process enervating and boring. 

12. The strong focus on new business in an agency can generate a culture of fear. Not enough billable hours = my job is at threat = stress and uncertainty. In-house does not have this issue anywhere near as much.

13. Unless this is part of your specific role, you do not have to spend as much time on media relations as you typically do in an agency role. Media relations is rewarding, it often delivers ROI and helps achieve organisational objectives, but it is not the be-all and end all. PR is not media relations. Whilst extensive creativity, intelligence and tenacity is required to work effectively in media relations, so does it have a strong ‘sales’ (even telesales) dimension and it also becomes tiresome putting up with the scepticism and negativity of many journalists. 

14. Organisations tend to have deeper support systems and processes in place for managing employees. This is purely a small business vs large business dichotomy, but is very relevant to PR. This means that performance reviews, counselling, support, leave provisions etc tend to be much more employee-centric when working in-house.

But what do you think?

Next week I’ll explore why working in PR agencies is an awesome, galvanising and rewarding experience.

What have I missed? What else is great about working in-house in PR? Is it better than working in an agency? And even though I will list my thoughts on the advantages of agency life next week, feel free to beat me to the punch and give me your list – I’ll include your thoughts (well, if I think they’re on the money!) in my post.

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This is the second part of a two-part series on social media’s impact on the practice of PR and the profession itself. The thoughts in this mini-series were articulated in response to an interview with British uni student Hayley McDonald (@HAYCMAC).

In the 21^st century, PR should be leveraging its logical leadership of social media for all its worth and use it as an opportunity to position itself more favourably as a management discipline that delivers business-relevant results.

The most potent and potentially meaningful characteristic of public relations remains its ability to transform organisations so that they are more aligned with their stakeholders’ needs and wants.

No other business discipline has this capability. Social media can help it achieve this goal and it is already – partially because it is inherently a dialogic communication mechanism, rather than a broadcast one like traditional media, direct mail and sponsorship – doing this. It is in this area of transforming organisations that PR must shine and provide business worth, or else it will become marginalised.

The social media tools I use and ‘rate’

On a professional and personal level I am very comfortable with, and pretty knowledgeable about, blogs. I contribute to a couple of professional blogs, Public relations and managing reputation and Blueblog, the home of the public affairs and corporate communication consultancy, Bluegrass, I work with. I also use Twitter on a professional and personal basis, but keep Facebook pretty much for fun and personal uses.

All of these tools have professional ‘world’ potential, depending on the business objective, the target audience preferences and what you are actually communicating about. I don’t think any one of them is necessarily any more important than the other.

If you want to generalise, however, Facebook is the medium going ballistic. I am not sure why anyone would want to use Facebook to become a fan of a service or product provider, however. That seems pretty superficial to me, other than on a fun level. I can’t see how communication for a product or service on this platform can really engage and turn people into advocates, but perhaps I am being a snob. I can see its utility for the arts, cultural and sporting entities, however.

As content is really a very important issue in this Google-censored world (if you are not ranked by Google, then you may as well not, in many senses, exist – in fact, you don’t exist!), I think blogs are extremely important. They are the quickest and easiest way to update content and by doing so this means the Google spiders love you! They provide a great platform on which to exhibit thought leadership, which helps with organisational POD and reputation enhancement.

I am also a big user of LinkedIn.

Why I use LinkedIn for strategic communication

• I promote my blog posts there
• I engage in conversation with more people here than on my actual blog
• I have started using it to try to generate new business for the public affairs and corporate communication consultancy I work for, in tandem with interpersonal contact (check back with me later 2010 to see if I have any success!)
• I ask and answer questions to enhance my professional knowledge and to help out others
• I think it’s a wonderful way to make contacts, learn and to have fun with peers all over the world
• It enhances my reputation: by having others visibly associated with me; by having recommendations from peers visible; by providing a platform through which I can exhibit my experience, qualifications and thought leadership
• I have used the input of many global peers in posts I have created for my blog, enriching the content and, hopefully, making it more attractive for professional communicators
• One day I may try to leverage it further to promote any free or paid-for books or e-books/e-reports I produce.

I find it interesting, if not surprising, that many of my blog posts create more extensive conversations on LinkedIn discussion groups than on my blog. I guess LinkedIn provides a huge chat room-like environment that cuts straight to, probably, the biggest global aggregation of its blog’s target audience: PR and marketing professionals.

(I have already written about why I think why LinkedIn is a must-do for PR and marketing pros.)

Making comments in LinkedIn discussion groups is possibly more convenient than making them on my blog, though I don’t know why. If you read the post, then you have to go to the blog. Could it be that many people are making comments based on the excerpt I provide on LinkedIn, or on other people’s comments alone rather than reading the full post. Surely not…?

The main reason I think it occurs is for a mix of ego, grandstanding and networking. By commenting on LinkedIn it is more likely their peers will note their existence than if they make it on my ‘outpost’ blog. I don’t mind – many of the discussion group participants add a lot of genuine value – but of course it would generate a greater momentum and profile for my blog if the comments were primarily there and not on LinkedIn!

PR practitioners dealing with social media successfully

Students yet to enter the profession yet need to skill up in a big way whilst you are at university. Immerse, experiment and learn. Get as much practical internship experience in this area as possible.

The most important thing for any emerging professional is to get as much hands on experience as possible. Sure, get an understanding of two-way symmetrical communication and its importance to the discipline and society, but get your hands dirty and have fun.

Also, remember whatever goes online stays online. PR people need to be more careful than most to manage their professional and personal brands. If you don’t want your girlfriend’s or boyfriend’s mother reading it, don’t put it up or don’t let it be put up.

What role do you think PR will play in the 21st century?

Because of the synergy between social media and two-way symmetrical communication, public relations is the logical owner of social media from a strategic and tactical perspective, not least because dialogue and accommodation are essential to both. As such, if the profession has a gram of sense and capability, it will leverage this for all its worth and use it as an opportunity to position itself more favourably as a management discipline that delivers business-relevant results.

The underlying characteristics of PR mean that it can make a profound difference in helping society become more equitable and help protect the natural environment. We should be more assertive in claiming this ground, this opportunity and this responsibility.

Social media and CSR, two of the most important aspects of public relations, are helping to give us this opportunity.

Sally Falkow has a really useful presentation on Slideshare called Social media: the future of PR. Obviously, quite in sync with the discussion on this post, so I encourage you to check it out.

Public relations’ most potent and potentially meaningful characteristic is its ability to transform organisations so that they are more aligned with their stakeholders’ needs and wants. At the end of the day, no matter whether it is lobbying, events, community liaison, sponsorship, website content, digital and social media communication, or any of the other dimensions of public relations, transforming both organisations and their stakeholders is what PR is about.

We can always help sell more product and services, but as a profession we have the capability to leave a much greater legacy.

What use do you get out of LinkedIn? What role do you think PR will play in the 21^st century? What social media tools offer the best ROI?

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In this, the third of a series of posts on aspects of working in public relations, Stephen Sinclair, a very experienced PR professional, currently in-house Investor Communications Manager at Perpetual, shares his views on what it takes to carve out a successful career in public relations.

Working in a PR agency often grabs the headlines, but my guess is there are far more public relations positions working in the in-house environment – and, also, there are plenty of those who believe it is a far more satisfying milieu in which to work.

Perhaps the agency PR pros are best at getting the marketing media headlines for themselves because they work harder at it. It’s amazing how many PR-related stories in Australian marketing media relate to new business wins (I mean, someone cares, I guess – but it ain’t me!). My hunch is there are a lot more of these sorts of stories in our media than those that talk about best practice communication.

After attending a recent Frocomm social media PR conference, it was even striking to me that there were far more agency, rather than in-house, presenters. Now, I know for a fact Frocomm mogul Glen Frost always seeks a balance, but at the end of the day it comes across looking like the sharpest PR minds and the majority of high quality PR work is undertaken by agency professionals.

I don’t subscribe to this view at all. Agencies have a stronger vested interest in promoting their work as they need the in-house crew to seek them out. Otherwise they are out of a job! But this is a topic for another day.

In this post, Steve Sinclair, one of the most respected PR professionals in Australia (he is one of a select group of Public Relations Institute of Australia Fellows, for instance), points out some of the positives and negatives of working in-house. He also delves into the murky waters of social media and its relevance to building a career in PR.

What characteristics does it take to work in PR?

“A good nose for issues and people’s expectations (whether that is the broad public or particular interest groups), excellent business writing skills and good general business knowledge.”

What are employers looking for when hiring public relations professionals? What are the key technical skills (e.g. media relations) that experience is most highly valued in and what strategic mind-sets are coveted?

“In corporate, there is a very fair expectation that you have a really good understanding of the business and industry in which you are working, or can very quickly get up to speed. You also have to be able to understand and quickly respond to a brief or breaking issue, no matter how complex.”

What skills, attributes, knowledge, attitude are needed for working in-house, compared to the PR agency environment, and vice versa?

“Being on the inside you are part of the business and expected to really understand it. However, there are dangers that you can become absorbed into internal group-think. Some people find it difficult in this environment to stand up and challenge the prevailing view and the senior management who work down the corridor, whereas an agency at arms-length can be expected to provide impartial advice.

“However, if you develop credibility for sound advice and judgement within a business, you can have a strong strategic input when initiatives are being developed and issues first start to break. It is never worth just telling people what they want to hear if you don’t really believe it, because you’ll have to face the consequences the morning after and will lose credibility.”

What role does a PR professional’s presence in social media have in getting them a job? For instance, how important is it to have a good profile on LinkedIn? What value to a PR career is there in being engaged on Twitter? Does it give those who are more engaged an advantage?

“It’s probably becoming more important, in the same way as much recruitment is now done on-line. I think it’s just a matter of visibility and networks to become aware of, or be considered for, job opportunities. However, serious corporate employers should be more interested in your track record, your proven capability and real life referees. After all, they are looking for your ability to promote them, not yourself.”

Once a person has posted information on the internet, is it ethically fine for employers or recruitment agencies to check it out?

“Yes. If it’s on-line, it’s on-line. Personally, I don’t think employers have any business poking their noses into people’s private lives. But if you really want something private, keep it private.”

Since the emergence of social media, have expectations of public relations employers changed? How? Is it expected of every PR practitioner to have had some experience in social media, even if only on a personal level?

“I think it depends on the company, the agency and the role; but given it is becoming such a powerful force in human communication and how public issues play out I think anyone working in PR needs to understand how it is developing. However, there is a danger that young PR people focus too much attention on the medium rather than the message.

“It’s still what you say, not just how you say it, that’s important.”

What did you think of what Stephen had to say? Have you been pressured to comply with internal group-think? How did you respond? Have you worked both in-house and in an agency – what can you tell us about the differences between the two?

Stephen Sinclair has spent over two decades managing media and corporate communications in investment, superannuation and insurance. After managing ING Australia’s corporate and media communications from 1992 to 2007, he has spent the last three years managing investor communications for investment and trustee group, Perpetual.

In previous posts in this series, Graham White gave an PR agency perspective, whilst Richard Whitington and Di Treble gave a PR recruiters’ perspective, on working in PR and the impact of social media on developing a career in PR.

PS. I’d welcome you joining networks with me through my LinkedIn profile. Send me an invite!

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In this, the second of a series of posts on aspects of working in public relations, Graham White, joint-managing director of leading Australia’s technology and business PR consultancy, Howorth, shares his views on what it takes to carve out a successful career in public relations.

Experience and literacy in social media, passion and an ability to take it on the chin are all attributes a public relations professional needs to cut through the competitive clutter of a career in PR, according to Graham White, who also emphasises the importance on attending to your ‘personal brand’.

PR opinion leader, Graham White

In this post, Graham talks at length about the challenges and rewards of working in public relations, with an emphasis on life in an agency. It’s a less lonely option than working in-house, he suggests. Reading between the lines he seems to suggest that agency operatives need to be on their toes and ready to evolve, adapt and capitalise on opportunities more than their in-house cousins.

One dimension Graham didn’t discuss is the need to constantly generate new business when you work within the agency environment. Generating new business is hardly public relations, or is it? Thoughts on this and dealing with the triumphs and defeats are welcome.

What characteristics does it take to work in PR?

“PR can be fun but it can also be an intense and difficult job. That means one day it can be very rewarding, yet another disappointing. Having worked in this industry for many years, I know it is often misunderstood by many people outside the sector.

“To be a PR person, you need many different skills on both the technical side and on the softer human side. On the technical side the skills are broad: a good writer, a confident speaker, the ability to understand what’s news, a talent for capitalising on the news cycle, creative, able to turn ideas into action, etc.

“On the human side you have got to be very patient, friendly, confident, calm, able to take a few hits on the chin and not react, nerves of steel etc.”

What are employers looking for when hiring public relations professionals? What are the key technical skills (e.g. media relations) that experience is most highly valued in and what strategic mindsets are coveted?

“I think it will vary from employer to employer, depending on the role you are seeking. In many sectors like government, finance, technology, employee communication, you will need to have specialist skills and a passion for that sector. In fact, passion is critical.

“Media relations is key. That said, you need to be a good strategic thinker, be well organised, be tough (no room in this industry for yes people and popularity). It’s all about setting realistic expectations.

“You have got to think on your feet, able to pull a discussion into an action plan and turn conversations into crisp, meaningful messages.

“And now you have got to be a digital expert. Whether it’s social media, search, or using the web to engage directly with your stakeholders, you cannot afford to be ignoring this world. If you do, you will be irrelevant as a PR practitioner. It’s that simple.”

What skills, attributes, knowledge, attitude is needed for working in-house than in a PR agency and vice versa?

“I haven’t worked in-house in PR, so tough for me to say. However, I have worked with many talented in-house PR people and they display similar skills – great strategists, great planners, thoughtful, honest, tough counsel, can handle the internal politics, and the list goes on.

“I do feel it could be quite lonely on the inside, so I have for the moment, stuck to agency, where I am surrounded by like-minded people.

“In agency you have to be resilient, creative, able to multi-task almost all the time, quick in thought and quick in action. Be prepared to change your mind, be collaborative, be open-minded. I also believe we all have much to learn, regardless of our experience. A 22 year old graduate can have great ideas, so be inclusive, remove hierarchy. My motto is simple, “The more I listen the more I learn; the more I learn, the more I listen”.

What role does a PR professional’s presence in social media have in getting them a job? For instance, how important is it to have a good profile on LinkedIn? What value to a PR career is there is being engaged on Twitter? Does it give those who are more engaged an advantage?

“Your personal brand should always be attended to.

“Social media gives you the opportunity to reach people with more content and to a much broader audience. Personally, LinkedIn is the most important business social media tool. Facebook gives a sense of your personality and social networks and, for me, is more about the individual at play than the individual at work, although increasingly the lines get blurred. Twitter is a great business tool, too.

“At the end of the day, what you put in you will get out.

“Use the tools smartly and in the manner they were designed, and it can be very rewarding and advantageous, especially if you are looking for work.

“We look at applicants’ social media profiles when recruiting, not necessarily to see what they have been up to (although for a cultural fit, this can be useful), but also to see if they are social media users, as that bodes well for their ability to think about social media in our clients’ communications programs.”

You say LinkedIn is the most important social media business tool. Would you mind explaining what the benefits to business are of LinkedIn?

“Its importance as a business tool is largely due to its size (it has 60 million members globally and in Australia the membership base has now passed the one million mark). That’s a big community within which you can network and connect with.

“For those involved in B2B transactions, this community clearly provides a platform within which you can connect with people that may share a similar passion or interest, or you can tap into people’s opinions on a broad range of topics and issues. But like most tools, it’s only as good as the effort you put into it. That means you need to ensure your personal profile is up to date, which will ensure great visibility in searches by other members that may be looking for your expertise and experience.

“Company profiles should also be kept up to date. You should join groups that are relevant and contribute content too. The reality is that you have a tool you may just be one click or search away from a great and relevant opportunity. At Howorth, we have had potential clients contact us through LinkedIn, as well as potential employees. That is powerful and these are inbound enquiries without any direct outreach ourselves.”

Once a person has posted information on the internet, is it ethically fine for employers or recruitment agencies to check it out? How has the notion of privacy changed in the internet age, as to what it is permissible for employers/recruiters to examine as part of a candidate checking methodology?

“Definitely there are no ethical issues. Just like we say to our clients what you control is what comes out of your mouth, it’s the same with social media. What you control is the content you decide to put in them. At the end of the day, only put out there what you are comfortable being out there. If you said it, stand behind it. If you don’t want to see it, then don’t say it. It’s simple really.”

Since the emergence of social media, have expectations of public relations employers changed? How? Is it expected of every PR practitioner to have had some experience in social media, even if only on a personal level?

“I think it has. You need to understand social media and how it works, how individuals use these platforms to engage, etc.

“Human beings love to connect with other human beings that may share similar passions or interests, whether we know them or not. That is why these platforms are so powerful and attracting millions of users every year. We are social animals and it’s now so easy to connect with people and express an opinion, which removes the barrier of entry, especially for those that are perhaps a little more shy in real life situations.

“Virtual networking is very popular. It’s also a great platform for people who are opinionated, the exhibitionists, the people who love the sound of their own voice and so on.

“Given this is where communications and conversations take place, it’s critical for PR people to know how to participate and navigate this world. It requires openness, it requires transparency, it requires effort and it’s long term. You have to be prepared to take criticism, enjoy the praise, listen to the community, etc. It’s a great feedback channel for a brand, so use it. It is also critical from a search perspective too.

“As James Grunig said in his earlier theory on PR, the fourth model was two-way symmetrical communication with our stakeholders – two way, participatory conversations. That’s so true today, and perhaps a fifth model has emerged which is two-way asymmetrical in the favour of the consumer, as with social media they can say what they like, when they like. If it is negative and organisations don’t like, they can chose to ignore it, but at their peril, hence the consumer has more power.

The most obvious option is to engage with them, listen to them, act upon it, and turn the negative to neutral or even positive advocacy.”

What do you think about what Graham has said? Did you compare it to what leading PR recruiters said in a previous post? Is the task of developing new business in an agency environment a pleasure or a pain? Is it PR? In future posts, an in-house communicator and a young practitioner at the beginning of her career will provide their perspectives on what it takes to excel in PR.

Graham White is managing director of Howorth, Ogilvy PR Australia’s specialist business and technology communications consultancy. He also plays a leadership role in Australia for Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence, Ogilvy’s specialist social media practice. Graham moved from England in 2000 and joined Howorth after more than 12 years’ management and communications experience with Yellow Pages and CC Group, a specialist technology PR consultancy. Under his leadership, Howorth has enjoyed strong growth and won many industry awards. Graham is also an Ambassador for Starlight’s IT Fund for Kids, a charity that unites the Information Technology and Telecommunications industry to help raise funds to assist children living with serious illness, disability and autism through technology.

PS. I’d welcome you joining networks with me through my LinkedIn profile. Send me an invite!

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In this, the first of a series of posts on aspects of working in public relations, two of Australia’s leading PR recruiters are interviewed. In future posts, an experienced agency head, an in-house communicator and a young practitioner at the beginning of her career will provide their perspectives on what it takes to excel in PR.

If social media is one of the ‘must-have’ skills of a contemporary public relations professional, doesn’t that mean the professional should be a credible ‘player’ in social media themselves? After all, isn’t the best example of competency actually walking the talk?

Perhaps not, at least not yet, according to two of the leading public relations recruiters in Australia, Richard Whitington and Di Treble from Talent2. It is not often you get senior, industry-leading recruiters talking about their craft and the principles and approaches that underpin their methodologies, so this interview with them both provides timely insights.

These insights are relevant not just to whether PR pros should be going gangbusters in social media to help them develop their career, but highlight some basic principles underpinning career development in public relations.

Note that all the comments in quotation marks that follow are the combined response of Richard and Di to my questions.

What it takes to work in public relations

What characteristics does it take to work in PR?

• “A genuine interest in current events and trends (even if it’s just in your area of specialty) and the media (in all its forms) and how it is evolving
• An enquiring mind and, for the most part, an ability to put yourself in your audience’s shoes;
• An ability to simplify the complicated, quickly
• Integrity and trustworthiness – without personal credibility, you’re worthless (as in any other calling)
• Strong project management and high level organisational skills
• Excellent written skills (including grammar and punctuation!)
• An ability to deal confidently with senior people  including clients, stakeholders and the media
• To create exciting campaigns that are interesting to the media and the target audience.”

Qualities required to be an excellent PR professional

What are employers looking for when hiring public relations professionals? What are the key technical skills (e.g. media relations) that experience is most highly valued in and what strategic mindsets are coveted?

“All of the above. Strategy is an overused and misused word. Strategy should be no more complicated than understanding big picture objectives and operating in the context of those, from a communications perspective, as well as in terms of budgeting and time management.”

What skills, attributes, knowledge, attitude are needed for working in-house, compared to the PR agency environment, and vice versa?

“In-house is likely to demand a more ‘corporate’ mindset and involve higher level stakeholder management (sometimes in an environment where the communications function is not understood/appreciated).

“Agency is likely to be more ‘commercial’ and generally requires a greater ability to multi-task and adapt quickly to varied personalities (internally and externally) and cultures; and to be able to switch from one industry to another.

“Both require the confidence to counsel people who are more senior than you.”

Social/online media and getting ahead in PR

What role does a PR professional’s presence in social media have in getting them a job? For instance, how important is it to have a good profile on LinkedIn? What value to a PR career is there is being engaged on Twitter? Does it give those who are more engaged an advantage?

“Clearly, there can be no harm in having a ‘profile’, provided it’s in the appropriate circumstances and you’re keeping good company. At the risk of sounding overly conservative, there are risks in social media.

“Good PR (even for yourself) involves risk management. Once you lose control of ‘the company you keep’ (beware of guilt by association) and who manages the faithful and accurate distribution of your views and information, you’re in potentially dangerous territory.

“There’s a distinction to be made between recruitment consultants and in-house recruiters. The latter may tend to scan social media for leads and insights, which is fine.

“We at Talent2 use sources like LinkedIn that can provide some detail about people, but it is just one slice of the full picture we are forming. Obviously, we also rely on the CV a candidate sends us, our telephone screening of them, our interviews and discussions with them, our market knowledge and expertise, consulting trusted sources and the formal, on-the record reference checks we conduct, to build a complete profile. We also check the academic and professional qualifications of all candidates we place.”

Once a person has posted information on the internet, is it ethically fine for employers or recruitment agencies to check it out? How has the notion of privacy changed in the internet age, as to what it is permissible for employers/recruiters to examine as part of a candidate checking methodology?

“If it’s in the public domain, it’s fair game, particularly if the individual concerned is responsible for the information being there.

“To answer this question completely, we need to understand the difference between ‘search’ and ‘executive selection’.

“The latter involves processing ad response, as well as database and market search. During the initial screening process of ad response, recruiters tend not to look at anything beyond the CVs in front of them, relying on their market knowledge and understanding of the client’s brief, to make some initial judgements.

“Once we’ve selected candidates to interview for a role we might look online to further check out a candidate. We might also do it after the interview, perhaps prompted by what we’ve discovered in the discussion with the candidate. It tends to be in relation to candidates who may have been associated with high profile events or people, where the role may involve government relations, or perhaps investor relations.

“The ‘search’ methodology can involve gathering information from a very broad range of sources before actually approaching a candidate. At Talent2, we still tend to gather information from trusted sources – people we know – rather than go to sites or sources whose veracity we can’t rely on.

“We would be most unlikely, for instance, to discuss with a client (employer) something we’d unearthed on the web about a candidate we might be interested in approaching, without first investigating the reliability of what we’ve found online – by interviewing the person and making up our own mind.  Apart from anything else, the client could have made that enquiry themselves, so we’re not adding much value if we simply quote slabs from social media or other web sources.”

Since the emergence of social media, have expectations of public relations employers changed? How? Is it expected of every PR practitioner to have had some experience in social media, even if only on a personal level?

“Social media is a much hyped trend right now and who could argue against a communications professional having a big interest in it? Let’s see how it evolves and whether it stands the test of credibility. As a mandatory qualification for winning a role – no, only rarely, so far.”

What do you think about what Richard and Di have said? Do you agree that it isn’t that important for a PR professional to be credible and active in social media to position themselves favourably for roles? What do you think about the point about ‘risk management’ and ‘guilt by association’? And what about the issue that everything you put online is out in the public domain and is therefore fair game? Are you concerned that your private ‘play’ is inappropriately mixed up with your public ‘professional’ face to the world? What can you do about it?

PS. I’d welcome you joining networks with me through my LinkedIn profile. Send me an invite!

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