Do you Need A PR Degree to Get a PR Job?

Just a small town girl
Livin' in a lonely world
She took the midnight train goin' anywhere
"Don't Stop Believin'" ~ Journey

LinkedIn discussions go on and on and on about whether you need academic training in PR to be a PR pro.

The paths to a public relations career are enormously varied -- some PR people studied journalism, others got English degrees and still others fell into it because no one else in the office wanted the job. Sans a PR degree, I got my first job and the best training one could imagine as an Information officer with the US Air Force. 

 Now with Labor Day looming and the prospect of living in your parents basement looking bleak, what can you do if you lack the academic credentials in PR and want to get your first PR job?

Professional organizations, such as Public Relations Society of America, offer seminars. Media Bistro seminars are another way to get some formal training. Or you can start taking graduate-level courses and earn a degree in Public Relations -- putting off work for another year.

Basic character and common sense aside, what do PR firms and PR department heads look for in an emerging professional besides academic training? 

Here are a few core competencies and personality traits that could help you beat the competition for an entry-level job in public relations.


* a broad base of interests and curiosity -- you can talk about inter-league play between the Red Sox and the Mets or the Met's new production of Carmen with equal enthusiasm.



* participate in a range of activities, especially those that involve organizational skills and communication such as managing a charity event or performing in a community theater.



* basic understanding of business disciplines such as marketing and finance and how corporations, government agencies and not-for-for profit organizations are structured.

* a really high level of skill in a sport, music, art, fashion, carpentry or other activity that can make you a shoe-in for working in a field related to your respective passion.



* use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and blogging, etc. to build a professional image or "brand."



* you've sold something -- even if it was your old bicycle to buy a new one -- it counts.



* inquisitive -- with a big reading list that includes news, novels and poetry, as well as magazines that value great writing such as The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated, TIME and international magazines such as The Economist.



* critical thinker -- can spot faulty logic or twisted facts in an argument.


You can write something. This does not take a journalism degree, but an emerging PR pro ought to be able to write a breaking news story in less than 30 minutes -- not perfectly, but getting most of the basics such as determining what facts are important, spelling names correctly and grammar. If you have to learn on your own, copy articles from The New York Times, USA Today and other newspapers. Copying will help you focus on what the reporter was thinking  when he or she wrote the piece.

And, Don't Stop Believin'