If you are thinking to change job and approach the world of PR, there’s a number of factors you might need to consider, them being the overall situation of the PR industry, the differences between working in-house or at an agency and the specific skills that this peculiar market is now looking for.
According to the 2016 Global Communications Report, produced by the University of Southern California’s Center for Public Relations and The Holmes Report, in between 2015 and 2016 the industry revenue grew by only 5 percent, and the size of the PR agency industry is now set at $14.2 billion, up from $13.5 billion in 2015. Even though the global PR industry has experienced a slower growth over the last two years, a report from IBISWorld proves optimistic for the future. Both the Global Communications Report and IBISWorld foresee an estimated global market size of $19.3billion in 2020, split into a 33percent growth of the Agency segment and a 13percent growth of the In-House one.
The raise of the PR industry, occurred in the last 5 years, seems to be led by the phenomenon of media disruption that made mass audiences harder to reach. To find a solution to the problem, PR agencies started incorporating new media channels (especially social media) in their communication strategies, to become able to address a bigger portion of the population.
Given the actual situation of the PR industry, which would then be your choice, in-house or an independent PR agency? There are several differences between the two. Working at a PR agency, you’ll most likely be in touch with more people than you would at an in-house. Independent PR agencies normally deal with a bigger number of contracts and are supposed to have knowledgeable insight of the industry they operate in. Furthermore, PR agencies work at a faster peace, they need to be able to deal with their clients’ companies’ problems in a timely manner.
One of the main difficulties that the PR industry faces nowadays, has been identified by the Global Communications Report as recruiting and retaining the right talents. And what exactly are the skills PR companies are seeking in their new potential employees?
It will probably be taken for granted, but having excellent communication abilities is at the top of the must-have skills to succeed in a career in PR. Communication skills must be read as the ability to express yourself both writing and verbally. You are then supposed to have a creative mind, able to visualize effective campaigns and sell your ideas. It goes without saying that being a strategic and organized planner would also be at the basis of your success: you’ll have not only to detect and propose the best branding, marketing, etc. strategies to your clients, but also succeed at efficiently organizing your personal timetable, being always on top of multiple deadlines.
Hopefully, we have interested you enough to make you keep researching about this evolving profession and, why not, consider whether it’s worth trying a new career path.
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Lucrezia is an Italian graduate student at Tsinghua’s School of Journalism and Communication in Beijing, majoring in Global Business Journalism. She is currently interning at Influence Matters, where she is in charge of the company’s branding, as well as researching about the tech industry trends and development.
