On-line Readings in Public Relations by Michael Turney
	Which public relations career path is best for you? Consultant working for a PR agency or staff member of a non-PR organization handling its PR needs?
	© 2024 Michael Turney	Return to Table of contents	Practicing Public Relations main page	About the author

 
Students considering a career in public relations and looking for their best path to success often wonder whether they would get more long-term benefits from working for a public relations agency as an consultant where they would have a a chance to work on projects for a number of different clients on an as-needed basis or from working for a non-public-relations company or non-profit organization where they would have a job title like "public relations specialist" and would be responsible for handling whatever public relations concerns arise for that organization.

They're very different career paths whether you look at them on a day-to-day basis or in terms of your overall career. It's a decision best not made on either a whim or the spur of the moment.

And, be aware that students aren't the only ones who wonder about this. Working practitioners, especially those who are considering a job change or who have been temporarily unemployed for what seems like much too long, also ask themselves this question, especially if it's been a while since they felt fully satisfied with their last job choice.

But, the truth is: there's no one right answer for everyone. This question isn't as simple as it first appears. That's because the best answer for you is totally dependent on your personality, your skill set, and your long-term life goals, and not just those goals related to your work-life. This decision also has ramifications for your family, friends, social life, and your financial success.

Therefore, in making your decision, you should take into account such personal traits and preferences as ...

• how much day-to-day variety do you like to have in your job?
• how important is day-to-day consistency to you and knowing ahead of time what you'll be doing tomorrow?
• what type of working environment and what kind of working conditions do you prefer to be in?
• how many and what type(s) of colleagues and co-workers do you prefer to have working with and around you?
• how much oversight and supervision are you comfortable having while you're working, and how well do you typically get along with your supervisors?
• how much and what level of professional experience have you already had?
• And, perhaps most important, do you want to be primarily recognized as a "public relations person" or as a part of an overall organization?

It may shorten your debate if we start by considering that last question first.

 
If you want to primarily be known and recognized as a "public relations person" ...

Working for a public relations agency or, if you're not risk-adverse and want to live a bit more dangerously, "going out on your own" and working as an independent, freelance public relations consultant may be the best choice you could make. It will give you the widest possible range of experiences in routine public relations work, and will also leave no doubt in anyone's mind -- including your own -- that you're totally focused on practicing public relations.

 
On the other hand, if you prefer to be seen as "part of a successful and well-known organization" ...

Being employed by the ABC Company (or any other major corporation or non-proft organization) and working in the department responsible for handling its public relations needs will tend to make most people see and think of you primarily in terms of that employer, regardless of how much or how little they actually know about what you do for that employer. Except for your family and your co-workers who may be somewhat familiar with the details of your job, your skills, and your accomplishments, most people will see and think of you simply as "an ABC guy or gal," rather than as a public relations person.

That's certainly true here in the Cincinnati area where I live. To cite just one example, the Vice President for Public Relations of Procter and Gamble, a major, international conglomerate, is little known to anyone outside of the local public relations community for doing public relations work, but is widely-known, highly-respected, and often sought out as a public speaker simply for being "a P&G vice president." Similar things are just as true of the Proctor and Gamble vice presidents from other divisions and departments; they're well-known and widely recognized as "P&G big-shots," but few people know just what it is they do for Proctor and Gamble; it's just terribly impressive that they're vice presidents.

To really bring this point home, stop for just a minute and think about people you occasionally run into, people whom you casually know from your neighborhood, your church, your favorite restaurant, or other places you frequent. Do you really know what their job titles are and what they actually do for a living? Or, do you just know the name of the organization they work for and maybe where its offices are located?

 
You need to consider which of these career tracks is more likely to bring you personal satisfaction and/or greater clout and credibility.

In-house public relations practitioners are often seen as having more knowledge about their organization, its history and operating style, and its personnel and customers, while external consultants and public relations counselors are viewed as having more extensive knowledge of and experience handling public relations problems. But, it's not that clear-cut.

Internal practitioners know and are known by people within their organization. They have extensive knowledge of it and are personally linked to its success or failure. That should give them an edge in handling internal matters but, they're so well-known, they may be treated as "prophets without honor in their own country."

Outside consultants, because they have fewer internal entanglements, are able to concentrate on public relations concerns in a more abstract and less emotional ways; they experience fewer distractions from other organizational concerns, personalities, and office politics.

 
Ultimately, only you can decide which choice might be best for you.

 

26 June 2024