Getting Started In PR

Do you want to land that top-paying job
in media and public relations?

Get the ULTIMATE guide that will ensure your success in your dream career

There is massive competition for good jobs in media and public relations (PR). If you're considering trying for a career in this field, you won't succeed without careful planning and lots of hard work. PR consistently ranks among the top three career choices for graduates, so there is competition not just for that first job, but for all the jobs that follow.

PR is not for amateurs or wishful thinkers. It's a tough, demanding and challenging way to make a living. Most people in PR are somewhere between average and hopeless, but the best are brilliant.

DO NOT APPLY FOR A JOB IN PR UNTIL YOU READ ALL THIS PAGE

If you want to be in that part of the business and earn the respect, income and quality of work opportunities that come with it, you will have to be special - VERY special.

You will have to work hard to become good, and work even harder to become impressive. Indeed you'll probably have to work unimaginably hard to even be employable, to become that one-in-500 who applies for and lands any job in media and public relations worth having.

But don't worry, you already have an advantage..... you're here! This website aims to give you an insight into our detailed publication authored by Roger Haywood, which includes checklists, insider tips and techniques and much useful information to help you get started in your career in public relations.

If you want to be in that part of the business and earn the respect, income and quality of work opportunities that come with it, you will have to be special - VERY special.

Getting Started in PR

Getting started in PR is by Roger Haywood, one of Europe's most respected and experienced public relations practitioners. There are plenty of books that have been written about the theory and practice of public relations, some of them, including the standard primer, by Roger Haywood himself.

Heres just some of the books Roger has published:

However, what was lacking was a good text on how to actually get a start in the industry. That is where this publication comes in.

Have the benefit of knowledge and experience now, not in twenty or thirty years time. Minimise the risk and maximise your chances with Getting started in PR, the ebook.

Getting any job in public relations is tough. Getting a great job can be a nightmare. You cannot afford to waste precious years and damage your credibility in a dead-end position that prospective employers will define you to other employers as someone with no talent, ambition or drive. This publication explains exactly how to prepare for getting started in the real and challenging world of public relations.

In particular, the guide answers these ten key questions. If you do not know the answers to all these, you definitely need this guidance. And now not tomorrow or the day before you start looking for the job that will turbocharge your career:

Where you should be looking to identify opportunities that could bring the dream job

Who you must keep in touch with if you want to be high on the key position shortlist

Where you can find out about those great public relations jobs that never get advertised

How to stand out from maybe 500 or more applicants for every good job in public relations

How you can present your personal qualities to challenge a more experienced candidate

Why you must understand that the interview process is not just about your qualities

What is really going on when you are being interviewed that can help you succeed

Why an intelligently prepared portfolio will push you to the top of the likely candidates

When and how you should make a special irresistible offer to a prospective employer

Roger Haywood: Biography and career

Roger Haywood has been marketing and business communications advisor to leading companies in sectors ranging from business technology to retailing and public services. Also, he has developed policies to win goodwill and support for non-profit bodies such as pressure groups, charities, government departments and local authorities. Organisations he has advised on reputation strategy include British Airways, British Airports Authority, Cadbury Schweppes, Compaq, Electrolux, The European Commission, General Electric, General Motors, ICI, Rolls Royce, Sainsbury’s, Thomas Cook and Unilever. In honorary capacities he has advised Amnesty International, The Child Poverty Action Group, Children First, The Children’s Wish Foundation and The Marketing Society.

Issues Managers Limited, of which he is chief executive, is a consultancy that advises on the management of issues, the changing of public perceptions, lobbying, reputation management and corporate communications. The company advises a number of clients including the European entrepreneurial association GrowthPlus, Cranfield University and First, the major global transport operator. He is also a non-executive director of Europe’s leading media research group, Mantra International and of the environmental water specialists, EcoPure Waters Limited. He founded and chaired the Public Relations Standard Council, an independent advisory body set up to develop standards for public relations. The PRSC raised the awareness of the need for performance measures in the profession. It produced the first practice guidance code, contributed to by many professional bodies, and which is relevant to practitioners and to the many organisations that use these services.

Haywood chaired and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (the world’s largest body of marketing professionals) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations - the only person to hold both industry positions. In 2006, Haywood was awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by University College, Kensington, London, for his work in education, training and corporate social responsibility. He was a founder of the Worldcom Public Relations Group Incorporated, setting up the European operation and, as its first chairman, recruiting partners from across the region. Later he was elected chairman of the world group and doubled the size of the organisation in his term of office. Worldcom became the world’s largest partnership of independent public relations consultancies, with $200 million in fee income and 120 offices in the major business capitals of the world. (Note that this organisation has no connection with the telecommunications company that later adopted a similar name.)

He has written what has been described as the definitive management guide to business communications, widely used in universities and colleges, All about public relations, published by McGraw-Hill; this is believed to be the best selling text on the subject. He also wrote Managing your reputation, with a foreword by Lord Marshall, then chairman of BA, and quoting the experience of many business leaders. This was followed by Public relations for marketing professionals, published by Macmillan and endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. His most recent book is Corporate reputation, the brand and the bottom line, launched by the publisher Kogan Page in the Houses of Parliament.

Haywood pioneered issues analysis – the audit of factors that could have an impact upon an organisation, the influences, trends and scenarios that could unfold. As the UK’s leading issues analyst, he is regularly quoted in the media, putting his perspective on factors that shape the news.

Get a sense of the scope of work in public relations, and find out which field is right for you.

The scope of work in public relations is extremely diverse. If you are already on a degree course in public relations you will have a clear view of the opportunities. But if you have limited knowledge, first you must understand how broad and diverse public relations work can be - and, how it relates to parallel fields such as advertising, media, marketing and lobbying. You need to be sure which is the right field for you, and to feel comfortable about where your place in it might be.

'Getting Started in PR' will give you in depth hints and tips on where to start and what line of PR may be right for you.

Manage the interview to land yourself that top-paying public relations job.

When you receive an invitation to an interview, prepare yourself carefully. It's taken lots of work to get this far: don't waste it now! Marketing yourself is very important in entering a career in PR, and this is your best opportunity to do so.

'Getting Started in PR' will give you practical advice on how to prepare for your interview, learn from past experiences and how to use simple research to better improve your knowledge of your audience.

“Roger Haywood has truly been there and done that ... and has a passion for performance that comes over in everything he does. He is so inspirational that I have invited him to present to all the university courses on the public relations discipline that I run. His advice is universally rated highly by my students. He believes we have a deep and over-riding responsibility to tell our management colleagues what they need to know, not just what they may want to hear. And this is a vital message skilfully delivered - to help young people build their confidence and their skills as they move towards becoming effective advisers.”

Quentin Langley, past chairman of Chartered Institute of Public Relations International and lecturer in public relations.

PR and media training. Improve your skills in public relations and working with the media to make yourself more employable.

Do you have - or do you plan to get - the right PR and media training or qualifications? Some employers prefer to take people with a public relations degree, but many are open to employing people with qualifications in other disciplines, particularly those relevant to the business, such as media, business management or marketing. However, most worthwhile jobs in public relations require you to be educated to at least degree level.

'Getting Started in PR' will give you in depth hints and tips on how to attain the necessary skills to get on in PR.

Ready to order? , click here

Get yourself on the inside track with work experience in a public relations agency.

Gaining work experience is vital, whether you have a PR degree or not. You will need to be prepared to work on a voluntary or 'expenses only' basis for a while to get a foot in the door. If you are still at university, consider looking for a holiday job with a public relations consultancy. You can always ask for a salary, even if you're offered unpaid work instead.

'Getting Started in PR' will show you on how to put yourself ahead of the pack and create your own opportunities.

Use your contacts and experience to build a resource for your career.

Once you've obtained some qualifications and done some work experience, you already have the makings of a database. You need to start to build three things: an information resource for yourself; a portfolio of work to show to potential employers; and a database of information about those employers. Practise your computer skills by keeping all this material in electronic format, and organising it really well.

'Getting Started in PR' will tell you how to build and make best use of your portfolio, contacts and database.

Get closer to your chosen job by honing your presentation skills

Once you have a good knowledge of the sector, you can begin to identify who you want to work for. Would you prefer an agency or in-house work? Are you interested in representing a specific industry? It can be hard to switch sectors once you're 'in' and gaining specific experience, so it's important that once you move from work experience to 'proper' jobs, the moves you make are the right ones.

'Getting Started in PR' will tell you how best to see when an opportunity exists and how best to capture it to your advantage with a focus on how you present yourself to your chosen audience.

Put yourself in line for that dream public relations job by making yourself irresistably interviewable.

You have the skills and the experience. You know what job you want. Now is the time to start to look at marketing yourself for that opportunity. Try to understand what an employer wants and needs. Look at the opportunity from their perspective. So stop thinking about just yourself and think about those who may be able to offer you a job, perhaps even that dream job. Get your case together. Maximize your potential employment appeal. And minimize any perceived risk that a prospective employer might feel if he/she takes you on.

'Getting Started in PR' will give you practical tips and point out important facts and pre-interview steps you should take.

Ready to order? , click here

Lets recap why you need 'Getting Started in PR'...