How To Gain Valuable PR Experience As A New Professional
⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛
Now that many parts of the United States are slowly coming out of the pandemic restrictions, making life decisions is becoming more real by the day. You could be suffering from decision fatigue or can’t put off the decisions you have avoided since early 2020. It doesn’t matter which stage you happen to be in your life. Making decisions can be a real challenge that can lead to burnout, inaction, discontentment, and other negative thoughts and behaviors.
If you’re a newly minted graduate or are thisclose to graduating, I fully empathize with you! It’s hard to balance the workload, expectations, and fears of the unknown.
When I graduated from Marshall University in May 2010, I thought my degree would work miracles. After all, I had a framed piece of paper that guaranteed I would get a job, right? Oh, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I focused so heavily on my student public relations campaign that I neglected doing any intense job searching. Once I walked across the graduation stage, I thought a job would just land in my lap, inbox, wherever. Once that didn’t happen, I thought something was wrong with me. I began to live in a depressive state, much like Groundhog Day, where every day became the same. I would wake up, eat something unhealthy, look at online job postings, apply to some jobs, likely watch some “Law and Order: SVU,” and then call it a day/night. This was on the cusp of paper applications turning into Indeed, Monster, and other platforms.
I never thought finding a job out of college would be so challenging, but I graduated after the recession of 2008, so jobs were not easy to come by. Thank God that I decided to change my major from print journalism to public relations during my freshman year. I could see the unfortunate writing on the wall with the print journalism industry and knew PR would be more versatile and lucrative.
My first job out of college, albeit a few months later, was at a local radio station on a per-diem basis. I scheduled songs, made sure the 6 p.m. news ran, and did the occasional community news updates. Fun fact: I almost always never did these updates live. I would record take after take in the booth to get them “perfect.” I never thought they were perfect, though. I hated listening to my voice and still do when someone else is watching a video of me around me. 😳
I know it may not seem like it, but any progress toward your career goals is progress. I have been where you are, although I haven’t been trying to find a job, make any initial career decisions, or manage life as a young adult during a global pandemic.
Here is an answer to one of young professionals’ most pressing questions with the hope that it can alleviate at least some of the inner turmoil. This is the first in a series of (at least) three questions. Think of this as the Dear Abby of PR questions and answers!
How do I get experience when I’m first starting my career?
I know that a lot of companies want 1-2 years of experience right out of the gate after you graduate. For some, that isn’t an easy feat for a myriad of reasons, from geographical location and a low number of connections to not feeling prepared enough to even start job searching and a lack of opportunities. No matter the issue (or issues), there are several ways you can get experience.
The easy answer is to find an internship. I know that is sometimes a hard task at hand, especially if you are in a competitive area. You can search online and ask your network where to find in-person and virtual internships, and I’m sure your college even has a dedicated faculty or staff member who devotes time to internships. If you’re struggling to find an internship, I understand. It intimidated the heck out of me, and I didn’t think I was worthy enough to find an opportunity that matched my interests. Any internship, no matter if it matches your skillset and goals to a T, will help you in the long run. My internship wasn’t even PR-related. I was a copy desk intern at The Herald-Dispatch, my hometown newspaper. I will say, however, that it strengthened my Adobe InDesign and Apple product skills, and I learned so much about story curation, layout, and working with a team to reach a specific goal (finish the pages by midnight).
Experience doesn’t have to solely come in the form of internships, though. You can do any of the following to gain experience in PR or other fields:
Volunteer at a local nonprofit, especially for a cause you believe in. Serve on a marketing or event committee or do work in the trenches (serve food at a soup kitchen, paint a mural in your community, pick up litter in your neighborhood, deliver meal kits to the elderly, and so on). Not only will you gain valuable experience, but you will also obtain perspective when you look through the eyes of someone else, especially those you are helping.
Freelance. There are so many online opportunities and websites, from LinkedIn to Upwork and everywhere in between. Begin to offer PR or other services and bid on projects. A word to the wise: make sure to get what you are worth. Do research and ask others about freelancing before you make this commitment. You don’t want to get into a contract that doesn’t serve you and give you compensation for your efforts. A lot of these places want cheaper labor and exceptional products. Follow your intuition, ask others what they think, and ask any questions before you get started on any platforms.
Build your network. This can be a challenge, especially if you find that you’re more introverted or live/work/go to school in an area that doesn’t have a lot of variety. You can begin to build your network online on platforms like LinkedIn. Most professionals will message you back if you have a particular industry or career question. (Just don’t send spammy messages -- you know the ones I am talking about. The ones that are so salesy that you mute them right away or just never respond.) You can also join an on-campus club or organization. I have been involved in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) since I was an undergrad. I was part of PRSSA (the Public Relations Student Society of America) then, but as the years have passed, I have continued to be part of this association. No matter where you find yourself, there is a Chapter that serves your area. There are special interest sections, webinars, fireside chats, meetup opportunities, speaker series, local programming, conferences, certifications, a job database. The list goes on. It also is incredibly helpful in building the foundation of your network. It has been one of the most invaluable aspects of my career as a PR practitioner. You can meet so many people from different walks of life, and it can lead to conversations, job leads, volunteer experience, and more.
Do other cause-related work. There are so many opportunities to get involved in certain communities. Millennials and Gen Zers are naturally cause-driven individuals, so find a cause and offer some pro-bono services to get your foot in the door.
Build a specialized skill. This could look like watching YouTube tutorials, taking a free course, or attending a cheap (or free!) conference to learn something new. The more timely and relevant skills you have, the more marketable you are.
Create your own personal brand. If you haven’t created a brand before, then start small and with yourself as the “client.” Create a logo, general aesthetic, color scheme, vision boards, a portfolio website, headshots, mission statement, YouTube channel, other social media platforms, etc. You will learn a lot about yourself in the process, and this experience will translate into a bulletpoint on your resume. If others see that you can create your own brand and tell stories
Plan events, whether they are personal or professional. You could plan and execute a monthly themed brunch with your friends, plan a milestone birthday party for a loved one, or be part of a group planning a larger community event. No matter the event, you can add it to your resume! (Example: I planned my own wedding, so you better bet I put that under event planning experience!)
Have a side hustle. If there’s something you love to do and are good at, then consider offering those products and/or services online. You could sell handmade jewelry, pop culture stickers, door wreaths, or whatever you would like on an Etsy store. You could write and sell a book of poetry, curate vintage items, or create or sell anything that resonates with you. Creating your own experience is one of the most valuable pieces of advice I could give anyone looking to gain experience in PR, communications, business, and other avenues.
Find writing opportunities. This is one of the earliest things I did in order to boost my resume when I was first starting in my field. While you may or may not like to write, PR and any communications field rely on storytelling. Get comfortable with sharing stories, whatever that looks like for you. Outreach to local publications (newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc.) and see if they accept freelancers, the cost per story, and other details. Pitch them ideas or ask if they would like to assign you stories. You will have viable bylines, which will showcase your experience.
These ideas, and more, will allow you to begin to think outside of the box when it comes to gaining experience. No one will have the same journey as you, so use that uniqueness and start getting outside of your comfort zone, highlighting your skills, and leaning into your mission in life and in your career.
This may seem like a trivial, daunting exercise at first, but write down what you want to achieve with your career. Imagine you’re on the eve of your retirement date, and the sun is setting on your illustrious career. What do you hope to achieve? What is your mission in your career? What are some goals and objectives? What are your pie-in-the-sky daydreams, and what is feasible now, today? Make a running list of these and then notice any themes. Then, go off of that list to help pinpoint the type of experience you should try next. It may look like an internship or something off the beaten path. (I still do exercises like this to this day, especially with regards to the type of work Hourglass Media does, as well as client relationships. I do internal audits with client relationships all of the time!)
Just remember to be yourself and know your worth. Experience is valuable, sure, but your self-worth is even more valuable!
What else would you like for us to answer? Hourglass Media loves to help new pros on their journeys to finding their purpose. Send us a question in the below box, and we could use it in a future blog post!
Kaylin R. Staten, APR, is an award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner and writer based in Huntington, WV, with 18 years of professional communications experience. As CEO and founder of Hourglass Media, she uses her compassionate spirit and expertise to delve into the heart of clients’ stories. She is a recovering perfectionist, mental health advocate, wife, boy + cat mom, and Leia Organa aficionado. Connect with Kaylin on LinkedIn.