The 7 signs you work in PR

Think PR is all glitz and glamour? Think again...

Working in Public Relations is most people’s idea of a dream job. Being responsible for the reputations of brands is challenging and thrilling in equal measures. However, it’s not all hobnobbing with celebrities at glamorous events and endless piles of freebies. If you agree with most of the following statements, you might just work in PR...

1) You’re addicted to coffee

Cut any self-respecting PR and they bleed pure java. Okay, that may be a tad over-dramatic, but you’re definitely a fully signed up member of #TeamCaffeine. Woe betide anyone who disturbs you before you’ve had your morning cup to steel yourself before facing your inbox.

2) Social media has taken over your life

Your phone is bulging with apps and you dream in hashtags. You laugh, but the phrase ‘I just tweeted to let you know I blogged’ may have passed your fingertips. Your retweet game is on fleek, and you have an iron cast social media crisis response plan - there will be no Protein World level meltdowns on your watch.

3) You speak fluent jargon-ise

You can’t get through the day without endless PR jargon being bounced around the office. Words and phrases such as ‘coverage’, ‘brand identity’ and ‘exclusive’ begin to lose their meaning if you repeat them enough times. And you will repeat them. Endlessly.

4) You can smell a difficult client coming a mile off

The deadline was yesterday and they don’t know what they want but it certainly isn’t that. From budget cuts to death by committee, it can be the clients that present the biggest headache. Your diplomacy skills are unparalleled - you can keep the client sweet all while setting firm boundaries to keep you and your team sane.

5) You’ve realised you have a special 'phone voice' for speaking to journalists

PR is not one for the phone-phobic. You can pitch an idea to anyone in thirty seconds flat in your brightest of telephone voices. No one dares to tell you to ‘just put it in an email’ when it sounds like you’re beaming sunshine and rainbows down the phone. Just don’t use it when you call your friend to beg for their Netflix password. Cringe.

6) You’ve become a jack, no, a master of all trades

Can you create sparkling, straight-to-print copy whilst taking a call from a client and simultaneously scheduling a tweet? Congratulations, you’re a PR pro! The world of PR requires you to employ a veritable smorgasbord of skills sets, making you a supreme media multitasker.

7) You’re addicted to the rush

Nothing beats the surge of adrenaline when averting a crisis or bagging your client some brilliant coverage. You might feel a bit frazzled by the time Friday rolls around, but you wouldn’t change your career for the world.