PR beginnings
Have you always wanted to be involved in public relations, or that became your wish, just like in my case, a little bit later. Whatever your answer to this question is, read the rest of this article, and your wishes might come true.
My PR career started when I figured out that I do not want to teach Present Simple Tense for the rest of my life. Being an English teacher, after graduation I realized that this profession may not entirely be for me. After enrolling to the masters program in Communication Studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences, I realized that public relations could be "IT."
How to get to "it" and achieve something in a new territory is a totally different matter. I will attempt, through examples, to show how I succeeded.
1. All conferences and training sessions related to the profession are a "must-see"! While working in PR business does not require formal education, any education you currently have, whichever source you received it from, must be regularly upgraded and updated. Public relations profession operates in a dynamic environment where information and trends are changing every day. You must be diligent and follow all the trends.
2. Reach out and get to know the people who might support you and to help you tomorrow. If you already spend time attending various conferences, take the opportunity to meet colleague sitting next to you, just because they can at some point become a springboard for your career.
3. Cimajte se(Serbian, informal for working hard)! This little less formal expression is best for explaining what you need to do next. Do not be among those who sit and wait for a job to fall from the sky. "To win big, you gotta play big!" Emerge from the world of communication with prospective employers via email, and start talking to people. Sending resumes to 234 addresses will not necessarily result in success.
4. Present all your qualities! There is no regulated and finite set of qualities and knowledge that a candidate must possess to successfully perform in public relations business. PR requires a combination of all your abilities which can range from graphic design, to creative writing and perfect public speaking. The list of course does not end here. Do not be withdrawn and and ashamed to show what you CAN!
5. Leave your fears behind and work stress free! No one entered the business omniscient. There are things you know, and things you are yet to learn. There is much, much, much more of the latter.
These are only some pieces of advice I would give to those who would like to be involved in this business. Do not forget that for all of the five items above you will also need and an inexhaustible source of motivation and luck. Very few things are accomplished overnight, so do not give up if the process is long or does not work the first time.
