"Is PR Right For Me?" Part 4

This is the fourth installment in a five part question and answer series aiming to help students decide if PR might be a good career fit.

Alicia Wells is a Senior Account Executive at Peppercom Strategic Communications in New York, and also manages the company’s internship program. Prior to starting her career at Peppercom, she held a variety of PR internships, including a hospital, a boutique PR agency, and the FDR Presidential Library and Museum. Alicia has a passion for helping other entry-level PR professionals find their way, and recently started the blog PRiscope for this purpose. You can find her on Twitter @Alicia_Wells.

1. How did you end up in PR?

I originally went to college for journalism, but after working on the school newspaper I decided it wasn’t for me. So, I went to my advisor and he told me about PR, which at the time I had no clue about. It sounded like it could be a fit for me, so I took a couple of courses and ended up loving it.

2. What are some of your past job titles? (Feel free to include any non-PR-related titles as well, if they helped you get where you are today).

Intern, Junior Account Executive, Account Executive.

3. What do you consider to be the top three absolutely essential abilities a PR pro must have?

Organization/time management- you have to be able to work on several projects at once and constantly shift gears from one assignment to another. Because of the nature of the business you can’t plan your day out exactly, but you still need to stay on top of all of your responsibilities.

Attention to detail- Your communications with clients, the media, superiors and the public need to be flawless. Anything you write, any excel grids you format, any coverage reports you pull together, etc. all need to be perfect.

Writing skills- I think the others summed this up nicely.

4. What are some "unexpected" skills you've used in your job?

I didn’t realize how much art was incorporated into PR- I’ve used interior design, graphic design, Web design, drawing and painting over the course of my career.

5. How big of a role does personality play in PR job success? Are there any personality traits that are important to have (creativity, extroversion)?

You generally need to be a person who’s fairly upbeat and willing to talk to people at any time. Having a positive attitude goes a long way, particularly when you’re just starting out. You won’t always get the most thrilling assignments, but if you do them with a smile on your face people will always appreciate it.

6. Fill in the blank: PR probably isn't the right field for you if you hate ___________________.

Talking to people, researching, writing, sitting in a cubicle for long stretches of time.

7. What academic course did you despise taking? What was your favorite?

I’ll follow the trend and say I hated anything math related. My favorite was a class I took senior year, which was taught by the head of PR for our school. It was the most real-world experience I got from a class.

8. What percentage of your job takes place in a traditional office setting?

Almost all of it, unless I’m working on a client event (but I don’t do this often).

9. How much of your job involves teamwork/working with others?

All of it. Even when I’m working on an assignment alone, that assignment contributes to a larger group effort.

10. What is the best part about your job?

Doing something different every day and constantly facing new challenges. Also, I love the people that I work with. The culture of my agency is very friendly and inviting, so it’s a pleasure to come to work everyday.

11. Any other comments?

At the beginning of your career, you’ll likely spend most of your time doing the “behind the scenes” work. Media lists, coverage reports, research, binding, etc. won’t always seem valuable, but know that the work you do really does contribute to the overall goals of the team. Once you master these tasks, I’d recommend trying to step up and ask to take on higher level work (as long as the culture of your organization allows for that). By showing that you’re proactive and can do great work, you’ll start to get the more “fun” assignments (pitching, writing, etc.).