Public relations (PR) officers promote good relations between an organisation and its customers, investors or the wider public. Their aim is to build and maintain their organisation’s image and reputation.

PR officers can work in an organisation’s in-house public relations department, or in a consultancy where they provide PR for a number of clients (here they are often known as account executives). In either case, their work is likely to include:

• planning public relations campaigns and advising on PR strategy
• monitoring and researching public and media perception of their client or organisation
• writing and editing leaflets, brochures, press releases, speeches, newsletters and websites
• arranging events like press launches, news conferences, exhibitions, open days and sponsorship
• developing good working relationships with the media
• arranging for advertising or promotional films to be produced
• public speaking at presentations, conferences or radio and TV interviews
• representing their company or client at events.

Public relations is sometimes known as corporate communications, public affairs, investor relations, or media relations, so PR officers may be known by various other job titles depending on the employer.

Hours and Environment

As a PR officer your standard hours will normally be 9am to 5pm or 6pm, Monday to Friday. You may also often need to work unsocial hours in the evening and at weekend to attend PR events, meet deadlines or handle a crisis.

You will be office-based but may spend some of your time meeting clients and attending events.

Skills and Interests

To be a public relations officer you need:

• excellent writing skills, with the ability to express a message clearly and persuasively
• confident communication and presentation skills
• creativity and initiative
• good organisational, planning and time-management skills
• the ability to work well as part of a team and with all kinds of client
• flexibility and multi-tasking ability
• the ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines
• resilience and the ability to cope with rejection and criticism of your ideas
• accuracy and attention to detail
• an interest in the media.

Entry

There are no set entry qualifications for becoming a PR officer, but public relations is a very competitive industry to enter and most PR officers are graduates.

Your degree can be in any subject. Degrees and postgraduate courses in public relations are widely available, but not essential. The following degree subjects can also be useful for a career in PR:

• journalism
• advertising or marketing and communications
• business or management
• psychology
• English
• politics.

Contact colleges or universities for advice about course entry requirements. See the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) website for a list of approved degrees and postgraduate courses in PR.

If you would like a career in PR but have not previously studied it, you may find it helpful to take the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Advanced Certificate in Public Relations before looking for work.

You will improve your chances of employment by doing work experience (often unpaid) in PR departments and consultancies. You can also get relevant experience through activities like voluntary PR or fundraising work with charities, or involvement with student newspapers and societies.

See the CIPR and Public Relations Consultants Association websites for advice on finding work experience, and for some advertised placements and graduate training schemes.

You may sometimes get the chance for promotion into PR work after joining a PR firm in a more junior role (such as administrator, publicity assistant or information officer) and working your way up.

You could also go into a second career in PR if you have previous experience in journalism, advertising, marketing, fundraising or sales.

Training

Your training will usually be on the job, possibly through a structured graduate training scheme (in one of the larger consultancies or employers).

It can be an advantage to join the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and work towards their professional qualifications:

• CIPR Advanced Certificate in Public Relations – suitable for anyone with up to two years’ experience in a junior PR role
• CIPR Diploma in Public Relations – a more advanced course, you will usually need a PR or business-related postgraduate qualification plus at least a year’s PR experience, or a degree in any subject plus at least two years’ PR experience.

See the CIPR website for more details about their qualifications, membership and further training.

You could also choose to study for the Communication Advertising and Marketing Education Foundation (CAM) Diploma in Marketing Communications (see the CAM website for details).

Opportunities

As a PR officer you could work for a consultancy, or in-house in all kinds of business including commercial, financial, retail, central and local government, or charities. Work is available all over the UK, mainly in large cities.

PR is a growing industry but competition for jobs is strong.

Many jobs are advertised in the national press, trade publications such as PR Week, Profile and Press Gazette, the CIPR website and specialist recruitment agencies. Not all jobs are advertised, so it is also a good idea to approach consultancies directly, and to network and make contacts within the industry.

As an in-house PR officer, you could be promoted to PR manager, then head of communications. In PR consultancies, you could progress to senior account executive or account manager, and eventually to account director. It is common to move between employers to gain promotion or work with larger accounts.

With experience, you could specialise in a particular type of PR work, become a freelance consultant or set up your own PR consultancy. You could also choose to move into related areas like advertising, marketing or journalism.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Starting salaries are usually from around £15,000 to £20,000 a year.
Experienced public relations officers can earn from £20,000 to £40,000 a year.
Account directors and heads of corporate affairs can earn between £35,000 and £100,000 a year.

Further information

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