Careers in PR are really sought after nowadays, especially by those who love challenging work environments, lucrative pays and are not afraid of hard work or stress. Following is a simplified job description of what careers in PR mean and the kinds of roles PR officials are expected to play.
Functions of employees in PR work
Some other names by which public relations specialists or officers are known are press officers or media specialists. They act as the link of communication between the general public and an organization. Whatever message an organization has to send across to the public or to the media is conveyed through the medium of a PR official who has to make use of his/her own creativity as well as his/her media contacts in such cases.
PR personnel has to make use of the same weapons for deftly and dexterously handling potentially damaging circumstances which is called crisis management. So as you can understand, strong communication, people and media management skills are extremely vital for those aiming at careers in PR. Besides, to be successful in PR jobs you must be a prompt thinker and be able to think on your feet because you will be bombarded with various kinds of unpleasant queries or googlys especially from the media.
One of the main functions of people in PR careers is to draft and create, research, write and edit or oversee all these things during the preparation of press releases and media reports. These press releases then have to be sent off by PR personnel to different kinds of media outlets.
These press releases act as public alerts for some kind of upcoming events or create awareness in the public and release information on new just launched or to be launched services or products.
If an organization undergoes any sort of change, like business expansion plans or hiring of new personnel, then such changes have to be announced to the public and the media through press releases written by PR guys.
Those involved in PR work also have to create media liaison that is, between the media and the organization for which they work. When general public or other organizations or the government requests for information from a company or the media asks for interviews, such requests are directed to the PR department and the employees in PR careers of that company entertain the queries and questions. When PR officials have to answer sensitive questions or respond to confidential matters, they often first consult with the company heads.
PR employment officers often have to take part in strategic planning and have to implement, develop and oversee the groundwork beneath planning campaigns or strategies for particular events.